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Small things that make a match great...


Michael_3165

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When the heel tells his opponent exactly what he's going to do before he does it. I remember Michael Hayes telling a jobber, 'first I'm gonna clothesline ya, then I'm gonna DDT ya!' It was great and somebody really should bring it back. So dastardly!

Plus, an incredibly easy way to call a match! TV needs more squash matches.

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Certain matches on Raw mean absolutely zero anyway. In 1998, squash matches would have been a ratings killer. In 2011, would it make a difference if Evan Bourne vs Michael McGuillawhatshisface was replaced with R-Truth vs. Clive Jobbins in a 3 minute squash? At least we'd know what everyones finisher was. I used to know what Duke Droses finisher was in 1994. I couldnt name many finishers at the minute.

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A lot of wrestling booking in 2011 is so counterproductive. Squash matches and managers for guys who aren't good enough on the stick seem such obvious ways to get people over, it defies belief that the practices have been abandoned. But, out with the old, in with the new, right? Can't be seen as an old school wrasslin' company!

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The Irish Whip thing pisses me off how wrestlers just back into ropes without any actually push, or just stumble into a corner because that's where their opponent needs them for their next attack... or conveniently end up draped over the middle rope in a matter that they wouldnt wrestling anyone else - because it's time to take a 619. It looks like crap.

 

See, I don't have a problem with any of that. My Internal Continuity System tells me that wrestlers bounce off the ropes from an Irish Whip because it's something that's trained instinctively into them in training, like the lock-up and the kick-out of the pinfall.

 

Also, in the case of the set-up for the 619, that's easy: Rey, being his size and having his moveset, has spent years crafting and tailoring his offensive technique to the point where he's a master at directing, hitting or tripping his opponent in such a way that is designed to unerringly land the opponent in perfect position for the 619. It's one of his most powerful moves - he wouldn't be very good if he had a finisher he couldn't get his opponents into position for.

 

Certain matches on Raw mean absolutely zero anyway. In 1998, squash matches would have been a ratings killer. In 2011, would it make a difference if Evan Bourne vs Michael McGuillawhatshisface was replaced with R-Truth vs. Clive Jobbins in a 3 minute squash? At least we'd know what everyones finisher was. I used to know what Duke Droses finisher was in 1994. I couldnt name many finishers at the minute.

 

I could name loads, but I suspect it's because I'm particularly attentive to such things.

 

 

 

Small things that I like in a match:

 

The finish to WMXX - this shows what a master Triple H is of his craft, that he's learned ALL the rules to the point where he can break them to amazing effect. He knows, full well, that the audience has been conditioned to realise that, when someone, particularly a main eventer, and even more so in a three-way, has been in a submission finish hold longer than it usually takes to put someone away, there's a strong chance he's gonna get out of it. Throw in the fact that it's a three-way, and now you're dealing with the possibility that the third guy, who's been out a while, could come back and break it up.

 

It sure as fuck worked on me. I was rooting for Benoit that match, as he was one of my favourites, and I felt my heart sinking the longer Triple H was in it. I honestly thought: "Oh, for fuck's sake, he's just not going to get that belt, is he?" And then, after a minute and a half of being in the Crippler Crossface, Triple H taps square in the centre of the ring, and I jump off the sofa with a yell and punch the air like I'm twelve years old again. Awesomeness.

 

 

Another one, and another reason I think Triple H is boss: his match with Cena at Wrestlemania (22, I think). Despite Cena being face and Trips heel, and this was only at the beginning of Cena being annoying, so I didn't dislike him at this point, HHH won me over with one thing: the crotch-chop. Not because, in conjunction with Michaels' earlier in the evening, it signified DX's return, but because, very simply, the message was crystal clear, and came after Cena's "You Can't See Me" and Five Knuckle Shuffle. It simply said: "What? I was cool before you ever were, bitch."

 

 

One more, and this is a bit more general: I love, when a wrestler whips the opponent to the opposite post to have them hit it so hard they crash off it and fall on their face, he implies the extra effort in his whip by falling on his back himself. Orton does this every so often.

