Johnny Sorrow Posted June 11, 2022 Report Share Posted June 11, 2022 Speaking of racism in wrestling... Gunther is Vince's new bad ass foreign heel who's getting pushed HARD. The Germans have become the safe foreign heel characters like Canadians are every now and then. It's why I love that they dumped Imperium. It was way too Nazi-ish. Gunther, ( A better name than Walter. Seriously. Walter? That name and him being fat in little pants held him back), is going to be huge now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted June 11, 2022 Report Share Posted June 11, 2022 I mean it's pretty much the same gimmick as Imperium, just with one less person and red gear instead of black. Also since when is Mortal Kombat racist? As you might suspect from my avatar, I disagree with that opinon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KawadaSmile Posted June 11, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2022 We were worried that Gunther was losing his aura but he still is THAT guy. Per Fightful, management likes him a lot, too. Props to Rico for selling (was it selling?) everything like a gunshot. That dropkick fucking rocked. Let them cold dudes elevate that belt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Embrodak Posted June 11, 2022 Report Share Posted June 11, 2022 13 hours ago, Johnny Sorrow said: I get where you're coming from, but it's Mortal Kombat, right?. Even if MK is racist, which it is? Im not throwing the racist tag on a wrestling character of a video game bad ass. It's a bad ass martial artist with lightning effect, who was the babyface in this living room. No one cares that Lacey had it bad. She's a heel. I mean a little forethought that maybe you shouldn’t give one of your only Asian performers a Chinese farming hat and martial arts moves seems pertinent. I honestly have similar reservations about Asuka’s weird geisha/dragon lady combo entrance, but there’s at least a sense where that’s about intimidating the opponent with spectacle. This was my first time seeing it and it just seemed gratuitous, what can I say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted June 12, 2022 Report Share Posted June 12, 2022 Asian wrestlers in WWE have to either be cultural stereotypes (like Xia Li and Asuka) or act like children (Tozawa and Wendy Choo) and not much in between. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KawadaSmile Posted June 12, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2022 Tozawa was essentially his old Dragon Gate self until they decided to turn him into a ninja. While he makes shit work, that felt worse than whatever went on with Asuka and Xia Li. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted June 13, 2022 Report Share Posted June 13, 2022 Man, my mind is boggled trying to figure out what kind of policy violation gets you fired immediately in WWE. Two-Dimes must have been living the gimmick and did a hit on someone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.S. Posted June 13, 2022 Report Share Posted June 13, 2022 51 minutes ago, sek69 said: Man, my mind is boggled trying to figure out what kind of policy violation gets you fired immediately in WWE. Two-Dimes must have been living the gimmick and did a hit on someone. Can't be anything too bad, because Meltzer said Two-Dimes was told he might be brought back in a year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KawadaSmile Posted June 13, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2022 1 minute ago, C.S. said: Can't be anything too bad, because Meltzer said Two-Dimes was told he might be brought back in a year. Yeah just like Michael Corleone being out the radar in Sicily. Still, fucking weird to be outright let go like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted June 13, 2022 Report Share Posted June 13, 2022 1 minute ago, KawadaSmile said: Yeah just like Michael Corleone being out the radar in Sicily. Still, fucking weird to be outright let go like that. That would be a great way to explain the absence, have Tony say Two-Dimes had to beat it to escape the heat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Sorrow Posted June 13, 2022 Report Share Posted June 13, 2022 "It's not personal Tony Bagadonuts. It's business." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted June 13, 2022 Report Share Posted June 13, 2022 More shocking than Bruno mending fences with WWE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NintendoLogic Posted June 13, 2022 Report Share Posted June 13, 2022 I know that's tongue-in-cheek, but they made up years ago. Bret knew that Hebner was just following orders and would have been fired himself had he not gone along. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Embrodak Posted June 14, 2022 Report Share Posted June 14, 2022 On 6/11/2022 at 8:26 PM, sek69 said: Asian wrestlers in WWE have to either be cultural stereotypes (like Xia Li and Asuka) or act like children (Tozawa and Wendy Choo) and not much in between. Wendy Choo is a mind-bogglingly bad gimmick. Is she Vince’s attempt to have an Orange Cassidy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KawadaSmile Posted June 14, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2022 13 minutes ago, Embrodak said: Wendy Choo is a mind-bogglingly bad gimmick. Is she Vince’s attempt to have an Orange Cassidy? Wendy makes it work because she is amazing. What's funny is that she managed to get a proper title shot AND got to the Dusty finals while being a wacky hijinx type gimmick, which is usually stuff you see down the card. I guess she's just your average "quirky" type character, not very similar to OC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted June 14, 2022 Report Share Posted June 14, 2022 Wendy basically did a "Dusty with the Polka Dots" and got over a gimmick that in no way was supposed to get over, plus it's arguably a passive-aggressive punishment gimmick since they put her in a onesie for not living up to the current NXT body standards. Which if you ever see the out of character pics she posts on Twitter, you'll know how mind boggling their decision is. Also it seems despite JR's best efforts at