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lebateleur Jul. 23rd, 2017 11:28 am)
lebateleur Jul. 23rd, 2017 11:28 am)...and so they are here. I wrote a big tl:dr post outlining the decade of WWE storylines that culimated in Tuesday's squee, but realising that that was a little much to inflict on the unsuspecting,
WWE is live action shonen manga with Rocky Horror Picture Show crowd participation. (Do you like Bleach? Then you like WWE, because Bleach is just WWE in manga form.) Anyway, about nine years ago, the wife of the guy who built WWE into a global monopoly decided she was rich enough to deserve a seat in the US Senate. So as not to hurt her campaign effort, WWE began producing the most toothless, bubblegum, pantywaist storylines imaginable. They would have bored a timid four-year-old.
After two failed Senate campaigns taught McMahon that her state electorate needed a more compelling reason than the size of her bank account to elect her to public office, WWE threw up its hands, said “fuck this!” and began introducing the edgy, dark, and risque back into its storylines. As part of this, we got The Shield
The Shield was a three-man faction comprised of Dean Ambrose (i.e., Madarame Ikkaku), Seth Rollins, (i.e., Abarai Renji), and Roman Reigns, who is scripted as a taciturn, baritone hardass but is basically Sha Gojyo IRL. The Shield's whole gimmick was that they had formed to clean out all the anodyne, PG corporate bullshit from WWE. As you can see, all three men are ridiculously attractive. Ambrose and Rollins are the total deal: bona fide athletic/acrobatic ability, the acting ability to make punches and injuries look real, and insane mic skills. Reigns was not done any favors by being forced into a character type that doesn't quite fit him, but has turned audience heat for him into his gimmick, and it works.
The Shield had insane charisma together. They spent years plowing through all comers, and their storyline was this amazing found family, us-against-the-world, brothers-till-death-and-nothing-will-ever-come-between-us homosocial loyalty orgy. They played it so well that when the betrayal happened (because where there is a faction, there will always be a betrayal), it actually hurt. They played that so well that the fallout storyline is still going strong four years later. The writers will periodically hint or tease at a reunion, and it adds crazy frisson to every match or rivalry where it's inserted.
Last Monday, we finally got the open declaration of remorse and oh. My. God it was a thing of beauty. The mic skills. The body language. The porno hate stares. Rollins hiding his vulnerability with bravado, and Ambrose hiding his feels with disdain. The way the crowd pops and then pops some more. Then the Miz, one of the most delightful heels ever, showing up and almost stealing the show. And the questions: Where was Reigns while all this was going down? Are we actually going to see a reunion at Summer Slam? Is Rollins genuine, or is this just another angle? Also, the cut of those pants on Ambrose and Miz. I dunno. Some of this is probably lost if you haven't been watching it develop week in and week out over the last seven years. But from the sweeping capital-T Themes (loyalty, betrayal, distrust, remorse, impending redemption obstacle course for Rollins) to the trivial (eyecandy), everything you could ever want is there.
これで以上です。
WWE is live action shonen manga with Rocky Horror Picture Show crowd participation. (Do you like Bleach? Then you like WWE, because Bleach is just WWE in manga form.) Anyway, about nine years ago, the wife of the guy who built WWE into a global monopoly decided she was rich enough to deserve a seat in the US Senate. So as not to hurt her campaign effort, WWE began producing the most toothless, bubblegum, pantywaist storylines imaginable. They would have bored a timid four-year-old.
After two failed Senate campaigns taught McMahon that her state electorate needed a more compelling reason than the size of her bank account to elect her to public office, WWE threw up its hands, said “fuck this!” and began introducing the edgy, dark, and risque back into its storylines. As part of this, we got The Shield
The Shield was a three-man faction comprised of Dean Ambrose (i.e., Madarame Ikkaku), Seth Rollins, (i.e., Abarai Renji), and Roman Reigns, who is scripted as a taciturn, baritone hardass but is basically Sha Gojyo IRL. The Shield's whole gimmick was that they had formed to clean out all the anodyne, PG corporate bullshit from WWE. As you can see, all three men are ridiculously attractive. Ambrose and Rollins are the total deal: bona fide athletic/acrobatic ability, the acting ability to make punches and injuries look real, and insane mic skills. Reigns was not done any favors by being forced into a character type that doesn't quite fit him, but has turned audience heat for him into his gimmick, and it works.
The Shield had insane charisma together. They spent years plowing through all comers, and their storyline was this amazing found family, us-against-the-world, brothers-till-death-and-nothing-will-ever-come-between-us homosocial loyalty orgy. They played it so well that when the betrayal happened (because where there is a faction, there will always be a betrayal), it actually hurt. They played that so well that the fallout storyline is still going strong four years later. The writers will periodically hint or tease at a reunion, and it adds crazy frisson to every match or rivalry where it's inserted.
