Idk if Dragunov can be described as the scrappy underdog I mean maybe in his feud with Walter but *right now* even against guys who are much bigger than he is Bron Corbin Dijak, he never feels like the underdog he is so intense and brutal
I love gimmicks when they're based on other media like how Crow Sting was based off The Crow, Razor Ramon based off Scarface, Kane based off slasher movie villians, etc.
As somebody who comes from an academic background in literature and theater, part of why I’ve gravitated towards professional wrestling so much is because I see so many similarities between it and classic archetypal theater throughout history. Like wrestling, staged art such as the Commedia dell’arte, Peking Opera, Noh Theater, and dozens of others were able to tell simplistic, but thrilling stories by utilizing handfuls of widely circulated caricatures and routines. All of this is to say that not only do I think that archetypes in wrestling are great, I think they’re part of professional wrestling’s fundamental makeup.
Can we just take a minute to remember that the Undertaker started out as an "occupation" gimmick and was portrayed more as a wild west undertaker, so much so that the Undertaker used to do promos while hand crafting his opponents caskets in his workshop. While that may have fell by the wayside when the Undertaker evolved into a more supernatural gimmick that doesn't change the fact that the Undertaker is the most successful "occupation" gimmick in wrestling history.
But also remember, Undertaker wasn't the first to be slotted in that kind of role. Vince first had Barry Windham portray The Widowmaker. rather undertaker version 1.
Not to say that you're wrong but the Widow maker gimmick looks more to be another heel cowboy as opposed to a wild west undertaker, in both terms of presentation and personality though while i can see how you may've drawn that conclusion quite frankly it doesn't seem plausible to me@@Briansgate
@@BriansgateYeah, that sounds better. Paul Bearer and the urn showed up very quickly and give him a supernatural air, but it took some time before he ditched the undertaker tie.
The Heart Foundation of the 90s is a classic example of a patriot gimmick. In the states, the Harts being patriotic Canadians make them heels to the American fans, but step north of the 49th parallel, and their patriotic Canadians made them the home country heroes against the evil American foreigners arrogantly proclaiming Canada is the same as the States and Canadians have no identity of our own. Pretty much whenever you work nationality into a gimmick, it'll make them a near automatic babyface in their kayfabe homeland, and heels outside their homeland. After all, guy coming out waving Stars and Stripes and chanting "USA, USA, USA" on Canadian soil, will be received very differently from him doing that same on American soil, or coming out waving the red Maple Leaf and chanting "Go Canada Go!" or something. As a Canadian, I viewed Brett Hart and his stable mates as babyfaces during their patriot gimmick.
During the Iran hostage crisis in 1980, probably one of the first instances of using current events for a gimmick: There was Sergeant Slaughter against the Iron Sheik. Slaughter turned from a heel to a patriot baby face just so he could stand up for America against the evil villain from Iran. What I didn't know at the time was the two were actually good friends and that Slaughter helped the Sheik, already a gifted amateur wrestler, break into pro wrestling.
The comedy gimmicks on their own warrant a deep dive Early Eric Young and Black Machismo Jay Lethal are the first that come to my mind but going back there's everyone from Les Kellett to R Truth....
Its so odd to see the different gimmicks some wrestlers go through, before finding the one that really sets them apart. JBL alone went through 4 gimmicks, the cowboy, the follower, the bodyguard, and lastly the rich man. Also, Mr. Ass really did have an awesome theme, I had The Music Volume 4 and I would listen to his and The Rock theme the most.
One of wrestling’s favorite archetype is when they lump them all into a stable. When they have big plans for one or many individuals that constitute long term storytelling, get them into a stable. When there’s too many guys in the roster and too little time to book them separately, get them into a stable. When a guy has a hard time getting over on his own, get him into a stable. There’s the androgynous gimmicks as well: Goldust, The Velveteen Dream, Orlando Jordan, Sonny Kiss, Adrian Adonis, Dalton Castle.
Hey Wrestling Bios great video as always, If I may ask do you write and record the script first when you make a video or do you edit together the clips you feel are relevant then speak over them?
How about body guards? Virgil, Diesel, Chyna etc. Or guys from a wrestler's past in their personal life who come to WWF to get revenge on one specific individual? Kane (yes I know who he was before but I'm referring to the character) and Nailz come immediately to mind but I know there were others.
You show bring up sycophant/stooges wrestlers. Wrestlers that who blindly follow or under the tutelage of another wrestler. Examples are The Roadie, The MF Follower Shannon Moore, Rosey when he was a superhero, AJ Styles in TNA when he was under Christian Cage/Kurt Angle, Pat Patterson and Gerald Brisco, Ralphus, Damien Mizdow, Vincent in WCW, The whole Ministry of Darkness, "Little Petey Pump" Petey Williams
I would love too know everyone's favorite flunxhes. Ex. Stevie Richards to raven Bluedust to goldust Damien Sandow to the Miz And the best of all-time Virgil to dibiase
I will never for the life of me figure out why Papa Shango didn't take off, other maybe than they already had The Undertaker. Papa Shango had such a great look and he was a really good wrestler
You also have the androgynous character in professional wrestling. Wrestlers who fit this character include Adrian Adonis, Adrian Street, Goldust, Sonny Kiss, and Velveteen Dream.
