Welcome to the first official Tybo Talks since our comeback. I’m Tybo, and I’m the ‘Five Star General’ behind the small operation that is SLTD Wrestling. These last few weeks have been crazy and awesome all at the same time, I think its safe to say we are back! But anyway…
So this week I have been wondering, is the ‘monster’ gimmick in wrestling dead and gone?
There have been many successful (and not so successful) monsters gimmicks in wrestling over the years, most notably The Undertaker, Kane, Umaga, Big Daddy V and more recently Bray Wyatt. I think the key to the ‘monster’ gimmick in wrestling is to not look like you fit into polite society, like this is you. Your now working a gimmick. You don’t go home to a wife and kids, your actually insane.
The reason I have been thinking this, comes from what WWE have been (or not been I should say) doing with Kane lately. When Kane debuted and the years after he was ‘The Monster’ in wrestling, and no one can deny that he owned that gimmick for many years. No one in my opinion came close before or after Kane to being the Monster he was in wrestling. Yes, I said wrestling! No other company has come close to having a gimmick that worked as well as Kane did.
Kane debuted as the brother of the, then biggest ‘monster’ in WWE The Undertaker. Personally I used to think The Undertaker was one scary arse dude! I think the main thing that worked for Undertaker is that he and Paul Bearer made you believe that he was ‘The Deadman’ and he was not of this earth. Then came Kane, his baby brother who was like no other wrestler you have ever seen. Nearly 7 foot tall and completely covered except one arm in red and black, and never said a word. And not to mention the mask. The mask that would cover his whole face did not look like anything you have ever seen in a wrestling ring before, it was dark, dirty and looked almost wooden. You couldn’t help but be completely intrigued by this mountain on a man and what his story was.
It turned out that he was burnt in a house fire that took the mother of the Undertaker and Kane. It was originally thought that both parents were taken but it was later revealed that in fact Paul Bearer was Kane’s father. This, I’m sure you can agree was some compelling stuff, and was nothing like the stories any wrestling company was telling at the time or before.
Now, this was all amazing. But I have to ask the question, Did WWE ever think that the Kane character would still be around 15 years later? I think it’s safe to say the Kane gimmick has evolved possibly more than any other character. Is this purely because there are very few superstars on the roster who have been around that long? Or is it because there is no way that 15 years on Kane could still be wearing the same mask and not cutting a promo?
Now, I’m not a complete idiot I know that Kane could not be working the same gimmick that he was when he debuted, but has he been diluted so much that whatever he does now means nothing? And the Kane gimmick has been reduced to nothing more than a name that used to mean something?
Well, unfortunately this is basically what I am saying. The Kane we see now is a very far cry from the Kane we seen back in the 90s. But, that’s the way it should be with a gimmick like that, there has to be an ever changing evolution of a character like that. I think it just hurts the gimmick a lot when they try to change the character so much then go back to what worked in the original incarnation.
I seem to be singling out Kane and I don’t mean to its just when I think of that sort of gimmick, Kane instantly comes to mind. The same could be said for TNA’s Abyss. He was working pretty much the same gimmick. So much so that he was also managed but his estranged father James Mitchel. Can anyone say infringement? So, after so many years of the Abyss character working TNA they completely changed it up and created the Joseph Park character who was originally the brother of Abyss but was later revealed that Joseph Park was Abyss. Clever enough, but does anyone remember the TNA PPV when Park and Abyss were both in the ring together? TNA logic I guess. Now, Abyss is back under the mask, but the excitement of what made him interesting has now gone as we all know what he looks like and that he is just a normal guy.
So what’s my point to all this, well I think what I’m trying to say is that the ‘monster’ gimmick has a sell by date. The gimmick work amazingly to get someone over initially and its always cool to have a 7 foot guy looking insane under a mask and there not being much depth to a gimmick, because that feeling of mystery works very well in wrestling. But it’s so hard to keep that up, and over time one layer at a time is stripped away until in the end there is nothing left but to take of the mask. And unfortunately, under that is just a guy.
It’s for these reasons that I really like the Bray Wyatt character, I think he is the new generation on this gimmick. as i said at the top I think the essence of the ‘monster’ gimmick is a character who does not fit into ‘polite society’ and in the 90s it made sense to have that as a big guy in a mask. It’s now 2015 and we are in the middle of the ‘reality era’ and personally I don’t feel like that would really work. So, having someone from the swamps or the outback with their own set of rules fits into that same vein of the gimmick with an updated feel, and I think Wyatt having the success he has had without holding a title is a genius move from WWE.
What’s next for the Kane character? I’m not sure, but I don’t think a mask should be in his future. I think that part of his gimmick is over and they should leave it in the past. Nostalgia in wrestling is always good but I think that is played out for Kane as a character. When it comes to Wyatt, I love where it is now but he is running out of feuds and it’s starting to feel very samey to me. I really hope we don’t see the day when Wyatt gets re-packaged and goes after a championship with no beard, Hawaiian shirt or is dancing in his wrestling trunks (because lets be honest, its about three writers meetings away from happening to Rusev).
Honestly, while i have been writing this I’m a little sad that this gimmick very rarely exists anymore, i used to love the big insane monster coming to the ring, doing two huge power moves and leaving. Not know who he was or what he wanted. Its almost a shame that we are in what has been called the ‘reality era’ and everyone knows the ins and outs of the business. Because really, wasn’t wrestling so much cooler when you had no idea?
That was Tybo Talks. I have been Tybo, and if you have any thoughts on the ‘Monster’ gimmick in wrestling please comment below. Until next time… Peace Out.
Owner and operator of www.SLTDWrestling.com, host of SLTDRadio at www.SLTDRadio.co.uk and on Spreaker
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