Author Topic: What old school gimmicks would/wouldn't work today?  (Read 14578 times)

JBGRAY

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What old school gimmicks would/wouldn't work today?
« on: June 23, 2012, 07:10:36 PM »
Would be awesome

- Bret Hart - greatest in-ring talent ever, great overall look without appearing roided up.
- Jake the Snake - great mic worker in an era of bad overall mic work
- Razor Ramon - he'd be THE top heel
- Adorable Adrian Adonis - a so-called gay flair in which a gay wrestler is conspicuously absent.
- Million Dollar Man - persona of the corporate millionaire everyone hates.

Would be awful

- Fabulous Freebirds - somehow confederate flag bearing tag team just wouldn't work in 2012
- Andre the Giant - would be compared to Great Khali and bad on the mic
- Ultimate Warrior - can't work. can't talk.  talentless roid monster that'd be out in weeks.
- Demolition - S&M wearing fat guys would be laughed out of town.

MCWAY

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Re: What old school gimmicks would/wouldn't work today?
« Reply #1 on: June 23, 2012, 09:25:00 PM »
Would be awesome

- Bret Hart - greatest in-ring talent ever, great overall look without appearing roided up.
- Jake the Snake - great mic worker in an era of bad overall mic work
- Razor Ramon - he'd be THE top heel
- Adorable Adrian Adonis - a so-called gay flair in which a gay wrestler is conspicuously absent.
- Million Dollar Man - persona of the corporate millionaire everyone hates.

Would be awful

- Fabulous Freebirds - somehow confederate flag bearing tag team just wouldn't work in 2012
- Andre the Giant - would be compared to Great Khali and bad on the mic
- Ultimate Warrior - can't work. can't talk.  talentless roid monster that'd be out in weeks.
- Demolition - S&M wearing fat guys would be laughed out of town.

Andre doesn't need to talk. If Andre were a heel, all he'd need is a good manager (ala Heenan or Paul Bearer) to talk for him.

Ultimate Warrior would work, to a degree, IF he still looked and moved the same as he did in his prime. The gimmick doesn't work NOW, because he's old (with a ton of torn muscles) and slow.

As for Jake, 1996 proved that talking can only get you so far. Jake was too out of shape. After the push for the King of the Ring, when he finally fell to Austin, that was IT.


chaos

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Re: What old school gimmicks would/wouldn't work today?
« Reply #2 on: June 24, 2012, 06:45:16 PM »
Managers. Guys that can't talk need managers and a good "stable".
Liar!!!!Filt!!!!

njflex

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Re: What old school gimmicks would/wouldn't work today?
« Reply #3 on: June 24, 2012, 07:24:43 PM »
red rooster,,didn't work then imagine now,,,doink...

Montague

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Re: What old school gimmicks would/wouldn't work today?
« Reply #4 on: June 30, 2012, 06:54:52 AM »
I suspect that mostly the guys who relied more on their own character rather than an assigned gimmick would be most likely to still work (get over) today.
Guys like Bill Eadie, Jake, Bret, Austin, etc. would fare much better than guys like Adam Bomb, Duke the Dumpster, and the Ultimate Asshole.

Some guys like Adrian, Eadie & Scott Hall were given gimmicks, but strongly incorporated their own style and personality. To me, those are the guys who could withstand the test of time. Their style was timeless, and they could no dobut adapt to what evolution called for.

I wish some of those guys would have stayed on longer for that reason. It would have been great to have Adrian, Eadie, and Jake around longer. Adrian died in an automobile accident. Bill suffered a heart scare that more or less forced him into early retirement from the mainstream. And, Jake still had good momentum towards the end of his last high-profile WWF run, but was put out to pasture because of his substance problems.

One more note worth mentioning is that Demolition Ax was supposedly in line for some kind of road agent or booker position. In fact, management allegedly told him that he would assume that role following the disbanding of Demo. They stalled, keeping Bill in the dark for several months. I don't know if he ever did get anykind of formal decision from them, but it's a shame to have wasted a talent like The Masked Superstar.

MCWAY

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Re: What old school gimmicks would/wouldn't work today?
« Reply #5 on: June 30, 2012, 12:41:25 PM »
I suspect that mostly the guys who relied more on their own character rather than an assigned gimmick would be most likely to still work (get over) today.
Guys like Bill Eadie, Jake, Bret, Austin, etc. would fare much better than guys like Adam Bomb, Duke the Dumpster, and the Ultimate Asshole.

Some guys like Adrian, Eadie & Scott Hall were given gimmicks, but strongly incorporated their own style and personality. To me, those are the guys who could withstand the test of time. Their style was timeless, and they could no dobut adapt to what evolution called for.

I wish some of those guys would have stayed on longer for that reason. It would have been great to have Adrian, Eadie, and Jake around longer. Adrian died in an automobile accident. Bill suffered a heart scare that more or less forced him into early retirement from the mainstream. And, Jake still had good momentum towards the end of his last high-profile WWF run, but was put out to pasture because of his substance problems.