WWE dropped the ball with The Accension. They were very much over in NXT but they were never given a chance to succeed on the main roster as they were jobbed out right away.
Great video, as always. One of my favourite archetypes has always been the cult leader gimmick: Bray Wyatt, Raven, Waylon Mercy, Ministry-era Taker, Kevin Sullivan before he was too legit to quit. Always found it really engaging stuff.
The character was partially based on Jim Jones, so... He wasn't there long enough to get a cult but I reckon it would have been on the cards.@@Terryfrost219
Lol, not sure if it's in the vid, but Teddy was a referee in WCW before he was chosen to become a Mgr, and his first tag team to manage, was Harlem Heat (Booker T & bro Stevie Ray)! Can You Dig It, Playa?
Adam Pearce does a good job on Raw. He doesn’t really have a gimmick. He’s just an Everyman trying to do his job effectively and not get threatened by his muscled up coworkers.
Seeing the Mountie in the end made me think of Law Enforcement and Military gimmicks. Mountie, Big Boss Man, Captain Shawn Dean, "Rambo" Greg Gagne, The Truth Commission (adjacent to military), Lacey Evans, The MIA, Sgt. Slaughter, Sgt. Craig Pittman
Honestly rappers seem to do the best out of all the music men. Acclaimed and early John Cena come to mind. Even TNA era Ron Killings was a world champion with a rapping gimmick
The antihero gimmick is one that people enjoy no matter the era, as long as it's done in a way that isn't corny. Stone Cold stands head and shoulders above them all because he is much like the character he portrayed.
@17thNO Kanye west? The guy who announced he loved Hitler? The guy who made Jewish executives kiss pictures of Hitler before business deals? Hes an anti hero? You're an American, right?
I would argue you can make the authority figure work as a baby face, but you can't have them be the star of the show in the same way as a heel authority figure can be. If you see Bob Armstrong in Smokey Mountain Wrestling, the face authority figure works more as a way of giving the fans some justice for the actions of the heels (fines, booking rematches etc.), and as a tool for keeping storylines going rather than having constant backstage attacks or run ins. The problem is when you try and have the face authority figure be someone with a huge profile like Hulk Hogan in TNA or Shawn Michaels in WWE (although both were constantly turning) as you can't have them be that side figure like Bob Armstrong or Jack Tunney who is only there occasionally to keep things moving.
You made the point I wanted to make. The face authority figure works best as a side character. They also can act as the glue to make the overall environment work. The competing GMs for Raw and Smackdown Adam Pierce and Nick Aldis are perfect examples. Why should I care which show Jade Cargill goes to? Well, if Raw and Smackdown are market competitors, then it gives me some reason to care.
7:31 Mohammad hassan could have been great. His promos were good, and the heat was so hot....but the timing of the train terrorist attacks on rhe same night as that angle with taker....it halted it right in its tracks
Could've been even better if they'd played him as a sympathetic babyface with legit concerns (like his initial few promos). Also, that undertaker angle was tasteless and probably would've killed things off regardless of the 7/7 bombings imo.
the all american babyface(hogan, cena, cody rhodes) daredevils(jeff hardy, rvd, darby allen) the faction enforcer( solo sikoa, batista, big bossman, jake hagger) cocky trash talkers( the rock, the miz, mjf)
Working as a creative with a lower-end indy promotion, I'd hope for more of these videos. I like the idea of trying to figure out a gimmick, as Ray Candy said to New Jack: "you've never seen before." See all the archetypes and try to figure out some sort of gimmick that doesn't fit ANY archetype.... and if it's even possible....
You forgot the brawler archetype. The brawler is a no nonsense tough guy who lives a good fight and whenever I see a brawler in a wrestling ring, I know I am going to see a fight. The best brawlers In my opinion are Stan Hansen, Terry Funk, Tomohiro Ishii, Fit Finlay, The Road Warriors, Steve "Dr Death, Williams, Masato Tanaka and Aja Kong.
The Soldier: Sgt. Slaughter, Corporal Kirchner, GI Bro The Multi-Sport Guy: Sparky Plugg Bob Holly, The Goon, Abe Knuckleball Schwartz The Strong Man: Ken Patera, Dino Bravo, Mark Henry The Cowboy: Smokin Gunns, Cowboy Bob Orton, Justin Hawk Bradshaw Were there other Ass Men apart from The Booty Man and Billy Gunn?
