Sunday 31 December 2006

The Boogeyman - All Smoke & No Fire?

When I first saw Marty Wright on my television screen, I could tell that there was something different about him. You could tell that he had a real passion for the wrestling business, so much so that he lied about his age in the trials for the 2004 Tough Enough series. You couldn’t help but feel sorry for the guy when the judges threw him out of the competition for his deception.

But while eventual winner Daniel Puder was heading into obscurity, the WWE gave Wright a second chance, and signed him to a developmental deal and sent him down to OVW. And thus, the Boogeyman was born.

Last summer promos began to air for this exciting new character, a character that looked like he would shake things up big time. Injury prevented the Boogeyman from making his scheduled debut, but when he did, he certainly got everyone talking. With his front teeth missing, weird face paint, and clock smashing antics, Wright was causing quite a stir on both Raw and Smackdown.

But then he actually wrestled.

Emerging from putrid looking smoke, the Boogeyman stepped into the ring and demolished all before him, force feeding his fallen foes live worms as they lay dazed on the mat.

And that’s about it really.

Although highly impressive outside the ring, the Boogeyman’s matches have already become somewhat stale. After the dramatic entrances to some of the biggest pops heard from WWE crowds in years, the Boogeyman squashes his opponents in under two minutes in exactly the same manner.

Which leaves one wondering what is going to happen next to Marty Wright’s career. He’s already made John Bradshaw Layfield, the longest reigning WWE champion in years, look very ordinary, and now he’s feuding with Booker T, it looks like he’ll be allowed to do the same with the former WCW champion.

So what will happen when the Boogeyman wrestles a match that lasts longer than three minutes? What will happen when someone is allowed to get some decent shots in? Will the Boogeyman be allowed to show vulnerability? Even similar occult-like characters in the past, most notably Kane and the Undertaker, eventually had to sell for their opponents.

And when this does happen, will it be revealed that after all the hype, the Boogeyman is really all smoke and no fire?

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