Post by Ampersand on Jun 22, 2021 4:25:30 GMT
Hello my beautiful boys, gorgeous girls and pulchritudinous people! We've looked at backstory, archetype, polish, and last time we talked about pro-wrestler types. Now, we’re going to discuss pro-wrestling styles. Much like with pro-wrestler types, styles are very subjective and there are many sub-divisions within them. The examples I include in the video links here are just examples - not necessarily, ‘best of,’ lists - and you may not agree with how I divide them. As with wrestler types, wrestling styles can have significant overlap, and there are wrestlers who I’ve placed on one list who could also easily belong to another. Again, not looking to start a pedantic game of Twister. Just looking to help onboard newbies. Consider these starting points for additional research you may want to do.
I’m going to break this down roughly into a few broad categories that are by no means exhaustive. Again, you may or may not agree with me - that’s fine. This is less for going into the nitty gritty nuts and bolts and more for helping folks unfamiliar with pro-wrestling get into the game. Knowing wrestling styles can also help you better understand your character.
Showman/Sports Entertainment
This is the style you see more in the US and Canada. A significant emphasis in this is placed on story line and character development; most matches have a story behind them or play off something relevant to the characters. As the name alludes to, it’s showy, flashy, and over-the-top, with the storytelling between the competitors continuing beyond promos and segments into the match itself.
Examples of Showman/Sports Entertainment
Macho Man Randy Savage
Charlotte Flair
The Rock
Sasha Banks
Shawn Michaels
Trish Stratus
Strong Style
This is a style you see more in Japan, and the definition is somewhat nebulous. While there’s still storytelling here, someone who uses Strong Style approaches wrestling as more of a combat sport. The focus here is delivering martial arts moves and maneuvers, submissions, and strikes to your opponent to win.
Examples of Strong Style
Shinsuke Nakamura
Syuri
Samoa Joe
Asuka
Kenta
Meiko Satomura
Lucha Libre
This style originates in Mexico, and emphasizes high-flying moves, rapid sequences of holds and maneuvers and, perhaps most recognizably, specialized, colorful masks (though you can still wrestle in this style without a mask). Wrestlers of lucha libre are called luchadores and luchadoras, and may come from an extended family of professional wrestlers.
Examples of Lucha Libre style wrestling
Rey Fenix
Lady Shani
Pentagon Jr.
La Hiedra
Ricochet
Lady Flammer
Tag Team
While you can be a tag team with any type of wrestler or style of wrestling, what I want to emphasize here is the specific dynamic that is unique to tag team wrestling. This is all about finding your pro-wrestling other half. The chocolate to your peanut butter. The doughnut to your coffee. The tartar sauce to your French fries.
...Hey, you’re in Seattle now, babies, get used to the local delicacies.
Tag team wrestling’s focus is on synchronicity and collaboration.
Examples of Tag Teams
FTR
The Golden Role Models (Bayley & Sasha Banks)
The Hardy Boyz
IIconics
The Golden Lovers
The Kabuki Warriors
Comedy
Pro-wrestling is a bunch of people with over-the-top personalities dressed in spandex fake-fighting each other for giant, shiny belts. Comedic wrestling recognizes and embraces the absurdity of the artform. This, more than any specific actions or maneuvers, is what defines comedic wrestling, so there can be a lot of overlap with other styles or the kinds of wrestlers that use it. There’s often slapstick, props can come into play, and it’s not unusual to have a comedic wrestler pair up with one that’s far more serious to play the straight man.
Examples of Comedy style wrestling
Colt Cabana
Orange Cassidy
The Hurricane
Santino Marella
Danhausen
R Truth
Joshi
If Lucha Libre and Strong Style did the Fusion Dance, you would get Joshi style wrestling. Originating in Japan, Joshi is for women wrestlers, but don’t let the fact this is a style specifically for women fool you. These ladies go hard, the style defined by fast pacing, high-flying moves, impactful strikes, and brawling.
Examples of Joshi style wrestling (side note: y'all, I tired to find non-music video clips, but sometimes it just weren't happening.)
Ryo Mizunami
Maki Itoh
Mayu Iwatani
Giulia
Utami Hayashishita
Takumi Iroha
Hardcore
EE CEE DUB! EE CEE DUB!
-ahem-
Sorry, old reflex.
Hardcore wrestling is a style that does away with what are considered the usual rules of pro-wrestling matches. Disqualifications don’t typically factor into a hardcore match, with fights often occurring in unusual environments or with a brutally modified ring that may include things such as explosives or barbed wire in place of ring ropes. Foreign objects such as shinai, broken glass, thumbtacks, baseball bats, or creatively repurposed kitchen appliances may also make an appearance in a hardcore match.
