Darren Shredd
Each week the best and the brightest of the Internet Wrestling community get together to discuss current events in the WWE, different wrestlers, and answer questions from their fans. This week we discussed the recent pop culture phenomenon Fandango, John Cena, Brock Lesnar, and everything from technical to big man wrestling.
ON FANDANGO
JackDonaghy says: As per usual, the WWE does not know how to deal with mainstream exposure over something they did not intentionally do. Fandango was close to ruined this last Monday night.
bps21 says: Nothing makes something uncool faster than WWE getting their hands on it.
tigger says: I don’t know if WWE has ruined fandangos mainstream appeal though. The mainstream audience don’t care enough about the WWE to notice. Only those of us into wrestling witnessed how uncool the WWE has made it
bps21 says: But if the fans aren’t doing it in the arenas anymore (singing Fandango’s theme song)…they won’t be doing it anywhere else
tigger says: Certainly seems like a case of the WWE seeing something work and not knowing what to do with it
Laz says: It honestly surprised me how quickly they latched onto the viral popularity of Fandango considering this is the same company whose CEO had no idea that the Pirates of the Caribbean movies were popular
DavidHunter says: WWE has a weird association in that they want to be mainstream, see Fandango, yet they tend to shy away from stuff that really isn’t insular
JackDonaghy says: It was almost as if they were trying to make Fandango a face last Monday
DavidHunter says: The character itself is based on a concept that is (was?) nationally popular dance craze wise so it seems odd that they would make him a heel initially
Brody says: How many Fandango things happened outside of WWE this week? It was a 1 week fluke of a joke. Now that the blood is in the water, I fear that’ll lead to them doubling down on his push.
Laz says: The segment on Monday with Fandango, though, was dull
bps21 says: I have a theory as to why that is: Fandango isn’t any good.
tigger says: I agree, the only reason he became an overnight sensation was a lucky choice of theme music
Laz says: A lucky choice of theme music and, at least to me, a wise approach to the character at least outside of the ring
tigger says: Really? I’ve heard a lot of people saying they hate fandangos character
BZ says: I love Fandango.
Laz says: It’s been said before, but it needs to be emphasized how great of a moment Fandango correcting Justin Roberts’ mispronouncing of his name after being beaten down by Jericho
JackDonaghy says: One of my favorite moments of his was when after taking a nasty beatdown, he still grabbed the mic and said “It’s…. fan….dan….go”
BZ says: Yeah, little details like that make a character. He’s not great in the ring, but he’s into the character and he was trying his ass off to save that embarrassing segment.
Laz says: He’s trying to make it work, so I give him credit for that
brody says: Disco Inferno stuck around for years by simply being an annoying goof. WWE went the other direction on Monday.
tigger says: So if you were working for the WWE, what would you have done with fandangos over night popularity? Continue to book him as normal, or how could have the WWE done a better job of following up with it?
bps21 says: So far we’ve learned he can’t cut a good promo and he’s a mess in the ring. I don’t know what you expect them to be able to do with him
DavidHunter says: It bugs me that they are riding on the mispronunciation aspect of Fandango’s name as opposed to maybe setting up his ability to go toe-to-toe with Jericho instead
Laz says: I would have featured another segment of Jericho and Fandango, particularly since they’re feuding
JackDonaghy says: you have to ignore the mainstream response if you want to continue to get people to love it. You already made them love it in the first place by what you have done, why change it midstream?
brody says: They didn’t “love” it. They were basically mocking the crap music for a character that was shoved down our throats. Fandango needed to play it off and scold the fans for ruining his music. Their “singing” throws his dance routine off, etc.
Laz says: That would have been excellent, Brody
tigger says: certainly a good idea there
DavidHunter says: What Brody said, Fandango needed to play it up much like The Rock did with Rocky Maivia or even later, “This isn’t sing along with The Rock”
BZ says: I don’t know if I agree with that. They did the same thing with Daniel Bryan and that stopped some of his momentum. Daniel Bryan had crossover potential that the WWE did not capitalize on because they stuck to the plan.
Laz says: What crossover potential? The “yes” chants that he still gets?
BZ says: By keeping him as a heel/tweener, it ruined some of his momentum. He still gets the YES chants, but he’s just a comedy character with Kane.
