Gimmicks Vs. Archtypes

[! JDM The Professional !]

"Character Development - Part 1: Archetypes vs Gimmicks"


My name is Michael. I am both a professional wrestling fan and have been privileged to have worked on several independent wrestling shows throughout the northeast. I have met many different legends of this business and have heard all the stories and the advice they have given out to those willing to hear it. One of the most important parts of professional wresting, in my opinion, has been presentation. Professional wrestling is apart of the entertainment business. All professional wrestling shows are products that identify what the promotion is about. The presentation of that product is a key factor. The WWE presents larger than life personas battling it out in a ring to settle disputes that they encounter on their weekly series. TNA presents all stars of the business mixing it up with younger talents in what has been lately an eternal battle for dominance in the pro wrestling world. Ring of Honor emphasizes athleticism and competition in their show with talents of all types who have personas that are more or less exaggerated extensions of their own personalities.

The common factor in all of these presentations is that the product delivers characters to an audience for them to cheer or boo depending on their actions. These characters have certain qualities about them or stories attached to why they act the way they do, more commonly referred to in the wrestling world as a "gimmick." For some wrestlers, a gimmick is an entire character that has a life of it's own that the person behind the gimmick is controlling. The Undertaker, arguably one of the greatest gimmicks in professional wrestling, is a man who has been a literal undertaker who happens to wrestle and speaks in themes of "reaping the souls" of his opponent. He has been a harbinger of evil as the Prince of Darkness. He has been an American Badass which was the "real" Undertaker but still using the name and evil persona. Finally he reverted back to his original dark self. Not once did an audience turn away when he was on the card.

Because of all of these changes but keeping an underlying theme, The Undertaker became more than a gimmick. He became an archetype. An archetype is defined as a type upon which others are copied, patterned, or emulated; a symbol universally recognized by all. The Undertaker is absolutely recognized by all in the world of wrestling whether its the hardcore fan or the casual passer-by. The Undertaker can be categorized as a Dark Anti-Hero archetype; he may not be doing things that are in the favor of all but people are all mesmerized by his dark persona. But being as how this website is about TNA Wrestling, let us look at how TNA can use archetypes instead of gimmicks to get their wrestlers over.

Perhaps the best example of a professional wrestling organization using archetypes for their characters was Extreme Championship Wrestling. TNA likes to compare themselves to ECW in many ways, not all of them deserving, in my opinion. However if they did want to use an example of something that worked for ECW, it would be the aforementioned use of archetypes instead of gimmicks.

The Willing Hero: For WWE, it's John Cena. This is the man who goes out of his way for the good of all WWE. For ECW, it was undoubtedly Tommy Dreamer. In WCW, it wasn't ever truly defined. Some may have argued that it was Goldberg, but again, that wasn't what WCW was about. In TNA, the Willing Hero of their show should undoubtedly be one of the most time invested wrestlers they've ever had who has been their since the beginning, is AJ Styles. AJ, the first ever X-Division Champion and longest reigning World Heavyweight Champion, is beloved by all. Let's face it. AJ being a heel never comes across as natural. He doesn't have that look that can transition from face to heel easily. He does too many things in the ring that is marveled by anyone who witnesses it making it difficult for them NOT to like him. This role was made for him and it is why he should be the focus of the promotion, more so the human personification of what TNA is all about.

The Anti-Hero: For every action there is an equal or opposite reaction. Whether you like him or not, which most people did, "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels could clearly fit this role. This is a man who's entire gimmick was that he was "God's gift to wrestling." His actions in the ring spoke for him even though when he talks, people listen, which is an added benefit. TNA dropped the ball when letting him go. In the WWE, Austin was the anti-hero. The Rock was even in some respects because no matter what he did people loved him. Daniels could easily switch between heel and face with his gimmick and it fits the archetype because he may do things that may not always be fair or clean but will always end up doing the right thing in the end.

The Loner & The Unstoppable Force: Samoa Joe, the Samoan Submission Machine, does not need friends, allies, or anyone else to watch his back. He is a one man wrecking machine. Yet, TNA did not initially establish that with the momentum he gained upon his debut and lengthy first X-Division title reign. Samoa Joe does not need to be nice. He does what he does to defeat you and to get the win and inevitably go for the gold. Taz was the same way in ECW. Samoa Joe was looking to become the TNA version of Taz at one point but due to some unfavorable attitude given to the production team, he is currently being punished for it. (On a side note, I also believe him to be the one behind the fake Hogan twitter scandal)

The Group Heroes/Villains: This applies to tag teams. In ECW, Paul Heyman had a formula where his top stars were a single star, a featured legend, and a top tag team. In TNA, it is clear that the Motor City Machine Guns and Beer Money have taken these roles but have not been featured in a way that could promote them as not only the faces of TNA tag team wrestling but larger than life personas doing the impossible in the ring that no duo could ever imagine pulling off. Their attitudes and motives are clear. The only thing lacking is the proper lack of motivation for a casual fan to truly want to go out of their way to see them again and again. I believe that this recent best of seven series was too little too late even though it delivered some of their best wrestling in a while on any segment.

There are many more archetypes that TNA can fill with the right persona. Too many to list in this article. In my next article, I'll be discussing why Paul Heyman's recent comments about character usage is one of the single most important observations about TNA wrestling in recent history. Thank you for reading my debut article and I look forward to your feedback.