Astro7x posted:

Bray's gimmick seems like it's ripe for recruiting other people to join the firefly funhouse. I mean, it's the same gimmick as before, just a new approach

For his sake, I hope they don't make him wrestle in the sweater

Also, Raw was good. but I skipped over the 30 minute intro segment and skipped over the majority of BOTH Baron Corbin matches.

dromal phrenia posted:

I'm curious though, with Dean Ambrose gone, who will lose to Friendly Bray Wyatt due to buzzard puppet interference?

Jerusalem posted:

VJeff posted:

The thing is, Bray is already showing really subtle character quirks that make you think this could really be something because, at the end of the day, Bray Wyatt is a hell of a performer.

But, well, we've been down this road with him like. Four times, now.

But who knows. Daniel Bryan as the Planet's Champion worked because Daniel Bryan just pulled it the hell off because he's great. Maybe this can be like that.

Liquid Communism posted:

That's the worst part. Bray is pretty good at character stuff, although I don't really like his in-ring style. Hopefully he's changing that up. His gimmick has just been cut off at the knees every time it looks like it's getting over.

VJeff posted:

Every time they give Bray something, it gets over. The Orton stuff was over. Them as tag champs was over. Him as world champ was over. Then...all of that just got flushed at WM33 and he's never recovered.

VJeff posted:

Wait! Don't be fooled, it's just the regular Bobby Roode with a stupid mustache! He still embodies all the bad booking he did before!

Alan_Shore posted:

It's good to see people finally saying what I've said all along, which is that Bray Wyatt loving owns.

This new incarnation is great. You can't tell if he's genuine, lying, or insane. A neat little thing is his gloves have HURT and HEAL on them, when he whips out the chainsaw he listens to the hurt glove. Oh this could be really fun!

Procrastinator posted:

nu bray should not wrestle.

he should invite guests onto his show and teach them to let the light in and wrestle for him.





I'm saying that they can do the cult leader thing with this gimmick, but even better.

Sanguinia posted:

If I were writing a gimmick like this, the show parts would be tapping into the rarely-used bit with Bray where he would know things about your past and bring out all your deep psychological wounds and weaknesses. Having him talking to his creepy rear end dolls about your abusive home life or starving on the streets while you worked the indies or the string of broken friendships you've burned or how your kids cry every night when you're not there to give them love, all in that saccharine, patronizing "I'm going to teach you a very special lesson!" kind of way that kids TV has, that's pretty effective in my mind. Then you occasionally break that up with the actual creepy TV Ghost artifacting and hyper serious deadpan delivery of certain lines.

As for the in-ring work, a lot of Kane-esque no-selling and constant smiles even while you try to beat on him will go far.

The weakness of a gimmick like that is how dependent it is on your opponent selling the character. They have to be horrified at all the poo poo he does and how he act and actually let the psychological attacks affect them visibly. The first time you have Stone Cold flip this character the double bird and stun his rear end and then drink beer over his body, or have the Rock give him a Billy Gunn promo, or have John Cena do goofy photoshops of him, he's dead in the water.

Although thinking on it, I could actually see a way around that: any time he is made to look vulnerable, have him take it out on "Bray." Keep coming back to this notion that the old Bray and his weakness is responsible for any failures he endures, and have him gradually go to ever greater lengths to purge and punish his old self any time he comes up short. That will not only help perserve some of his mystique even in defeat and amp up the psychosis, but it also builds anticipation for the potential return of Old Bray in the long run to vindicate himself after a long period of being run down and spat on by this New Bray. Sort of a modern, spookier take on the Faces of Foley.

Sanguinia posted:

It's pretty interesting that Raw chose to apparently start pushes for Cesaro, Roode and Bray, continue on course with Sami, and then also have Joe, Corbin, Drew and Lashley and Leo already established at the upper midcard or main event tiers. And we didn't even see Buddy Murphy tonight, and that's not discussing the tag division. They are REALLY heel heavy, and one presumes that there's at least a chance that they're planning to turn AJ since he's taking on Seth. With Roman and Dean gone, if AJ did turn who would even be #2 Face?

rare Magic card l00k posted:

Rey

Sanguinia posted:

It says something that I forgot Rey was there even though he had an awesome match TONIGHT. Its hard to think of him as anything other than The Veteran here to please the crowd and put up-and-comers over.

Sanguinia posted:

And we didn't even see Buddy Murphy tonight, and that's not discussing the tag division.

keevo posted:

I’m sad about UUDD being gutted.

TV Zombie posted:

Cedric losing to Cesaro may just be Vince thinking that the bigger man should be able to overpower the smaller wrestler.

DarkstarIV posted:

Apparently Takeover: San Jose may be cancelled due to the Saudi show happening the day before, according to the Observer. I can't imagine how much that would gently caress up some ongoing storylines in NXT.

Only posting about it here because it involves the Saudi show.

DarkstarIV posted:

Apparently Takeover: San Jose may be cancelled due to the Saudi show happening the day before, according to the Observer. I can't imagine how much that would gently caress up some ongoing storylines in NXT.

Only posting about it here because it involves the Saudi show.

Sanguinia posted:

With Roman and Dean gone, if AJ did turn who would even be #2 Face?