r/SquaredCircle • u/BM_FUN "Mr. Un-Bolievable" • Apr 24 '14
South Park Fans: What do guys think about the episode "WTF?"
When I first saw this episodes a couple of years ago i really did not understand why they were portraying WWE as a play. (I was not watching WWE at the time.)
After rewatching this episode (yesterday), it is very interesting to see how they portrayed WWE. What are your thoughts on the episode?
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Apr 24 '14
[deleted]
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u/cmontage PLAY THE GAME! Apr 24 '14
That quote stood out to me those most from the episode. At face value, it's funny because "wrestling is lowbrow", when in all reality it's a pretty telling insight into how the product is actually developed and produced.
Either way, hilarious.
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u/dragonsky The Game of Kings Apr 24 '14
Edge "terking Cenas jerb and his girlfriend" was the best storyline ever
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u/goatsanddragons What about Hypnosis? Apr 25 '14
I love how this episode came out when Cena put his job on the line against Orton in an upcoming match. All the ''Orton is gonna take Cena's jeeerb'' jokes were great.
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u/segaofmyhouse Say hello, to my little Meng Apr 25 '14
What makes it even better is that it's basically what happened in real life. Just swap Cena with Hardy.
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u/chochobeware sunshine Apr 24 '14
Loved it. In fact, was happy they put Edge vs Cena as it was the hot feud of the time. Definitely reflects SP's attention to reality as opposed to just making up some wrestlers to tell the story.
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u/dtruckerg21 Hardest Working Least Respected Champion Apr 24 '14
Sir, you better take your gay porn and get out!
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u/wolf_flywheel Apr 24 '14
I thought it was hilarious. I feel like that when something like South Park parodies or makes fun of wrestling, wrestling fans don't really get upset because we know how ridiculous it can be, unlike a large majority of other organizations and groups that get skewed by South Park.
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u/totemtrouser Would you like some making fuck Apr 24 '14
Honestly, getting parodied on South Park is an honor at this point especially if you get murdered because that means you have became a fixture in pop culture for Matt & Trey to care about you
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u/InfintySquared Your Uncle AND Your Daddy Apr 25 '14
Yep. It's like a musician getting skewered by Weird Al, that's how you know you've made it.
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u/Biffingston Apr 24 '14
to use the meme.. "If you think south park isn't going to delibrately offend you, you're gonna have a bad time." :P
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u/coonNfriends B. Dazzle n Kurly Kane 4 Life Apr 24 '14
I made all the characters on my WWE12 game. The Rad Russian and Stan the Man are the current tag champs.
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u/imnotboutdatlife Says brother with hard "R" Apr 24 '14
My favorite was el Pollo loco and how it only portrayed to the Mexican wrestling fans. That's what most do.
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Apr 24 '14
At first I thought they said "El Polio Loco" which made me laugh out very loud. (Although, I was drunk at the time :( ) And the "Mister, there's this little girl out there that had 14 abortions, but I guess that's not real to you" in a redneck accent cracks me up every time...
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u/MattinglysSideburns Apr 25 '14
"I'm not in love with you, I'm in love with abortions. Don't you understand?"
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u/twilightjumper Apr 24 '14
Oh man, that line about the little girl having 14 abortions totally got me. So funny!
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Apr 24 '14
It was great.
"That's not WRASSLIN' this is WRASSLIN'!"
"...Mister, you better take your gay porn and walk right out of this bar..."
VIVA EL POLLO LOCO!
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u/kylexys Comrade Koslov Apr 24 '14
All my life, all I ever wanted was to
Be a wrestler
Fighting in the ring
Winning that belt.
And so I dreamed every night that I was the
Undertaker
Smashing skulls in
Breaking arms.*
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u/RagnarokAM Heil Cesaro! Apr 24 '14
My favourite elements of how they equated WWE/WWF to theatrical plays was when Vince arrives and is handed a Playbill and looked onto the event with a hand-held telescope much like at the Opera. Then I noticed that the intermission had the audience members drinking red wine and discussing the story and I lost it.
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u/wise_pine IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOUR NAME IS Apr 25 '14
And the light flashing to indicate the end of intermission like at a play
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u/twilightjumper Apr 24 '14
That episode is freaking genius. I absolutely love it. The first time I saw it I was cracking up. They really did a great job of both making fun of and totally understanding what makes wrestling great at the same time.
