Never let it be known that I don't take requests. Does this make me less of a pansy, Steve? :p
Anyway, mentioning real wrestlers in our e-fed world... a very hot button topic if you bring it up in certain circles. I think if you know me and my history, you know my feelings on it. If you don't, then you should probably be aware that I handle a character called Jericoholic Anonymous, and his gimmick for awhile was Gimmick Infringement ®. Basically, he was meant to be a low-grade Jericho fanboy who imitated everyone except Jericho. Ineptitude at its finest. (worst?) Plus I reference real wrestlers all the time in matches. Arn Anderson quality spinebuster, Hennig special, suplexes trio a la Eddy Guerrero. Memphis piledriver.
But why do I take that stand? Well, the simplest reason is that this hobby wouldn't exist without the real guys. Basically, everyone who's in this thing is doing it because they saw someone on WWF, WCW, ECW, TNA, whatever television, tape or DVD and they admired them enough to want to pretend to be like them in a way. As a wresting fan, e-fedding is the ultimate homage to the business, and it's the best thing you can do to show your total nerdosity for wrestling outside of going to school to train to be a wrestler.
People can counter with the "fantasy world" aspect of things, and that's fine. If you're one who doesn't approve of the use of the real guys in our hobby, I'm not going to get up in your grill about it. I respect your opinion and such. But I also think that the fantasy rationale can be used to include the real guys in with this. I mean, it is a fantasy to believe that there are this many national level wrestling promotions to compete with the WWE and TNA right now, and it's a fantasy to believe that the JAs, Danny Fergusons, and Richard Farnswirths can coexist in the same world as the Chris Jerichos, Terry Funks and Ted DiBiases, and in some cases having met them too.
There are other technical aspects... like how do you describe moves like the Stunner/Ace Crusher or Pedigree without using their almost synonymous real world names, especially if they're being used in a match where there is no other gimmick name for them in the fed you're in? I mean, this is a real petty reason, but it's a reason.
Now, I don't condone the use of real wrestler references as a crutch. I almost always try to make my e-fedder to real wrestler ratio be at least 80% e-fedder. If there's an e-wrestling example I can use, then I'm all over it. However, sometimes the real wrestler reference is the best one to use. It's the funniest, it packs the most meaning.
I would never advise on relying on real wrestler references as a crutch. But once in awhile is okay.
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6 comments:
Take the short-lived ESPN show, "Playmakers."
Did they use real teams?
Or "The Replacements" which sadly I wathced this weekend. Differents teams. I enjoy that. The Frank'n'Steiner in the CSWA has alays been the Frank'n'Parsons. Good point on move names.
But again. When I was 14 I created Mark Windham. Tough name to get around without referencing real wrestling.
Back on prodigy you had real feds that let you role-play, write with actual wrestlers, and "fantasy" wrestling. I prefer the latter, obviously, though most of us have referenced the other if not by name then by gimmick infringement.
Still. Melton's last match with Beast in EPW, Beast (jarret? is that his name? sorry.) dusted off a Hogan and Wrestlemania reference, and no disrespect to the handler, but I wanted to fry an egg on the screen.
Dip into the pond of reality as little as you can is my advice to the mass fw body at large. To you Tom it's simple.
Stop being a pansy. Pansy :P
I think that referencing the real thing isn't that bad ... as long as you dont do it too often.
I mean, I should really talk because I had the Ultimate Warrior wrestle at our first PPV ... but can you blame me ... the ppv was Destrucity .. which is an UW creation itself.
But in actuality, it was because the person who was supposed to be the Ultimate Surprise pussied out... so I figured "why the hell not."
Hell.. Sean Edmunds in WFW is managed by Sensational Sherri... although that's also a convenience since he is 'Simply Sensational' Sean Edmunds himself.
Im going to shut up now before I dig myself into a bigger hole. :)
NAPW stalwarts The New & Improved D-X are great. Their name has nothing to do with their gimmick--it's a name an old promoter saddled them with and they've never managed to lose it. At no time have they ever done crotch chops, Suck Its or otherwise pulled any type of infrigement--they've managed a solid ten months with completely original characters.
Even with the original D-X returning IRL, they've gleefully kept the name, 'cause hey, they're still "New & Improved".
When it comes to real-world references, NAID-X is the only one I've seen that I can stand, because they're above the joke.
Now don't get me started on people who bill themselves as UFC Champion.
Personally, I'm all for referencing historical pro-wrestling. Note, historical. When I do a write-up, I might describe someone using what American's have called a European Uppercut as "A Pat Roach-esque forearm smash" - because, at least in the UK, it's known that Pat Roach really knew how to hit a forearm smash. I'll happily reference Jushin Liger as the originator of the Shooting Star Press, and if there's a heated feud or great talent from history I can use, so much the better. With the majority of feds being either short-lived or still young, and thus not having the history of NJPW, WWE, WCW, World of Sport, etc., then I see no problem in match-writing referencing something from the past. Same with promo's - you could have Joey Melton vs. Beast and happily mention Ric Flair vs. Sting, or Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant, or some other historic match that people know - it adds to the impact by saying "These two are as big a rivalry at least as this one." You're even seeing it in real wrestling - Gorilla Monsoon used to reference old matches, and JR still does from time to time.
If I've got any beef with referencing, it's not referencing real-life wrestlers - it's referencing "the competition" on the e-fed circuit by expecting everyone to know either a past history between two characters, or using a match that happened recently in another fed as a measuring stick - you may hear JR talk about Flair/Funk from NWA, or Vader/Cactus Jack from WCW, but you don't hear him talking about Samoa Joe/Scott Steiner from TNA.
Hey, maybe there're two columns in that... if someone wants, I'll send something to Tom ^_^
-Karl
I think Karl's got the right idea.
I'm pretty much in line with Karl too.
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