Quote:
Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame
I'm of the opinion that if it takes you more than 5 seconds to climb a turnbuckle/jump over a rope and you have to prepare for your launch, you shouldn't be doing it.
Only an absolute select few can do it today and make it look realistic - Ospreay, Ricochet, Kommander, etc.
I hate hate hate when the spot is set up and everyone congregates on the floor waiting for the jump. I hate when they give the performer tons of time to prep. It really takes away from it all.
Also, when wrestlers do things like cartwheels to attack people, it looks so dumb and fake. Only Jack Cartwheel should be doing cartwheels to attack. It looks really bad when anyone does it, I feel like I'm watching Ninja Warrior or something.
A punch, a lariat, or a quick german suplex is soooo much more believable.
This is why I got turned off from WWE/NXT. Big moves, looks fake, may as well watch gymnastics at the Olympics.
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Ok, that's it, time for an old man rant, and here it comes.
Moves don't look devastating because of the move, they look devastating because of the psychology of the move and the sell.
Someday I'll find the excellent clip of Heyman talking about this on Austin's podcast. Basically it was around the use of the sleeper, its execution, its sell, and the star that uses it protecting it. Its a really good dissertation into wrestling psychology.
Wrestlers don't know how to sell, finishing moves have become irrelevant because people are kicking out of them multiple times and showing no ill effects.
In my day (here it comes), in Stampede Wrestling a sleeper was a devastating looking move, because people rarely got out of them, and not only that, but after the match, the wrestler applying the sleeper had to wake up his victim or as Ed Whalen would intone, brain damage could occur.
Lariats used to look absolutely devastating because wrestlers not only knew how to take the move to devastating effects but sell afterwards. Look at JBL's clothesline from hell.
Also punches and chops have become a parody, nobody knows how to do them, and nobody knows how to sell them.
I remember going to the dome with a buddy and we saw the ultimate warrior in his pre tv days. And he reared back and threw the phoniest looking punch ever, and even though his opponent tried to fix it by going down, the mystique of a 6'7 guy with huge muscles throwing a punch that didn't look like it would kill a guy took you right out of the illusion of pro wrestling.
We've gone so far in wrestling because nobody is teaching people the psychology of the sell, and the protection of big moves that they are meaningless.
If I'm a main event guy, and I'm booked in a match with a mid card or even a main event guy at a TV taping, and the suggestion comes up that he kicks out of my finisher to get him over, I'm going to protect my finishing move and say f-no, its lazy booking. Or if I'm working with some ya ya and hit my finishing move on the floor and he pops up no worse for wear, then I'm punching him full on in the face.
A PPV or feud blowoff is a different thing, but if they say, you're going to hit 20 back suplexes and your finish and he's going to kick out, then your going to hit your finishing move again and he's going to kick out, then he's going to beat you with a small package, I'm never using my finishing move again after the match because its now a poo move.
You can make any move look devastating if your partner sells it, the reason why we have more and more high risk moves and injuries from them is because things like the DDT, and sleepers, and other devastating moves have been rendered from devastating moves to set up moves for stupidity.
Also wrestlers have decided to do gag comedy with moves that make them a joke. I absolutely hate chest chops because they're executed so weakly, and wrestlers think its funny to no sell them. There's a way to no sell that works and shows a wrestler is tough, but the only way to do it is to actually hit the chop or punch or whatever seriously so the no seller looks like an enranged psycho.
the other ridiculous thing though is wrestlers that pick soft looking signature moves as their finisher. The people's elbow, the five knuckle shuffle, the Hogan leg drop, the worm. All stupid finishers or signature moves, unless you make it clear that the move right before is the finisher. The leg drop, teh rock bottom, etc.
But then that leg drop better look like its literally going to put the person in a 4 hour coma.
Rant off.