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Apr 24 '14
My favorite part was when they showed this one guy in the stands with a sign that said "John Cena Dat Shit 4 Lyfe"
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u/Tiger_Finger 68' Comeback Special. 12 Large brother! Apr 24 '14
Brilliant! Good wrestler = Good talker/actor
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u/kylexys Comrade Koslov Apr 24 '14
According to the SP Wiki these are who the kids represent
Stan - Stan the Man (Randy Orton/Shawn Michaels/Stone Cold)
Kyle - Juggernaut (C. M. Punk)
Cartman - Rad Russian and Bad Irene (Vladimir Kozlov/The Big Show/Undertaker) and Lita (Bad Irene)
Kenny - El Pollo Loco (Rey Mysterio)
Butters - Triceratops (Rhyno/Chris Jericho)
Token - Congo (R-Truth)
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Apr 24 '14
I loved it.
Wrestling is a performance art. It isn't that far off from plays or roman amphitheater style entertainment. So to compare it to a play wasn't too much of a jump.
One thing I've always loved about South Park is many of the things they make fun of they do so from a point of view of either being a fan themselves or doing proper research...then they are able to write in such a way that anyone who is knowledgeable picks up on the nuances but the jokes still go over with anyone not familiar with the source material. another great example is their WoW or Guitar Hero episode.
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Apr 25 '14
I had a guy in my college speech class who did a 5 minute rant on how WWE is fake and that olympic wrestling is REAL and EVERYONE should watch Olympic Wrestling, because it was real and better.
He really reminded me of the coach from that episode.
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Apr 25 '14
Did you break his jaw?
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Apr 25 '14
No, I gave him a Stone Cold Stunner then smashed a bunch of beers over my head and drank them.
I got an A.
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u/TheHeroicOnion You know nothing, John Cone. Apr 25 '14
Here's Matt and Trey talking about the episode
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u/notquite20characters Say everything twice? Apr 24 '14
I sincerely hate the Canadian South Park site. Lots of links to videos of TV shows that aren't South Park, but good luck finding a South Park clip, let alone a full episode.
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u/ghjkcvbn Apr 25 '14
I think they changed to Much from comedycentral this year, worked out better for me to watch current episodes, but I doubt they'll ever get the older ones.
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u/milesgmsu Apr 28 '14
Maybe if your heads worked like the rest of the world, you'd have a good site.
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u/SirZapdos Apr 24 '14
They took his dog?
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Apr 24 '14
The way that made fun of wrestling while actually showing that they understand it, was genius.
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u/EonKayoh LOS! Apr 24 '14
I love this episode. One of my favorites, actually. Strange to think how far away from typical every day drama wrestling has gotten these days.
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u/totemtrouser Would you like some making fuck Apr 24 '14
I liked it. although the rednecks make it seem otherwise the entire episode was supportive of pro wrestling. Think about the main antagonist of the episode, he hated wrestling and wanted everybody to know that it was fake. He was the asshole in the episode not the wrestlers. So what if the fans were rednecks and the story was a soap opera. They lampooned the silly parts of wrestling along with the good parts (the mass fan/money/being who you want to be). The only bad thing that came from it is that my non wrestling fan buddy refers to it as Wrasslin now
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u/freddurstfan420 You wanna WRASSLE me?! Apr 24 '14
I love wrestling and I refer to it it as wrasslin'. "You wanna wrassle ME? Memphis STAHL!?"
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u/ThatIndianGuy7116 Look at Depression Jones over here Apr 24 '14
I fucking loved it. It was actually the episode that completely sold me on South Park. I thought it was hilarious the next day in school when all the wrestlers on the wrestling team got REALLY butthurt about it.
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u/TLKv3 Fantasy Book For ^Vote Apr 24 '14
The fact Trey & Matt genuinely care enough to at least research what they're portraying/mocking/using even just a little bit just adds to how good South Park is. This was one of my favorite episodes.
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u/imnotboutdatlife Says brother with hard "R" Apr 24 '14
beeping noiseI think it's time for the second act.
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u/TheAman44 Reality Champ Apr 25 '14
I don't know how anybody COULDN'T like it. It's genius, and most of what they were saying was pretty true. It really is the Redneck Shakespeare.
