I have never been into purely athletic wrestlers because they are generic and out of place in an environment where it is about gimmicks. The pro-wrestling world surrounds entertainment not sport. While sports are certainly the means to gain entertainment, it's not legitimate. There's no appeal to pro-wrestlers who treat it as an athletic sport and dress like any other athlete. There are some exceptions like CM Punk but only because they have character which is what i look for. I love wrestling characters such as Stone Cold, the Rock, the Undertaker, Kane, Mick Foley, Raven, Sabu, Jeff Hardy, the list goes on. They have their own style of dress, mannerisms, beliefs, attitudes, goals, and personalities. They are more of entertainers who are very successful in comparison to those who are simply there for athleticism. Wrestling characters are memorable because they are known by fans for their entertainment value and style of wrestling. Athletes on the other hand would do well in the Olympics rather than a pro-wrestling ring.
Showing posts with label Kane. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kane. Show all posts
I have never been into purely athletic wrestlers because they are generic and out of place in an environment where it is about gimmicks. The pro-wrestling world surrounds entertainment not sport. While sports are certainly the means to gain entertainment, it's not legitimate. There's no appeal to pro-wrestlers who treat it as an athletic sport and dress like any other athlete. There are some exceptions like CM Punk but only because they have character which is what i look for. I love wrestling characters such as Stone Cold, the Rock, the Undertaker, Kane, Mick Foley, Raven, Sabu, Jeff Hardy, the list goes on. They have their own style of dress, mannerisms, beliefs, attitudes, goals, and personalities. They are more of entertainers who are very successful in comparison to those who are simply there for athleticism. Wrestling characters are memorable because they are known by fans for their entertainment value and style of wrestling. Athletes on the other hand would do well in the Olympics rather than a pro-wrestling ring.
Kane has always been one of my favorite pro-wrestlers since he made his debut as a masked Big Red Machine Monster. However if i had to pick which gimmick i liked more - I'd pick his unmasked character and here's why.Yes, masked Kane is soulless and a monster. He also brings an eerie presence about him whenever he enters the ring. Masked Kane showed no emotion whatsoever which was great for intimidating pro-wrestlers in the ring. Nevertheless, he was a static robot. He had no dialogue and no way to show his character. When Kane removed his mask, we saw the monster beneath.
We could see Kane's body just a husk of the human he used to be. His screams were booming loud and utterly monstrous. He had a wide range of emotions from sadistically joyful to full of rage to afraid and so on. A monster doesn't always have to be invincible or without emotion. A monster can take the shape of a human and use those emotions to unleash hell on others. Unmasked Kane had the most sickest and twisted promos as a heel. He was also very skilled at inspiring disgust and fear among fans.Unmasked Kane is far more perverted than masked Kane because he takes great satisfaction in inflicting suffering in others. Unmasked Kane was surely more destructive. Masked Kane could never reach the heights of Kane when he was unmasked. Perhaps if masked Kane had a manager to compensate for lack of speech during promos then maybe. However masked Kane would be very limited as a character.
This is my opinion of the matter but i ultimately feel that Kane's character has evolved during his time in the WWF/WWE.
Although the Undertaker is one of the most dominant and legendary pro-wrestlers in the WWF/WWE history, he has met his match against formidable opponents. Here are some of his best feuds in my opinion.
The Undertaker and Mankind:
As the Undertaker rose to popularity, Mankind viciously attacked him during his Casket match with Goldust. At King of the Ring 1996, Mankind beat the Undertaker and later cost him a match against Goldust. The reason? Mankind wanted to dominate the Undertaker. At Summerslam, Paul Bearer turned on the Undertaker and sided with Mankind. This led to a Buried Alive Match which Mankind won. However the Undertaker rose again, refusing to stay dead. At Survivor series, Mankind tired burning the Undertaker alive. Ultimately, the Undertaker faced Mankind at Hell in a Cell (voted as one of the most memorable matches in WWF history.) This feud was one of the best as it showed not everyone feared the Undertaker. Mankind was unaffected by the Undertaker's mind games and brutality because he himself was brutal as well as deranged. In addition, it gave Mankind a push.
The Undertake and Kane:
As children, The Undertaker burned his house and killed his family by accident. Little did he know that his brother Kane survived though completely traumatized and locked in a mental institution. Kane vowed revenge by ruining his brother's career. Kane attacked the Undertaker and surprisingly, Paul Bearer betrayed the Undertaker yet again to side with Kane. The Undertaker swore he would never fight his own flesh and blood. Kane repeatedly kept pushing his brother to a brink's end by costing his match with Shawn Michaels and others. For the first and maybe the last time, we see the Undertaker's emotional weaknesses. Paul Bearer made the Undertaker feel guilty for creating the Big Red Machine, Kane. For a while, it would seem as if the Undertaker succumbs to guilt and despair until he sees that he didn't create Kane. Kane buried him alive but the Undertaker supernaturally rises up again. He confesses that some promises must be broken before his parent's grave. He swears that if he is guilty, his punishment would be hellfire. After that, the Undertaker becomes refined and more powerful than before. No longer haunted by the past, he promises fury and vengeance to be struck down on Kane as both wage a supernatural battle of mind games. The feud between the Undertaker and Kane ended at Wrestlemania 14..until it was reopened in later years.
