Ban three (relatively) trivial things in wrestling

[tiger_rick]

1. Tony Schiavone and Jim Ross from commentary. It's time. They're both great, use them somewhere else.

2. Adam Cole and his circle of friends

3. WWE

[DavidB6937]

24 minutes ago, FLips said:

1. Singing wrestlers entrance music. Edge, Jericho and Randy Orton are the three biggest offenders. Shite, and it’s just the crowd getting themselves over. 

Did it even happen much before Judas? It's probably just another shit thing Jericho has caused.

Off the top of my head I remember stuff like Angle's "You suck!" and Cena's "John Cena sucks" but it'd be pretty rare for a real crowd sing along. Obviously a Cody "Woah!". Sami Zayn's current theme. Nakamura sometimes? I think we had one at MITB with the Usos which was pretty fun but yeah, actual regular singalongs were never the case were they?

... I'm not counting Fandango.

... I'm definitely not counting Seth. Fuck off.

Maybe I'm just blanking memory wise but I feel like there were so many awesome themes that never had singalongs.

[RedTwoster]

9 hours ago, AshC said:

Wrestlers arriving at the show.

The idea of having wrestlers filmed arriving.

Memories of wrestlers arriving.

 

I can’t believe I forgot this, it’s probably my biggest irritant in modern wrestling, particularly with how WWE handles it, using it to start almost every show. The fact I’ve stopped watching WWE led to me forgetting, but I’d throw this in the bin in a heartbeat. I couldn’t agree with you more strongly. 

[tiger_rick]

14 minutes ago, DavidB6937 said:

Did it even happen much before Judas? It's probably just another shit thing Jericho has caused.

Can't say I'm completely opposed because when it catches on organically, it is quite cool. When Jericho was a face and still had some life left, the singalong was a pretty great bit of the act. Once he was a heel and a tired one at that, it became an issue that they didn't solve. When Copeland's song was sung in Australia, that was a cool moment and his reaction was one of genuine surprise but, you knew right away they were going to milk it until it wasn't special anymore.

[waters44]

Main one for me is calling spots in the ring, immediately I'm out of the match when I see that.

I was at a tiny show in Hungerford a few years ago, maybe 40 people in attendance. I was so close to the ring my nose was practically touching the apron. Yet I didn't hear or spot one moment of communication the whole show, not even from the ref. It was fantastic. 

Yet at the two big shows last weekend you had blatant disregard for it. I know Cena has always been bad at this but he was chatting away the whole match on Saturday. Then you have Eddie Kingston on the AEW show shouting "PUSH ME IN THE CORNAH" so loud they would have heard it in the back row

[DavidB6937]

3 minutes ago, tiger_rick said:

Can't say I'm completely opposed because when it catches on organically, it is quite cool. When Jericho was a face and still had some life left, the singalong was a pretty great bit of the act. Once he was a heel and a tired one at that, it became an issue that they didn't solve. When Copeland's song was sung in Australia, that was a cool moment and his reaction was one of genuine surprise but, you knew right away they were going to milk it until it wasn't special anymore.

Yeah, that's probably the thing. As soon as something does happen naturally and there's an enjoyment about it, there's an inevitability that it'll get driven into the ground eventually which is a shame. Especially in WWE.

[BomberPat]

1. Show opening promos that set up a main event later in the show - I don't think this happens as much as it used to, in fairness. But when the show opens with a wrestler cutting a promo, then someone interrupts, and then they agree to fight in the main event, any variation of that, sack it off. The show is being broadcast live, and they haven't even booked a main event yet after the show has started? What was the main event going to be if nobody had interrupted that promo?

2. Promos where a wrestler in the ring is arguing with somebody on the big screen. People have rightly made fun of Rick Steiner arguing with Chucky for years, but only half of the problem with that was that Chucky was a puppet. The guy in the ring always looks like an idiot, it's always disjointed, and it raises too many questions. There was an MJF one recently where MJF on the screen reacted to a specific line in Mark Briscoe's in-ring promo, and then it turned out to be a swerve and MJF appeared in the ring behind Mark - so, what, he had already pre-recorded a promo knowing that Briscoe was going to talk after his match, and knowing that he was going to use that specific line? There's a ton of other bad MJF ones - there was a run of several weeks of shows where MJF would do promos from the screen, directed at someone in the ring, and they were clearly all recorded on one day.

3. "We Want Tables" chants - someone could be diving off a ladder wrapped in barbed wire, on to a pile of thumbtacks, and the audience will be chanting for tables. I don't get it.

[Carbomb]

"What?"

[Supremo]

20 minutes ago, BomberPat said:

1. Show opening promos that set up a main event later in the show - I don't think this happens as much as it used to, in fairness.