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When a wrestler shakes out his hand after a punch or a big chop. Benoit used to do it, and Roode does it now quite a bit. Small thing that adds to the realism of the fight.

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One thing that i have never got my head around is why is it that wrestling matches look so contrived and obvious to me that what i am seeing is a work.

 

I will give you an example here the irish whip. The move is performed when the person giving the move is dead centre in the ring and the person that takes the move gets whipped in what would seem a perfect line to halfway in the ring. This always annoys me. Would it matter if the move was taken from say off to the side just so it doesn't make wrestling matches look so contrived and worked.

 

Another example is big moves. Why is it that the big moves are always done and executed in a way that it looks like a choreographed dance move? Can they not do the moves that there is some sort of struggle or that they don't look as perfect but yet the oponent lands safe and is protected? Again the big moves also tend to happen in the centre of the ring. Does everything have to happen in the middle? Could we not have some action happen off centre in the ring and make things look less contrived?

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Also, in the case of the set-up for the 619, that's easy: Rey, being his size and having his moveset, has spent years crafting and tailoring his offensive technique to the point where he's a master at directing, hitting or tripping his opponent in such a way that is designed to unerringly land the opponent in perfect position for the 619. It's one of his most powerful moves - he wouldn't be very good if he had a finisher he couldn't get his opponents into position for.

The 619 looks ok to me on rare occasions, like when Rey maybe drop-toe-holds a running opponent into the ropes, or hits a dropkick to the back of someone who's already crawling in that direction and is pretty close to the ropes. The majority of the time though, I agree with the original point - it just looks ridiculous as guys run halfway across the ring to throw themselves into position. I don't think I could ever buy that he controls his opponents' exact movements by the way he hits the rana, headsicissors or whatever.

 

Something else I like to see in a match, especially a big match - guys busting out stuff outwith their usual moveset. I get the impression from some on here that matches should just be punches, kicks, headlocks and armbars, because 'moves' is a bad word which describe these things you see on the indies. Regardless, I always like it when someone busts out something new, rare, or something they used in the past but don't anymore. Randomly is fine, but particularly after they've exhausted most of their usual stuff. It can really help to create a 'big time' feel to things, show that they're having to go above and beyond what they usually do to try and win, and it can add to the drama when done right.

 

Likewise, in an ordinary match, it can just look cool, and pop the crowd if it's something from years ago. Doesn't matter if it's a throw, dive, pin, submission or whatever, it can freshen up a match and make it more memorable, particularly these days when a lot of matches feel the same as everyone's faced everyone else several times.

------

 

You could also say Virus, Damiancito 333, Tzuki and Mascarita Dorada are small things that make a match great :)

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You could also say Virus, Damiancito 333, Tzuki and Mascarita Dorada are small things that make a match great :)

 

That's genius. Lucha always comes up with awesome names.

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I always like it when someone busts out something new, rare, or something they used in the past but don't anymore. Randomly is fine, but particularly after they've exhausted most of their usual stuff. It can really help to create a 'big time' feel to things, show that they're having to go above and beyond what they usually do to try and win, and it can add to the drama when done right.

 

Used expertly by Steve Austin at Wrestlemania X7. That fit so, so well with the whole story of the match. Austin was desperate, Rock was kicking out of everything. They knew each other in the ring better than anyone else would and knew just about every trick they'd have going. They'd even been using each others finishers on each other in the match and weeks prior. Rock hadn't experienced 'The Ringmaster' Steve Austin though, the last time he'd busted out the Million$ Dream it backfired on him and just happened to be the night Rock debuted too. It's unlikely Rock would have expected to encounter it in the match. Plus, it signified what was about to come in the heel turn.

 

Top notch.

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I had no idea Damian's mini was called "333". That is the coolest thing I've heard in a very long time. :D:thumbsup:

Well, it's more of an unofficial thing, but the commentators did occasionally refer to him as that now and again. Officially, on posters & tv graphics, I think it was just plain old Pequeno Damian.

 

He's called something completely different (and really shitty) now though, 'Demus 3:16'

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