One more note worth mentioning is that Demolition Ax was supposedly in line for some kind of road agent or booker position. In fact, management allegedly told him that he would assume that role following the disbanding of Demo. They stalled, keeping Bill in the dark for several months. I don't know if he ever did get anykind of formal decision from them, but it's a shame to have wasted a talent like The Masked Superstar.

I heard that Jake was clean for awhile. But, when his wife told him she was leaving because he wouldn't give up wrestling, he fell WAY OFF THE WAGON. DiBiase had to stop him from killing himself.

Andy Griffin

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Re: What old school gimmicks would/wouldn't work today?
« Reply #6 on: July 10, 2012, 04:59:57 PM »
The masked wrestlers.  I don't mean the luchadores, I mean the whole "mystery" persona where the wrestler was from "Parts Unknown"  Nowadays everyone knows every wrestler's real name as well as any pseudonym used during his career.

Also, most of the "ethnic" gimmicks are long gone...whether due to "p.c." or the aforementioned knowledge of every wrestler's real name.  It's hard to really engender "hatred" for a "Russian" who is actually from Roanoke, Virginia (Boris Zhukov).
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Re: What old school gimmicks would/wouldn't work today?
« Reply #7 on: July 10, 2012, 06:25:31 PM »
The masked wrestlers.  I don't mean the luchadores, I mean the whole "mystery" persona where the wrestler was from "Parts Unknown"  Nowadays everyone knows every wrestler's real name as well as any pseudonym used during his career.

Also, most of the "ethnic" gimmicks are long gone...whether due to "p.c." or the aforementioned knowledge of every wrestler's real name.  It's hard to really engender "hatred" for a "Russian" who is actually from Roanoke, Virginia (Boris Zhukov).

Vladmir Koslov was a major heel at one point. He even beat the Undertaker (clean) on Smackdown and was floated as being the Deadman's opponent for WrestleMania 25. But, since he lost to Michaels for the right to fight 'Taker at Wrestlemania, he got jobbed into near non-existence.

Kofi Kingston was cool as a Jamaican. But, once he dropped the accent and was just from Ghana, his character fell flat.

littleguns

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Re: What old school gimmicks would/wouldn't work today?
« Reply #8 on: July 11, 2012, 04:09:56 PM »
Vladmir Koslov was a major heel at one point. He even beat the Undertaker (clean) on Smackdown and was floated as being the Deadman's opponent for WrestleMania 25. But, since he lost to Michaels for the right to fight 'Taker at Wrestlemania, he got jobbed into near non-existence.

Kofi Kingston was cool as a Jamaican. But, once he dropped the accent and was just from Ghana, his character fell flat.

I remember when HHH said "Hey didn't you have an accent?"...Way to bury a character

Montague

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Re: What old school gimmicks would/wouldn't work today?
« Reply #9 on: July 11, 2012, 04:26:11 PM »
I remember when HHH said "Hey didn't you have an accent?"...Way to bury a character


I wonder if that was a rib on Kofi. 8)

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Re: What old school gimmicks would/wouldn't work today?
« Reply #10 on: July 12, 2012, 01:15:02 PM »
The masked wrestlers.  I don't mean the luchadores, I mean the whole "mystery" persona where the wrestler was from "Parts Unknown"  Nowadays everyone knows every wrestler's real name as well as any pseudonym used during his career.

Also, most of the "ethnic" gimmicks are long gone...whether due to "p.c." or the aforementioned knowledge of every wrestler's real name.  It's hard to really engender "hatred" for a "Russian" who is actually from Roanoke, Virginia (Boris Zhukov).

Sad, but true.  I reckon the last over masked wrestler was The Patriot.  I loved most all the masked guy for some reason.

I'm surprised Vince hasn't tried a character based on bin-laden

Montague

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Re: What old school gimmicks would/wouldn't work today?
« Reply #11 on: July 12, 2012, 03:59:13 PM »
Sad, but true.  I reckon the last over masked wrestler was The Patriot.  I loved most all the masked guy for some reason.

I'm surprised Vince hasn't tried a character based on bin-laden


I never really considered Del Wilkes' Patriot gimmick over, but that's just a matter of opinion.

The Kane gimmick worked. I hated when they took the mask off of him; even though everyone knew it was "Isaac Yankem."

Rey always reminded me of a moder-day Tiger Mask, perhaps New Japan Pro Wrestling's most notorious character.

The biggest disadvantages to wearing a mask is that many of them make it difficult to breathe, but all of them prevent the wearer from conveying emotions via facial expressions. Then again, the mystery component really rocks for certain ones.

MCWAY

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Re: What old school gimmicks would/wouldn't work today?
« Reply #12 on: July 12, 2012, 08:50:48 PM »
I remember when HHH said "Hey didn't you have an accent?"...Way to bury a character

The explanation I've heard was that Kofi's parents were upset that Kofi was being marketed as Jamaican, instead of West African. To my knowledge, he's had the Jamaican gimmick since his days in the bush leagues.

Why would his folks be so upset about it now? Is it because he gets more exposure in WWE, than anywhere else?


