Post by callmekc on Jan 9, 2024 20:08:30 GMT -5
OK. This thread is about something that has been burrowing into my brain for about a week at this point and I am going to talk about it. I want to explain what he does that's odd, why it fascinates me and then do a little kayfabe anatomy on how Dempsey's technique affects the move.
The preamble
Charlie Dempsey is an NXT wrestler. He is fundamentally very solid in the ring. He spent time in the NJPW dojo and has been in developmental since 2021. Before signign with WWE he worked Evolve, wXw in Germany and some small feds in the UK. Of particular note, he's William Regal's son. He has a good technical style and loves suplexes, submissions and doing bridges. I don't see him as a future main eventer, certainly not in the coming few years but he has the skills to be an extremely solid hand in the ring and if he can develop a personality he's got a job for life.
A dragon screw leg whip is a fairly common move in pro-wrestling, in Japan and WWE alike. Commonly used as a counter to a kick to the body, the wrestler performing the move grabs the ankle/shin with one arm and turns 90 degrees while dropping to their back, using the momentum of the move to flip their opponents over by the leg. Below there's Minoru Suzuki performing the move and a link to Chad Gable performing the same move but in a less... murderous manner.
The weird thing
Charlie Dempsey does a couple of things that make his technique appear different to the examples shown above. The first and most obvious is that when he catches the kick, he does so with both arms. This is a subtle difference, but it's an impactful one because Dempsey cannot stand facing the opponent. He has to be turned so that he's 90 degrees to the opponent. Therefore he cannot step across the opponent when he drops to his back, which is usually used to create the whip. This slight change forces his technique to be different in execution even if the outcome is the same.
The second difference is the way Dempsey executes the move. Instead of dropping straight to the mat, he bridges and twists landing on his front rather than his back. He also keeps his grip on the opponent's leg with both arms rather than releasing with one or both, though that's minor in comparison.
While this might not sound like a huge difference, the look of the move is different in a way that I have not seen before and I cannot believe that I haven't. The look of the move is very different. Against a wrestler that knows how to take a dragon screw and times things it can look almost like a suplex. Against someone who's less smooth than Nakajima, it can very easily come off like Dempsey is taking them off balance and tripping them (an example of the latter is below) in addition to twisting their leg.
Kayfabe analysis
OK, and now I'm going to go full William Regal.
The traditional Dragon Screw Leg Whip is a move that relies on momentum. It is in the truest sense a leg whip. With most takes on the technique, there is not much twisting of the leg. The wrestler performing the move is relying on momentum and proper placement of their arms and hand to pull on the leg, stretching the tendons and straining the joint and potentially dislocating or subluxing the joint if the opponent attempts to resist too strongly, or resistance from (for example) the opponent being trapped in the ropes as the move is performed. It is a highly effective move and is a staple in many wrestlers' arsenals. It is possible to apply more twist to the maneuver but doing so necessitates a greater commitment to the cross step and actively turning your back to the opponent. Dempsey's unorthodox technique means that he cannot generate momentum, but by committing so hard to the bridge he's able to apply torsion to the leg (using the foot as a lever) which hurt the ligaments and tendons but also the bones which are more vulneravle to torsional stress than tension (as is applied in the traditional technique), especially the ankle which Dempsey maintanis contact with throughout the technique, enabling a rapid transition into a submission hold to further damage the leg.
Both the traditional and Dempsey's take on a dragon screw can make the opponent feel like they're dying a thousand deaths as their opponent tries to rip their leg off. It is just interesting to note how a fairly small difference in execution or technique in general can completely change the appearance and apparent mechanics of a move.
The preamble
Charlie Dempsey is an NXT wrestler. He is fundamentally very solid in the ring. He spent time in the NJPW dojo and has been in developmental since 2021. Before signign with WWE he worked Evolve, wXw in Germany and some small feds in the UK. Of particular note, he's William Regal's son. He has a good technical style and loves suplexes, submissions and doing bridges. I don't see him as a future main eventer, certainly not in the coming few years but he has the skills to be an extremely solid hand in the ring and if he can develop a personality he's got a job for life.
A dragon screw leg whip is a fairly common move in pro-wrestling, in Japan and WWE alike. Commonly used as a counter to a kick to the body, the wrestler performing the move grabs the ankle/shin with one arm and turns 90 degrees while dropping to their back, using the momentum of the move to flip their opponents over by the leg. Below there's Minoru Suzuki performing the move and a link to Chad Gable performing the same move but in a less... murderous manner.
The weird thing
Charlie Dempsey does a couple of things that make his technique appear different to the examples shown above. The first and most obvious is that when he catches the kick, he does so with both arms. This is a subtle difference, but it's an impactful one because Dempsey cannot stand facing the opponent. He has to be turned so that he's 90 degrees to the opponent. Therefore he cannot step across the opponent when he drops to his back, which is usually used to create the whip. This slight change forces his technique to be different in execution even if the outcome is the same.
The second difference is the way Dempsey executes the move. Instead of dropping straight to the mat, he bridges and twists landing on his front rather than his back. He also keeps his grip on the opponent's leg with both arms rather than releasing with one or both, though that's minor in comparison.
While this might not sound like a huge difference, the look of the move is different in a way that I have not seen before and I cannot believe that I haven't. The look of the move is very different. Against a wrestler that knows how to take a dragon screw and times things it can look almost like a suplex. Against someone who's less smooth than Nakajima, it can very easily come off like Dempsey is taking them off balance and tripping them (an example of the latter is below) in addition to twisting their leg.
Kayfabe analysis
OK, and now I'm going to go full William Regal.
The traditional Dragon Screw Leg Whip is a move that relies on momentum. It is in the truest sense a leg whip. With most takes on the technique, there is not much twisting of the leg. The wrestler performing the move is relying on momentum and proper placement of their arms and hand to pull on the leg, stretching the tendons and straining the joint and potentially dislocating or subluxing the joint if the opponent attempts to resist too strongly, or resistance from (for example) the opponent being trapped in the ropes as the move is performed. It is a highly effective move and is a staple in many wrestlers' arsenals. It is possible to apply more twist to the maneuver but doing so necessitates a greater commitment to the cross step and actively turning your back to the opponent. Dempsey's unorthodox technique means that he cannot generate momentum, but by committing so hard to the bridge he's able to apply torsion to the leg (using the foot as a lever) which hurt the ligaments and tendons but also the bones which are more vulneravle to torsional stress than tension (as is applied in the traditional technique), especially the ankle which Dempsey maintanis contact with throughout the technique, enabling a rapid transition into a submission hold to further damage the leg.
Both the traditional and Dempsey's take on a dragon screw can make the opponent feel like they're dying a thousand deaths as their opponent tries to rip their leg off. It is just interesting to note how a fairly small difference in execution or technique in general can completely change the appearance and apparent mechanics of a move.