HBK, Bagwell, Big Poppa, Heel Lex, Rick Martell, Rick Rude, The Masterpiece and everyone doing the selfie (Prince Pretty, Theory, Logan Paul) all fall under the narcissistic heel gimmick
I think one we see a lot is the Street Fighter. Not fireball throwing martial-arts warriors, but the guy who touts they were born and raised on the "mean streets" and brings that knowledge to the ring, like the Street Profits, Cryme Tyme, the Nasty Boys, etc.
I always just classified it as Blue Collar, but Street Fighter probably fits better, since it doesn't imply a job itself being the gimmick (and Day Job gimmicks probably qualify as their own archetype anyway). But yeah, Eddie Kingston is probably the GOAT of this archetype. Not enough ugly (extremely relatively speaking in Eddie's case, man has the most perfect eyebrows in the business, lmao), tough old cusses who just beat the hell outta people. Mox mixes it in nicely with his loose cannon character as well. Sheamus in The Bar and especially as an old-timey hooligan also nicely embodies the trope. Finlay's definitely on the Blue Collar/Street Fighter Mount Rushmore alongside Eddie too. But it doesn't just have to be ugly tough fat guy energy. As you noted, Cryme Tyme & Street Profits fit the archetype nicely, and they're both *very* different portrayals from each other and the most common Nasty Boy types. Cryme Tyme had those brutishly violent vignettes heralding their debut, but once they actually showed up they got by almost entirely on comedic charm, street smarts, & hustling marks. And the Street Profits have the most amazing chaotic, crazy athletic streetball energy about them. So I think the archetype definitely works well with the way video was structured! There's certain common aesthetics & some fairly iconic portrayals, while leaving enough space for a lot of different stylistic approaches to find success under the same banner.
They can make any gimmick But Owen never needed a gimmick . He had the body of Steve Austin and movement of Richocet. The man was best of the best. True king King of ❤s
I see a lot of recycling of characters that didn't work out in the past in the recent NXT, it's really cool, it helped a lot of people with Brian Pillman's son for example
I think comedy wrestlers are some of the smartest guys in the business. Main eventing has a limited window, and mid carders can only go so far if they're losing. A good comedy guy can lose every week and still be the highlight of the show, and there's less worry about aging out of the job.
Sid absolutely OWNED that unstable trait. Jon moxley used it as a crutch when he's just not very good. The British invasion comes to mind when you think anti american wrestlers. Great list and it opens up for discussions on who, given the chance, would've played these roles best.
Ironically, when WWF booked “King” Harley Race in Memphis they got sued by Lawler because nobody can be booked as “king” in Memphis. and Jerry Lawler won
Some guys weren't pure comedy but could play a comedic villain well at times while being very serious other times. Kurt Angle, HBK (especially his first heel run), Owen Hart, Jericho and even Mr. Perfect to name a few.
Other Archetypes: Missfits/pranksters - D-X Savages - Haku, Warrior (comes from parts unknown), Umaga, Shamrock (when he would snap) Psychopaths - Weyland Mercy, Big Boss Man ~2000 Mexican/Luchadores - the style is the gimmick Japanese - the style is the gimmick Aristocrats - William Regal, Hunter Hearst Helmsley pre D-X Movie/media characters ip-offs - Sting, Razor Ramone, Kiss Demon, Oz Dark/Broody character - Sting, Raven
His character isn't a drunk. You are mixing Jonathan Good's real-life problems with his gimmick. His alcohol issues were never part of any storylines, so show the man some respect and leave that out when discussing the Jon Moxley character.
face authority figures can work. teddy long was the greatest face authority figure w his signature move to make heels face sudden tag matches, or worse, going one on one, WITH THE UNDA TAKA
Omos may currently get by on size alone because that's what they make him do. But he's actually really funny and charismatic outside of the ring if you watch his social media. Hopefully WWE will let him show more of his personality when they're tired of just selling him as a giant and nothing else.
Never forget that Mick Foley's road to the championship started by being a comedy wrestler who was the only babyface who seemed to love Mr. Mcmahon and couldn't see just how much the chairman hated him....
The Rock as a heel was a Money Man, too. Those expensive shirts and everything. People just forget about that because he turned babyface. I'm taking pre-Hollywood, c. 1998.
Lex Luger was supposed to come off as an intellectual as well the "superior athlete". Folks hate him due to how he came off in promos outside of how he is viewed an in ring performer. 👉👈
I feel like another wrestler who should be in the unstable category is either Mankind or Cactus Jack. 2 out of 3 of Foley’s gimmicks were his craziest for when he was giving beatings or taking them
R-Truth isn’t just a brilliant comedian (all the stuff he’s been doing lately has been solid gold, never thought I’d see a hot tag in a Rumble match), he’s still a great worker and the man hasn’t aged a day in 20 years. Seriously, I can’t wrap my head around Truth being 52 years old.
On the evil authority gimmick. There’s so many names, but one that I think gets overlooked is Dario Cueto from Lucha underground! That villain, for the first three seasons of that show was magnificent. For me personally, he’s only second to Vince McMahon and the Mr. McMahon character.