DavidHunter says: I don’t know how much momentum he would have had if they had turned him face though
Laz says: I’d say that’s more a failure of the Sheamus feud than the character itself, though
BZ says: Daniel Bryan should have stuck around the main event scene.
bps21 says: We moved on from Fandango in this conversation just as quickly as America did in real life
Laz says: Bryan’s in the unique position where the entire audience wants to see him. “Smarter” fans want to see him work matches, and “average” fans want to see him be goofy with Kane
tigger says: So are you saying that the WWE have the right idea with their reaction to the fandango phenomenon, but maybe poor execution?
BZ says: Yes, tigger.
DavidHunter says: Yes, WWE tends to do that often with characters
Laz says: BPS actually raised a great point, Fandango doesn’t have a lasting appeal. He’s a one-note character, a gimmick. Part of that lies on the shoulders of Johnny Curtis himself, sure, but another big part of that is that we haven’t been given any reason to care for him
BZ says: The segment was an immediately failure by making Lawler talk about it.
tigger says: Okay, well there seems to be a lot of mixed reaction on fandango as a character as well as his personal skill set in the ring, so in closing… Future WWE champion, yay or nay?
BZ says: I need to see more.
DavidHunter says: Yay but maybe a brief 2-3 month run
bps21 says: I don’t see anyone paying to be able to hear him pronounce his name. And WWE isn’t exactly big on changing characters. Most of the roster is doing the same character they were doing 3 years ago.
BZ says: A gimmick is a great way to get your feet wet. I don’t think he’ll be a main eventer with this gimmick, but it’s a start.
Laz says: Future champ? Not yet. He’ll need to prove he can carry himself in the ring and Creative will need to branch out his schtick more
tigger says: I think Johnny Curtis has potential to be a future star in the WWE and the fandango gimmick will be looked back on as a goofy gimmick much like many current WWE stars got their start with, which brings us onto our next topic, Dolph Ziggler.
ON DOLPH ZIGGLER
tigger says: Dolph Ziggler is another guy who came into the company with a goofy character and is now your world heavyweight champion. Everyone is happy about this?
bps21 says: I don’t think there is a person on the roster who deserves the spot more
BZ says: He should have been a face champion five months ago.
DavidHunter says: Dolph’s been one of my favorites for a while. I just love his selling and his look.
brody says: He’s not booked like a champion now nor during the build up. The John Cena Secret Title being unified with the WWE belt has now rendered the WWE with one properly booked champion. He’ll keep doing jobs and they’ll blame him when he doesn’t draw.
BZ says: The gutsy Ric Flair protege angle the WWE had Miz do was tailor made for Dolph Ziggler.
DavidHunter says: He makes me think of how Val Venis would have been as a champion. Make others look good, solid enough character, but not booked strong
brody says: He and Dynamite Kid will be in the Para-Olympics together in 10 years.
Laz says: Dolph Ziggler is one of the single best performers of his generation
bps21 says: Before Mania there was that stat sheet of Cena and Rock where Cena has won something like over 75% of his matches. What do you think Dolph is at, 5%?
BZ says: 12%. And even as a champion, I would be surprised if it gets any higher.
bps21 says: They can have him lose now because he’s got the belt. Just like they justified having him lose all year because he was…going to get the belt
Laz says: The odd thing about Dolph’s (overall terrible) booking, now that he’s the World Heavyweight champion, is that most of the roster is a believable threat to his title. It’s not odd, really, considering that’s a given, but I think it’s actually working out in his favor
JackDonaghy says: I think Dolph is great. His selling is obviously tremendous, but he’s also great off screen. I’ve read/seen a lot of his interviews and they are really fun. I think he’s out of character in all of them that I’ve seen and it makes it more entertaining.
tigger says: Do you think he’s destined to job, or will WWE eventually see the light and give him a real push
DavidHunter says: I think he’s too good at selling and he’s destined to job
tigger says: Guys like John Cena, CM Punk, and Randy Orton don’t have too many years left on them, so they need to start creating some replacements
BZ says: He can be the poor man’s Shawn Michaels.
Laz says: I’d definitely accept him in that role.
DavidHunter says: If booked stronger, I could buy him as a 2nd rate 1996 era Shawn Michaels pretty easily
brody says: Shawn didn’t draw either.
bps21 says: He will get a real push eventually. At some point his work and his tenure will reach a point where they make him a top guy. Likely 5 years late.
