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Old 08-07-2017, 07:08 PM   #167
Evil Vito
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The end goal is to get the audience emotionally invested and, ultimately, get them to spend money on your product. Whatever means you get there are irrelevant. The old-fashioned approach is that you do so by convincing them of the reality of some aspect of the product (which, as I've said, is a hard sell for new fans who go into it knowing it's fake). But if you get them invested through CHIKARA or Lucha Underground-style fantastical storytelling, or through Ospreay/Ricochet-style feats of athleticism, or through hard-hitting bloody brawls or through Joey Ryan-style comedy routines, or OTT's approach (from whence the Foley/Joey Ryan spot came) of overdoing it to the point that the audience are on the edge of their seat just wanting to know what the fuck could possibly happen next...it doesn't matter, so long as the end goal remains the same.

What hurts the Jim Cornettes of the world is the insistence on that old phrase "killing the business". Kenny Omega is playing a substantial role in driving NJPW ticket sales to a level they haven't been at in years. Omega and the Young Bucks are spearheading a movement that's allowing more independent wrestlers to earn a living outside the WWE than have been able to do so since the collapse of WCW (something Cornette has long complained wasn't possible any more). Joey Ryan is raking in a fair chunk of change from Lucha Underground, indie appearances, sponsorship, and making a small fortune on merch sales.

There probably is a decent argument against over-reliance on comedy spots. But for some workers, that's why they're brought in. And for some companies, being comedy-centric is how they stay in business.

We all have different tastes and I can understand people "drawing their line" for what is too much for their personal tastes, as seems to be the general opinion for Joey Ryan's dick schtick. But if you stick to the argument that it's "killing the business", and the merch sales and gate receipts are telling a different story, you don't really have a leg to stand on.

Once again I just say, watch what entertains you instead of railing on about how one promotion, wrestler, or style sucks.
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