Post by Thr33XWA on Oct 8, 2007 0:27:59 GMT -5
Once again taking some cues from the people at Roughkut.com (a very valuable website for e-fedding you should check out, XWA is listed there in fact), here's a little bit of insight on how to be the good guy, taken from an article by Mitchell Jones and re-worded for context to XWA.
Face is the shortterm for "babyface", the insider term for the good guy. The man (or woman) that the fans love and cheer for. As has been seen and documented years ago thanks to the Attitude Era of WWE, ECW and the nWo, faces aren't always the cookie-cutter good guys which is why I say them to simply be characters that the fans cheer for or like, as opposed to heels who are disliked, though they don't necessarily need to be "evil" to get that result.
Being good is easy? Think again.
Just as one would think it's easy to be a heel by simply throwing insults left and right, being a face isn't just having it so that the fans automatically love you from the very moment you enter a fed. It's easy to type that but how believable is it to the fans (readers) if they don't know who you are or what you're about? There are easy ways to build that kind of character in the traditional ways-for example, XWA travels from venue to venue around the world so say or showing some kind of support or compliment not just to the people, but to something about the area the show is in is free heat and cheap pops.
That doesn't mean you can stop there and think you're over though. You need in this day and age to have some kind of edge to your character. Just being a typical "good guy" isn't going to cut it, even if you ARE a generally good guy you need to have some kind of panache, flair and wit to your character that makes him/her multi-dimensional. Treat things as if they were a real fed. You'd probably be bored with a cookie cutter good guy, even boo him/her after a while. Instead of boos in this case it would be fewer people paying attention to what you do or say, and that's never good. You need to have the right kind of character that people can get into to be treated like a superstar.
Ways to be a good face outside the ringfrom Roughtkut
As with any character, most of his or her development comes from outside of the ring, whether in promos, interviews or segments. Here are some tips of how to get the fans in your corner.
- Fan Interaction: Simple, really. Get the crowd into your work. Even Stone Cold Steve Austin, the most cold-hearted son of a bitch in WWE would get the crowd involved in his interviews ("If you want Stone Cold to ______, gimme a hell yeah" to which the fans would scream "HELL YEAH"). The same goes for DX ("Suck It"), the New Age Outlaws (damn, I'm not typing all of that out, lol), and The Rock (a few too many, don't you think). Even Flair's oh-so-simple "Whoo" is echoes through arenas nationwide by the crowds. It works. The fans love to join in with cool catchphrases. It makes them feel like they are part of something special, and as long as it is a cool catchphrase.
- Interesting Character: The Undertaker started out as a heel. I can see why, if you look at it realistically. A dark, gloomy character who likes burying people. Not really hard to figure, really. Yet about two year later, he was heavily cheered, and in about 5 years time, he was the biggest start (thereabouts) in the company. 15 years on, his gimmick is still over. Why? Because it's a cool and unique gimmick, not to mention he is believable as a big guy. Fans will get behind a guy who is believable. Look at Brock Lesnar, Kane, and Goldberg. Sting is another dark and gloomy character, but he was major over, not just because of his name, but because he was enigmatic and people could never predict his next move (although it did help that he was the franchise of WCW and now a legend in wrestling). Fans will also get behind convincing comedy gimmicks. Everyone berated Rico for being in the "gay" gimmick, but he pulled it off fantastically. Everyone knocked Eugene Dinsmore, but he was one of the most over gimmicks on RAW. As long as it's played out well, people will enjoy it.
- Be Yourself +10: This is optional, and goes past what was said in the previous point, but this is another solid way of getting to the top. Jim Cornette said not long ago that the most successful gimmicks are those of people being themselves, with the volume turned right up. Stone Cold, The Rock, Triple H, Mick Foley, The Sandman, Raven, Goldberg, Hulk Hogan, the list goes on and on. These guys are all practically playing larger than life versions of themselves. So for a character you can use, maybe you should look at yourself. No one knows you like you do. Just turn the volume up about ten notches, and run with it. Whether you are an arrogant asshole or a porn star in the waiting, fans will get behind you and eventually embrace you. Of course, this also works as a heel as well, but in terms of face characters, chances are you will be successful, because people love larger than life characters.