Examples of Hardcore style wrestling
Mick Foley
Mickie Knuckles
Nick Gage
Luna Vachon
Terry Funk
LuFisto
There you have it!
These are, as I said, just generalities, and this list is by no means exhaustive. Use this as a starting point to give you a better idea of what you may want to do with your character.
Our next and, for the time being, final Character Creation piece has to do with creating your move set, so don't touch that dial, Ascended Gladiators!
I’m going to break this down roughly into a few broad categories that are by no means exhaustive. Again, you may or may not agree with me - that’s fine. This is less for going into the nitty gritty nuts and bolts and more for helping folks unfamiliar with pro-wrestling get into the game. Knowing wrestling styles can also help you better understand your character.
Showman/Sports Entertainment
This is the style you see more in the US and Canada. A significant emphasis in this is placed on story line and character development; most matches have a story behind them or play off something relevant to the characters. As the name alludes to, it’s showy, flashy, and over-the-top, with the storytelling between the competitors continuing beyond promos and segments into the match itself.
Examples of Showman/Sports Entertainment
Macho Man Randy Savage
Charlotte Flair
The Rock
Sasha Banks
Shawn Michaels
Trish Stratus
Strong Style
This is a style you see more in Japan, and the definition is somewhat nebulous. While there’s still storytelling here, someone who uses Strong Style approaches wrestling as more of a combat sport. The focus here is delivering martial arts moves and maneuvers, submissions, and strikes to your opponent to win.
Examples of Strong Style
Shinsuke Nakamura
Syuri
Samoa Joe
Asuka
Kenta
Meiko Satomura
Lucha Libre
This style originates in Mexico, and emphasizes high-flying moves, rapid sequences of holds and maneuvers and, perhaps most recognizably, specialized, colorful masks (though you can still wrestle in this style without a mask). Wrestlers of lucha libre are called luchadores and luchadoras, and may come from an extended family of professional wrestlers.
Examples of Lucha Libre style wrestling
Rey Fenix
Lady Shani
Pentagon Jr.
La Hiedra
Ricochet
Lady Flammer
Tag Team
While you can be a tag team with any type of wrestler or style of wrestling, what I want to emphasize here is the specific dynamic that is unique to tag team wrestling. This is all about finding your pro-wrestling other half. The chocolate to your peanut butter. The doughnut to your coffee. The tartar sauce to your French fries.
...Hey, you’re in Seattle now, babies, get used to the local delicacies.
Tag team wrestling’s focus is on synchronicity and collaboration.
Examples of Tag Teams
FTR
The Golden Role Models (Bayley & Sasha Banks)
The Hardy Boyz
IIconics
The Golden Lovers
The Kabuki Warriors
Comedy
Pro-wrestling is a bunch of people with over-the-top personalities dressed in spandex fake-fighting each other for giant, shiny belts. Comedic wrestling recognizes and embraces the absurdity of the artform. This, more than any specific actions or maneuvers, is what defines comedic wrestling, so there can be a lot of overlap with other styles or the kinds of wrestlers that use it. There’s often slapstick, props can come into play, and it’s not unusual to have a comedic wrestler pair up with one that’s far more serious to play the straight man.
Examples of Comedy style wrestling
Colt Cabana
Orange Cassidy
The Hurricane
Santino Marella
Danhausen
R Truth
Joshi
If Lucha Libre and Strong Style did the Fusion Dance, you would get Joshi style wrestling. Originating in Japan, Joshi is for women wrestlers, but don’t let the fact this is a style specifically for women fool you. These ladies go hard, the style defined by fast pacing, high-flying moves, impactful strikes, and brawling.
Examples of Joshi style wrestling (side note: y'all, I tired to find non-music video clips, but sometimes it just weren't happening.)
Ryo Mizunami
Maki Itoh
Mayu Iwatani
Giulia
Utami Hayashishita
Takumi Iroha
Hardcore
EE CEE DUB! EE CEE DUB!
-ahem-
Sorry, old reflex.
Hardcore wrestling is a style that does away with what are considered the usual rules of pro-wrestling matches. Disqualifications don’t typically factor into a hardcore match, with fights often occurring in unusual environments or with a brutally modified ring that may include things such as explosives or barbed wire in place of ring ropes. Foreign objects such as shinai, broken glass, thumbtacks, baseball bats, or creatively repurposed kitchen appliances may also make an appearance in a hardcore match.
Examples of Hardcore style wrestling
Mick Foley
Mickie Knuckles
Nick Gage
Luna Vachon
Terry Funk
LuFisto
There you have it!
These are, as I said, just generalities, and this list is by no means exhaustive. Use this as a starting point to give you a better idea of what you may want to do with your character.
Our next and, for the time being, final Character Creation piece has to do with creating your move set, so don't touch that dial, Ascended Gladiators!