K-O-W KINGS!

WWEs repackaging

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, 01-30-2013 at 07:46 PM (2699 Views)

On the heels of the WWE signing one of the best indy wrestlers in the world, El Generico, the heated point that all fans of him have made is this: Don't change a single thing about this guy. Mask, gimmick, wrestling style, nothing.

Of course, we all know his wrestling style will be tinkered with, but more importantly, we will all be waiting to see if he'll be El Generico or not.

I wanna talk big picture now. Because it's not just the recent signing and potential change of El Generico that gets to me. It's that now, every indy wrestler that comes in with a big background HAS to be repackaged. And it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.

But I don't remember it always being like this. Back just 12 years ago when WCW "invaded" and WWE soaked them up, outside of The Big Show, they didn't change ANYONE. From Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Rey Mysterio to when Hall, Nash and Hogan came back. Nothing changed.

Now, when any indy star comes in, outside of CM Punk, they change everything about them.

But why would they do this? Why not like Daniel Bryan be Bryan Danielson? Let Kassius Ohno be Chris Hero. Antonio Cesaro can come in as Claudio Castagnoli. Have Generico come in as Generico. Isn't that what got them their WWE contract? Being exactly who they are?

A good part of me thinks it's pride and arrogance on WWEs part. They want to stick it to indy fans because most indy fans probably don't watch WWE. When it's all said and done for guys like Punk, Bryan, Ohno, Cesaro and Generico, WWE wants to be able to say that they made these guys, not the indies. But they also want you to watch them monopolize wrestling. Taking up all the great indy talents that everyone loves. They can barely handle what they have now, yet they continue to stack on talent that they'll have no TV time for, no good feuds for. Of course, this isn't the case with every indy wrestler they've signed in the last few years, but i'm sure I can provide more cases of terrible repackaging and misuse than not.

Wouldn't it be better for the E' if they embraced these guys legendary indy track records? They can introduce these wrestlers to their audience and also have indy fans come on board. Wouldn't it make their PPVs watchable? Wouldn't it help sell merchandise?

I know what the common answer to all my gripes would be. If you don't like it, don't watch it. But that's not the point. All of us that complain about WWEs state were once fans of what they did, and hate seeing what it has become. We hold out to see if maybe there is a glimmer of hope that it'll change but so far it truly hasn't.

As a big sports fan over all, I can compare it to this. If you're a sports fan, more times than not, you're favorite sports team is the one that it's in your hometown. For me, i'm from New York so i'm a New York Knicks fan. Whether the Knicks are bad or good, I still love them. I complain when they're bad, and I praise them when they're good, but I never stop being a fan.

Same applies to the WWE. I've been complaining about them for years and haven't had too much to praise them for. But i'm still a fan. Wrestling is wrestling.

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Comments

weems - 01-31-2013 12:20 PM
I like your blog and agree with your philosophy that WWE should let the indy guys "be who they are" opposed to repackaging them. However, WWE repackaged everybody that came over from ECW and WCW. In fact, all of the examples in your blog of guys that remained the same were actually repackaged. For example, Eddie Guerrero as Latino Heat, Perry Saturn with the mop, Dusty Rhodes with the yellow dots, Dean Malenko as a creep, Steve Austin as the Ringmaster, Steven Regal as "The Man's Man", Lex Luger as the Narcissis, Mick Foley as Mankind, Scott Hall as Razor Ramone, Vinny Vegas/Oz as Diesel and the list goes on. Even Hogan was repackaged when he came over from AWA. He was then repackaged 20 years later when he was back in the WWE with the Captain America gimmick. Anyways, good blog and it was a reminder of how many bad gimmicks we have seen over the years b/c WWE felt the need to repackage somebody.
alcrissam - 01-31-2013 02:28 PM
Amen to that. One of my biggest complaints is that wwe changes the gimmick that the person used to get them signed. But part of the reason could be the Indy gimmicks are not suitable for pg, so they are changed to fit the pg era. I'm not a fan of it at all, but there is a purpose.

by the way, I kind of like Daniel Bryan more than Bryan danielson. I don't know, Daniel Bryan flows nicer
K-O-W KINGS! - 01-31-2013 09:34 PM
Originally Posted by weems

I like your blog and agree with your philosophy that WWE should let the indy guys "be who they are" opposed to repackaging them. However, WWE repackaged everybody that came over from ECW and WCW. In fact, all of the examples in your blog of guys that remained the same were actually repackaged. For example, Eddie Guerrero as Latino Heat, Perry Saturn with the mop, Dusty Rhodes with the yellow dots, Dean Malenko as a creep, Steve Austin as the Ringmaster, Steven Regal as "The Man's Man", Lex Luger as the Narcissis, Mick Foley as Mankind, Scott Hall as Razor Ramone, Vinny Vegas/Oz as Diesel and the list goes on. Even Hogan was repackaged when he came over from AWA. He was then repackaged 20 years later when he was back in the WWE with the Captain America gimmick. Anyways, good blog and it was a reminder of how many bad gimmicks we have seen over the years b/c WWE felt the need to repackage somebody.

Weems, you're definitely right, but I felt like it wasn't as radical. I do realize at some point or another they do have to change the gimmicks of wrestlers to keep things fresh but maybe I should made a bigger point about debuting these guys with the gimmicks and names they went under in the indies. I feel like it would be beneficial for them to take advantage of that.
dub - 02-01-2013 12:29 PM
WWE wants fans to forget who the wrestler "was" so they can take credit for what they "created" but often times what they create sucks when compared to what the wrestler was.
Matt Sydal= GREATNESS
Evan Bourne= Meh
Mistico= GREATNESS
Sin Cara= Meh
Lo-Ki=Greatness
Kaval=Meh
The list goes on and on and on
Royce - 02-01-2013 01:55 PM
I am fairly certian that it is financial/legal reasons. If thet create a character that gains national exposure they own the rights to that character. If the wrestler comes in with that name wwe would have to purchase the rights to that name to own it. If they dont purchase it then that wrestler can leave with their original name and an infinite amount of exposure for free. Its all business In the end. I agree though that from a storytelling percpective it would help if these guys had an existing history.