Unpopular Wrestling Opinions

[BruinDust]

Their vibe just sucks. The way they view the world is dumb. Example, I hate when Alexa Bliss does that dumb hand pose, or anytime Sasha Banks shows up Michael Cole says "It's Boss Time" on repeat. Or referring to Finn Balor as the former universal champion in every match. Or Riddle having to say bro a zillion times.

It's just not organic.

Would Arn Anderson ever do the same interview twice?

It's just soooo over-produced for a live show. Every wrestler now has to have that uber-choreographed entrance where they do their repetitive poses/gestures/etc. all timed on que to their theme music.

Same as scripted promos. Jon Moxley talked about it this week and the pressure of having to go out, on live TV with one take, and having to perform scripted lines. I don't get the scripted lines part for WWE to be so rigid in their approach. I guess as a corporation they don't want performers going out and winging it for fear of what they may say (or even how they say it). But that being said, it comes across very unnatural and phony. How can you expect performers to be at their best when they have to perform scripted lines near perfectly in one take. If this was a normal taped TV program, the actors/ actress would have multiple, multiple takes to get their lines just right. Meanwhile WWE performers got to do it in one take? And it's not like these guys are trained thematic talents coming from a theatre background where they've been acting for years. Just a totally back-wards approach that for decades now hasn't gotten anyone over really. Two of the biggest talents they've ever developed in both Austin and Rock both said their characters were just extensions of themselves with the volume turned up. Well how can WWE expect performers to truly get over when they are given every single line, written by someone else, in which to say on TV.

 

[sabremike]

Years ago Corny had a great line about wrestling: "It's not acting it's reacting". This sums up the biggest problem with WWE: The mentality that they are staging a play and not improv.

 

[swflyers93]

Don't know if this is an unpopular opinion but I think MJF sucks.

 

[HFsNumber1Heel]

It's just soooo over-produced for a live show. Every wrestler now has to have that uber-choreographed entrance where they do their repetitive poses/gestures/etc. all timed on que to their theme music.

Same as scripted promos. Jon Moxley talked about it this week and the pressure of having to go out, on live TV with one take, and having to perform scripted lines. I don't get the scripted lines part for WWE to be so rigid in their approach. I guess as a corporation they don't want performers going out and winging it for fear of what they may say (or even how they say it). But that being said, it comes across very unnatural and phony. How can you expect performers to be at their best when they have to perform scripted lines near perfectly in one take. If this was a normal taped TV program, the actors/ actress would have multiple, multiple takes to get their lines just right. Meanwhile WWE performers got to do it in one take? And it's not like these guys are trained thematic talents coming from a theatre background where they've been acting for years. Just a totally back-wards approach that for decades now hasn't gotten anyone over really. Two of the biggest talents they've ever developed in both Austin and Rock both said their characters were just extensions of themselves with the volume turned up. Well how can WWE expect performers to truly get over when they are given every single line, written by someone else, in which to say on TV.

I miss 80s wrestling not because it was all five star matches at the Tokyo Dome but because it was a little more organic and matches had some meat in them.

 

[JackSlater]

Women's grappling does nothing for me.

Maybe you've seen some already, but you may like some of the All Japan women's matches in the 90s. Outside of that for the most part I agree though. At best I'll say that many fans seem to grade them on a very generous curve.

 

[Megahab]

Women's grappling does nothing for me.

I used to think this 5-6 years ago. The women's matches have improved so much since then. But before that, they were mostly bad, and the best ones were only decent matches at best. The 2004 Trish vs. Lita Raw main event was widely considered the best WWE women's match for a long time but that match was no better than a typical Maven vs. Stevie Richards Sunday Night Heat match.

 

[sabremike]

Check out Stardom. Only negative is that Chromecast is hard/spotty. Wish they'd redo their streaming platform and make it more like NJW which is great and easy to use for Chromecast.