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u/Rhynovirus Apr 25 '14
Now that Vince has killed Kayfaybe, pro wrestling is just a western kind of kabuki. Performance art.
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u/SUPER_HIP_DAD BAH GAWD MY SPAGHETTI Apr 24 '14
Tolkien as R-Truth was hilarious.
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u/Imthemayor Casket Match, Go. Apr 24 '14
Token. The only black kid's name is Token.
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u/SUPER_HIP_DAD BAH GAWD MY SPAGHETTI Apr 24 '14
Fucking autocorrect
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u/mattomic822 Apr 25 '14
How much do you talk about Lord of the Rings for your phone to assume you are referring to its author instead of a normal english word?
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u/twilightjumper Apr 24 '14
When he came out I almost did a spit-take. Token as R-Truth was so perfect!
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u/dgener8puf ohpunk Apr 24 '14
Enjoyed it. Gotta be able to laugh at yourself (as a wrestling fan, that is). I know I'm not a redneck (I'm trailer trash, there's a difference!) but the episode was pretty spot-on.
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u/SeeTreePO Jay White Ally Apr 25 '14
All i can say is that I want more abortion based storylines in wwe.
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u/segaofmyhouse Say hello, to my little Meng Apr 25 '14
It is my favourite episode of the entire series, It's basically week by week of the attitude era. It reminds me of the chinpokemon episode where Trey and Matt are trying to explain something that they don't have the first idea about.
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Apr 25 '14
While not the funniest episode of South Park put out, have to find it entertaining to see them take the theatrics to their extreme. Because what you are essentailly watching every Monday night is Live Theater.
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Apr 25 '14
My favorite part is that one of the kids is dressed like Giant Bernard. It's real weird that everyone else is a relatively known WWE guy, and then there's Tensai from his NJPW run.
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u/arkens89 Apr 25 '14
they broke his jaaaaw? deeeay braaawk his jaaaaaaa durkaa doooo
one of my favorite episodes
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Apr 25 '14
I loved it. You can tell the animators are probably wrestling fans, as I'm guessing Kyle being dressed exactly like Perry Saturn with all the same tattoos wasn't in the script.
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u/dumbcommentking catch this footwork son Apr 25 '14
it's one of my favorite episodes (it's not that great of an SP episode but as a wrestling fan it holds a place in my heart)
DEY TOOK ER JEEEEEEERBS
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u/syphlect Who Shot The Clown? Apr 25 '14
I have no idea how I missed this episode, but god damn was it funny. For me, it's my favourite episode of SP ever. The way they portray the crowd and their reactions is way too funny. "There's a 10 year old girl who is addicted to abortions" is just too damn funny.
"Dey took his johb" and then you have the other rednecks repeat it but with less and less of comprehension every time it's said. I laughed out loud.
If anyone has a problem with how WWE is portrayed by a cartoon, then they should enjoy life a little bit more. It's just a cartoon. It's not like if it's a Nancy Grace produced show.
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u/BowlcutBilly Apr 25 '14
It would have been a good episode if it had been done many years earlier. When it came out WWE was pretty awful and not relevant so it seemed very odd.
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Apr 24 '14
It's good contrast of what WWE at the time had become. It was definitely at the time capturing how WWE was turning into a giant soap opera instead of story telling
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u/BM_FUN "Mr. Un-Bolievable" Apr 24 '14
WWE was turning into a giant soap opera instead of story telling
what can you use an example to show me since i was not watching WWE at the time?
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Apr 24 '14
Well this one time, they stopped wrestling all together, dimmed the lights and edge and lita fucked in the middle of the ring.
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u/dgener8puf ohpunk Apr 24 '14
edge and lita fucked in the middle of the ring.
That's a form of wrestling. I think Edge won.
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Apr 24 '14
He always said fear the spear. Its too bad Lita didn't listen or she still might be wrestling today :(
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u/crush500 Weasel! Apr 25 '14
That was the most uncomfortable thing to watch. I just kept thinking of all those poor kids and their parents in the audience. Luckily, my family wasn't watching with me.
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u/MickieJamesRoastBeef Apr 25 '14
I think it was a hilarious parody, but I am very surprised in happened during wrestling's "down" period, and not years earlier. South Park and the Attitude era boom were hugely popular with the same audience in the late 90's. It was a great episode, with the parody of Mcmahon as a theatre snob being absolutely hilarious. However, it was almost too late as far as relevance.