-Play The Underdog: Whenever possible, it will help your character exponentially if you put them in a situation or series of situations that don't bode well for them regardless of the outcome. Conveying fearlessness in the face of insurmountable odds gets the people behind you and is the most effective method in my opinion. In this tyoe of fed, that is ONLY going to be achieved by brainstorming and working out ideas & details with said members (see below). I can tell you from experience that it can make people TAKE NOTICE very quickly shedding some pride and taking a beatdown or two for the sake of getting yourself over in one way while helping others get over the other way simultaneously.
**Example: During my tenure in WTF I brainstormed along with another member to basically have my character get an Undertaker style beatdown at the expense of some of my opponent's "allies". The sequence went over extremely well and succeeded in putting my character over as THE face of the league at the time and his as THE heel, leading subsequently to the promotion of both to their main league in about a month or so of joining up.***
Conveying Characterfrom RK
Most people tend to use roleplays for Interviews. No problem. It's simple and effective for developing your face persona. Describe the clothes you are wearing. Being a hardcore brawler and wearing a suit isn't going to work. Dress cool. Make people want to be just like you, no matter the clothing. Describe your attitude to the interviewer. In some cases, you'll just be a straight guy, the type who says "May the best man win". In others, you'll be the joke-cracking funny guy who teases the interviewer or does impressions to make himself look cool and puts over the fact that he is going to win. Others use witty catchphrases for people to chant along with. Either way, make sure you get people's attention, and stick to your character. Nothing is worse than confusing the reader.
Another necessity is putting over your heel opponent. This is crucial. No one will get behind someone when it's going to be a squash. If he has attacked you, sell the injury. Sell how much pain he put you through. Make your opponent look strong. Just put over how much of a challenge he is. Just things like "Tonight is going to be my toughest challenge yet. This guy is one hell of a talent and looking past him would probably be my downfall. I'm just going to give it my best shot and give 110% as I always do" are good enough. It makes your win mean so much more (presuming you do win) if he looks like he is going to kick the crap out of you. Again, I can't emphasize the underdog role enough. And not only that, but making your opponent look like even more of a good heel makes people want to love you just to hate him. It works on all levels. (Note that I mentioned a similar thing in the Heels4Dummies thread)
And speaking of your opponent, bounce off of him. Use ideas to bounce off each other and build up a repertoire together. If he starts talking about something, bounce back with a comeback. If he for instance, disses the local sports team for doing poorly, come up with some good things they've done and put down his local sports team to get him back. The little things like that make people care about feuds.
But not everyone does interviews. Some might go for workouts at the gym. Cool, use it. Show just how much your wrestler wants to win the match. Watch how he pushes himself to breaking point, to the point that people actually feel just how badly you need to win this match.
Or maybe you're talking to friends or teammates. Or maybe you're out and about but can't get it all out of your head. Anything works. Seriously, there are many ways you can put yourself and your opponents over. Just make sure you don't do things like purposely injure people or beat up officials and cameramen or stuff like that. For one, it's overdone.
As and added word on "snapping", it's a rare thing to do for a face, but warranted if the storyline permits it. It can convey a level of humanity in the character in showing such frustration that they can't take it anymore, like Cena when he F-U'd Teddy Long, Eddie Guerrero snapping on JBL or Batista whenever he doesn't win the World Title, lol.
COMMUNICATE!!!
I said it before and I'll say it again. This is an absolutely essential measure to being successful in any e-fed out there, sim, angle, storyline, you name it. You must keep in touch and keep in tune with the people you are working with. Just like as said before, doing so enables you to bounce off ideas from each other that will only help to build more heat towards the feud between members, opening up avenues to take thing beyond just talk but into actions not just in the ring, which I will concur to you will garner much kudos, fan interest and opportunities to be in our Major matches/main events.
It all begins with that. When you're in the eyes and ears of the people you're working with you can open a lot more doors than just going through the motions, which results in better storylines AND better characters.
Being a face is VERY difficult, tougher than being a heel in fact. There's no main statements to be made here because there's a lot to being a good face, the one thing to keep in mind though is that you should always make yourself interesting. It takes an extra level of creativity to pull it off in an interesting way, but as long as you're having fun doing it, that's what matters. If it's not fun it's not worth it-so let the creative juices flow.
