The Grand Orator – El Grande Americano shows the decision makers have their fingers on the pulse of what is connecting
Why didn’t Shinsuke Nakamura crack into the mainstream? Why didn’t Andrade?
They don’t speak the language.
El Grande Americano shows the decision makers have their fingers on the pulse of what is connecting.
The rise of Ludwig, or Grande, or Marcel, personifies the answer to the questions I started with. He speaks the language. He doesn’t ask the audience to lean in a little closer to understand him. He performs with a confidence that reaches beyond the back row. I mean that both in terms of his miming abilities (pure physical performance), but also his enunciation and articulation.
There’s a wrestling piece of wisdom caught on the behind-the-scenes footage of either Hunter talking with Ronda, or of Ronda telling what Hunter told her to do before her match. “Go slow. Then when you think you’re going slow, slow down. Then when you think you can’t go any slower, go even slower.”
Grande says 2 or 3 sentences max before the other person talks. Try that for a minute. Try to get across a point in two sentences, then shut up. Does your inner listener believe you got it across? Would you, as Hunter advised, like to try again, but go even slower? Maybe say even less, but enunciate it even more to get your point across? I know many times in my day where I would!
Grande delivers big, articulate phrases with gusto. He adopts an accent, and succeeds, because he wants to get it right. He’s not using the language to belittle the listeners. He’s not asking the audience to forgive his poor speech. He is assimilating out of love for the culture, and the culture has embraced him for it.
Shinsuke and Andrade do not lack in terms of in-ring work. They both have suuuuuuper-catchy ring presences. But they both suck on the mic. English doesn’t feel like it’s even their second language, oftentimes let alone their third or fourth.
Cesaro speaks like 97 languages. Why isn’t he over in any of them? Because he still feels Swiss. And maybe in Switzerland he’s Over Like Rover. But unlike NJPW, or AAA, there’s no promotion around his personality. So he’s always been that guy to me. He’s talent, but not ready to carry the heavyweight title of a promotion.
Kenny Omega. Another great example of a talent that superseded his contemporaries through his comparative dexterity with the language. He wasn’t just ready to show you he could wrestle, he was showing you he could be a wrestler.
This didn’t hold true for John Cena. He speaks, or spoke, Mandarin Chinese quite well. Yet the WWE, and Cena as the pro wrestler himself, did not fully crack into the market. Here’s why. I think with Kenny Omega, and now with Grande, they have left all parts of their other character behind. They aren’t going over to America and being all patriotic, while then going back and being like “OMG, China, how great!” They submit to that culture. Cena did not. He chose to be an American. It was his Marine character that launched him into super stardom, and the transition to learning the language was not enough. Kenny and Grande went full-local.
My message to all talent is this – not just when you wrestle abroad, but if you are planning to permanently work abroad, in order to break through the ceiling, you need to grow your language skills. Because when you do, and it’s authentic, their pro wrestling audience will love you for it.
They don’t speak the language.
El Grande Americano shows the decision makers have their fingers on the pulse of what is connecting.
The rise of Ludwig, or Grande, or Marcel, personifies the answer to the questions I started with. He speaks the language. He doesn’t ask the audience to lean in a little closer to understand him. He performs with a confidence that reaches beyond the back row. I mean that both in terms of his miming abilities (pure physical performance), but also his enunciation and articulation.
There’s a wrestling piece of wisdom caught on the behind-the-scenes footage of either Hunter talking with Ronda, or of Ronda telling what Hunter told her to do before her match. “Go slow. Then when you think you’re going slow, slow down. Then when you think you can’t go any slower, go even slower.”
Grande says 2 or 3 sentences max before the other person talks. Try that for a minute. Try to get across a point in two sentences, then shut up. Does your inner listener believe you got it across? Would you, as Hunter advised, like to try again, but go even slower? Maybe say even less, but enunciate it even more to get your point across? I know many times in my day where I would!
Grande delivers big, articulate phrases with gusto. He adopts an accent, and succeeds, because he wants to get it right. He’s not using the language to belittle the listeners. He’s not asking the audience to forgive his poor speech. He is assimilating out of love for the culture, and the culture has embraced him for it.
Shinsuke and Andrade do not lack in terms of in-ring work. They both have suuuuuuper-catchy ring presences. But they both suck on the mic. English doesn’t feel like it’s even their second language, oftentimes let alone their third or fourth.
Cesaro speaks like 97 languages. Why isn’t he over in any of them? Because he still feels Swiss. And maybe in Switzerland he’s Over Like Rover. But unlike NJPW, or AAA, there’s no promotion around his personality. So he’s always been that guy to me. He’s talent, but not ready to carry the heavyweight title of a promotion.
Kenny Omega. Another great example of a talent that superseded his contemporaries through his comparative dexterity with the language. He wasn’t just ready to show you he could wrestle, he was showing you he could be a wrestler.
This didn’t hold true for John Cena. He speaks, or spoke, Mandarin Chinese quite well. Yet the WWE, and Cena as the pro wrestler himself, did not fully crack into the market. Here’s why. I think with Kenny Omega, and now with Grande, they have left all parts of their other character behind. They aren’t going over to America and being all patriotic, while then going back and being like “OMG, China, how great!” They submit to that culture. Cena did not. He chose to be an American. It was his Marine character that launched him into super stardom, and the transition to learning the language was not enough. Kenny and Grande went full-local.
My message to all talent is this – not just when you wrestle abroad, but if you are planning to permanently work abroad, in order to break through the ceiling, you need to grow your language skills. Because when you do, and it’s authentic, their pro wrestling audience will love you for it.
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