"The scrappy underdog": Mick Foley, Chris B****t, Bryan Danielson, Sami Zayn, Pete Dunne, Ilja Dragunov
Benoit
so excited for dragunovs future. gunther v dragunov 2 is my favorite match of all time
Krispen Wah?
Idk if Dragunov can be described as the scrappy underdog I mean maybe in his feud with Walter but *right now* even against guys who are much bigger than he is Bron Corbin Dijak, he never feels like the underdog he is so intense and brutal
*B-E-N-O-I-T
I love gimmicks when they're based on other media like how Crow Sting was based off The Crow, Razor Ramon based off Scarface, Kane based off slasher movie villians, etc.
Razor was more inspired by. Sting was a straight rip off.
Glacier by subzero.
So you’re a child
What was the Christmas Creature based off?
In Japan they have actual movie villains as wrestlers: Leatherface, Freddy, Jason etc
As somebody who comes from an academic background in literature and theater, part of why I’ve gravitated towards professional wrestling so much is because I see so many similarities between it and classic archetypal theater throughout history.
Like wrestling, staged art such as the Commedia dell’arte, Peking Opera, Noh Theater, and dozens of others were able to tell simplistic, but thrilling stories by utilizing handfuls of widely circulated caricatures and routines.
All of this is to say that not only do I think that archetypes in wrestling are great, I think they’re part of professional wrestling’s fundamental makeup.
Can we just take a minute to remember that the Undertaker started out as an "occupation" gimmick and was portrayed more as a wild west undertaker, so much so that the Undertaker used to do promos while hand crafting his opponents caskets in his workshop. While that may have fell by the wayside when the Undertaker evolved into a more supernatural gimmick that doesn't change the fact that the Undertaker is the most successful "occupation" gimmick in wrestling history.
True
But also remember, Undertaker wasn't the first to be slotted in that kind of role. Vince first had Barry Windham portray The Widowmaker. rather undertaker version 1.
Not to say that you're wrong but the Widow maker gimmick looks more to be another heel cowboy as opposed to a wild west undertaker, in both terms of presentation and personality though while i can see how you may've drawn that conclusion quite frankly it doesn't seem plausible to me@@Briansgate
@@mattjones5531 I get what you're saying. I see it as more of an evolution rather than a direct comparison. "Let's tweak it" as they say.
@@BriansgateYeah, that sounds better. Paul Bearer and the urn showed up very quickly and give him a supernatural air, but it took some time before he ditched the undertaker tie.
One archetype you forgot is the Patriot gimmick, although in some ways it could overlap with the "foreign heel" stuff depending on the country
Yeah I agree. A lot of wrestlers had that American hero or patriot gimmick everyone from Hulk Hogan, Hacksaw Jim Duggan and even Lex Luger
@@christophernicholson20Del Wilkes also literally played The Patriot
The Heart Foundation of the 90s is a classic example of a patriot gimmick. In the states, the Harts being patriotic Canadians make them heels to the American fans, but step north of the 49th parallel, and their patriotic Canadians made them the home country heroes against the evil American foreigners arrogantly proclaiming Canada is the same as the States and Canadians have no identity of our own. Pretty much whenever you work nationality into a gimmick, it'll make them a near automatic babyface in their kayfabe homeland, and heels outside their homeland.
After all, guy coming out waving Stars and Stripes and chanting "USA, USA, USA" on Canadian soil, will be received very differently from him doing that same on American soil, or coming out waving the red Maple Leaf and chanting "Go Canada Go!" or something. As a Canadian, I viewed Brett Hart and his stable mates as babyfaces during their patriot gimmick.
Not sure if you remember, but Hacksaw Jim Duggan actually tried doing the USA USA chant at WM 6 in Toronto... against Canadian (Quebecois) Dino Bravo.
During the Iran hostage crisis in 1980, probably one of the first instances of using current events for a gimmick: There was Sergeant Slaughter against the Iron Sheik. Slaughter turned from a heel to a patriot baby face just so he could stand up for America against the evil villain from Iran. What I didn't know at the time was the two were actually good friends and that Slaughter helped the Sheik, already a gifted amateur wrestler, break into pro wrestling.
Toni Storm is another great example of a comedic persona from a talented wrestler.
Maybe I missed it, but how was Mankind left off the unhinged list of wrestlers?
& John Cena left off the musician one?
This is like a blueprint to gimmick assignment in the PC Fantasy Booking game, Total Extreme Wrestling 😆
The comedy gimmicks on their own warrant a deep dive
Early Eric Young and Black Machismo Jay Lethal are the first that come to my mind but going back there's everyone from Les Kellett to R Truth....
The Superstar gimmick.
Billy Graham
LA Knight
The Natural Butch Reed
Man, this thumbnail makes me think Sid Vicious and Pillman would have done great as a duo.