Face is the shortterm for "babyface", the insider term for the good guy. The man (or woman) that the fans love and cheer for. As has been seen and documented years ago thanks to the Attitude Era of WWE, ECW and the nWo, faces aren't always the cookie-cutter good guys which is why I say them to simply be characters that the fans cheer for or like, as opposed to heels who are disliked, though they don't necessarily need to be "evil" to get that result.
Being good is easy? Think again.
Just as one would think it's easy to be a heel by simply throwing insults left and right, being a face isn't just having it so that the fans automatically love you from the very moment you enter a fed. It's easy to type that but how believable is it to the fans (readers) if they don't know who you are or what you're about? There are easy ways to build that kind of character in the traditional ways-for example, XWA travels from venue to venue around the world so say or showing some kind of support or compliment not just to the people, but to something about the area the show is in is free heat and cheap pops.
That doesn't mean you can stop there and think you're over though. You need in this day and age to have some kind of edge to your character. Just being a typical "good guy" isn't going to cut it, even if you ARE a generally good guy you need to have some kind of panache, flair and wit to your character that makes him/her multi-dimensional. Treat things as if they were a real fed. You'd probably be bored with a cookie cutter good guy, even boo him/her after a while. Instead of boos in this case it would be fewer people paying attention to what you do or say, and that's never good. You need to have the right kind of character that people can get into to be treated like a superstar.
Ways to be a good face outside the ringfrom Roughtkut
As with any character, most of his or her development comes from outside of the ring, whether in promos, interviews or segments. Here are some tips of how to get the fans in your corner.
- Fan Interaction: Simple, really. Get the crowd into your work. Even Stone Cold Steve Austin, the most cold-hearted son of a bitch in WWE would get the crowd involved in his interviews ("If you want Stone Cold to ______, gimme a hell yeah" to which the fans would scream "HELL YEAH"). The same goes for DX ("Suck It"), the New Age Outlaws (damn, I'm not typing all of that out, lol), and The Rock (a few too many, don't you think). Even Flair's oh-so-simple "Whoo" is echoes through arenas nationwide by the crowds. It works. The fans love to join in with cool catchphrases. It makes them feel like they are part of something special, and as long as it is a cool catchphrase.
- Interesting Character: The Undertaker started out as a heel. I can see why, if you look at it realistically. A dark, gloomy character who likes burying people. Not really hard to figure, really. Yet about two year later, he was heavily cheered, and in about 5 years time, he was the biggest start (thereabouts) in the company. 15 years on, his gimmick is still over. Why? Because it's a cool and unique gimmick, not to mention he is believable as a big guy. Fans will get behind a guy who is believable. Look at Brock Lesnar, Kane, and Goldberg. Sting is another dark and gloomy character, but he was major over, not just because of his name, but because he was enigmatic and people could never predict his next move (although it did help that he was the franchise of WCW and now a legend in wrestling). Fans will also get behind convincing comedy gimmicks. Everyone berated Rico for being in the "gay" gimmick, but he pulled it off fantastically. Everyone knocked Eugene Dinsmore, but he was one of the most over gimmicks on RAW. As long as it's played out well, people will enjoy it.
- Be Yourself +10: This is optional, and goes past what was said in the previous point, but this is another solid way of getting to the top. Jim Cornette said not long ago that the most successful gimmicks are those of people being themselves, with the volume turned right up. Stone Cold, The Rock, Triple H, Mick Foley, The Sandman, Raven, Goldberg, Hulk Hogan, the list goes on and on. These guys are all practically playing larger than life versions of themselves. So for a character you can use, maybe you should look at yourself. No one knows you like you do. Just turn the volume up about ten notches, and run with it. Whether you are an arrogant asshole or a porn star in the waiting, fans will get behind you and eventually embrace you. Of course, this also works as a heel as well, but in terms of face characters, chances are you will be successful, because people love larger than life characters.
