Fandango

[Big Vic]

I'm guessing after next week we will hear no more Fandangoing.

[Tommy Gunn]

The Fandango segment on Raw fell really flat, I think it'd have been better to acknowledge it with the video package like they did, but just have Fandango come out for a match instead of that pointless bit with Jerry Lawler.

[Next Big Thing]

Jim Johnston is probably one popular guy at WWE headquarters right now.

[Savio]

I bet he's getting mad pussy right now

[Next Big Thing]

For some reason, I always imagined him looking like a member of ZZ Top. That incarnation of Jim Johnston would definitely be pulling. The real Jim Johnston looks like he'd be happier with a new keyboard.

[Corporate CockSnogger]

Hope they don't try and force things too much with him now. Last night was a bit cringeworthy. I agree they should've just shown the video package and them give him a match to see how the crowd would act. Curtis is really good anyway so I'm sure he'll make the most of the situation, but I think he'd progress better if they just stick to the original plan.

[Anybody Thrilla]

It always feels like WWE would rather brag about the successes they do attain rather than capitalize on them. I just hope Fandango himself doesn't get blamed for the character not catching on if they keep sticking him in the same idiotic types of segments that they did last night.

[The Snake]

^that was my take. If the whole "pronounce my name" thing is all he's got on the mic at this point, give him a mouthpiece. Then let him continue to draw heel heat with the silly dance moves and a victory streak until he's ready.

What they're doing is killing the heat he's fallen into

[#1-norm-fan]

Johnny Curtis is more than capable on the mic. The gimmick doesn't call for much though.

[Savio]

Originally Posted by The Snake ^that was my take. If the whole "pronounce my name" thing is all he's got on the mic at this point, give him a mouthpiece. Then let him continue to draw heel heat with the silly dance moves and a victory streak until he's ready. What they're doing is killing the heat he's fallen into

Thanks for your take

[#1-norm-fan]

Originally Posted by Anybody Thrilla It always feels like WWE would rather brag about the successes they do attain rather than capitalize on them.

Exactly. They come off as an out of touch old man trying to be "cool" entirely too much and they don't really know how to appeal to the segment of the audience that got the Fandango thing over. More often than not in situations like this they just come off as horrifically corny and lame for it.

[Lock Jaw]

[Savio]

Ugh no

[Cool King]

Originally Posted by Lock Jaw

The first thing I noticed in that thumbnail was the picture of Steve Blackman.

[#1-norm-fan]

This is why we can't have nice things, WWE.

[Lock Jaw]

This is the opposite of what they normally do when something catches on with the "smarks". Really baffling my mind.

[Cool King]

Also, I'm not a fan of the second video.

I don't get how people can use Macs.

[Lock Jaw]

With their hands.

[Cool King]

Originally Posted by Lock Jaw With their hands.

[Lock Jaw]

VINTAGE CM PUNK GIF

[Cool King]

[Cool King]

I came across a lot of Hugh Morrus/fantastic Cole gifs while looking for that one.

[Shadrick]

Originally Posted by Cool King I came across a lot of Hugh Morrus/fantastic Cole gifs while looking for that one.

[Poit]

Originally Posted by Poit

Originally Posted by Lock Jaw

[owenbrown]

Originally Posted by Cool King

Michael Cole should never do that again.

[Corporate CockSnogger]

Theme was played in this "Club" I was in last night. Fell flat mostly, but there was a small selection of people that joined in. The DJ there is a huge wrestling fan and has his own custom made Shawn Michaels pants. He cut out the music around this time last year one night to get everyone doing the "Yes! chant.

[Cool King]

[Mr. Nerfect]

Chris Jericho is apparently going to be on RAW this week. Throw him and Fandango into a match together and let magic happen. Put Fandango over cleanly and then have a Fandangoing celebration at the end. And just let him embrace it. Still keep him a heel and talk shit to the audience, but he's so arrogant and cocky that of course he loves it when he catches on and becomes a sensation. And of course, in his mind, it was always going to happen. Everyone is late to the party.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Part of me is thinking the only reason they put the US Title on Kofi Kingston was so that they could hot-shot the belt to Fandango. Maybe they will do that multi-man Ladder Match for both titles at Extreme Rules. If they hang the belts seperately they can have Fandango win one title and someone else take the other. A returning Christian as US Champion and Fandango as Intercontinental Champion?

