Stiff

[Matt D]

As for Bock, there's a difference between stiff and intense. That said, I don't think neither Wahoo vs Bock or Bock vs Hansen are as good as everyone else say. I'll probably have Bock vs Wahoo lower than anyone, though it's still barely cracking my top 50, I think.

Doubtful. Bock vs Wahoo is my biggest "I don't get it?" match of the AWA set where most everyone else praises it and I felt it was just ok really.

 

Have you listened to the podcast where they watch it? If not, it may be informative for you.

[JerryvonKramer]

I'm pro stiffness.

[Graham Crackers]

I have a friend who watches wrestling who doesn't like matches that are too stiff but we rarely talk about wrestling because what he likes in wrestling and what I like in wrestling are completely at odds. He also dislikes blading.

 

This post is going to be my defense of stiff striking in wrestling but this thread also reminds me of something I've been thinking about for the last few years and that's why violence is such an important part of wrestling. Before I go any further I will admit that I am a bit of a mark for violence, blood, and stiff strikes in wrestling. I've said before that the demented tragedy of pro wrestling is part of it's appeal for me and the violence is essential to that but I think this goes beyond my personal interest in wrestling.

 

On some level I understand why my friend thinks wrestlers are stupid for really hitting each other. I mean, it is pretty stupid but while I understand what he's saying in theory I don't think it works in practice. I don't think stiffness is essential but not everyone can throw a great worked punch. I like good worked strikes but if a wrestler can't make a worked strike look believable and finds themselves in a position where they are expected to be throwing strikes I would prefer that they throw some stiff shots instead of punches that miss by a foot. Despite the fact that not many wrestlers are capable of creating the illusion of violence most wrestlers at some point in their career will be put in a position where they have to create an aura of violence and they may find that stiffness and blood may be the only way to accomplish that.

 

Violence is essential to wrestling's public perception as well as it's relationship to other sports. Clean, respectful babyface vs babyface contests are often sold by promoters and announcers as an idealized form of the sport while on the opposite end of the spectrum it's not unusual for an announcer to say "it's a shame that it had to come to this" during a violent grudge match. The conflict of sport and technique going up against violence and hatred is one of the essential narratives in pro wrestling. It's why Mexican crowds throw money into the ring after a classic title match and it's why arenas sell out for the most hate filled mask vs mask matches and I'm not sure you can have one without the other. The violence of a brutal cage match seems more striking when "scientific" matches exists and the handshake between two big stars after a clash of the titans style babyface vs babyface match is more special because they didn't try to kill each other. It also makes the rules of a regular match more important when things get out of hand in a no DQ match (I'm specifically thinking of how Lance Russel puts over the importance of referees in the aftermath of the Funk vs Lawler empty arena match).

 

That same conflict has roots in real sports. A couple of years ago I read a book called The Manly Art: Bare-Knuckle Prize Fighting in America. It's a history of boxing in the 19th century but much of it's focus is on the public's perceptions of boxing throughout that time and particularly the conflict between those who expressed moral outrage against the violence of boxing and the working class immigrant fan base of the sport. John L Sullivan may have made boxing more palatable to certain audiences by engaging in gloved sparring but the violence was and still is just as essential to the appeal of boxing as the admiration of technique. I will avoid rambling about that book as this post is long enough but reading that book and paying attention to the old business of boxing has helped my understanding of how wrestling is booked and why crowds react to certain things as there are a surprising number of parallels.

 

Anyway, as long as creating an aura of violence is essential to storytelling in wrestling there will be wrestlers who work stiff because it's the easiest and most effective way to do that.