Former WWE star Eric Bugenhagen, also known as Rick Boogz, recently dropped some gospel while appearing on Chris Van Vliet’s Insight.
“People can argue with me until they’re blue in the face, but the character will always supersede the ring work,” said Bugenhagen.
Testifying further, he added, “You can have a match, you know, you don’t have to tear the house down, but you don’t need to because people are like, ‘Oh, I love your character. He’s so entertaining.’ And then you go in there, and you do a couple
moves and whatnot.”
No lies were told there. Once a crowd is invested in a character, almost anything will work — even very little work.
Hmm, I sense a doubting Thomas among you.
Please, consider my testimony.
WrestleMania 42: Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar. A standard big man match, it opened just as Lesnar’s 2016 Survivor Series showdown with Bill Goldberg did, with Lesnar driving Femi into the corner before Femi shoved Lesnar on his ass.
Big pop — for a shove.
After gathering himself, Lesnar blasted Femi with a clothesline, but he didn’t budge. Femi no-sold a second, stiffer shot, drawing a collective gasp from the 55,000-plus crowd at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, before they erupted as he floored Lesnar with a clothesline of his own.
Standard fare, huge reactions.
Why? Because of the characters involved: “The Beast” and “The Ruler.” The same match, move for move, between two bland big men would likely get some reactions in the moment, then be forgotten shortly after the final bell.
The match itself was under five minutes, with Femi winning to the delight of the crowd. Though it won’t win Match of the Year, it did exactly what it needed to do: entertain.
And that’s the point. The more over the persona, the less a wrestler has to do to get a reaction, because the audience is already doing the heavy lifting. It’s one of the reasons why, as the former Boogz put it, character will always supersede ring work.
Amen.