 

[Petrouth]

Zombie wizard Undertaker is the stupidest gimmick ever and I could never take him seriously. Biker Taker is the real Taker to me and I wish he never reverted back to that joke voodoo king thing he wasted all these years on. He just looks like a depressed Doink

 

[Jussi]

Women's grappling does nothing for me.

Someone's not ready for Asuka.

 

[JackSlater]

Zombie wizard Undertaker is the stupidest gimmick ever and I could never take him seriously. Biker Taker is the real Taker to me and I wish he never reverted back to that joke voodoo king thing he wasted all these years on. He just looks like a depressed Doink

I wouldn't quite go that far, but I am surprised by how many people praise the general undertaker gimmick, with some even calling it the best ever. It's a pretty crappy gimmick though the wrestler himself ended up having a really good career. Undertaker did do some of his best in ring work as the America Badass.

 

[Ben Grimm]

Zombie Wizard makes no sense. A zombie wouldn't have the intellect to be a wizard.

 

[Petrouth]

I wouldn't quite go that far, but I am surprised by how many people praise the general undertaker gimmick, with some even calling it the best ever. It's a pretty crappy gimmick though the wrestler himself ended up having a really good career. Undertaker did do some of his best in ring work as the America Badass.

Yeah, a bit of hyperbole on my part. Obviously bell to bell he was amazing. Just couldnt care less about the gimmick or any promo/storyline because it was just to hoaky and over the top. Theres suspending disbelief and then theres non-biker Taker.

 

[iamjs]

Their vibe just sucks. The way they view the world is dumb. Example, I hate when Alexa Bliss does that dumb hand pose, or anytime Sasha Banks shows up Michael Cole says "It's Boss Time" on repeat. Or referring to Finn Balor as the former universal champion in every match.

Balor's RAW entrance was so choreographed that it would be the same hands up/pan to crowd/hands up but facing towards the entrance/smirk/pan to crowd/behind view while posing from turnbuckle sequence every damn time.

 

[Megahab]

Yeah, a bit of hyperbole on my part. Obviously bell to bell he was amazing. Just couldnt care less about the gimmick or any promo/storyline because it was just to hoaky and over the top. Theres suspending disbelief and then theres non-biker Taker.

It's really amazing that the Deadman gimmick worked. Imagine that debuting today, people would shit on it.

Fans seemed to fondly remember the Undertaker-Kane feuds over the years as if it was some classic rivalry. But it was so bad. Everyone one of them. So goofy and over the top. The only times it was good was when Austin was involved. A lot of people think Kane should be Taker's last match or should be the guy to induct Taker into the hall of fame. Taker was a big part of Kane's career, but Kane wasn't a big part of Taker's career.

 

[DitchMarner]

I wouldn't quite go that far, but I am surprised by how many people praise the general undertaker gimmick, with some even calling it the best ever. It's a pretty crappy gimmick though the wrestler himself ended up having a really good career. Undertaker did do some of his best in ring work as the America Badass.

The popularity and praise of The Undertaker character have a lot to do with its longevity. It debuted 30 years ago. Certainly a lot of current and former wrestling fans (and a large percentage of internet smarks) grew up with the character.

In the case of The Undertaker, yeah, there may be some people in their late 40s or early 50s who were holdovers from the Hogan days when UT debuted and who always found the character stupid or lame, but how many of these people still watch wrestling let alone post about it on the internet?

I was born in '85 and started watching wrestling in the early 90s. When I was young, The Undertaker character always seemed cool and impressive to me and I'm sure many others who grew up with the character felt the same way about it when they were young. I think when people first experience something when they're relatively young, there is often a pretty good chance they will retain their original impressions of that thing when they grow up. This may in fact be the reason a lot of smarks who are in their 30s rave about the Attitude Era today.

