Have Gimmick Matches Become Too Gimmicked?

**redoneja** · 10-05-2009, 09:41 PM

Watching a stream of Hell in a Cell last night got me thinking about the Cell itself. For some reason, I don't think it looks as "foreboding" as it used too. I just think it looks way too overproduced and looks like something you'd see in a movie instead of pro wrestling. Back when it was first introduced, I think it looked really badass. Somebody in another thread posted about how the new Cell has lost its 'claustrophobic' feel. I completely agree.

And then that got me thinking about other gimmick matches. And that got me wondering if alot of them have become too gimmicked.

Now, I divide gimmick matches into two categories: 1) Those that serve as a means to get the story/program/feud over (cage matches, ladder matches, street fights, I Quit matches) and those that are the focus of a particular match (TLC, Elimination Chamber, King of the Mountain, Steel Asylum, Money in the Bank).

But lately I've started to think that gimmick matches are really kinda losing the old school kind of purpose they used to serve. Now it seems almost all gimmick matches are starting to become more like those in category 2. That is, the specific gimmick no longer serves a purpose to get a feud over, it's just a gimmick that is used to cover for weakly built programs.

Thoughts?

10-05-2009, 09:41 PM	#1
redoneja Posts: 5,629	Have Gimmick Matches Become Too Gimmicked? Watching a stream of Hell in a Cell last night got me thinking about the Cell itself. For some reason, I don't think it looks as "foreboding" as it used too. I just think it looks way too overproduced and looks like something you'd see in a movie instead of pro wrestling. Back when it was first introduced, I think it looked really badass. Somebody in another thread posted about how the new Cell has lost its 'claustrophobic' feel. I completely agree. And then that got me thinking about other gimmick matches. And that got me wondering if alot of them have become too gimmicked. Now, I divide gimmick matches into two categories: 1) Those that serve as a means to get the story/program/feud over (cage matches, ladder matches, street fights, I Quit matches) and those that are the focus of a particular match (TLC, Elimination Chamber, King of the Mountain, Steel Asylum, Money in the Bank). But lately I've started to think that gimmick matches are really kinda losing the old school kind of purpose they used to serve. Now it seems almost all gimmick matches are starting to become more like those in category 2. That is, the specific gimmick no longer serves a purpose to get a feud over, it's just a gimmick that is used to cover for weakly built programs. Thoughts?