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Post by greenjack1992 on Oct 5, 2020 5:38:02 GMT -5
I've got a bit of a bee in my bonnet at the moment about this, but it's more of a slight irritation than anything else.
WWE's representation of the UK is really weird.
Looking back at wrestlers like Davey Boy and Dynamite, their entire gimmick was being British and having the Union flag all over their costumes, despite both men being English and there being no representation of any of the other three countries in the UK within the group.
Now, obviously that would be no problem, because the Union flag includes England as well, except for the fact that guys like Piper (who wasn't even Scottish), the Highlanders, even Drew McIntyre all get surrounded with specifically Scottish iconography despite being the second biggest country in Britain.
Even in the Cruiserweight Classic in 2016, guys like ZSJr and Jack Gallagher were billed as representing England but got the Union Flag as their tron, while Noam Dar got the Scottish flag.
British Strongstyle have their name despite all being English. Wade Barrett had the Union Flag on his gear despite being English.
I just don't understand why other countries in the UK are represented as individuals in WWE, but England just gets completely ignored despite the number of English wrestlers they've had over the years.
Gentleman Jack Gallagher and William/Steven Regal are both from two of the roughest northern areas of England, but they were acting like southern softies with brollies and high tea, all while covered in the UK colours and iconography with no reference to being English.
Surely, either all the UK wrestlers should get the same treatment, or their nationality shouldn't be a part of their brand. None of the American wrestlers are covered in US flags.
The reason this has come to mind is because I was just watching the Drew McIntyre 24 on the Network, and I noticed on a map they had Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales labeled, but they labeled England as "United Kingdom" and it irked me.
So, after this long read, what do you think of the way WWE represents UK wrestlers and the UK as a whole on its programming? Personally, I'm not a fan.
The only person they've ever got this right with is Paige, because being English had nothing to do with her character and she had no stupid national iconography on her gear.
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@brit_figs
Main Eventer
WF 10 Year Member
Joined on: Sept 25, 2009 13:02:15 GMT -5
Posts: 3,735
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Post by @brit_figs on Oct 5, 2020 5:40:50 GMT -5
Doesn't really bother me in all honesty & I'm from Yorkshire in England 😂
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Post by greenjack1992 on Oct 5, 2020 5:43:17 GMT -5
Doesn't really bother me in all honesty & I'm from Yorkshire in England 😂 Did it not wind you up when they called Yorkshire a town recently?
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@brit_figs
Main Eventer
WF 10 Year Member
Joined on: Sept 25, 2009 13:02:15 GMT -5
Posts: 3,735
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Post by @brit_figs on Oct 5, 2020 6:14:07 GMT -5
Doesn't really bother me in all honesty & I'm from Yorkshire in England 😂 Did it not wind you up when they called Yorkshire a town recently? Nope 😂
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celflessness
Mid-Carder
Joined on: Feb 5, 2020 7:30:40 GMT -5
Posts: 335
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Post by celflessness on Oct 5, 2020 7:17:52 GMT -5
WWE like stereotypes. They may only make US Patriots on special occasions, but lots of foreign characters wear their country's flag, or at least embody the stereotype. Rusev. Kofi Kingston. Mexicools. 100 other examples. At least this one feels like they're punching up.
It is weird how they don't want to say 'England' but will instead expand to 'United Kingdom'. I'm sure there's some kind of Vince-logic to that.
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Post by Grumpyoldman on Oct 5, 2020 9:38:29 GMT -5
I'll go ahead & say it.
Because a lot of Americans are pretty dumb when it comes to geography. Especially the ones who watch wresting. Ask a middle-aged American wrestling fan to describe someone from England & they'll probably say "They wear a derby, carry an umbrella, have tea at 4pm every day, eat fish & chips, have bad teeth & they talk funny." But it would be kind of cool to see a map pop up on the Titan Tron & zoom in on their hometown when they're being introduced by the ring announcer. As a 1st generation American, I apologize for any "Duh" moments you might have to deal with.
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Post by rowdy1971 on Oct 5, 2020 12:03:22 GMT -5
I personally think they should all come to the ring in those double decker busses and throw Jelly Babies at everyone while the Benny Hill theme song just plays over and over again. But that's just me.
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Post by Hammersmith Hardman on Oct 5, 2020 12:30:30 GMT -5
I think it’s an American representation of the UK rather than WWE itself. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the flag of St. George appear on anything American I have watched on TV.
The pronunciation of the UK’s towns & cities is my biggest bugbear with WWE.
