"Can't touch this..."

[bmfjules]

Always loved these storylines. This is the angle where the babyface (works best if it is a monster babyface, or at least an ass kickin one like SCSA) for some convoluted reason cannot touch the heel lest he lose his title shot, be suspended, get arrested etc...

I'm a sucker for em. Great way for a chicken shit heel to get heat by getting right up in the babyfaces grill and just begging them to lay him out. Plus there's so many great little ways to weasel around the stip such as the heel being so obsessed with taunting the babyface who can't touch him that he's oblivious to the other one standing right behind him who CAN, or him being on the outside of the ring and taunting the guy with the restraining stip, so the face picks up one of the heels allies and tosses them over the top rope onto them, NOT physically touching them but laying them out nonetheless, or that moment when the heel accidentally makes first contact nullifying the stip and that "oh shit" look that follows....

IMO this would be a great one to dust off for a Seth Rollins/Roman Reigns program sometime down the line.

What are some of the best examples of this stip in practice?

[Mochi Lone Wolf]

My favorite example of this is HHH/Austin before No Way Out in 2001. The best part of it was the contract signing where Austin had already signed the contract and Hunter(Who faced a 6-month suspension if he touched Austin) faked his signature before attacking Austin. Thereby, ensuring that he can attack Austin with no consequence and Austin couldn't retaliate until No Way Out. Giving fans a reason to get emotionally invested in their match.

[Mid-Carder]

Jan 23, 2015 20:56:49 GMT -5 Mochi Lone Wolf said:

My favorite example of this is HHH/Austin before No Way Out in 2001. The best part of it was the contract signing where Austin had already signed the contract and Hunter(Who faced a 6-month suspension if he touched Austin) faked his signature before attacking Austin. Thereby, ensuring that he can attack Austin with no consequence and Austin couldn't retaliate until No Way Out. Giving fans a reason to get emotionally invested in their match.

I was just about to say this one. I was major HHH mark back then, even more than I am an Austin mark, and I loved this.

What made me laugh in that one is that, to retaliate, Austin attacked Triple H's wife and even though Austin's wife was in the company, Triple H went for JR instead.

[Capt Lunatic]

HBK/Jericho made good use of the stip during their feud.

Also resulted in HBK taking a scary bump outside the ring.