Andy Griffin

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Re: What old school gimmicks would/wouldn't work today?
« Reply #13 on: July 13, 2012, 03:34:51 AM »

I never really considered Del Wilkes' Patriot gimmick over, but that's just a matter of opinion.


I remember the WWF ran a couple of those little vignettes about Wilkes and they showed him without his mask (at home, getting ready for a road trip, playing up the whole ideal husband and dad thing).

This was before he went to jail, of course.   :-\
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Re: What old school gimmicks would/wouldn't work today?
« Reply #14 on: July 13, 2012, 04:13:22 AM »
I remember the WWF ran a couple of those little vignettes about Wilkes and they showed him without his mask (at home, getting ready for a road trip, playing up the whole ideal husband and dad thing).

This was before he went to jail, of course.   :-\


The original "American Dad." ;)
He does bear a slight resemblance to the Seth McFarlane-created character.


Andy Griffin

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Re: What old school gimmicks would/wouldn't work today?
« Reply #15 on: July 13, 2012, 04:15:22 AM »

The original "American Dad." ;)
He does bear a slight resemblance to the Seth McFarlane-created character.



I can't believe I failed to make that connection.  Well done.
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Re: What old school gimmicks would/wouldn't work today?
« Reply #16 on: July 13, 2012, 10:10:55 AM »

I never really considered Del Wilkes' Patriot gimmick over, but that's just a matter of opinion.
The Kane gimmick worked. I hated when they took the mask off of him; even though everyone knew it was "Isaac Yankem."

Rey always reminded me of a moder-day Tiger Mask, perhaps New Japan Pro Wrestling's most notorious character.

The biggest disadvantages to wearing a mask is that many of them make it difficult to breathe, but all of them prevent the wearer from conveying emotions via facial expressions. Then again, the mystery component really rocks for certain ones.

Over might not be the best word, but he got a push, and a decent start.

I guess I forgot about Kane.  ::)


Montague

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Re: What old school gimmicks would/wouldn't work today?
« Reply #17 on: July 13, 2012, 06:04:31 PM »
I can't believe I failed to make that connection.  Well done.


 :)

Montague

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Re: What old school gimmicks would/wouldn't work today?
« Reply #18 on: July 13, 2012, 06:08:28 PM »
Over might not be the best word, but he got a push, and a decent start.

I guess I forgot about Kane.  ::)


Oh, yeah: he got a great push! In fact, I think the WWF office was really expecting him to do much better than he did; he just never caught on with the fans.
He did okay in WCW teaming with Bagwell.
And, while I never saw any of his work from there, he supposedly did decent in NJPW.

littleguns

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Re: What old school gimmicks would/wouldn't work today?
« Reply #19 on: July 15, 2012, 05:42:53 AM »
I think Aldo Montoya would be waaaay over!  ;D

Montague

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Re: What old school gimmicks would/wouldn't work today?
« Reply #20 on: July 15, 2012, 06:22:19 AM »
I think Aldo Montoya would be waaaay over!  ;D


You know, I wish that Chef Tim would see this. He's always attributing Hunter's early success to his ties to HBK.

During his first stint in the Fed, Justin Credible was a jobber who wore a F'n yellow jock strap on his head. He started engaging in feuds with guys like IRS, DiBiase, and Jarrett after befriending "the Kliq," but he was still only being booked as little as 2-3 times per month. That's why he finally asked for his release.

Nepotism only goes so far. Beyond a certain point, you need some amount of talent for them to push you. Merely being buddies with the right people doesn't draw money, and the only way you climb that ladder is by selling tickets.


LurkerNoMore

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Re: What old school gimmicks would/wouldn't work today?
« Reply #21 on: July 18, 2012, 06:11:15 AM »
Big Boss Man - correction officer would be laughed out of the arena.
Anything with Tito Santana in it.
Brutus Beefcake - barber type character

MCWAY

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Re: What old school gimmicks would/wouldn't work today?
« Reply #22 on: July 18, 2012, 09:39:02 AM »
Big Boss Man - correction officer would be laughed out of the arena.
Anything with Tito Santana in it.
Brutus Beefcake - barber type character


Boss Man's character in late '99/early 2000 was pretty mean. He even got a title match against the Big Show at Armageddon

Champion vs. Champion, no less (Boss Man was Hardcore champion at the time; remember the angle about Big Show's father dying?).

Beefcake got turned into the Booty Man at WCW. Compared to that, Brutus "the Barber" Beefcake is solid.

The Showstoppa

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Re: What old school gimmicks would/wouldn't work today?
« Reply #23 on: July 22, 2012, 06:03:06 PM »
The best move Brutus ever performed was when he removed his nose from Hogan's anus long enough to do a faceplant on the beach while para-sailing in Florida.

Montague

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Re: What old school gimmicks would/wouldn't work today?
« Reply #24 on: July 22, 2012, 06:04:42 PM »
The best move Brutus ever performed was when he removed his nose from Hogan's anus long enough to do a faceplant on the beach while para-sailing in Florida.


 ;D