I thought Piper did a good job of operating outside the heel GM trope, but maybe that’s just cause of how unhinged he was 😂
Its so odd to see the different gimmicks some wrestlers go through, before finding the one that really sets them apart. JBL alone went through 4 gimmicks, the cowboy, the follower, the bodyguard, and lastly the rich man.
Also, Mr. Ass really did have an awesome theme, I had The Music Volume 4 and I would listen to his and The Rock theme the most.
One of wrestling’s favorite archetype is when they lump them all into a stable. When they have big plans for one or many individuals that constitute long term storytelling, get them into a stable. When there’s too many guys in the roster and too little time to book them separately, get them into a stable. When a guy has a hard time getting over on his own, get him into a stable.
There’s the androgynous gimmicks as well: Goldust, The Velveteen Dream, Orlando Jordan, Sonny Kiss, Adrian Adonis, Dalton Castle.
Hell yeah do another of these videos. Maybe do an in-depth look at each type and all the different wrestlers to portray them? Just a thought for ya
don't forget about your 'wrestling enigmas' jeff hardy, Sting, Goldust, the great muta
Hey Wrestling Bios great video as always, If I may ask do you write and record the script first when you make a video or do you edit together the clips you feel are relevant then speak over them?
I enjoy some of the wacky gimmicks like Doink The Clown and The Boogeyman for example.
Don't forget Mr Perfect as a legit athelete
You should do gimmicks for factions. That would be awesome.
SYCO SID A CRAZY GIANT THAT LOVES SOFTBALL. OHHHHH SCARY
No mention of Ernest Miller among legit combat artists? Somebody call my mama!
Thid a great addition to the channel very interesting
You know Brian pillman main goal in life wasn't to be a professional wrestler. It was to own a Applebee's. He became a wrestler to raise the money up
The wrestler who used mostly psychological tactics to get the edge on their opponent take Jake The Snake Roberts for instance .
Dancing gimmicks you forgot Ernest "The Cat" Miller, Too Cool and Rikishi, Flash Funk and Broadus Clay and Tensai and Dude Love
Please make a part 2, part 3, part 40
Andre will always be the giant. The guy was just a beast !!!
How about body guards? Virgil, Diesel, Chyna etc.
Or guys from a wrestler's past in their personal life who come to WWF to get revenge on one specific individual? Kane (yes I know who he was before but I'm referring to the character) and Nailz come immediately to mind but I know there were others.
You show bring up sycophant/stooges wrestlers. Wrestlers that who blindly follow or under the tutelage of another wrestler. Examples are The Roadie, The MF Follower Shannon Moore, Rosey when he was a superhero, AJ Styles in TNA when he was under Christian Cage/Kurt Angle, Pat Patterson and Gerald Brisco, Ralphus, Damien Mizdow, Vincent in WCW, The whole Ministry of Darkness, "Little Petey Pump" Petey Williams
Think we should celebrate all wrestlers from technical masters to highflyers
Pretty weird to mention Brock Lesnars "fall from grace" (understatement, I know) and then not bring up VKMs when you make mention of him.
I would love too know everyone's favorite flunxhes. Ex. Stevie Richards to raven
Bluedust to goldust
Damien Sandow to the Miz
And the best of all-time Virgil to dibiase
I will never for the life of me figure out why Papa Shango didn't take off, other maybe than they already had The Undertaker. Papa Shango had such a great look and he was a really good wrestler
You also have the androgynous character in professional wrestling. Wrestlers who fit this character include Adrian Adonis, Adrian Street, Goldust, Sonny Kiss, and Velveteen Dream.
I bow to only ONE King, King Haku!!!! 😂
WWE dropped the ball with The Accension. They were very much over in NXT but they were never given a chance to succeed on the main roster as they were jobbed out right away.
I'd lump the fiend down there with ECW zombie. Terrible stuff.
Does Dark Alexa Bliss and The Fiend count?
Loved this video!!!
Great video, as always.
One of my favourite archetypes has always been the cult leader gimmick: Bray Wyatt, Raven, Waylon Mercy, Ministry-era Taker, Kevin Sullivan before he was too legit to quit. Always found it really engaging stuff.
💯
CM Punk as well
I don’t really recall Waylon being a cult leader though lol was he?
The character was partially based on Jim Jones, so... He wasn't there long enough to get a cult but I reckon it would have been on the cards.@@Terryfrost219
Absolutely. Though, he was part of Raven's 'Gathering' in 2003 TNA, so it all comes full-circle.
@@sirkjohno0129
I think the only one who pulled of a babyface authority figure was Teddy Long
The crowd is always gonna love you when you make guys go one on one with the Undertaker playa!!! 😎
@@CharlieMyrkr or he makes it a tag team match playa
No one else is like Teddy he was great
Lol, not sure if it's in the vid, but Teddy was a referee in WCW before he was chosen to become a Mgr, and his first tag team to manage, was Harlem Heat (Booker T & bro Stevie Ray)!