If you go back and watch some Raws from '98 or '99, you'll see grown men pretending to be vampires and porn stars and pimps competing for Championship belts. If this kind of shit happened in the WWE today, many smarks would be severely critical. But people remember how much more excited they used to be watching wrestling when they were 13 or 14 years old (when you're a young teen, anything with sex, swearing or violence seems exciting and cool, no?) and they complain that wrestling isn't nearly as fun nowadays. Of course, that's not to say the WWE product wasn't better during the Attitude Era (it was); my point is that people who have been watching for years tend to be less critical of older things that are actually similar to the kinds of things they complain about now or are things they would complain about and criticize if they were new.

 

[Ozz]

Born in 82, absolute fanatic since 85-86, favorite Undertaker was the original. Ministry was cool too, but ABA was a joke to me. I loved the attitude era, but a lot of it was fn stupid even at the time. I'm far from a prude, but this includes all the oversexed stuff.

 

[JackSlater]

The popularity and praise of The Undertaker character have a lot to do with its longevity. It debuted 30 years ago. Certainly a lot of current and former wrestling fans (and a large percentage of internet smarks) grew up with the character.

In the case of The Undertaker, yeah, there may be some people in their late 40s or early 50s who were holdovers from the Hogan days when UT debuted and who always found the character stupid or lame, but how many of these people still watch wrestling let alone post about it on the internet?

I was born in '85 and started watching wrestling in the early 90s. When I was young, The Undertaker character always seemed cool and impressive to me and I'm sure many others who grew up with the character felt the same way about it when they were young. I think when people first experience something when they're relatively young, there is often a pretty good chance they will retain their original impressions of that thing when they grow up. This may in fact be the reason a lot of smarks who are in their 30s rave about the Attitude Era today.

If you go back and watch some Raws from '98 or '99, you'll see grown men pretending to be vampires and porn stars and pimps competing for Championship belts. If this kind of shit happened in the WWE today, many smarks would be severely critical. But people remember how much more excited they used to be watching wrestling when they were 13 or 14 years old (when you're a young teen, anything with sex, swearing or violence seems exciting and cool, no?) and they complain that wrestling isn't nearly as fun nowadays. Of course, that's not to say the WWE product wasn't better during the Attitude Era (it was); my point is that people who have been watching for years tend to be less critical of older things that are actually similar to the kinds of things they complain about now or are things they would complain about and criticize if they were new.

I understand where you're coming from and I agree with a lot of what you're saying. I find it strange when it's taken almost as a truism that the Undertaker is the best gimmick ever from a wide variety of people. Fans or even people within the industry who watched wrestling well before Undertaker debuted, fans who only started watching fairly recently, even the long time fans you describe who did eventually grow up. He might very well be the gimmicky wrestler with the best career but an old west style undertaker who is also maybe a zombie, who then goes on to become a goth badass, a satanist, etc. isn't some great gimmick. It is one of the times when Vince pulled back for something well out of date (even by the early 90s) and it actually worked out though, and of course Mean Mark deserves a lot of credit as well.

 

[HFsNumber1Heel]

Balor's RAW entrance was so choreographed that it would be the same hands up/pan to crowd/hands up but facing towards the entrance/smirk/pan to crowd/behind view while posing from turnbuckle sequence every damn time.

Balor should have been their biggest star. He has the looks for the ladies, is cool enough that the guys like him, and his entrance theme was a perfect copy of a Muse song (when the band was really good). Plus he can wrestle.

The problem besides bad booking was we all knew/know who Finn Balor is. We know Regal Dewitt. He should have stayed off social media and been this mysterious enigma who at anytime could have the split personality and show up as The Demon/Finn. His mic skills were fine just have him not say much that goes with his personality. Only a few meaningful words each promo.

Same thing with Alestir Black. Instead of being a Hot Topic model who has to say "Fade To Black" all the time because the WWE loves their dumb repetition, take Kevin Sullivan's cult gimmick, combine it with the weirdness of James Mitchell, and dial it up x 10.

 

[JackSlater]

Balor should have been their biggest star. He has the looks for the ladies, is cool enough that the guys like him, and his entrance theme was a perfect copy of a Muse song (when the band was really good). Plus he can wrestle.