[XL]

Jericho's latest sabbatical was very ill-timed for Fandango. Still a lot of steam in a feud there.

I hope Fandango gets a spot in like a Triple Threat or a Fatal 4-Way for the WHC. He could shine and really solidify his spot on the roster.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Fandango and Chris Jericho could elongate their feud for the next six WrestleMania's and have a Best of Seven Series.

[CSL]

I am a fan, would wear

[Mr. Nerfect]

Actually a pretty good t-shirt. I still think they should do the World Wrestling Fandango one.

[CSL]

Andrea Lynn was ready for a big break.

The 20-year-old University at Buffalo senior has been dancing since she was 5. While attending Rush-Henrietta High School near Rochester, she visited Austria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic for a concert tour, and she’s used to hustling across New York State year-round for shows and competitions. She’s mastered everything from tap to jazz to ballet to ballroom, all of which she teaches at the Fred Astaire Dance Studio in Williamsville. She’s trained with Broadway stars, and unsurprisingly, she would like to join them one day.

“I could see her on ‘Dancing with the Stars,’ ” said Thomas Ralabate, chair of UB’s Theatre and Dance department. “She has that ability to do that, and to be an elite ballroom dancer.”

But on the last day of February, someone from World Wrestling Entertainment called the Fred Astaire studio in the afternoon. The WWE was coming to Buffalo for a show, and the company needed a young, attractive, proficient ballroom dancer, as soon as possible, no auditions necessary.

Four days later, Lynn was at the sold-out show at the First Niagara Center, ballroom dancing with Fandango, a wrestler who would soon be one of the WWE’s most popular and unlikely superstars. For Lynn, it was the start of what turned into a two-month run of traveling shows and televised appearances with the world’s leading wrestling company, which coincided with Fandango becoming the biggest social media sensation the WWE ever had.

She had not prepared for that.

“Usually for ballroom stuff, everyone is in glitter and sparkles and fancy costumes,” said Lynn, who uses only her first and middle name professionally. “Everyone, when you go to a ballroom event, is in some sort of formal attire. Backstage at Wrestlemania, however, the guys are in sweats and T-shirts – it wasn’t the same type of show that I was used to.”

So how did the WWE end up scouting a suburban studio for talent? “I have no idea,” Lynn said. “I think they just Googled it and tried the first place they could find. It was just dumb luck.”

Even if Lynn had less than five days to prepare for it, her sudden WWE stardom is as improbable as it sounds. For one thing, Lynn’s petite figure and perky manner don’t seem like an ideal fit for the body-slamming, table-smashing world of sports entertainment.

She wasn’t exactly a wrestling fan, either.

“I actually had no idea who anyone was,” she said. “I mean, I was aware of it. Like, I know who Hulk Hogan is and Andre the Giant is and stuff like that. But my family was never really into that. We were more of a theater, music, dance-type family.”

Fortunately for Lynn, the WWE was looking to inject a little more theater and dance into its brand with Fandango, a character who was planned and promoted for months before debuting in March. Although Fandango is portrayed by Curtis Hussey, a wrestler with almost 15 years of experience, the character is a strange bedfellow in the WWE roster: a fussy, flamboyant, sultry-voiced dancer who seems more interested in ballet than brawling, and works up his fiercest rage when his name is constantly mispronounced. (It’s Fahn-Dahn-Go – “breathe in the A’s,” as he told one interviewer.)

Presumably, Fandango is intended to help the WWE ride the wave of shows such as “Dancing with the Stars.” But the veteran wrestler needed a star dancer of his own to look like a ballroom pro. That’s where Lynn came in.

At the March 4 show in Buffalo, Lynn danced with Fandango as he entered the ring to his theme song “ChaChaLaLa,” a ringtone-ready tune of Latin-infused elevator music. They had little time beforehand to practice the dance, and their bit of ballroom barely lasted three minutes.