Can You Dig It, Playa?
Adam Pearce does a good job on Raw. He doesn’t really have a gimmick. He’s just an Everyman trying to do his job effectively and not get threatened by his muscled up coworkers.
Seeing the Mountie in the end made me think of Law Enforcement and Military gimmicks.
Mountie, Big Boss Man, Captain Shawn Dean, "Rambo" Greg Gagne, The Truth Commission (adjacent to military), Lacey Evans, The MIA, Sgt. Slaughter, Sgt. Craig Pittman
And The SHEILD. They were like S.W.A.T. / Black Ops guys you know were skimming a few bricks on every drug bust.
What you think about AoP they seem to have a militia/mercenaries type gimmick IMO
@@aubreyyoung4610im pretty sure they were supposed to be a private militia but yeah
And Corporal Kirchner
Major Gunns
Honestly rappers seem to do the best out of all the music men. Acclaimed and early John Cena come to mind. Even TNA era Ron Killings was a world champion with a rapping gimmick
It's a lot easier to rap than sing. Less repetition of words, and you don't need to carry a tune.
@@Rocket1377why would less repetition be easier?
With rapping it gives the opportunity to do disses with it which when done right usually go over pretty good with the crowd
The antihero gimmick is one that people enjoy no matter the era, as long as it's done in a way that isn't corny. Stone Cold stands head and shoulders above them all because he is much like the character he portrayed.
In all forms of media the anti hero works
@@pleaseshutup7053Kanye West, Eminem and Howard Stern proves that.
@@17thN.O lol stern was a flat out villian along with Simon cowell
@@17thN.O Trump is an antihero while Eminem and Stern are woke elitist sellouts.
@17thNO Kanye west? The guy who announced he loved Hitler? The guy who made Jewish executives kiss pictures of Hitler before business deals? Hes an anti hero? You're an American, right?
I would argue you can make the authority figure work as a baby face, but you can't have them be the star of the show in the same way as a heel authority figure can be. If you see Bob Armstrong in Smokey Mountain Wrestling, the face authority figure works more as a way of giving the fans some justice for the actions of the heels (fines, booking rematches etc.), and as a tool for keeping storylines going rather than having constant backstage attacks or run ins. The problem is when you try and have the face authority figure be someone with a huge profile like Hulk Hogan in TNA or Shawn Michaels in WWE (although both were constantly turning) as you can't have them be that side figure like Bob Armstrong or Jack Tunney who is only there occasionally to keep things moving.
You made the point I wanted to make. The face authority figure works best as a side character. They also can act as the glue to make the overall environment work. The competing GMs for Raw and Smackdown Adam Pierce and Nick Aldis are perfect examples. Why should I care which show Jade Cargill goes to? Well, if Raw and Smackdown are market competitors, then it gives me some reason to care.
14:23 - the zombie gimmick is going too far, it's ridiculous.
I honestly loved Angle’s comedy as well, nobody could roast themselves like Kurt
He's a man and we are boys. And theres nothing he likes better than playing with boys. LOL. Kurt Angle was gold.
Except maybe R Truth. Oh it's True, it's the damn Truth, the whole damn truth, and nothing but the damn Truth.
He's the tito ortiz of wrestling
Let's not forget the time-honored ethnic gimmick.
Polish Power!
Even Hulk Hogan was originally "the Irish hero" (before he became the "Real American" which was originally the US Express of IRS and The Widowmaker)
7:31 Mohammad hassan could have been great. His promos were good, and the heat was so hot....but the timing of the train terrorist attacks on rhe same night as that angle with taker....it halted it right in its tracks
Could've been even better if they'd played him as a sympathetic babyface with legit concerns (like his initial few promos). Also, that undertaker angle was tasteless and probably would've killed things off regardless of the 7/7 bombings imo.
@jimbo_1312 it was awkward. I loved his promos though. In ring was ok, I'd seen worse...but creative got out of hand real fast
the all american babyface(hogan, cena, cody rhodes) daredevils(jeff hardy, rvd, darby allen) the faction enforcer( solo sikoa, batista, big bossman, jake hagger) cocky trash talkers( the rock, the miz, mjf)
Opposite of the rich heel, there is the poor/came-from-nuthin babyface. Dusty Rhodes, JYD, Hillbilly Jim, Jim Duggan, and even Stone Cold.
Working as a creative with a lower-end indy promotion, I'd hope for more of these videos. I like the idea of trying to figure out a gimmick, as Ray Candy said to New Jack: "you've never seen before." See all the archetypes and try to figure out some sort of gimmick that doesn't fit ANY archetype.... and if it's even possible....
and if you are fitting an archetype, figure out how to make it your own thing and silence the "he's a copycat" critics.
You forgot the brawler archetype. The brawler is a no nonsense tough guy who lives a good fight and whenever I see a brawler in a wrestling ring, I know I am going to see a fight.