The problem besides bad booking was we all knew/know who Finn Balor is. We know Regal Dewitt. He should have stayed off social media and been this mysterious enigma who at anytime could have the split personality and show up as The Demon/Finn. His mic skills were fine just have him not say much that goes with his personality. Only a few meaningful words each promo.

Same thing with Alestir Black. Instead of being a Hot Topic model who has to say "Fade To Black" all the time because the WWE loves their dumb repetition, take Kevin Sullivan's cult gimmick, combine it with the weirdness of James Mitchell, and dial it up x 10.

Nothing tops Bray Wyatt and his social media usage for stupidity. Even fixing that issue for wrestlers wouldn't keep WWE from packaging in the most empty manner possible though, as you've noted. In WWE you can't be a badass face, you can't do decent comedy, and you certainly can't be a heel who actually does heelish things consistently. You can't really go out and put on in-ring classics and make yourself a quiet but well respected wrestler, at least on the main roster. The company leaves almost no option outside of over-produced, poorly presented generic wrestler. Especially in the long hair and beard variety.

 

[Ben Grimm]

I find so many wrestlers with long hair and a beard boring. I want to see more variety.

 

[sabremike]

As far as pure insanity there is NOTHING that tops the Sandman entrance in ECW. Remember the stories from One Night Stand where the WWE production people were freaking out watching it because it was unlike anything they had ever seen. Honest to God I feel bad for anyone who never got to experience ECW live because there is nothing comparable to it. Also it's interesting to note that it's the one American promotion of the past quarter century where the fans almost always cheered the babyfaces and booed the heels.

 

[JackSlater]

I find so many wrestlers with long hair and a beard boring. I want to see more variety.

Apparently "no beards" was one of Vince McMahon's many weird demands back in the day but he's obviously eased up on it. It sounds a bit crazy, as many Vince pet peeves do, but seeing so many guys looking so similar with the beards it actually seems to make a bit of sense.

 

[Megahab]

I may have already posted this but I don't remember - but one of my unpopular opinions is about Kane. Many people here will consider him a legend but I don't think so. I mean, he'll had a long career and will be in the WWE hall of fame but he was in some of the most ridiculous storylines and had consistently boring matches. I just can't think of many great Kane moments or matches.

 

[Sheppy]

I may have already posted this but I don't remember - but one of my unpopular opinions is about Kane. Many people here will consider him a legend but I don't think so. I mean, he'll had a long career and will be in the WWE hall of fame but he was in some of the most ridiculous storylines and had consistently boring matches. I just can't think of many great Kane moments or matches.

Kane in 2003 after he unmasked was absolutely fantastic.

 

[Dominator13]

My list of unpopular opinions.

I know I have many..

-Not a fan of Becky Lynch. Didn't like her unbeatable status, nor the cockiness of a Stone Cold/ The Rock attached to the character.

- I adore the main story lines of 2020. They used the quiet arena to their advantage when it comes to going very personal, on not just the entertainer, but the person behind it. Orton talking about Edge's kids by their 1st name, Ziggler being there for McIntyre when he came back, Orton being a bum when he got in the WWE, Hardy who just came back from Rehab, Flair missing the spotlight etc etc, the list goes on.

- (Especially for Twitter fanboys), other than John Moxley, I'm no fan of the AEW product in general. Tried, but can't get into it. If there was a 160 pounder in the WWE with his hands in his pockets, delivering kiddy kicks, everyone would be livid, trashing the WWE, but because it's AEW, it's revolutionary. They get away with A LOT by being the new kid on the block. I wish them well, despise monopolies, but I much prefer NXT.

- WWE will ruin Keith Lee if they don't bring him up ASAP. First, he's already 35 years old, and his character has a limited range of story line potential. They need to cash in on his ridiculous athletic abilities soon, before the weight catches up to his body and he can't move as quickly anymore.