2012: The Year of Characters
Posted: Jul 10th, '12, 13:05
Characters have always been a major part of wrestling. People want to see them (ROH is criticized for not having enough), but they want to see them done well (WWE and TNA are criticized for not using theirs well). We are just over half-way through 2012, and this year has seen the birth and evolution some outstanding characters across many promotions. If you have been wanting more characters in your wrestling, I would highly recommend that you check these out:
AJ Lee- From naive girlfriend to absolute whackjob, AJ has been a major part of WWE storylines this year. She has absolutely everything down perfectly. When she was naive AJ, she managed to blush when talking about how awesome it was to "spoon" with Daniel Bryan, looked entirely uncomfortable in the slinky dress he bought her. She took her abuse in a sympathy-evoking way, but stood up for Dragon against the likes of Michael Cole. Now that she is psycho, she has that down perfectly, too. When she goes nuts on a diva she really seems to just temporarily snap. Her little skipping thing is just absolutely perfect, and while it is not how I would like to see the character or the angle evolve, the stuff with Dragon and Punk (and Kane) has been done very well. She seems capable of doing absolutely anything to help whoever she decides to help, and there is no way of telling who she might decide to help at any particular hour of the day.
Bray Wyatt- Apparently people thought the Husky Harris character wasn't working, so instead we have this... and this is AMAZING! I will admit that Wyatt is the least fleshed-out character on this list, with only a handful of appearances, but he has really captured people's minds. It has been a while since we had a religious zealot character (usually because they are hard to do well without being offensive), but Husky's new spin on this is just amazing. He doesn't seem like part of some order of fanatics like Mordecai did. He is just a simple man who believes in the things he believes in. If you haven't checked him out yet, tune in to FCW or NXT and we'll see where it goes.
Mr. Touchdown- this guy has been just outstanding! While I haven't seen much of his in-ring work, as a character, he has been amazing. He is a stereotypical high-school jock who has decided to go into wrestling as the new tag team partner of his step-cousin-in-law Dasher Hatfield. He has stolen the girlfriend of nerdy band member Archibald Peck, and has become the leader of the Throwbacks. His cheating behind Dasher's back to help the team win has been a great angle, and I am really digging the stuff they are doing with him trying to shut the returning Sugar Dunkerton out of the team. Definitely the rookie of the year for all of wrestling. But then again, great characters are typical for CHIKARA
Mixed Martial Archie- OMFG HILARIOUS! Enough said. Go watch some CHIKARA from April or May!
Joseph Park- his angle might not make any sense, but Chris Parks has played this character PERFECTLY! During his match at Slammiversary he really made you feel like he was a fish out of water, and was scared enough to soil himself. After spending so many years under a mask, it is clear that Parks' full potential was never realized. He is right up there with Archibald Peck for having some of the best facial expressions in wrestling.
Heel Daniel Bryan- Dragon began the year as an intense but generic "I'm the best wrestler there is" character, and through his heel turn, has evolved his character into a manipulative, egotistical, somewhat whiny jackass... and all it took was repeating one simple word. Has Daniel Bryan gotten over huge in WWE? YES! YES! YES! YES!...
Zema Ion- like Dragon, or Austin Aries heel version of his "Greatest Man that Ever Lived" gimmick, Zema Ion is the best type of heel; the one that you have to restrain yourself from reaching over the guardrail and punching. The type of heel that makes you give him the bird and shout insults at him when he is on TV, even though you know he can't see or hear you. He isn't the angry Kurt Angle style heel who will go to the ring and try to injure you, he's not the psycho Kane style sadistic puppy-kicker heel, and he's not the type of Roddy Piper style heel who would trip an old lady just because he could. Zema Ion is more infuriating than that. He's the type of person who will see heinous acts like the ones described above... and he will laugh about it. He is just such an infuriating little sh*t.
Add to this the whole slew of great characters will already had going into the year (Aries, Steen, Ambrose, Sandow, Cody Rhodes, Del Rio, Punk, etc.), and wrestling is pretty entertaining right now.
AJ Lee- From naive girlfriend to absolute whackjob, AJ has been a major part of WWE storylines this year. She has absolutely everything down perfectly. When she was naive AJ, she managed to blush when talking about how awesome it was to "spoon" with Daniel Bryan, looked entirely uncomfortable in the slinky dress he bought her. She took her abuse in a sympathy-evoking way, but stood up for Dragon against the likes of Michael Cole. Now that she is psycho, she has that down perfectly, too. When she goes nuts on a diva she really seems to just temporarily snap. Her little skipping thing is just absolutely perfect, and while it is not how I would like to see the character or the angle evolve, the stuff with Dragon and Punk (and Kane) has been done very well. She seems capable of doing absolutely anything to help whoever she decides to help, and there is no way of telling who she might decide to help at any particular hour of the day.
Bray Wyatt- Apparently people thought the Husky Harris character wasn't working, so instead we have this... and this is AMAZING! I will admit that Wyatt is the least fleshed-out character on this list, with only a handful of appearances, but he has really captured people's minds. It has been a while since we had a religious zealot character (usually because they are hard to do well without being offensive), but Husky's new spin on this is just amazing. He doesn't seem like part of some order of fanatics like Mordecai did. He is just a simple man who believes in the things he believes in. If you haven't checked him out yet, tune in to FCW or NXT and we'll see where it goes.
Mr. Touchdown- this guy has been just outstanding! While I haven't seen much of his in-ring work, as a character, he has been amazing. He is a stereotypical high-school jock who has decided to go into wrestling as the new tag team partner of his step-cousin-in-law Dasher Hatfield. He has stolen the girlfriend of nerdy band member Archibald Peck, and has become the leader of the Throwbacks. His cheating behind Dasher's back to help the team win has been a great angle, and I am really digging the stuff they are doing with him trying to shut the returning Sugar Dunkerton out of the team. Definitely the rookie of the year for all of wrestling. But then again, great characters are typical for CHIKARA
Mixed Martial Archie- OMFG HILARIOUS! Enough said. Go watch some CHIKARA from April or May!
Joseph Park- his angle might not make any sense, but Chris Parks has played this character PERFECTLY! During his match at Slammiversary he really made you feel like he was a fish out of water, and was scared enough to soil himself. After spending so many years under a mask, it is clear that Parks' full potential was never realized. He is right up there with Archibald Peck for having some of the best facial expressions in wrestling.
Heel Daniel Bryan- Dragon began the year as an intense but generic "I'm the best wrestler there is" character, and through his heel turn, has evolved his character into a manipulative, egotistical, somewhat whiny jackass... and all it took was repeating one simple word. Has Daniel Bryan gotten over huge in WWE? YES! YES! YES! YES!...
Zema Ion- like Dragon, or Austin Aries heel version of his "Greatest Man that Ever Lived" gimmick, Zema Ion is the best type of heel; the one that you have to restrain yourself from reaching over the guardrail and punching. The type of heel that makes you give him the bird and shout insults at him when he is on TV, even though you know he can't see or hear you. He isn't the angry Kurt Angle style heel who will go to the ring and try to injure you, he's not the psycho Kane style sadistic puppy-kicker heel, and he's not the type of Roddy Piper style heel who would trip an old lady just because he could. Zema Ion is more infuriating than that. He's the type of person who will see heinous acts like the ones described above... and he will laugh about it. He is just such an infuriating little sh*t.
Add to this the whole slew of great characters will already had going into the year (Aries, Steen, Ambrose, Sandow, Cody Rhodes, Del Rio, Punk, etc.), and wrestling is pretty entertaining right now.