Marty Scurll

[Boon]

Never started a thread here before about one wrestler, but would love to know everyone's thoughts on the "Villian" Marty Scurll, to me the guy does everything right that's linked to being a "Villian". Maybe he won't be on the level of Ospreay and Sabre for in ring talent from the British Isles but someone who can be a week to week star I think he's got it.

 

Your opinions are welcome...

[GOTNW]

I hope I never see another match of his again. After watching one of the Ospreay matches I stopped watching wrestling for like a month. And he had that absolute abomination of a match against Sabre at BOLA as well. That thing would just not end. He would probably be my least favourite wrestler in the world if I cared enough about watching "pimped" stuff to subject myself to hate watching but I do not.

[NotJayTabb]

I think Marty's pretty good. I liked him as "Party" Marty, even if the character was a little bland, and saw him have some decent matches with Robbie X and MK McKinnon, but he needed to add something extra to the overall package. His reinvention as the Villain has breathed new life into his career. It's a little over-the-top in places, but he's still a fun wrestler to watch live, feel that's where the gimmick really clicks.

[Art Machine Love Barr]

Does he play up the Villain aspect more in British promotions? He's seemed a little bland to me, but I admit I've only seen him in US dream match indies that don't heavily rely on face/heel dynamics.

[InYourCase]

I hope I never see another match of his again. After watching one of the Ospreay matches I stopped watching wrestling for like a month. And he had that absolute abomination of a match against Sabre at BOLA as well. That thing would just not end. He would probably be my least favourite wrestler in the world if I cared enough about watching "pimped" stuff to subject myself to hate watching but I do not.

WOOF

[WingedEagle]

Big fan of his when working as a legit heel against Ospreay. I think he's pretty talented and can mix the wrestling with the showmanship quite well in most settings. Some times he can overdo the character bit (particularly PWG), but when keyed in he makes for a fun, different part of a show. Never seen Party Marty.

[Memphis Mark]

Marty jumped to ROH , so long Evolve. Good move. Marty could end up getting NJPW and CMLL dates to go along with the ROH work.

[Therealheel]

Marty , I feel had his best work in Progress wrestling. He is best when he is on his home soil , and yes he does play up his gimmick a lot but I cant for the life of me figure that's a knock on the guy. This guy will make his mark on the wrestling world in a big way in the very near future , he has much more potential and staying power then a Will Osprey does. He had a match on Progress titled Villain vs Hero (Chris hero) which I recommend , the build and match hits and delivers on all angles. I recommend that match , also his recent BOLA win is going to be viewed more and will be talked about in length in the next couple of weeks as the DVD get shipped and watched more often. So Marty is coming up and he wont be somebody who you can miss.

[Zoo Enthusiast]

He just misses for me. It's kind of a cool look, but I just can't get into his work. I just finished watching his BOLA win and came away thoroughly disappointed (and I genuinely love PWG). I would be fine with never seeing another finger cracking spot ever again.

[Bierschwale]

I find him unbearable. Negative charisma for me and total broomstickery in matches with guys like Hero or Ospreay.

[Childs]

Agreed, I'm really not a fan. He spends so much time using his "villain" persona to beg for cheers. The fact he gets said cheers makes me hate both him and the crowd, though not in a way that motivates me to watch more. A lot of his offense is thigh-slappy junk, and yes, the finger spot in every match further kills any suspension of disbelief. He brings together a lot of what I dislike about current indie wrestling in one neat package. I guess the positives would be that he does create energy in the crowd, and he's not so bad that he's beyond being carried by Chris Hero.

[bradhindsight]

I don't think I had seen a Scurll match until this past weekend. I had been meaning to go through BOLA before his ROH debut. So I saw him in:

 

Triple threat at Final Battle

ROH TV taping two nights later against Jonathan Gresham

Watched his ROH debut against Dalton Castle from the UK tour

 

I feel like, and I know it's a small sample, I've seen every Marty Scurll match after just watching those. Guys have movesets that they repeat, but I'm talking more about the performance around setting those moves up (most are thigh slapping like Childs noted), the transitions, the stooging. It's the same in every match. And look - they were all to different audiences, many seeing him for the first time so I'm not outright dismissing him. I just came away with: this guy definitely knows his shtick - but there wasn't anything work-wise where I was like "oh I can't wait to see this again".

[Zoo Enthusiast]

Yeah, it's the same shit every time.

[bradhindsight]

And now to somewhat contradict myself, I thought Marty was fantastic against Ospreay in London. And this was not him being carried by any means.

[Mrzfn]

I doubt I've seen more than two dozen Scurll matches, but personally I don't see what's so bad about him. He's got some set shtick, definitely, but not significantly more so than your average indy performer, and at his shit is usually over with the crowd, especially in the UK. I sometimes wish he'd play more for actual heat but at least the Villain thing is a hook, with a look and an attitude to distinguish him. And yes, he's caught in the modern Ospreay/Richochet go-go-go style much of the time, but sometimes that's still a lot of fun. I don't see what's so bad about the guy, except that he's overrated by a niche of fans.

[TonyPulis'Cap]

And now to somewhat contradict myself, I thought Marty was fantastic against Ospreay in London. And this was not him being carried by any means.

 

Glad you've seen the match now Brad, as I said in the ROH thread, this was a brilliant match live and glad it's translated on video. And yes, from memory, I actually thought Scurll might have actually been the better guy in the match.

 

It maybe a British home guy bias, but I like him a lot, particularly the way he is able to engage with the audience. I've seen him live a number of times and he's always one of the most over guys on the card. As i also said in the thread wheere I gave some thoughts on the London ROH show, with that crowd, out of Scurll, Ospreay and Sabre Jnr, Marty is by far the most popular.

 

I can get why a number of people in the thread don't like him though, and even as someone who likes him, his 'schtick' can get a bit much, in the same way it does for a lot of modern performers where everything is ironic and it's hard to get serious angles over. I think his best stuff over the last few years has been in Rev Pro, particularly when he was champion in 2014/15 and really intrigued to see how he does in ROH.