educating him on the topic years ago, Vince still doesn't see Asian women as attractive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted June 14, 2022 Report Share Posted June 14, 2022 Being able to get over dumb WWE comedy is great if it's somebody like R-Truth who's managed to seemingly land a lifetime gig when otherwise he's have been out of the business decades ago. It kinda sucks when it's somebody like Chad Gable doing it when you know not only will it peg him as a comedy geek in Vince's eyes forever, he could be a million billion times better in literally any other promotion in the world than this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted June 14, 2022 Report Share Posted June 14, 2022 Glad to see Dom embracing his real dad and sporting the Eddie mullet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Embrodak Posted June 14, 2022 Report Share Posted June 14, 2022 19 hours ago, KawadaSmile said: Wendy makes it work because she is amazing. What's funny is that she managed to get a proper title shot AND got to the Dusty finals while being a wacky hijinx type gimmick, which is usually stuff you see down the card. I guess she's just your average "quirky" type character, not very similar to OC. Amazing how? I’ve never seen anything in her NXT work to suggest she’s anything special, and her promos and character work are beyond cringy, they’re like “I’d be embarrassed to have another adult know I watch this” level cringe. Was she amazing pre-WWE or something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted June 14, 2022 Report Share Posted June 14, 2022 18 hours ago, sek69 said: Which if you ever see the out of character pics she posts on Twitter, you'll know how mind boggling their decision is. "We need hot girls to draw that young males demos damnit ! She can't possibly fit into those plans ! Put her in a onesie !" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coffey Posted June 15, 2022 Report Share Posted June 15, 2022 22 hours ago, Embrodak said: Amazing how? I’ve never seen anything in her NXT work to suggest she’s anything special, and her promos and character work are beyond cringy, they’re like “I’d be embarrassed to have another adult know I watch this” level cringe. Was she amazing pre-WWE or something? I won't speak for others or suggest this is the same for anyone else, however I would suggest that WWE, especially lately, is judged on a different scale, so to speak, as it pertains to... expectations in my mind's eye. NXT even more so than the main roster. Much like how there's not as much belief going in when watching AEW Dark that you'll see much. It's the old MadTV Lowered Expectations clip in my head. So I have different ideas of what is acceptable when watching various modern wrestling shows. I've seen so much wrestling in my life, great wrestling at that, that it became impossible to maintain my wrestling standards while watching current wrestling. Eventually, almost subconsciously, I stopped comparing current stuff to the catalog of other stuff in my brain. Inevitably, there was a lot of apathy & then it got to the point where if someone manages to make it through a match without hurting themselves or their opponent, it was considered a theoretical win. Watching wrestling nowadays for me is almost background noise, just a habit of consistency due to a lifetime of maintaining a hobby. I still enjoy something occasionally but more often than not, it's all just white noise placating the need to pass time. I am notoriously a glass half empty person. I often enter shows with a negative mindset & a "prove me wrong" attitude to begin with. I realize it is unhealthy & doesn't make for the best viewing habits - and mixed with nostalgia is a dangerous cocktail - yet I still often will turn on a WWE show, or an AEW show or watching a New Japan event, whatever. Then I end up spending the whole time thinking "wow, this sucks." So, to me, when I see others praising someone like Wendy Choo, my first thought is that they're seeing something that I'm not seeing or they're starting the show is a better mental space than I am in. Johnny Sorrow comes to mind as he's been so much more positive in his viewing habits lately since watching the shows with children. I'm usually watching stuff by myself, at odd hours, in between work shifts where I just don't want to go to bed yet because it feels like all I do is work & sleep. Also after watching wrestling for so many years, longevity plays into my thought process - as if I wasn't already thickheaded to begin with - and I'll often disregard the opinions of others & write them off as "I've watched wrestling longer than they've been alive, what the fuck do they know?" Also not great for being on the internet... I think the death of kayfabe & how professional wrestling turned into just a bunch of "good" matches in a vacuum with everyone being in on the work really hurt my love for the hobby. I can't get drawn into storylines anymore because they're so few & far between. I can't get drawn into characters anymore because we're constantly beat over the head via social media & news stories about how these are people playing characters. So the ability to suspend disbelief is just gone. Bron Breakker is a good example for me because he's good & I can see that he's good... but is he better than Buzz Sawyer or Hercules Hernandez? Or does he just look so much better because everyone else is so lame nowadays? Imagine if Monty Brown just debuted right now in NXT & it was the first time anyone saw him. People would think he was the next Hulk Hogan. So, yeah, Wendy Choo is...whatever. But I mean, are you comparing her to Bull Nakano or to Torrie Wilson? Because at the end of the day, she's a green wrestler wrestling in a onesie on a C-show & ultimately, it doesn't matter whatsoever. Heel/Face, gimmick change, whatever, people will still just care about if she has multiple star matches & talk about how Karen Yu is such a great/nice/genuine/whatever person & deserves more/better/greater things. Social media is a flat circle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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