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u/afro_samurai_ Apr 25 '14
vince mcmahon's character making a special appearance was the icing on the cake
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u/bcmthehuman oops, another Dean girl. Apr 25 '14
Huge WWE and South Park fan, I absolutely love this episode! It's one of my favorites and it only seems to get more relevant as time goes on.
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Apr 25 '14
For a few years in WWE it was like watching a huge play. They focused on the out of the ring stories rather than what they were telling in the ring. I thought SOuth Parks episode was hilarious
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u/BaronJesse Tommy Friggin' Dreamer Apr 25 '14
Same thing happened to me in 5th grade. I thought I was signing up to learn drop-kicks and inverted suplexes, turns out to be something completely different. I didn't stay long. Probably wouldn't have stayed long even if it was pro-wrestling since I wasn't too athletic either way.
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Apr 26 '14
Kenny is drinking water at Sizzler.
His family is poor.
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u/Jmacz Apr 25 '14
Does anyone know if WWE gave them permission to do this? Because couldn't they have gotten in trouble for saying WWE and guys wrestling names?
I'm just curious because if so, I find it hilarious they Trey and Matt probably had to call Vince and ask. Then again, they may have some agreement with each other. I remember that oddity guy from the AE was obsessed with Cartman.
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u/Sergeant_Conley Apr 25 '14
In addition to the link u/BM_FUN posted, there's also Fair Use via parody.
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u/El_Gran_Redditor Apr 24 '14 edited Apr 24 '14
Honestly I was disappointed and thought it was kind of a shallow parody. There was way too much "hurf durf durf it's fake and the fans are rednecks" humor and not nearly enough exploration of the things they could have really made fun of like Cartman's backstage politics and the way wrestlers are treated by the business. Vince Russo's entire career as a guy who constantly fucks up but brushes everything aside with circular logic and what amounts to the Chewbacca defense alone could be a goldmine for South Park's absurdest humor. It's a weak episode that, considering WWE's ties with the show since the Attitude Era, really should have been better. If anything it's an indictment of the sort of phoned in work that lead to the "you're getting old" episode.
...errrr. I mean "yay! They mentioned wrestling and made gay jokes."
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u/SilentNick3 Da Bad Guy Apr 25 '14
Yeah, what you said would make a terrible episode. Most people don't know anything about "backstage politics" in pro wrestling. They didn't make this episode for internet neckbeard smarks like yourself.
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u/dc8291 The Phenomenal Apr 25 '14
Yeah, this guy needs to understand South Park has to still appeal to a wide audience
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u/Chyzowych Apr 25 '14
It's weird though cause I feel like people on this sub complain all the time about how frustrating the simplistic mocking of wrestling that most people engage in is, and while this episode just seems to contribute or champion that kind of mocking, everyone here seems to love it.
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u/SilentNick3 Da Bad Guy Apr 25 '14
People like this episode precisely because it wasn't that type of mockery.
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u/Chyzowych Apr 25 '14
In fairness I should watch the episode again, but from what I remember most of the jokes centered around how rednecks watch wrestling and basically just want to see people get their ass beat and how it's all super fake but they don't get it. Maybe the actual jokes were on a meta-level from that, or I just missed something?
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u/Chyzowych Apr 25 '14 edited Apr 25 '14
Thank you, I don't understand how everyone liked it so much. I thought the episode didn't really make an effort to understand wrestling, so from a wrestling fan's perspective it felt like a missed opportunity.
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Apr 25 '14
It's alright. I could have enjoyed a different episode story angle with either Randy Marsh versing Randy Orton or focusing on one character rising the ranks of WWE. But Matt and Trey played it save amusing and acknowledging wrestling fans. More cameos/refs would've been cool or a Rumble/Battle Royal with all the characters from the show fighting for something insane/random
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u/RadTadSimpson Jerry "The Thumb" Lawler Apr 25 '14
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u/zipKill_FRAG RUSSO BOOKS REAL LIFE Apr 24 '14
Loved it! It's one of my favourite episodes due to the subject matter. The only problem I have with it is that Edge wasn't shown as a Canadian in the show, but I can get over it considering that people who didn't know who he was wouldn't know.