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SDL is The Real Apollo - 3/5/2021


Dolfan in NYC

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I wasn't paying as much attention to much as I had just finished Wandavision and was still a bit on a high from that along with checking out its thread finally.

This felt like a weak episode outside of the opening and closing with Bryan/Jey.

I'm confused as to why Sasha & Bianca have another tag titles shot when Naomi & Lana are supposed to be no. 1 contenders. The build for Sasha/Bianca has been kind of lazy and nonsensical. 

Bayley's segment was short and fun. Felt like they should have had her finish reading the last tweet.

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So I take it most here have a problem with Apollo's new image?

Do we need to have a conversation on Apollo vs how Reginald was presented with Carmella? Because THAT gimmick was a real problem that, hopefully, is going away.

Edited by Burgundy LaRue
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1 hour ago, Curt McGirt said:

Bobby as champion and Apollo as an African prince. One step forward, two steps back.

Where do you stand on Ron Killings doing his "buffoonish black dude who talks to invisible people and doesn't know what day it is" routine?  'Cause that character seems really out of place in the BLM era.  Every week, I'm surprised progressives haven't tried to cancel R-Truth yet.

I'm not wild about the implications of an African-American discovering his racial heritage as part of a heel turn, but I'm liking the character enough to see where it goes.  Crews has been quite watchable since they started teasing his heel turn.  If nothing else, it's better than his old gimmick of smiling guy who barely makes an impression.

Edited by Eoae
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The thing with Truth is the character is almost self-aware in its ridiculousness. We KNOW Truth is aware and cool with it. And, it's still funny. Cringy but funny. 

But man... Apollo is carrying a fucking spear. Come the fuck on.

Edited by Curt McGirt
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1 hour ago, Burgundy LaRue said:

Do we need to have a conversation on Apollo vs how Reginald was presented with Carmella? Because THAT gimmick was a real problem that, hopefully, is going away.

I actually want to hear how this was more of a problem.

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59 minutes ago, Eivion said:

I actually want to hear how this was more of a problem.

I think the issue is that "African-American who is proud of his heritage" is not, in and of itself, problematic; the problem is that the gimmick is intertwined with his heel turn. From Pez Whatley turning on Valiant, to the Nation of Domination, this combination is nothing new in wrestling, but the two aren't as inherently linked outside of wrestling as they once were.

Reginald, on the other hand, is another in a long line of servant characters, both inside and outside of wrestling. One could write an entire thesis (and doubtless someone has) on the throughline from Gone With the Wind and Steppin Fetchit to Benson and that weird Civil War spy tv show that somehow won a Humanitas award, and on into the modern era.

But I'm not speaking from a lived experience, so please forgive me if I'm wrong.

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Disappointed. I didn't see one joke about Vince finally seeing the first Coming To America movie in regards to Apollo's new gimmick. Just in time for the sequel.

Personally I like the change of direction for him. I hope they keep it out of the unsavory zone they wander into too often. But as a guy who wrestled on the indys as "Uhaa Nation" I'm thinking he has at least some input in this. He's really a great dude and an amazing talent so I hope this gimmick gets him to the next level.

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36 minutes ago, kafkonia said:

Reginald, on the other hand, is another in a long line of servant characters, both inside and outside of wrestling. One could write an entire thesis (and doubtless someone has) on the throughline from Gone With the Wind and Steppin Fetchit to Benson and that weird Civil War spy tv show that somehow won a Humanitas award, and on into the modern era.

The problem with this argument is that Reginald is or was for all intents and purposes a paid stooge that could have been literally anyone. The dude is a stuck up sommelier working for an even more stuck wrestler in Carmella. Tying it into this stereotype feels like reaching and rings a little hollow.

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1 hour ago, NoFistsJustFlips said:

Disappointed. I didn't see one joke about Vince finally seeing the first Coming To America movie in regards to Apollo's new gimmick. Just in time for the sequel.
 

I figured Vince flipped on TNT one night and caught a few min of Black Panther.

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4 hours ago, Burgundy LaRue said:

Spears are important to Nigerian culture and African heritage in general.

True indeed, but if Apollo were an actual Nigerian prince he'd have bought a sword to the ring (an ida or an agedengbe, perhaps), an axe, or an iron headed war club as benefiting a man of his station. 

The Yoruba (the ethnic majority in Nigeria) were master blacksmiths, so royalty like Apollo would not sully his hands with a weapon made mostly of (ugh) wood. Iron is a gift from Ogun, the patron of soldiers and artisans.  It belongs in the hands of the powerful and the skilled.  Iron needs to be in the hands of a craftsman before it can take the shape of a weapon and find its way to the hands of a warrior.

I'm just happy that wardrobe got the colors on his garb correct.

I guess it's only a matter of time before Vince goes full retard and has Apollo come to the ring with his face painted like Kamaru Usman's.

Kamaru-Usman-UFC-235-696x385.jpg

Edited by J.T.
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55 minutes ago, John from Cincinnati said:

The only sucky thing about spears and swords and axes and what have you is I'm not going to see anyone gimmick stabbed or slashed or chopped with the damn things. 

Edit: Probably.

Thank you. And you forgot sledgehammer. 

Don't bring a weapon to the ring if you can't use it, kids.

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How is Reginald any different that Geeves in WCW? I'd argue that a sommelier is held in higher standing than a butler. 

If anything I'd say that WWE did a good job in progressive/diverse hiring by casting the sommelier as African American, instead of a stereotypical snobby looking caucasian dude.

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