>>16187637Dusty's unusual size was a big part of his common man appeal.
"My belly is a little big, my hiney's a little big, but I'm mean baby and you know it."
A phrase like that has less effect if nobody's calling him fat and out of shape, so heels did that all the time.
Wrestling is all about the looks but what people, especially the marks forget, is that differences tell stories.
If a skinny wrestler works like a powerlifter, you're not telling the story of how the skinny guy needs to repeatedly hit the beefcake to bring him down instead of just once.
Believability produces emotional investment, which draws money in the long run.
That's why Cody doesn't mind bodyshaming. You need fat fucks who can go but work a fat gimmick, so Cody looks more athletic. It elevates him.
And at some point you're gonna get a Vader who's strongfat and can work monster heel. That's great too. Differences tell stories.
IMO it's where the WWE went wrong, and AEW goes wrong as well.
Both promotions create programmes where anybody can be anything they aren't.