Last Monday, we finally got the open declaration of remorse and oh. My. God it was a thing of beauty. The mic skills. The body language. The porno hate stares. Rollins hiding his vulnerability with bravado, and Ambrose hiding his feels with disdain. The way the crowd pops and then pops some more. Then the Miz, one of the most delightful heels ever, showing up and almost stealing the show. And the questions: Where was Reigns while all this was going down? Are we actually going to see a reunion at Summer Slam? Is Rollins genuine, or is this just another angle? Also, the cut of those pants on Ambrose and Miz. I dunno. Some of this is probably lost if you haven't been watching it develop week in and week out over the last seven years. But from the sweeping capital-T Themes (loyalty, betrayal, distrust, remorse, impending redemption obstacle course for Rollins) to the trivial (eyecandy), everything you could ever want is there.
これで以上です。
From:
no subject
And I understand the love for stories and characters that pull you into their bubble ...
... and oohh ... "would you be standing in my way ... or by my side ..."
... and yeah I can see what you mean by the eye candy. (ahahaha though muscles aren't really my thing)
Yay for fandoms we love. Especially when scripts write and speak to us another level, just when we thought it couldn't get any better.
Thank you for sharing. It is stuff that feeds the soul. ^_^
Enjoy the rest of your weekend and have a great week ahead. (sadly it's Monday for me already ;_;)
From:
no subject
I think you nailed it right there. Two of these guys spent a lot of time together in the indie promotions and the third comes from a wrestling family, and you can see that family's what's developed out of the ring. Like you said, it just adds so much to the scripted stuff; it's wonderful.
ahahaha it kind of looks batshit insane talk)
Maybe? But it makes perfect sense to me, so that's at least two of us! ^.~
... and oohh ... "would you be standing in my way ... or by my side ..."
God, the fandom flirtation between these two. It's like listening to Chigusa and Rakan from Silver Diamond. This is one of my unapologetic kinks and I will eat out of Raw's hand for it.
... and yeah I can see what you mean by the eye candy. (ahahaha though muscles aren't really my thing)
Oh, they've got all kinds. It's one of the smarter things they've been doing in recent years. WWE is very focused on money, and I think when they looked at Internet and Internet fandom, they realised they could make a lot more of it if not everyone looked like Hulk Hogan.
And glad to share! Thanks for squeeing along, even when you aren't familiar with the canon. And I hope your week's been good so far--if nothing else, you're one day closer to the weekend than I am over here! :)
From:
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Roman Reigns, who is scripted as a taciturn, baritone hardass but is basically Sha Gojyo IRL
This made me giggle uncontrollably.
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This made me giggle uncontrollably.
Hee! And it really is the perfect descriptor for this guy.
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...also there is something hilarious about (almost convincingly) whacking people with a folding chair, just, what even?
OMG "he took a chair and stabbed it right through my back and RIGHT THROUGH MY HEART" OMGGGGGGGGGGGG
Thank you for sharing, this was amazing.
(Where did WWE come from? What brilliant whatever decided that what fighting really needed was soap opera shounen scripts?!)
From:
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Especially when he breaks character and can't keep a straight face during serious moments.Dude, you think the chairs are hilarious? They've got those and folding tables and TV monitors and sledgehammers and ladders and all manner of other things for you too.
OMG "he took a chair and stabbed it right through my back and RIGHT THROUGH MY HEART" OMGGGGGGGGGGGG
Right? Right? Now imagine you'd waited ALMOST FIVE YEARS FOR DEAN TO SAY THAT LINE WHEN YOU KNEW HE'D BEEN HAVING THOSE FEELS THE WHOLE. DAMN. TIME. "OMGGGGGGGGGGGG," INDEED.
(Where did WWE come from? What brilliant whatever decided that what fighting really needed was soap opera shounen scripts?!)
It's been around for forever. I've been watching for at least...30 years now? Before that there were multiple companies doing the same thing; it was McMahon's genius to buy them up and turn them into a TV juggernaut.
And if you like what you see here, allow me to introduce you to New Japan Wrestling too. XD
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What sort of tropes/storylines does your friend typically dig? Absent knowing that, here are some of the factions I really like and why:
The SHIELD is a great one for brotherhood-->betrayal-->aftermath.
For creepy/edgy, the Wyatt Family is a wonderful faction for that (and the stuff of my backwoods nightmares).
The New Day were mega-heels that turned into fan favorites because they are insanely entertaining and great in the ring too.
More recently, the tag team of Sheamus and Cesaro has had a great little odd couple arc from enemies to frenemies to besties, culminating in matching utilikilts.
And depending on how recently she stopped watching, she's probably heard of Jericho. His arc with Kevin Owens was also consistently entertaining.
For women, I'd recommend starting with #GiveDivasAChance and Divas' Revolution...ALL OF IT. The women are routinely upstaging the guys now.
And if she'd like the grittiness of the Attitude Era with less regressive social mores, NXT is the place for her. I'd recommend starting with the Takeover: Brooklyn PPV, particularly Sasha and Bayley's match, which was jaw-dropping.
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