Laz says: I think he’ll forever be booked as a “weak” heel due to how great his selling and bumping are, but should he turn face? The man will be one of the most sympathetic heroes that the E has had in a long time
JackDonaghy says: Who was Dolph trained by?
Laz says: Dolph’s a tried and true product of WWE Developmental, actually. He may be the one true shining star of the system
tigger says: Do you prefer his style, or someone like a Bret Hart? We got a fan question asking, “Will there ever be as pure a wrestling technician as Bret Hart in the main event again? It took years (and size) for Chris Benoit. Daniel Bryan has fallen to the middle of the pack. Even CM Punk is more MMA influenced than technical.”
ON TECHNICAL WRESTLING
DavidHunter says: I think Bryan may be the closest but the athleticism of guys nowadays and the influence of the guys Shawn helped train has kind of taken over
BZ says: Daniel Bryan is a future main eventer.
Laz says: Bryan is going in the Hall of Fame, indubitably
bps21 says: I think that Bryan will find his way back to the title later rather than sooner…but he’ll get there
Laz says: I think I could even make the argument that Bryan’s a better pound-for-pound technician than Hart, actually. Not based on his WWE work, mind you
DavidHunter says: Is Bryan as good as a guy like Dean Malenko than?
BZ says: Bryan is more versatile.
Laz says: I’d say better than Dean, and I LOVE Dean Malenko. Bryan has a personality
BZ says: Bryan is more like Chris Benoit than Hart or Malenko
bps21 says: Bryan is the best worker of that amazing class of indy talent from the early aughts.
tigger says: He’s the complete package, too bad he wasn’t a foot taller
Laz says: I’d say it’s more too bad that his voice and vocal delivery give away that he’s kind of a soft spoken nerd, actually
DavidHunter says: Even Benoit and Bret Hart weren’t great on the mic but both had that deep, “manly” voice to be taken seriously. I’ve never gotten that serious mic vibe from Bryan.
BZ says: He had it when he cut that promo on NXT. He has a sarcastic tinge though, that works well as a heel, and as fun as the stuff with Kane has been, he needs to move on.
Laz says: If he was as gifted on the microphone as a Dean Ambrose or even, say, Wade Barrett? He’d be in the ME scene all the time
BZ says: I like him better on the mic than Barrett. Barrett isn’t terrible, but he’s pretty boring.
Laz says: Barrett’s delivery, though, is solid.
tigger says: I don’t buy that WWE would allow the audience to view someone of his size as a serious threat
Laz says: It’s almost a pity that he’s “too small” to be a legitimate threat to the ME scene, considering he’s not much smaller than Shawn Michaels
bps21 says: Not for nothing, but WWE had him in a pretty high position on the card for a long stretch for a long time already. He had a good title run and then after the Mania squash debacle…was in a WWE title program with Punk for a bit. They don’t see him as way under that level
Laz says: It should also be noted that his brief series with Punk when both were champions saw them booked as equals
tigger says: Is there anyone else you know of in the WWE or coming up on the indies that could be the next best technician or does the buck stop with Bryan Danielson?
Laz says: Short of Roderick Strong getting taller or Eddie Edwards getting a personality? and, even then, Danielson wrestles circles around both men
DavidHunter says: I had high hopes for Nick Dinsmore but then he got saddled with the Eugene gimmick
tigger says: I wonder if it’s a lost art, and the next generation of wrestlers will produce 0 technicians since they won’t have the Brett Harts to look up to.
Laz says: I wouldn’t say it’s a lost art at all, actually. It’s just that the current style in favor on the indies is geared towards an “epic” feel and trying to force it. The style when Danielson was on the rise was primarily MMA-influenced submissions and flippy-floppy STIFF KICK! There were only a handful of guys that really, and truly, stood out from the rest, just there are only a handful right now that stand head and shoulders above their peers
DavidHunter says: A lot of that came from Japan and the stints they did there too
BZ says: I think Dean Ambrose is perfect for the WWE style.
Laz says: Ambrose is Roddy Pipper 2.0
BZ says: Agreed. We haven’t seen an all out garbage punches assault since Piper. I love those.
Laz says: I may not care for the work during his matches, but I’m still captivated just because of HIM
BZ says: He has all the mannerisms to keep you engaged.
Join us for part two of this week’s round table where we discuss The Top Spot, Brock Lesnar, The Shield, and take another fan question about the place of Big Men in the WWE.
Image courtesy: WWE
