OO: Online Onslaught Special Features (Pro Wrestling News, Analysis, and Commentary... WWF, WCW, ECW, The Rock, Steve Austin, RVD, Undertaker, Triple H)

OO FEATURE COLUMN
The, um, "Brad Perspective"
November 7, 2003

by Brad Smoley
Exclusive to OnlineOnslaught.com

Hi folks. In this spot you're used to getting a dose of the brain squeezins of OO's resident young, intelligent, female college student, Erin Anderson. Well she's MIA, off enjoying some kind of fun, far from the confines of this website. Not that OO isn't fun, but honestly if you were a 21 year-old coed in the south, what would YOU be doing with your time?

Since Erin is gone, I decided to scribble some words down in an attempt to fill her shoes. For those of you who don't know, I'm Brad Smoley, also known as "that guy that does that Cheap Heat thing." Normally, I keep my written opinions to the OO Message Boards, and on rare occasion, they spill out here to the main page. As is the case today.

Something has been bothering me for a while. I've heard talk and read some things about Chris Jericho lately that kind of have me puzzled. You see, Jericho is a guy that has the wrestling world in the palm of his hand - right there where he wants it. Smarks love him for his abilities on the mic and in the ring. Your average fans love to go along with what ever he feeds them. He can seemingly do no wrong. This isn't news to anyone. So, here's where I'm puzzled. Jericho, one of the most over and arguably most successful heels in WWE history, is beginning to display some blatantly face-like characteristics. He's smitten with Trish. Who the hell wouldn't be? So obviously, he must be on his way to a face turn, right? The smarks want it. They're practically begging for it. The average fans like Jericho too, they just know he's supposed to be a bad guy, so they boo him, right? Jericho needs to turn, right?

Wrong, wrong, wrong. Wrong.

Jericho doesn't, and never will again, need to turn. He's gotten to that magical place in the world of wrestling that many people do not like to talk about. I'm fairly sure that not many people even know of it. So few wrestlers have ever truly gotten there, that it isn't surprising that it's a big secret. In fact, it's so secret that I can say with almost total confidence that the WWE creative team has virtually no idea about it at all. For you see, the tiny little exclusive island is hidden within the difficult to navigate waters of the Sea of Charisma and Talent. This is a place that I fear few members of the creative team have ever glimpsed reflections of in their own bathroom mirrors. This magical, wondrous place, just on the outskirts of "Tweenerville," is called "effective characterization," and it is a true rarity in the world of wrestling.

Oh, hey... I like movies. I like them a lot, actually. I've written my fair share of reviews over the years and I've even taken part in the filming of a few independent projects. What draws me into a film more than anything else are well drawn, fully realized characters. If the hero is bland and the villain is clichéd, the chances of me giving a crap about their conflict is severely lessened. True drama comes from emotion derived through conflict. It comes from a connection you make, on whatever level, with an event in a given context. Well developed characters are vehicles for this dramatic storytelling. Whether it's an episode of Friends, the new Meryl Streep movie, or Goldberg v HHH, how characters interact with each other is what makes things interesting. Without interesting characters, your results will be bland at best.

There are very basic rules for building your stereotypical iconic characters. It is very possible to create the perfect villain, despicable in every way: he does all the wrong things, he kicks puppies, he eats babies, he smokes cigarettes on the subway, he yells at his mom on the phone... all the things that make someone "bad." He's the antithesis to our perfect hero: he's a champion of good, he helps old ladies across the street, he rescues kittens from burning orphanages, he saves the world from evil, he's a vegetarian... you know, all the "good" stuff. We can create these characters to be the perfect combatants in our conflict, but the question remains: Will anyone care?

Take for example Scott Steiner. He was a face for a while. He helped out damsels in distress, he played to the crowd, he did multiple push-up reps mid match... all that good "face" stuff. No one cared. Sure he got a good pop for being able to walk down a ramp without offending anyone, but that's about it. His in-ring worth is arguable, and I'm not here to go over match quality. Anyway, flash forward to the present. Now the Booty Daddy is a heel. He abuses his freaks, he yells at the audience, he does multiple push-up reps mid match... all the bad "heel" stuff. Still, no one really cares. That's not to say that the turn from face to heel doesn't have potential to make Poppa Pump interesting, it just hasn't yet. I fear it won't. Maybe more aliases will. I don't know.

The point is, a character turn doesn't mean much if the character it supports isn't interesting enough for the audience to empathize with. No emotion, no drama, no impact. It's not rocket science, and it's why many turns fail. This brings me back to Jericho and why he's found his way into the rarest of rare positions. He's the flip side of the no empathy equation. The development of his persona has been benefited by many turns in the past, but in essence, he's now reached a point where no turn can effect him. Jericho, as a character, has reached a level where his actions no longer define his label. He can be labeled a "tweener" if you want, but I think he goes beyond that.

Jericho is a prick. He's always been a prick, as a heel or a face. When playing the heel he throws tantrums, goes off on rants, cheats in his matches and calls people silly names. As a face, he pretty much does the same thing. His personality is cocky to such a degree that it often works to benefit him, and often it works to hinder him. It's part of his charm as an effective character. It gives him depth. It makes him entertaining. Chris Irvine has managed, over time, to effectively build a persona that is not only likable and loathsome at the same time, but he's made Jericho completely believable. He wasn't bound by the rules for creating stereotypical "good guys" and "bad guys." Foley is the same. Guys like Flair, Austin and Rock are as well. They live in that magical land where personality overrides accountability. It's why Austin can get away with attacking Stacy one week and then go and drink a beer with her the next. It's why the Rock can come back from "Actingland" and play the face or the heel effortlessly by barely tweaking his persona. Jericho is now in the same company. It's why he can wrestle Christian one week and still be friends with him the next. It's why he can beat someone to a bloody pulp for Eric Bischoff one minute and then go have an awkwardly sensitive moment with Trish the next. His actions are justified by his personality, not the other way around.

So, is a face turn in the works for Jericho? Is it necessary for his character? No, and neither is winning all the time or holding a shiny gold belt. Is it possible that one week he may come out and tag with Trish, getting face pops in the process? Sure. I guarantee he'll be out there the week after that, acting like a total jerk to someone's mom. It'll be entertaining as hell. That's the beauty of good characters.

E-MAIL BRAD
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