What made this feud so great aside from classic matches was that the brothers of destruction will never be fully reconciled. The Undertaker and Kane may partner up to face their adversaries but they could utterly destroy each other at any given moment. They are two of the most dominant wrestlers in the WWF/WWE but in their minds, there is only room for one.
The Undertaker and the Great Khali:
The Undertaker's match was interrupted by the first arrival of the Great Khali who demolished the Undertaker, leaving him gasping for air. The Undertaker retaliated by facing the Great Khali at Judgement day with no success in winning. It ended with the two facing at "Last Man Standing." The feud was great because it was one of the rare times when someone bigger than the Undertaker ran a terrifying reign over Smackdown and put up a challenge for him.
The Undertaker and Kurt Angle:
Though a short feud, the Undertaker (Deadman) and Kurt Angle put an intense couple of matches. It began when Kurt Angle successfully defended the title against Mark Henry at a Royal Rumble before the Undertaker returned. Since then, the Undertaker played mind games on him before they ultimately faced each other at "No Way Out." What made this feud so great? Both are very competitive and professional athletes with epic careers. Kurt Angle is an Olympic Gold Medalist and an amateur wrestler before transitioning to pro-wrestling. The Undertaker is an MMA fighter with an undefeated streak at Wrestlemania. The two clashed like no other athlete in the WWF/WWE.
The Undertaner and Batista:
This intense feud began when Batista betrayed his partner the Undertaker in a tag team match. After the Undertaker beat Shawn Michaels at a Royal Rumble to win a chance to win the World Heavyweight Championship. The Undertaker looked at Batista, John Cena, and Bobby Lashley but ultimately picked Batista out of a personal vendetta. The two engaged in a series of dangerous and epic matches most notably at Backlash, Hell in a Cell, TLC, and Wrestlemania.
These unforgettable feuds will forever be a testament to the Undertaker's grand legacy. They also helped give each of these wrestlers a push in their careers as well. Each of these epic clashes demonstrated just how powerful the Undertaker really is in the face of adversity.
The Undertaker and Mankind: As the Undertaker rose to popularity, Mankind viciously attacked him during his Casket match with Goldust. At King of the Ring 1996, Mankind beat the Undertaker and later cost him a match against Goldust. The reason? Mankind wanted to dominate the Undertaker. At Summerslam, Paul Bearer turned on the Undertaker and sided with Mankind. This led to a Buried Alive Match which Mankind won. However the Undertaker rose again, refusing to stay dead. At Survivor series, Mankind tired burning the Undertaker alive. Ultimately, the Undertaker faced Mankind at Hell in a Cell (voted as one of the most memorable matches in WWF history.) This feud was one of the best as it showed not everyone feared the Undertaker. Mankind was unaffected by the Undertaker's mind games and brutality because he himself was brutal as well as deranged. In addition, it gave Mankind a push.
The Undertake and Kane: As children, The Undertaker burned his house and killed his family by accident. Little did he know that his brother Kane survived though completely traumatized and locked in a mental institution. Kane vowed revenge by ruining his brother's career. Kane attacked the Undertaker and surprisingly, Paul Bearer betrayed the Undertaker yet again to side with Kane. The Undertaker swore he would never fight his own flesh and blood. Kane repeatedly kept pushing his brother to a brink's end by costing his match with Shawn Michaels and others. For the first and maybe the last time, we see the Undertaker's emotional weaknesses. Paul Bearer made the Undertaker feel guilty for creating the Big Red Machine, Kane. For a while, it would seem as if the Undertaker succumbs to guilt and despair until he sees that he didn't create Kane. Kane buried him alive but the Undertaker supernaturally rises up again. He confesses that some promises must be broken before his parent's grave. He swears that if he is guilty, his punishment would be hellfire. After that, the Undertaker becomes refined and more powerful than before. No longer haunted by the past, he promises fury and vengeance to be struck down on Kane as both wage a supernatural battle of mind games. The feud between the Undertaker and Kane ended at Wrestlemania 14..until it was reopened in later years.
