http://www.stormwrestling.com/093012.html
Man's got a point. It always drive me nuts when someone is "pinned" and their shoulders aren't even on the mat. That's why I always love the spot where a guy goes for the pin, the other guy kicks out, and so the first guy hooks the leg and tries again so that he makes his opponent work for it.
Regal was the king of multiple pin attempts.
ReplyDeleteI like the image comparison at the end.
ReplyDeleteSome roll up attempt pins are terrible because you can clearly see as the guy is struggling that his shoulders aren't on the mat yet the ref counts anyway.
And it's a huge reason why that draw ending at Night of Champions bothered me so much, from that vantage point, he could only see one of Cena's shoulders.
Another thing Tensai sucks at.
ReplyDeleteI liked how back in the day, more times than not, if the guys shoulder wasn't actually down, the ref wouldn't count it and they'd have to improvise - which really isn't difficult to do, just re-position him or do a roll up or something. This was back when all that really mattered was who won the match, not how, why or the story they're telling. Now you clearly see a guy's shoulder is off the mat, but it's the finish, so they just cut to another camera angle and go with it.
ReplyDeleteAnd the forearm across the face as he did it.
ReplyDeleteI've never had a problem with "botches" in wrestling for similar reasons for what he talks about. People make mistakes, if wrestling is real (and it should be presented as such) then mistakes are bound to be made. Sure if there's a wrestler who never fucks up, you can make not fucking up part of their character and get them over with it, but contrast is good.
ReplyDeleteHave wrestlers that have more passion than skill, or guys that are stronger than they are technical, it makes it easier to get certain guys over if one guy is known as being the best at one particular aspect of wrestling, it's not a character, but it's something to base a character around, and it also allows for more cohesive storytelling. If you establish lets say Wade Barrett as the best brawler in the company, and Kofi as the most athletic, it allows both of them to build a match and finish more easily, and add or eliminate spots that would or wouldn't make sense respectively, for example don't do the "Boo, Yay" spot because in Kayfabe, Kofi can't match Barretts punches.
Yeah, I think it adds realism to matches. If a guy is beat up, tired, and possibly in a rush/panic, he's not going to hit a difficult move perfectly every time. Even repeating the spot itself isn't that bad - if you were trying to hit a move, why wouldn't you try again? It's just when the set up to trying to again telegraphs that they're re-doing what they just screwed up, then it looks fake.
ReplyDeletei always liked bret's lateral press.
ReplyDeleteYeah, if the spot is really contrived and it's supposed to be improvised, it looks bad, but if someone falls out of a finisher or it doesn't land right, pick 'em back up and hit it again.
ReplyDeleteyep mistakes happen. Used to love how Gorilla would say something like "I don't think he got all of that one" when a move was obviously botched like a dropkick making little contact.
ReplyDeleteGot around to watching Smackdown just now, and it appears Tensai hasn't read the article yet.
ReplyDeleteEspecially as tv champion when he was always going for the draw, he'd work multiple covers over and over.
ReplyDeleteThat was actually another reason I loved that ending. It kind of goes back to what Phrederic was talking about with botched moves: it adds to the realism. In real sports refs fuck up and find themselves out of position, too.
ReplyDeleteI miss gimmick pins, such as the Kane/Undertaker pin after a Tombstone or the Chris Jericho C'MON BABY Arrogant Cover
ReplyDeleteThe first I thing I thought of when reading Storm's editorial. And Gorilla--God bless him--would regularly point out that Bret should've hooked the leg. Which kind of undermines the whole "Excellence of Execution" gimmick that Bret was getting over. Pretty much exactly what Storm was saying.
ReplyDeleteWHATTAMANEUVER!! One... two... HE GOT HIM NO HE DIDN'T HE SHUDDA HOOKED THE LEG!!!
ReplyDeleteNot true. WWE refs have been told to make sure both shoulders are down before counting, and I have seen several matches in the past year where the referee refused to count and told the pinning wrestler to adjust his pin so his opponent's shoulders were on the mat.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this completely, though I don't think WWE is the worst, as Storm says. Plenty of smaller feds probably are worse. But that's a great column. The other issue I have is how ever pin in WWE goes to a 2 count. First pins shouldn't always go to a 2 count.
ReplyDelete"Botches" have become like "plot holes." Don't like a match that everyone is raving about? just say "Yeah, if you LIKE matches with tons of botches."
ReplyDeleteForget about that subjective argument bullshit, spotting botches makes you objectively right, and we all know that being right is what's important on the internet.
See women's 10-person tag at WM 26 for prime example.
ReplyDeleteThere was at least one 1 count last week. And about 3 the week before.
ReplyDeleteWell, botches can make a match look bad, if there are phantom bumps and moves that clearly don't hit, but I think it comes down to perception and taste, some people might not notice if a crossbody only half-hits. There are some guys that hate it when they see wrestlers call spots, I never notice it (unless it's the "drag the guy up from the ground with your head right next to them" one) so it really doesn't bother me.
ReplyDeleteSheamus used to kick out at one a lot. It was pretty cool, because when somebody finally managed a two count you knew shit was getting real.
ReplyDeleteI always liked it when they would to the rapid fire pin attempts thing. Mainly because the announcers pointed out how it was a cheap and effective way to wear the other guy down with minimal effort and little risk.
ReplyDelete