Hello and welcome to the second edition of The State of Wrestling. Yes I am sorry but they have allowed me back for more articles and issues pertaining to the worked sport that we all know and love. I was even able to make it a few sentences without my literacy level dropping down, aren’t you all so proud of me? Last week I gave a candid opinion on what many of us need to do in order to help shape the wrestling scene and I think this week’s column should build off of that. As always, if anybody has any opinions, gripes or general comments about what I say or have said, the comments box can always be found at the bottom.
This week is where we discuss MOVEZ~! in wrestling. This discussion is primarily aimed at the independent side of wrestling and involves something that a good portion of independent wrestling stars are guilty of doing. It isn’t bad but definitely strays away from the psychology of a match and will leave many fans confused. So, scratch that, maybe it actually is bad. Raise your hand if you have been to a show where a guy has been getting his knee worked nearly an entire match and ends up finishing his opponent with a Shooting Star Press? The majority? Awesome. That is one of the problems with wrestling right now. But that is not to also say that major stars are not guilty of it as well, who remembers the Cena/HBK match from Wrestlemania where SuperCena forgets about his leg injury mid-match to begin a tirade on Michaels that has Michaels visibly livid?
When the Goldust Trio began to fix all the matches and turn this into a truly worked sport, the one thing that they had to do was work the match while still making it believable enough to the fans. The way they did this was by developing what we mostly still follow today in pinpointing a body part and going to work on it. But the difference between then and now is that once the part was pinpointed, any move that would rely on the leg or arm or back for support was quickly eliminated from the equation. Now don’t get me wrong, wrestling has transformed a great deal in terms of moveset since those days at Comisky Park with 3 hour legholds and headlocks but, even so, that should never affect the psychology of a match.
For any of you possibly having a bit of confusion, let me re-iterate and expand on how psychology works. Psychology is the basis for which the entire match is based upon. There are many forms of this including the big man/little man psychology, injury psychology and feud psychology, among others. The main basis is to give every fan in the audience and on television the thought that the people in the ring are really wanting to win the match and that none of this is predetermined, essentially suspending disbelief for those few moments. Our problem is that unlike the Goldust Trio, every wrestler knows that the fans are in on the work (Which is obvious by me explaining all of this otherwise the cat would be completely out of the bag, wouldn’t it?). So, while we have less of a commitment to the fans because they know it is fake, we also have more of a commitment to them to not be lazy and work for the best match possible.
So when a match will go fifteen minutes with one wrestler demolishing another wrestler’s back and arm just for the person to get up and give his opponent a Death Valley Driver, does our suspension of disbelief fade or are we too impressed with the Move~! to care? It is a pretty interesting debate if you ask me. Among other people all across the country, I know I am guilty of this and wanting to get my “shine†in just to get that gasp factor from the crowd but, overall, is the gasp factor really what we work for in the ring? Or is it to tell a good story and put on a believable match? It is an interesting conundrum in itself isn’t it? Obviously as a respect to professional wrestling, psychology should be followed at all times so it should be agreed that psychology should rank over Movez~! but many people do not follow this thought and, in the end, it hurts the finished product that is sent to get you noticed.
This is the time when I should point out that many people may not like what I say, especially some of the “old school boysâ€. With that, I am sorry. However, it isn’t like I am revealing the magician’s code or saying anything most people do not already know, I am just trying to put independent wrestling on the map with a quality product. I am far from the best wrestler in the world but have a physical and mental knowledge of the game along with a love for it that many people strive for. Isn’t it time for all of us to share the wealth of knowledge and bring together all of the wrestlers for the better of the business? Then again, maybe I’m just jealous because I never got my pro wrestler decoder ring and my shiny pants aren’t tight enough, I don’t know. But this column will keep on and it will continue to help out anybody and everybody, you’re welcome.
Upcoming shows that YOU should check out involve Primos Hardcore and Wrestling on March 7th at Casselmann’s in Denver, AXW returning to the SLC in Utah at Club 90 on March 7th, Mach-1 Wrestling will present Slam & Jam on March 13th at the Phoenix Club in Anaheim and IWF Promotions putting on their 6th Annual Alan Carnill Memorial Show on March 14th.
It was once again slim pickings in the world of wrestling this week because nobody sent me any footage or recommendations although I did have the chance to explore Mach-1 out of California this past week and there are many wrestlers who I would love to see a few matches out of, anybody with a hookup there should get a hold of me. So, with that, a Denver worker will get the spotlight, not to say he is anything but deserving of the shot because he is an amazing performer and will go on to amazing things in his career and he goes by the name of Raheem Rashad or Anderson 360 or Mo Murdah depending on where you see him. He wrestles out of the Colorado area for IWF Promotions, Primos Hardcore and Wrestling and Asylum Championship Wrestling but travels abroad for promotions such as AEW in Texas, AXW in Utah and a promotion in Kansas that is suddenly skipping my mind (Sorry!). He has an amazing work ethic and a wrestling acumen that is second to none in the sport of professional wrestling. A former Fusion Heavyweight Champion, Fusion Tag Team Champion with Mike DiBiase which he can proudly… Kind of remember and a former WWA Tag Team Champion out of Texas with partner Arik Angel, this man is a powerhouse in the sport of professional wrestling. Why people aren’t knocking down his door to bring him to TNA or WWE remains unknown.
So, second article, how’d I do? Are people enjoying what I have to say? Or is anybody getting annoyed with my opinions? The comments box is located underneath me and the e-mail address is at the top so let me know. That also goes for wrestlers who want me to see their work, organizations wanting me to plug events and anybody who wants to invite me to the upcoming WWE show at the Pepsi Center in Denver. Ehhh, it was worth a shot! Have a good day everyone!
