Modernizing wrestling psychology

[HMARK Center]

We talk all the time about how we live in a wrestling era with tons of nearfalls, huge spots, etc. I also happen to think we live in a great age for in-ring storytelling in many top promotions, but I appreciate that some people might feel taken out of the moment sometimes if, say, a wrestler gets their leg beaten up on for an entire match but is then still able to perfectly execute a top rope high spot or whatever. So: can you think up ways that we can modernize wrestling psychology so that we have the best of all worlds - the great modern athleticism and in-ring storytelling combined with some classical psychology to maintain suspension of disbelief for all as best we can? Pretend you're putting your own promotion together and thinking up how you'd lay your matches out or what you'd want your announcers to get over on commentary.

A few I thought up as examples:

-Predicating most "nearfall after a seeming death spot" kickouts around the pin not being done fundamentally well. I feel like AEW's done a decent job utilizing this one in recent months; the psychology of a good pin adds something to the proceedings, and gets across someone's technical ability when they consistently do them well, gets across how tiring a match has been when they're unable to hook one in right, and, yes, offers a good excuse for how someone's able to survive what seems a surefire match-ending spot.

-Not overdoing lengthy submission spots, and putting more focus on how someone can be in a hold for a long time but not give up. I know, wrestling isn't real, and it's more important to focus on creating drama than going for realism ("it's just a show, I should really just relax"). But we're well into MMA being mainstream and it can be a little weird to see a prolonged cross arm breaker spot. I don't want to do away with all lengthy submission spots, otherwise we'd have never had Austin passing out in the Sharpshooter, but I think it'd be smart to play up the struggle involved in properly applying a hold, and to emphasize the person taking the move working to alleviate the pressure.

-Play up the pros and cons of different finishers, e.g. ease of execution vs. guarantee of victory. Consider a finisher like the One-Winged Angel: it's insta-death, both due to its impact and due to the opponent falling into a pinning position, but it's also a move that's not too tough to wriggle out of, so Kenny Omega has weaken his opponent a lot, first. Compare that with, say, Cody doing the Crossroads: that's a move that can be hit a little more "out of nowhere", so it's based around just trying to daze an opponent long enough to stay down for a three count, and the opponent also lands a little out of position for a pin. One move is a surefire win, but is tough to pull off; the other can be used more readily, but in turn is more susceptible to kickouts. Not every single finisher needs to be like that, but it just feels like a fun way to play with match strategies.

[Dr. Bolty, Disaster Enby]

One that the Young Bucks utilize is the use of big, nasty spots on the outside in order to incapacitate a partner on the apron. The act of a tag partner running in to break up a pin is, by this point, so ingrained into the logic of tag wrestling that just keeping someone in the enemy corner can't be the only tool in the heel toolbox. Using a big spot to keep the face partner out of the action for an indeterminate length of time is a great way to evolve and complicate the hot tag.

[alexm]

I know a lot of people love tag team wrestling, but to me it seems it's the same story everytime. Beat up a babyface member until it's time for the hot tag, maybe do it a second time. I think there should be some more even matchups.

[Deleted]

For the submission example, I like how Regal would tap immediately to certain submissions, as if to get across how he was caught, as if the submission master understood that it was checkmate.

[evilone]

Submission moves, sans signature finishers, have always been a let's take a breather moment. Not a single soul ever gets excited once some goes for a choke, arm bar, figure four etc. In modern wrestling submission moves should be a pivoting point of the match, something that comes later and definitely signals the danger for your favorite wrestler. It doesn't necessary needs to be the end of the match but it could be experienced as the near pinfall so it's up to a wrestler to either get out of it quick or just tap out. I just wish submission had more weight to it in wrestling, I understand finishers like Diamond Cutter are more exciting cause they can happen anytime but submission should be somewhere in between RKO and Tombstone or Style Clash that have really long setup times. I would also like to see referees treating submissions like in MMA, no need to see someone in 20 second arm bar. It would also be a great tool to write off someone off TV as an injury sustain in submission move, that would make the other wrestler really dangerous in eyes of fans.

[HMARK Center]

Nov 12, 2020 17:49:43 GMT -5 @irontyger said:

For the submission example, I like how Regal would tap immediately to certain submissions, as if to get across how he was caught, as if the submission master understood that it was checkmate.

I do like when that happens in some matches, just gets across "Shit, I got caught", but even more importantly it makes it so that when there is a long submission spot in another match it gets across that the stakes are that much higher, whether due to a title being on the line or a rivalry being that strong.

I guess the problem is that a lot of people would view a quick tapout as a heel move, a "live to fight another day" tactic that a never say die babyface wouldn't do, but it wouldn't be such a bad thing to undo that perception on some level.

[carp (SPC, Itoh Respect Army)]

Make the ability to take punishment a trait that varies across wrestlers, just like strength and speed.

This would fix a lot, I think. The crowd would know that Mr. X is super hard to knock out, so the drama is about how much it'll take, but Mr. Y takes one finisher, so the drama is about whether his opponents can hit it.

[HMARK Center]

Nov 13, 2020 19:29:21 GMT -5 carp (SPC, Itoh Respect Army) said:

Make the ability to take punishment a trait that varies across wrestlers, just like strength and speed.

This would fix a lot, I think. The crowd would know that Mr. X is super hard to knock out, so the drama is about how much it'll take, but Mr. Y takes one finisher, so the drama is about whether his opponents can hit it.

That's an interesting one; I think it's easy to get caught up sometimes in a fear that one wrestler looks better than another because Mr. X took 2-3 finisher attempts to be put down while Mr. Y only required one, so it's easy to assume that Mr. X is that much better and that Mr. Y is a loser.

But like you say, that doesn't have to be the case if you really get over that each wrestler is unique. I'll point to a couple of good examples of this at work in NJPW: the Young Lions being put down more easily be veterans is typically explained by the sense that "you'll get tougher with experience", as developing a stronger jaw/more resilience is something that only comes with taking your lumps after awhile. Another example is how Zack Sabre is a super dangerous opponent for just about anyone he faces because of his technical skills, but he's also a "glass cannon" because he's intentionally sacrificed muscle and striking power so that he can be more lanky and thus better able to smoothly transition between his submission holds. Zack going down to a single finisher shouldn't be a shock, given his relative lack of size and his focus on a gameplan that keeps the match on the mat while minimizing his strike exchanges (though he does get into those a good bit).

I think you could go a bit beyond that by really playing up how different wrestlers have different body types, different physical strengths and weaknesses, etc., and let that be a big factor in, say, how long they can survive a given submission, or what types of impact finishers are more effective against them. Someone like, say, Mark Henry should be able to kick out of many normal pins/finishers due to his sheer strength, but if he gets hit with a series of German suplexes then it should be tougher for him because his size causes more weight and force to come down on his neck/upper back. Someone like Jack Evans should be able to survive longer in a submission because he's so damn flexible and bendy, which also makes things a bit easier for him when he takes an impact move, but he's less likely to withstand heavy strikes from a stronger wrestler.

[Cranjis McBasketball]

Whoever does the most senseless flips wins.