The best brawlers In my opinion are Stan Hansen, Terry Funk, Tomohiro Ishii, Fit Finlay, The Road Warriors, Steve "Dr Death, Williams, Masato Tanaka and Aja Kong.
Dean Ambrose
Stone Cold
Do not forget the Briscoes.
The Soldier: Sgt. Slaughter, Corporal Kirchner, GI Bro
The Multi-Sport Guy: Sparky Plugg Bob Holly, The Goon, Abe Knuckleball Schwartz
The Strong Man: Ken Patera, Dino Bravo, Mark Henry
The Cowboy: Smokin Gunns, Cowboy Bob Orton, Justin Hawk Bradshaw
Were there other Ass Men apart from The Booty Man and Billy Gunn?
Could you consider Rikishi an Ass Man?
Rikishi, of course.
The Lackey: Virgil, Brisco & Patterson, Tajiri, Mizdow, The Disciple
@@alexklimkewicz7191Tajiri for a while had lackeys of his own namely Akio (repackaged later as Jimmy Wang Yang) and the late Sakoda.
Don't forget pro golfer Barry Darsow in WCW.
Alex Wright was dope
Has there ever been a fisherman gimmick?? I know The Shark (John Tenta) and Shark Boy but they were supposed to be actual fish lmao 😹
Curt Hennig. i mean his finisher is a fisherman suplex 😁
Tugboat. Typhoon.
can I get a hell yeah from all my Tuggamaniacs
How you gonna mention legit badasses and not even show a picture of or mention Tha Mafugger???
Mark Henry the "Sexual Chocolate" gimmick, The Godfather and Viscera the "Extra Large Love Machine" ladies man gimmicks
And Val venis
Greasy sweathogs. Sweaty greasehogs works too!😂
Sounds like a Rick Rude insult, if you ask me... LOL
As long as its not Hoggy Sweatgrease i’m good with it 😅
Shawn Michaels and Buff Bagwell was the same gimmick too. I’m sure there were others
What lol
HBK, Bagwell, Big Poppa, Heel Lex, Rick Martell, Rick Rude, The Masterpiece and everyone doing the selfie (Prince Pretty, Theory, Logan Paul) all fall under the narcissistic heel gimmick
Mr. Ass and Val Venis.
I think one we see a lot is the Street Fighter. Not fireball throwing martial-arts warriors, but the guy who touts they were born and raised on the "mean streets" and brings that knowledge to the ring, like the Street Profits, Cryme Tyme, the Nasty Boys, etc.
New Jack
I always just classified it as Blue Collar, but Street Fighter probably fits better, since it doesn't imply a job itself being the gimmick (and Day Job gimmicks probably qualify as their own archetype anyway). But yeah, Eddie Kingston is probably the GOAT of this archetype. Not enough ugly (extremely relatively speaking in Eddie's case, man has the most perfect eyebrows in the business, lmao), tough old cusses who just beat the hell outta people. Mox mixes it in nicely with his loose cannon character as well. Sheamus in The Bar and especially as an old-timey hooligan also nicely embodies the trope. Finlay's definitely on the Blue Collar/Street Fighter Mount Rushmore alongside Eddie too.
But it doesn't just have to be ugly tough fat guy energy. As you noted, Cryme Tyme & Street Profits fit the archetype nicely, and they're both *very* different portrayals from each other and the most common Nasty Boy types. Cryme Tyme had those brutishly violent vignettes heralding their debut, but once they actually showed up they got by almost entirely on comedic charm, street smarts, & hustling marks. And the Street Profits have the most amazing chaotic, crazy athletic streetball energy about them.
So I think the archetype definitely works well with the way video was structured! There's certain common aesthetics & some fairly iconic portrayals, while leaving enough space for a lot of different stylistic approaches to find success under the same banner.
@@kami_in_the_skye R-Truth embodied this at different times, too.
Maybe split the difference and call this type of character "Streetwise."
Ricky Steamboat
Eddie Kingston
When are you uploading wcw nitro 24th May 1999?
They can make any gimmick
But Owen never needed a gimmick . He had the body of Steve Austin and movement of Richocet.
The man was best of the best.
True king
King of ❤s
I find your lack of Wiggle disturbing.
Wrestling clowns😂
I think we all know the one true true King in wrestling is
Jimmy King from WCW
And he will Rule You !
Sid Pillman / Brian Vicious is one of the weirdest things I've ever seen. Bravo!
It doesn't help they both have the "Ramen-Noodle Mullet" going on😂😂
@@joe9739now I figured out why I always felt hungry after watching a Sid match
@@joe9739and Lexis King is continuing the tradition. Wrestling indeed has more than one royal family.
