NXT

[Powder]

Has Parker Boudreaux, or what ever they called him being used?

If so, why completely change his look? I get that he looked like Lesnar, but that could have worked for him.

[Team Farrell]

He's really not. They're having him show up looking like Gene Snitsky in terrible clothes doing nothing. Stalking people? He's Lumis 2?

They hah a young, moldable kid that would have appealed to women with his look and tossed it in the trash.

[PEN15v2]

Neither of you watched lats night's show, it seems. His angle with Joe Gacy was clarified a bit, with Gacy saying since his new colleague is with a shaved head, the audience makes judgments.

[PEN15v2]

An observation.

[Powder]

Funny....But Ivy is much hotter.

Also, I saw Harland's debut. A few observations of my own:

1. I do not understand why he can't go be his name Parker Boudreaux. It is a good, strong name, and unique.
2. I do not understand why the WWE gave him this type of character. It is a mixture of Kane, Umaga, Festus, and Dexter Lumis.
3. If he is another blue chip prospect like Bron Breakker, then why not treat him like that? I know that Boudreaux is green as hell, and is gaining experience and still young and learning, but does anyone think that this gimmick could one day be WWE or Universal Champion?

[PEN15v2]

Can this gimmick be Champion? The answer is yes I do think so. It's up to WWE to tell the story though, so don't ask me how. But with gimmicks like Undertaker, Wyatt, Crazy Bob Backlund, and Mankind all becoming WWE Champion, then Harland can as well. Most comparable is Psycho Sid: deranged monster that is out of control.

You don't have to understand why they are doing it, or why his name has been changed. The only thing that matters is: is Harland interesting on NXT?

[Powder]

Harland:

I get why the WWE has him shave his eyebrows, because it looks creepy as hell. (They did it with Kane too). But do they even care that this guy also has a life, and has to go out looking like that? It's not face paint, or dyed hair. He looms like a psycho, just going to buy toilet paper.

[Oliver]

Of course they don't. It's not their concern, is it? Harland looks right for the role he has in the company he works for. If he has a problem with going out to buy loo roll, I'm sure there's plenty of people backstage that can teach him how to draw his eyebrows in.

Hey, how about how pathetic it is for the NXT crowd to give Bron Breakker a 'you deserve it' chant? Fuck that shit.

[Powder]

Everyone deserves it now. Because the world is too sensitive now. Everyone gets a trophy, and everyone is offended. A guy with 14 total matches in his career deserves it? What dues has he paid yet?

Yes he has potential, and yes he is a blue chip prospect, and yes he has a great lineage with his family. But what has he done yet? Again 14 total matches in his career. 14!

[Team Farrell]

I'm not sure it's that, so much as the You Deserve It chant is kind of the default for when a guy the fans like wins the belt. It's lame as hell and I wish that people would just go back to chanting the wrestler's name, but that probably won't be changing any time soon.

It's like when "CM Punk" became a euphemism from the fans for "I don't like what I'm seeing", five plus years after Punk had left when people kind of figured that he'd never come back anyway.

[Oliver]

I'll tell you what. I know he's 39 and I'm sure that's not what NXT 2.0 think it's all about. But if I was picking someone on the show to put front and centre every week, LA Knight would be The Guy. Can turn up and cut a show opening promo that gets everyone hooked, works the crowd perfectly and gets them on his side with ease, has a great look, and can keep his end up in the ring. He's exactly what the show needs at the top, in my opinion.

[Powder]

So there is controversy with the WWE/NXT once again. The WWE in their infinite wisdom has decided to change WALTER's name to Gunther Stark. The controversy is two fold. The first and foremost issue is this:

The apparent name change is receiving a lot of criticism on social media as “Günther Stark” was also the name of a U-Boat Commander who served in World War II in the Kriegsmarine, the navy of Nazi Germany. Kapitänleutnant Stark died at the age of 27 on June 8, 1944, while at war in the English Channel.

Really WWE? A Nazi U-Boat Commander. Terrible.

Secondly. WALTER has been an institution of the Indy scene for nearly 15 years making it in Evolve and PWG, two of the bigger indy promotions. Also WALTER, prior to the WWE I believe had enough of a following that he was known to a big enough part of the American audience. Then since 2019, WALTER has been a HUGE part of NXTUK and to a lesser extent NXT where he has been establishing his name to the American audience.

Why change what wasn't broken? AND, WALTER is the man's given name, so what is the problem?

[Prime Time]

I can't for a second believe the first part is intentional. I imagine it's just a German name that, being a German name, happens to be the name of one of the millions of members of the German armed forces during that time. The coincidence explanation works a lot better here IMO, rather than the idea that they'd actually try and channel that. This isn't 1950.

The second part is a better criticism but is hardly a shock, given the WWE's longstanding tendency to meddle with things that work for no good reason.

[PEN15v2]

Name changing in general is to the benefit of the performer, as the WWE won't copyright their name that got them known. If Guenther ends up released in a year, he'll be able to become WALTER again to explore other options.

As for the actual name selected, he's only Guenther or Gunther so far. I don't care about the copyright WWE has, because I only care about what's presented on screen. This is why the way it was executed was the real issue for me : he was announced and promoted as Walter throughout the show and social media for the last week. He wrestles the match as Walter, and after he wins, he then just says his name is Gunther. It was lame.

If he stays as Gunther with any other last name, or no family name at all, then the change is good because it's a more imposing sounding name than Walter. It will also distinguish him from Greyson Waller.

If he stays as Gunther Stark (which is unlikely at this point) WWE will get the common online complaints that are meaningless, and then the controversy will go away within a week. As Prime pointed out, having a name in common with an unknown Nazi when you're from that area of the world, is bound to happen. In fact, Walter is the first name of a better known Nazi, so on its own, Gunther is less problematic. The fact that you have to research if a name just happened to be part of the Nazis shows that it's not a real problem. I'll understand that no one will name their kid Adolf Hitler, Oscar Schindler, or any of the other known Nazis (I'm stopping the list because I don't know the spelling or full names of the others I know of).

Online fans REALLY have no idea how little their twitter complaints matter.

[Powder]

I feel the need to have response to at least one part of what you said.

While yes, Oskar Schlinder was a member of the Nazi party, he worked tirelessly saving over 1200 Jewish people from the concentration camps. So his named is held in the highest regard.