Hardcore Help: Prior to picking up this game, I wasn’t very invested in wrestling, so my pool of reference is quite small. The Hardcore gimmick looks appealing, but I’m concerned that I’m just going to keep saying, “I hit them with the chair”
Does anyone have any advice on how to narrate hardcore/garbage wrestling without descending into monotony? Additionally, is there any exemplary footage of hardcore wrestling or places containing exemplary footage of hardcore wrestling that I could get directions to? I know ECW and NJPW have relevant matches, but is it possible to “cut to the chase”?
Thank you.
CZW is pretty hardcore…
Honing in on Mick Foley’s career might help, in that he wrestled a hardcore/garbage style, but was generally pretty good at also telling a story in the ring.
Watch Lucha Underground. Truly creative gimmick matches.
Part of Hardcore is attitude as well as what goes on in the ring. It’s not just hitting a guy with a trashcan, it’s also the do anything it takes to “win”. It also has the duality of not only dishing out extreme damage, but a willingness to get the hell beaten out yourself as well. Narrative usually revolves around which man can suffer all that damage and be bloodied but unbowed at the end. If you have a strong stomach, I’d say seeing highlights of any Mick Foley vs Terry Funk match will give you an idea of how two masters of hardcore tell a story in the ring.
That said, I personally am not a fan of hardcore generally. I think it’s very dangerous and may very well contribute to the dark things that happen to some wrestlers as time goes on. The tragedy of Chris Benoit shows what repeated traumatic brain injury can do..
Yeah, Mick Foley is the #1 touch point for the gimmick. Look up Cactus Jack vs Vader matches from WCW – violent, but not excessively bloody (from what I can recall right now) and I personally think there’s good psychology in them revolving around who’s willing to take more punishment.
Also, and I am not kidding, the “WeeLC” match from wwe’s Extreme Rules 2014 is a great garbage match that’s still within PG parameters!
Oh, and speaking of Lucha Underground, Pentagon Jr vs. Vampiro from season 1 is a (literal) bloody mess, but there’s a strong storyline going into it and it’s an example of a character defining themselves through their choices in the match, as opposed to using their character to determine what they do in a match (if that makes sense?).
Also the Fenix/Muertes Grave Consequences match from that season is incredible, not “hardcore” per se but has great gimmick match psychology in it, and gets pretty bloody as well.
Don’t be afraid to use real wrestling moves … onto chairs of course.