@@jaybee5315 McMahon-Hart-Von Erich-Guerrero- and those damn Samoans (idk how to spell the last name)
Sid was doing the insane megalomaniac since 93 in WCW with Vader. Pillman ripped him off if anything.
there is a section of a wrestling gimmick known as the showman, think guys Nic Nemith and Mr.Perfect
I see a lot of recycling of characters that didn't work out in the past in the recent NXT, it's really cool, it helped a lot of people with Brian Pillman's son for example
Really fun video. Rikishi and Too Cool for dancers would have been perfect, too.
I always thought Rick Rude looked a bit like Don Frye 😹
I think comedy wrestlers are some of the smartest guys in the business. Main eventing has a limited window, and mid carders can only go so far if they're losing. A good comedy guy can lose every week and still be the highlight of the show, and there's less worry about aging out of the job.
The Hurricane was such a wonderfully silly heel.
That Royal Rumble spot with Triple H and Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Just brilliantly executed!
Was Steve austin the only one who didn't wear the crown?
I think HHH kept "breaking" the crown to not wear it and after a while they just stopped buying him crowns
6 hundred and seventy 6th 😊
Surprised McMahon never came up with a wrestler called The Gynecologist.
😂😂😂
Damn!
Sid absolutely OWNED that unstable trait. Jon moxley used it as a crutch when he's just not very good. The British invasion comes to mind when you think anti american wrestlers. Great list and it opens up for discussions on who, given the chance, would've played these roles best.
2:16 - King Harley Race was huge in the 80s and the one I think of most often (surprisingly not Lawler) from my childhood
Ironically, when WWF booked “King” Harley Race in Memphis they got sued by Lawler because nobody can be booked as “king” in Memphis. and Jerry Lawler won
Some guys weren't pure comedy but could play a comedic villain well at times while being very serious other times. Kurt Angle, HBK (especially his first heel run), Owen Hart, Jericho and even Mr. Perfect to name a few.
Pls do so much more of these. I love this kinda thing so much.
Surprised the cowboy gimmick didn’t make the list
Other Archetypes:
Missfits/pranksters - D-X
Savages - Haku, Warrior (comes from parts unknown), Umaga, Shamrock (when he would snap)
Psychopaths - Weyland Mercy, Big Boss Man ~2000
Mexican/Luchadores - the style is the gimmick
Japanese - the style is the gimmick
Aristocrats - William Regal, Hunter Hearst Helmsley pre D-X
Movie/media characters
ip-offs - Sting, Razor Ramone, Kiss Demon, Oz
Dark/Broody character - Sting, Raven
Sycho Sid
I thought Moxley was just a drunk plumber...
He must have the same gimmick as TL Hopper than....
His character isn't a drunk. You are mixing Jonathan Good's real-life problems with his gimmick. His alcohol issues were never part of any storylines, so show the man some respect and leave that out when discussing the Jon Moxley character.
face authority figures can work. teddy long was the greatest face authority figure w his signature move to make heels face sudden tag matches, or worse, going one on one, WITH THE UNDA TAKA
Omos may currently get by on size alone because that's what they make him do. But he's actually really funny and charismatic outside of the ring if you watch his social media. Hopefully WWE will let him show more of his personality when they're tired of just selling him as a giant and nothing else.
I am bit disappointed but I am sure you will make a whole two hour video about no gimmick, the real one, our beloved, Steve MFing Blackman.
Never forget that Mick Foley's road to the championship started by being a comedy wrestler who was the only babyface who seemed to love Mr. Mcmahon and couldn't see just how much the chairman hated him....
The thing is that even CM Punks promos or pipe bombs were scripted even Ryback says that his promos were scripted
I like the video, but how about you go through each wrestling character gimmick and see how each individual used the gimmick differently
The Rock as a heel was a Money Man, too. Those expensive shirts and everything. People just forget about that because he turned babyface. I'm taking pre-Hollywood, c. 1998.
Carl Jung could write a book on wrestling gimmicks 😄
Lex Luger was supposed to come off as an intellectual as well the "superior athlete". Folks hate him due to how he came off in promos outside of how he is viewed an in ring performer. 👉👈
In modern female wrestling would be the hell goth girl: Rhea Ripley, Alba Fyre, etc
I feel like another wrestler who should be in the unstable category is either Mankind or Cactus Jack. 2 out of 3 of Foley’s gimmicks were his craziest for when he was giving beatings or taking them
Great video! You make some of the low key best wrestling content on UA-cam
Who was that really tall guy standing across Brock?
R-Truth isn’t just a brilliant comedian (all the stuff he’s been doing lately has been solid gold, never thought I’d see a hot tag in a Rumble match), he’s still a great worker and the man hasn’t aged a day in 20 years. Seriously, I can’t wrap my head around Truth being 52 years old.
Do you think Cody Rhodes "american nightmare" is american hero gimmick or not?
On the evil authority gimmick. There’s so many names, but one that I think gets overlooked is Dario Cueto from Lucha underground! That villain, for the first three seasons of that show was magnificent. For me personally, he’s only second to Vince McMahon and the Mr. McMahon character.