It’s ramped back up in recent months in WWE. Smackdown in particular. Nick Aldis oftentimes starts a two hour broadcast with one or two fixtures booked, banking on enough kerfuffles throughout the show that he can put together three to five impromptu matches. Man’s a liability.

[Chico Torres]

1. Wrestlers getting interviewed backstage and getting interrupted by someone off camera who they never see coming and when the interview ends the camera lingers on them unnecessarily as they are forced to make a perplexed face

2. Wrestlers walking backstage in a corridor and having to terribly act like they’re waking in a backstage corridor before getting interrupted by someone and acting out a terrible skit

3. All wrestling post 1997

[boshealecta]

1. Women crying. Ok so now this sounds like I’m a massive sexist/misogynist. It’s not that I have an issue with women crying, it’s the fact that they don’t do it for the men. I’ve seen them crying when they get beat, win, betrayed, beaten up. Just annoys me that even though they try and say the women are equal to the men, they still portray them with stereotypes as bitchy women who fall out and get more emotional than men do. Either portray some of the men the same way or don’t do it at all
 

2. Kendo sticks. I can buy chairs, ladders, tables, 2x4 and trash cans being stored under the ring for set up and set down. But why on earth would there be a kendo stick. It’s like they think the venue is the local community centre or village hall. Was there a Japanese martial arts class run the night before? In which case does Weight Watcheds have it booked for tomorrow and why aren’t there some scales and a Slim Fast milkshake to be used as weapons under there too. 
 

3. Smirking. I’m just fed up of wrestlers smirking at each other. One might be threatening the other, cutting a promo or on the way to the ring to kick their ass. If they are a heel, looks scared, if you’re a face, tell em to bring it. But the constant smirking all the time to be like “this doesn’t affect me” well why should I care then if you don’t. It’s like no selling.  When Flair told Savage he had Elizabeth before him and had saucy pictures of her, he didn’t smirk. It can be used correctly for a cocky heel, but I feel like Triple H and Michael’s over used it in DX and now everyone’s following that and it just needs banning now. 

[Lion_of_the_Midlands]

These are supposed to be trivial things, a lot of what has been mentioned is far from that. So in the spirit of the OP. 

Shawn Micheals' Cowboy Hat. You never see him out of it. We know you are bald Shawn, live with it or get yourself to Turkey for the implants. You are fooling no one. 

HHH pointing at people. We can see them you prick, it's a picture. 

Tony Khan thanking the person who asks him a question that he then doesn't answer. 

They are my three

Thanks Guys. 

 

[LaGoosh]

1 hour ago, boshealecta said:

3. Smirking. I’m just fed up of wrestlers smirking at each other. One might be threatening the other, cutting a promo or on the way to the ring to kick their ass. If they are a heel, looks scared, if you’re a face, tell em to bring it. But the constant smirking all the time to be like “this doesn’t affect me” well why should I care then if you don’t. It’s like no selling.  When Flair told Savage he had Elizabeth before him and had saucy pictures of her, he didn’t smirk. It can be used correctly for a cocky heel, but I feel like Triple H and Michael’s over used it in DX and now everyone’s following that and it just needs banning now. 

Good shout. John Cena is probably the worst for this and has killed many an up and comers promo by smirking or doing an "aw shucks" smile.

[Lorne Malvo]

Commentary hyperbole. Michael Cole is the worst for this. I still laugh at his call of "I SWEAR TO GOD I HAVE NEVER SEEN BATISTA DO THIS BEFORE' like he was on the stand in A Good Few Men, after the big man hit a top-rope shouldertackle (which he had done a fair few times beforehand!) Even Danielson was slipping into this at All Out with some 'I've never seen anything like this!' shouts. Really, Danielson? 

People wearing their own merch. Fucking losers.

That fella at Forbidden Door who ruined the show for me by talking loudly about dirtsheets and Chris Charlton and buyrates and pushes and ratings and counterprogramming and Meltzer and how any times he had seen Michael Oku and RevPro's booking and worked shoots and so on and so forth. I know the chances of running into him again are unlikely, but I'll sleep better at night knowing he's banned from ever going to the wrestling again.

Edited September 23, 2025 by Lorne Malvo

[The Gaffer]

- The barricade break spot. Pretty sure WWE do this every other PLE and it's the most regimented, harmless looking gimmicked spot going. 

- Wrestlers using alterations of the nWo logo, Austin 3:16 etc for their own gear/trons/aesthetics. Don't quite remind me you're still an adoring fan that much. 

- Since 'cinema' is probably too major a theme to mention, I'll say doing your scripted lines during matches. In fact...it's not cinema at all. It makes big time matches feel like dopey stage plays in a way wrestling sort of is but is worse off for for trying to consciously lean into. No talking from bell to bell, other than the odd bit of trash talk.