What factors go into you getting emotionally invested into a wrestler? 

For me honestly it's sort of a blend. If you can't tell by my character or how I express myself I am a huge fans of such promotions such as Ring Of Honor and NJPW which treat a show less of a form of entertainment and more as a sport. Yet that could actually be far from the truth. Personally I enjoy a good blend of the gritty matches of New Japan yet still enjoy the storytelling of which WWE became famous for. It's why for me at least, NXT may very well be the best thing WWE has going for it. It's also why Progess Wrestling is my favorite promotion. 

Yet still. I enjoy hearing other people's perspectives on what gets someone emotionally invested in a pro-wrestler.

See Chris Jericho.

Hmmmm..... I'd say that what gets me invested is the gimmick and the character work that is put in. Great character work helps me believe in true heels, and makes me want to see faces succeed. On another side note, I believe that while the pure wrestling is still a important of, well, wrestling, I also think that the storytelling is equally important. Stuff like selling, doing heel/face work. It helps the viewer get really invested in the match.

Being an underdog. My character comes from a simple girl with zero experience as she tries to defy fate and break the stereotype that even she looks weak, her willingness to fight is not as weak as she looks. This is why I rather pick a non-wrestler picbase because I don't want to look expert-ish. I am not sure that this factor is actually blocking me to walk further, but I am what I am.

Two things, his mic skills and his in ring abilities. First of all, a wrestler today needs to be a great mic worker. Because using the mic, a wrestler can make even the most weirdest of shit believable. Like Chris Jericho managed to get a piece of paper (the list) more over than Roman Reigns because of his amazing skills on the mic. Another example of a guy who has amazing mic skills is Kevin Owens and that dude is entertaining.

Second as I said is the in ring abilities. Let's face it, no one likes a wrestler with limited skills inside the ring. I mean, The Great Khali did only one move and you all had bathroom breaks or dozed off when he was on the ring. But replace him with someone like AJ Styles or CM Punk and the crowd comes alive. Because they got skills that keep the people on their edge because you never know what to expect from their vast arsenal of moves. That is why people pay to see them and not the Great Khali or the Big Show.

In short, these are the two things that gets me invested in a wrestler

A good entertaining gimmick. And the ability to evolve and never get stale.

It dependz on tha company for me. In LU, WWE, and more character focused companies I am more invested in the promos/character work. In companies like ROH and NJPW I don't care as much if the wrestlers can talk since the focus is more on the ring work.

I had to think about this for a little bit but I think I've decided on a combination of gimmick and personality. I know they kind of are the same thing but there's something about the cohesion of both things and how they fit together that gets me into a wrestler. I feel like it needs to seem natural and that it needs to just flow from the wrestler in order to work. This is why I can just like both Faces and Heels for what they are. This is also why I like even some of the more outlandish gimmicks that are floating around the world of sports entertainment. When it comes to wrestling ability or whatever, I'm pretty "eh" on it. I respect what they can do and the athleticism and all that. But I'm more impressed by the moves themselves and if they are cool or not as opposed to an outright lovingness of the wrestling ability itself.



There may be more to come as I continue to ponder this.

I like character. I also like how they are out of character. I just have to feel some sort of connection, and gravitate to them.

I agree with Brody...a good character gimmick is key. But I also like how they act out of the ring doing philanthropic things like Make a Wish and such.

For me, a wrestler invests me when they evolve. For example, i watched AJ Styles in TNA around 2006 when he was in a tag team with Tomko and he slowly started becoming the companies ace before he went to NJPW and had matches that defined his career and now he's in the top promotion (global market wise) and is treated like a mega star.

Character and work rate play factors too.