-Play The Underdog: Whenever possible, it will help your character exponentially if you put them in a situation or series of situations that don't bode well for them regardless of the outcome. Conveying fearlessness in the face of insurmountable odds gets the people behind you and is the most effective method in my opinion. In this tyoe of fed, that is ONLY going to be achieved by brainstorming and working out ideas & details with said members (see below). I can tell you from experience that it can make people TAKE NOTICE very quickly shedding some pride and taking a beatdown or two for the sake of getting yourself over in one way while helping others get over the other way simultaneously.
**Example: During my tenure in WTF I brainstormed along with another member to basically have my character get an Undertaker style beatdown at the expense of some of my opponent's "allies". The sequence went over extremely well and succeeded in putting my character over as THE face of the league at the time and his as THE heel, leading subsequently to the promotion of both to their main league in about a month or so of joining up.***
Conveying Characterfrom RK
Most people tend to use roleplays for Interviews. No problem. It's simple and effective for developing your face persona. Describe the clothes you are wearing. Being a hardcore brawler and wearing a suit isn't going to work. Dress cool. Make people want to be just like you, no matter the clothing. Describe your attitude to the interviewer. In some cases, you'll just be a straight guy, the type who says "May the best man win". In others, you'll be the joke-cracking funny guy who teases the interviewer or does impressions to make himself look cool and puts over the fact that he is going to win. Others use witty catchphrases for people to chant along with. Either way, make sure you get people's attention, and stick to your character. Nothing is worse than confusing the reader.
Another necessity is putting over your heel opponent. This is crucial. No one will get behind someone when it's going to be a squash. If he has attacked you, sell the injury. Sell how much pain he put you through. Make your opponent look strong. Just put over how much of a challenge he is. Just things like "Tonight is going to be my toughest challenge yet. This guy is one hell of a talent and looking past him would probably be my downfall. I'm just going to give it my best shot and give 110% as I always do" are good enough. It makes your win mean so much more (presuming you do win) if he looks like he is going to kick the crap out of you. Again, I can't emphasize the underdog role enough. And not only that, but making your opponent look like even more of a good heel makes people want to love you just to hate him. It works on all levels. (Note that I mentioned a similar thing in the Heels4Dummies thread)
And speaking of your opponent, bounce off of him. Use ideas to bounce off each other and build up a repertoire together. If he starts talking about something, bounce back with a comeback. If he for instance, disses the local sports team for doing poorly, come up with some good things they've done and put down his local sports team to get him back. The little things like that make people care about feuds.
But not everyone does interviews. Some might go for workouts at the gym. Cool, use it. Show just how much your wrestler wants to win the match. Watch how he pushes himself to breaking point, to the point that people actually feel just how badly you need to win this match.
Or maybe you're talking to friends or teammates. Or maybe you're out and about but can't get it all out of your head. Anything works. Seriously, there are many ways you can put yourself and your opponents over. Just make sure you don't do things like purposely injure people or beat up officials and cameramen or stuff like that. For one, it's overdone.
As and added word on "snapping", it's a rare thing to do for a face, but warranted if the storyline permits it. It can convey a level of humanity in the character in showing such frustration that they can't take it anymore, like Cena when he F-U'd Teddy Long, Eddie Guerrero snapping on JBL or Batista whenever he doesn't win the World Title, lol.
COMMUNICATE!!!
I said it before and I'll say it again. This is an absolutely essential measure to being successful in any e-fed out there, sim, angle, storyline, you name it. You must keep in touch and keep in tune with the people you are working with. Just like as said before, doing so enables you to bounce off ideas from each other that will only help to build more heat towards the feud between members, opening up avenues to take thing beyond just talk but into actions not just in the ring, which I will concur to you will garner much kudos, fan interest and opportunities to be in our Major matches/main events.
It all begins with that. When you're in the eyes and ears of the people you're working with you can open a lot more doors than just going through the motions, which results in better storylines AND better characters.
Being a face is VERY difficult, tougher than being a heel in fact. There's no main statements to be made here because there's a lot to being a good face, the one thing to keep in mind though is that you should always make yourself interesting. It takes an extra level of creativity to pull it off in an interesting way, but as long as you're having fun doing it, that's what matters. If it's not fun it's not worth it-so let the creative juices flow.
