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heels in puro?

LillaThrillaPosted on 07/11/07 at 19:39:52

I've read puroresu "puts the match before the gimmick" and that fans cheer and boo based on the quality of the match not along heel/face lines.  Also, that their promos are usually not very gimmicky.

Based on this, what exactly makes a wrestler a heel then?  What do they do to set them apart from the faces?  How does NOSAWA act different from Nosawa, Taka from TAKA?
CarlzillaPosted on 07/12/07 at 01:25:59

Attitude. Heels are generally very cocky and disrespectful.
Rick GarrardPosted on 07/12/07 at 01:31:10

they're cool, cocky, and bad?
The EmpressPosted on 07/12/07 at 12:10:26

My answer would be "The Vegeta Factor".  As popularized in Anime, unlike in American storytelling, the bad guys don't always or even frequently use cheap tricks to get ahead, they're simply more ruthless and arrogant and dark.  Vegeta, in Dragonball Z, never used any cheap tricks in his attempts to best Goku, he was merely obsessed with beating him and was very arrogant.  He would hurt innocent people to get what he wanted, but it's not like wrestlers go beating up fans except as gimmicks, so that's moot in Puro.

Basically, it's like the others have stated thus far.  "Badass", "Arrogant", "Disrespectful" . . . Japanese standards of tradition and respect are paramount, so in their culture, that's all it would take to make someone a "bad guy" pretty much.  I would say that the Stone Cold Steve Austin character that was so loved in American would almost definitely be considered a heel in Puro, as would others like him.  It's mainly a matter of culture more than anything else.
pszPosted on 07/12/07 at 14:18:12

One other thing you'll notice (which is all but missing in the WWE and TNA) is that no matter WHO was in a great match (Heel, face, both), if it's a great match, you will get cheers, claps, and standing ovations during and after the match for BOTH guys.

Makes coming in as a fan a bit odd at first ;->
Mr. Ken KennedyPosted on 09/23/07 at 21:45:32

On 07/12/07 at 14:18:12, psz wrote:One other thing you'll notice (which is all but missing in the WWE and TNA) is that no matter WHO was in a great match (Heel, face, both), if it's a great match, you will get cheers, claps, and standing ovations during and after the match for BOTH guys.

Makes coming in as a fan a bit odd at first ;->
It has not always been missing: WWE had a ladder match back in 2002 between Eddie Guerrero and Edge (Eddie was a heel at the time and Edge was a face). Edge won the match, but Eddie got a standing O after
pszPosted on 09/23/07 at 21:47:56

I'm referring to a regular basis. ECW Arena had NO problem booing the hell out of Raven nightly.

They also cheered his moves and matches nightly.

That's the thing, one offs don't count because that's just That Crowd That Night. In Puro and ECW and whatnot, the fans knew who to boo, but also almost ALWAYS showed appreciation.

Last time I saw that in WWE was... ECW when Holly sliced his back open :-P