What made this feud so great aside from classic matches was that the brothers of destruction will never be fully reconciled. The Undertaker and Kane may partner up to face their adversaries but they could utterly destroy each other at any given moment. They are two of the most dominant wrestlers in the WWF/WWE but in their minds, there is only room for one.
The Undertaker and the Great Khali:The Undertaker's match was interrupted by the first arrival of the Great Khali who demolished the Undertaker, leaving him gasping for air. The Undertaker retaliated by facing the Great Khali at Judgement day with no success in winning. It ended with the two facing at "Last Man Standing." The feud was great because it was one of the rare times when someone bigger than the Undertaker ran a terrifying reign over Smackdown and put up a challenge for him.
The Undertaker and Kurt Angle: Though a short feud, the Undertaker (Deadman) and Kurt Angle put an intense couple of matches. It began when Kurt Angle successfully defended the title against Mark Henry at a Royal Rumble before the Undertaker returned. Since then, the Undertaker played mind games on him before they ultimately faced each other at "No Way Out." What made this feud so great? Both are very competitive and professional athletes with epic careers. Kurt Angle is an Olympic Gold Medalist and an amateur wrestler before transitioning to pro-wrestling. The Undertaker is an MMA fighter with an undefeated streak at Wrestlemania. The two clashed like no other athlete in the WWF/WWE.
The Undertaner and Batista:
This intense feud began when Batista betrayed his partner the Undertaker in a tag team match. After the Undertaker beat Shawn Michaels at a Royal Rumble to win a chance to win the World Heavyweight Championship. The Undertaker looked at Batista, John Cena, and Bobby Lashley but ultimately picked Batista out of a personal vendetta. The two engaged in a series of dangerous and epic matches most notably at Backlash, Hell in a Cell, TLC, and Wrestlemania.
These unforgettable feuds will forever be a testament to the Undertaker's grand legacy. They also helped give each of these wrestlers a push in their careers as well. Each of these epic clashes demonstrated just how powerful the Undertaker really is in the face of adversity.
However the media won't give you the full picture. They will claim that women are there for eye candy but ignore divas like Lita, a very dominant pro-wrestler among other women. They will claim that it's racist against blacks then use Mark Henry as an example although he stated it's not the company's fault. They will also ignore the many other things that also apply to men as much as women.What is the main purpose of pro-wrestling? Entertainment. Ultimately, pro-wrestlers aren't there to be friends. They're not there to be role-models. They're not there to promote any morals. They're main goal is to entertain people in order to get paid. I don't watch pro-wrestlers to see how manly they are when they hurt others. I don't even watch pro-wrestling to see people get hurt. I watch pro-wrestling for the entertainment. It's the choreography and the art itself that i'm interested in.
With that in mind, everything that pro-wrestlers do regardless of gender or race is strictly to entertain the audience. Just as women are almost nude, so are the men. The reason being is that the less spandex you wear, the more mobile you become. It was not intended to degrade either gender.
While it's in my opinion that some WWE events like lap dances are irrelevant, they're not sexist. To judge them as slut-shaming is assuming that women are not sexual beings. What if a lesbian is turned on by the sight of woman in a bikini? What if a straight woman appreciates a Diva's curves? What if the Divas are comfortable expressing their sexuality? It is these kinds of questions rendering sexist arguments mute. They're not there just to please men, but also many other people. As for "manly" behavior, it's not restricted to one gender. Many women in the audience are fond of it while still keeping their femininity.Some advocate for there being more women and races represented in the business. They argue there's so few blacks, Mexicans, or women in the business. This might strike you as concerning, but it's only because the media suggests that something is wrong. Being raised in a Hispanic family, i was never concerned about my race on T.V and neither were the audience. Many people of all races and ages loved Stone Cold, the Undertaker, Rey Mysterio, Jeff Hardy, Bobby Lashley, Kane, the Rock, etc. because of their talent, not the color of their skin. If you were to ask me: "Do you think WWE needs more pro-wrestlers of your race?" My answer is "No." I'm satisfied with my favorite Hispanic superstars: Rey Mysterio and the Mexicools. When i saw their entrances, i did not see racism. On the contrary, they made me feel proud of my Mexican heritage. However when it comes to pro-wrestling, race is out of the picture. I look at quality over quantity.
Let's face it - The word "sexist" and "racist" have been thrown around too much. These terms are dead until we bring them to life by giving them meaning. No matter what race or gender you put on T.V, the outcome is the same - People will protest. There will always be people trying to take down the business by using race and sex as a means to do so. In the world of pro-wrestling, we ought to look at the pro-wrestler's character above all. The problem is not WWE, the problem is you and your perceptions. When you stop trying to implant ideas into entertainment in the name of education and politics then it stops being enjoyable. Embrace pro-wrestling for what it was meant to be - Entertainment.
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