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Post by k5 on Oct 5, 2020 12:54:50 GMT -5
reality: they don't care
I'm not throwing stones either, they botch around with Canada enough too
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Post by LA Times on Oct 5, 2020 13:02:03 GMT -5
I liked WCW's representation of the UK when Lord Steven Regal got his ass kicked by the Belfast Bruiser
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Post by The Brain on Oct 5, 2020 13:08:09 GMT -5
I dont know about WWE but I know Bobby represented the UK proudly at SSlam 92
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Post by rkmo: Enjoys That Social Life on Oct 5, 2020 14:07:25 GMT -5
They had a Samoan portray a Japanese sumo wrestler.
They had a Canadian portray an Italian.
They had a man of Italian descent to portray an Arab American.
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Post by greenjack1992 on Oct 5, 2020 14:38:52 GMT -5
I think it’s an American representation of the UK rather than WWE itself. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the flag of St. George appear on anything American I have watched on TV. The pronunciation of the UK’s towns & cities is my biggest bugbear with WWE. Glasg-OW, Nor-FOLK, Nor-WICH all do my nut in.
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Post by Yambag Jones on Oct 5, 2020 14:41:08 GMT -5
Being 100, this thread could be about AND make sense if you inserted any group of people.
That said, I feel for you all.
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Post by GBGav on Oct 5, 2020 16:50:40 GMT -5
I think it’s an American representation of the UK rather than WWE itself. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the flag of St. George appear on anything American I have watched on TV. The pronunciation of the UK’s towns & cities is my biggest bugbear with WWE. Glasg-OW, Nor-FOLK, Nor-WICH all do my nut in. I'm looking forward to the day we have someone from Worcestershire in WWE. It'll take them ten minutes just to say that.
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Post by theoutlaw1999 on Oct 5, 2020 17:29:46 GMT -5
Paige is the only one I can think of who hasn't used the UK as part of her persona.
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CymruX2
Mid-Carder
Joined on: Sept 5, 2020 9:35:33 GMT -5
Posts: 315
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Post by CymruX2 on Oct 5, 2020 17:56:43 GMT -5
Glasg-OW, Nor-FOLK, Nor-WICH all do my nut in. I'm looking forward to the day we have someone from Worcestershire in WWE. It'll take them ten minutes just to say that. Or anywhere in Wales that isn't Cardiff or Swansea. Praying for someone in llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoc to make it to the big leagues.
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Post by Nivro™ on Oct 5, 2020 22:55:26 GMT -5
I think there's a lot of aesthetics involved with it as well. You have to remember WWE always likes their stars to stand out and not be "bland"...im not saying this to be disrespectful but the St George flag looks like an ambulance that lost its wheels. The union jack stands out and has a lot of "pop" and design to it.
Also even in wrestling the English/British are typical seen as allies to Americans. Both the Union Jack and Old Glory uses the same color scheme and I think that helps the British get over more as faces in the US.
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Post by greenjack1992 on Oct 6, 2020 4:49:42 GMT -5
I think there's a lot of aesthetics involved with it as well. You have to remember WWE always likes their stars to stand out and not be "bland"...im not saying this to be disrespectful but the St George flag looks like an ambulance that lost its wheels. The union jack stands out and has a lot of "pop" and design to it. Also even in wrestling the English/British are typical seen as allies to Americans. Both the Union Jack and Old Glory uses the same color scheme and I think that helps the British get over more as faces in the US. Never thought about that. American narcissism!
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Post by Hammersmith Hardman on Oct 6, 2020 5:24:12 GMT -5
I think there's a lot of aesthetics involved with it as well. You have to remember WWE always likes their stars to stand out and not be "bland"...im not saying this to be disrespectful but the St George flag looks like an ambulance that lost its wheels. The union jack stands out and has a lot of "pop" and design to it. Also even in wrestling the English/British are typical seen as allies to Americans. Both the Union Jack and Old Glory uses the same color scheme and I think that helps the British get over more as faces in the US. I suppose that’s a fair way at looking at it. Finlay, although actually from and billed from Northern Ireland they portrayed him as someone from the Republic of Ireland (shillelaghs, leprechaun’s etc). I think it’s an American representation of the UK rather than WWE itself. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the flag of St. George appear on anything American I have watched on TV. The pronunciation of the UK’s towns & cities is my biggest bugbear with WWE. Glasg-OW, Nor-FOLK, Nor-WICH all do my nut in. Birming-HAM is the one that grinds me the most. I realise there’s a Birmingham in Alabama but we don’t pronounce it the same way.
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