“It was just kind of ‘go with the flow,’ ” Lynn said. “I guess that adds to the magic. You don’t plan too much.”

The dance was supposed to be a one-time event for Lynn. But about two weeks later, the WWE called back. After scrambling to find a different local dancer for every show, the company wanted a consistent companion for Fandango. Lynn made a good impression in Buffalo. Was she available for more shows?

Lynn rearranged her school schedule accordingly, and asked Anastasia Abrashin, owner of the Fred Astaire studio, for some time off. Although Abrashin was unfamiliar with the WWE and said that it was “a little bit different” from what her dancers typically do, she was happy to oblige.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s WW – you know, whatever it’s called,” Abrashin said. “Not everyone gets an opportunity like this.”

For the next two months, Lynn was a fixture for Fandango, accompanying him before and after matches and sometimes joining him in the ring. She took on a new look to mirror the character’s prim-and-proper pompousness, with her brunette hair pulled back, her freckles hidden under makeup. She danced with Fandango in televised appearances across the country, including the pay-per-view Wrestlemania 29, which drew 80,000 fans to East Rutherford, N.J. – one of the largest crowds in WWE history.

Along the way, the Fandango craze took on a life of its own, when “Fandangoing” – a Hokey Pokey-esque dance inspired by Fandango’s painfully catchy theme song – somehow became an online sensation. Within weeks of Fandango’s debut, a #FandangoRevolution hashtag started, “ChaChaLaLa” charted on iTunes and YouTube videos of WWE fans, Houston Texans cheerleaders and PETA representatives “Fandangoing” went viral. It was the “Gangnam Style” of pro wrestling, and even though Fandango is supposed to be a villain – or “heel,” in industry terms – he became the WWE’s biggest crossover sensation in years. As an unknowing cohort in the Fandango Revolution, Lynn had mixed feelings about it.

“That’s not dancing, not at all,” she said, shaking her head. “That’s not giving the ballroom world justice. I can teach people how to dance if they want to learn.”

Lynn’s schedule remained as frenzied as her first appearance – she usually worked two shows a week, always learning her travel arrangements at the last minute and always on call for another appearance. But contrary to the stories of pressure and burnout that are common to the wrestling world, Lynn considered her two months in the WWE a pleasant experience – like being in “one big family,” she said. She taught some moves to Fandango backstage. She chatted with WWE CEO Vince McMahon, met the Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and John Cena, shared a locker room with the divas and ran into Diddy and Snooki at Wrestlemania. She was given time, space and a company iPad to do homework and study for finals. She was ready to stay with the WWE through the summer, but in early May, the creative team opted for Summer Rae – an established star, and a rare wrestler with some dancing chops. She became Fandango’s new partner, and for the time being, Lynn was out of the show.

Since then, Lynn’s life has settled back to a simpler schedule: teaching full-time again at Fred Astaire, completing her dance major at UB and not having to hear “ChaChaLaLa” anymore. But that doesn’t mean that her Fandango Revolution is over. Lynn said that her departure from the WWE was good-natured and “open-ended,” and the company still has her in mind as a potential dancer. Even now, she’s never sure when another call could come to the studio. But next time, she’ll be ready.

“They didn’t cut me off like, ‘We don’t want you anymore,’ ” she said. “They could call me next week, they could call me next year.”

[Lock Jaw]

BEAT ME TO IT.

The great mystery is solved at last.

[Emperor Smeat]

As for the "Fandango'ing" craze that popped up after WrestleMania, Andrea entered dance instructor mode, noting, "That’s not dancing, not at all." She added, "That’s not giving the ballroom world justice. I can teach people how to dance if they want to learn.”

Too bad she can't be available full-time or else it would be a perfect fit to Fandango's complaining. He gets upset when people say his name wrong and she'd get upset at the Fandangoing from the crowd.

[Anybody Thrilla]

I want to make a lot of love to that woman, even though she seems hella boring after that read.

[Lock Jaw]

Also better at playing a heel than Summer Rae thus far

[Hanso Amore]

Hmmm, local girl eh? I must find her