Your Wrestling Pet Peeves/Utter Hatreds

[JaymeFuture]

So, for this week's podcast, we're looking to tap into the more cynical and humourous part of people's minds, and talk about different pet peeves or just utter hatreds you have when it comes to the world of wrestling.

Is there one wrestler you always just utterly despised? A TV or PPV show that grates on your nerves? A commonly held belief that you completely disagree with? A pet peeve you constantly have to deal with that you'd like to eradicate?

Ultimately, who or what do you hate, and more importantly, why? As always we'll be reading the best submissions on the show and crediting you accordingly, so this should be fun to get a handle on who and what people personally don't like about their wrestling.

 

EDIT - The podcast discussing Wrestling Pet Peeves and Irrational Hatreds, including many mentioned in this thread, is now available to listen to at the following link: http://squaredcirclegazette.podbean.com/mf/play/5jscg6/SCGRadio35-WrestlingPetPeeves.mp3

[dawho5]

- WWE Universe

 

- best for business

 

- JBL

 

- Superstar/Diva

 

Do I need to explain these?

 

- modern forearm exchanges and one counts (most notably in NJ)

 

I think they get in the way of how a wrestling match is supposed to flow. I don't object to either of these things existing, only their continued use in places they just don't belong.

 

- matches that go longer just for the sake of being longer

 

A match is supposed to tell a story. If you reach the point where that story has been told and just keep tacking stuff on to the ending you ruin the story. Longer does not always mean better.

[WingedEagle]

Big Show. May the gods of acromegaly show no mercy on this one.

[JerryvonKramer]

The phrase "Wrestlemania moment"

[jushin muta liger]

People kicking out of finishers regularly. I remember a wrestler kicking out of a finisher was huge, now it happens every week.

[Carnival]

JBL's subdued, philosophical, "We may be seeing the final hurrah of a once proud gunslinger, mounting his mighty steed one last time in the glimmer of a red horizon..." type of commentary.

 

The way the fans act during the Hall of Fame ceremony. The way they act during the actual events, for that matter. All the other inane chants aside, how are we still hearing "WHAT" chants in 2015?

[BigBadMick]

Fans chanting 'Husky Harris' during Bray Wyatt's Raw debut.

 

Dicks!

[ohtani's jacket]

The phrase "Wrestlemania moment"

 

Didn't they start that at Wrestlemania X?

[RocketCrypt]

A lot of mine are related to wrestling fandom:

 

- Fans still calling wrestlers by their indy names, even though it's been years since they were last used. If you're still talking about Tyler Black, Jon Moxley and Bryan Danielson in 2015, you really need to have a word with yourself. I wonder how many OVW fans still refer to Cena as The Prototype.

 

- WWE revisionist history bugs me, but not nearly as much as people's willingness to accept it as gospel.

 

- "This is awesome" chant - Dutch Mantell said it best, if you saw two people kicking the crap out of each other in the street, would you stop and chant "This is awesome" clap clap clap clap clap?

 

- The entire Reddit subculture of wrestling fans. Where memes and gifs take precedent over everything else.

 

 

EDIT: One that is separate from the others, the self-fulfilling prophecy of positioning part timers in prominent positions at Wrestlemania.

[GOTNW]

Usage of IWC and smark/mark still existing in 2015. Everyone has an internet connection and knows wrestling is fake.

[That Poor Bastard]

The routine of somebody getting tossed outside before a commercial break, and when they return the person who got tossed outside usually has his opponent in a chinlock,

 

And the Big Show is really not that bad. He just doesn't need to really be in feuds anymore. He needs to be the heel Mark Henry. Guy with a little credibility who does jobs to uppercard babyfaces on most occasions. Kane, on the other hand, hasn't done anything worthwhile in years besides tombstoning The Bunny off of our TV screens.

 

I also don't like the fact that heels don't cheat to win that much anymore. I guess since Eddie made it a part of his babyface gimmick to cheat, nobody has done it the way it used to be done. Seth Rollins has most of the slimy heel stuff down as a character...now he needs to wrestle like one.

[Dooley]

The invisible camera.

[RocketCrypt]

The invisible camera.

 

Yes. This. TNA and Lucha Underground have polar opposite philosophies when it comes to producing their backstage segments. LU film their's like a TV drama with multiple camera shots whereas TNA have the 'Hervey cam', where the wrestlers often don't know they are being filmed because the cameraman is hiding or filming them from afar. Both work like a treat. TNA especially should be commended for this. WWE are in this murky middle ground where the wrestlers face the camera, but blur the lines as to whether those in the scene are aware that their interactions are being broadcast on the big screen. It's horrible and reeks of laziness.

 

WWE's utilization of backstage segments is something I'd like to explore in greater detail, and may start a separate topic on in the near future.

[Mad Dog]

Guys that have to get all of their shit in no matter how much it hurts the match. Karl Anderson and ACH are big culprits I see when it comes to this. It could be a 5 minute throwaway match and they have to get every single one of their big moves in.

[BillThompson]

The seeming acceptance of moves that lack impact. This should lead into a big rant about why I think Hiroshi Tanhashi is a terrible wrestler, but I'm not going to do that. It's just, throw some fucking strikes that look like they actually hurt. Hit a German Suplex where it doesn't look like your gently setting your opponent down on a pillow. The concept is supposed to be that we're watching people compete against one another; when every move you execute is light as a feather and looks like it wouldn't hurt a fly you're really just making the business look bad. Yet people seem to accept this crap as being great.

 

Number one though would be shitty gymnastics that expose the business. Johnny Gargano is one of the worst offenders when it comes to this, and AR Fox is catching up to him. I should never have to watch a sequence where you hold a Wristlock on a guy, walk the ropes, and then proceed to jump back and forth between the middle and top rope for a minute while the idiot in the Wristlock just stares at you. And people cheer for this shit, and think it's exciting. It's embarrassing, and watching it I want to throw up in my mouth at how wretched it is.

[Matt D]

I'm not going to speak for Bill, but I do think it's easy to dismiss what he said by saying he just likes stiffness and that would be a simplification. I think that's part of it maybe, but it's instead a disconnect between how a wrestler is being presented/lauded/remembered and what he actually does. The old "Brody syndrome."

[BillThompson]

I'm not going to speak for Bill, but I do think it's easy to dismiss what he said by saying he just likes stiffness and that would be a simplification. I think that's part of it maybe, but it's instead a disconnect between how a wrestler is being presented/lauded/remembered and what he actually does. The old "Brody syndrome."

 

This is a good point, and it's something I should have addressed in my original post. I'm not campaigning for stiffness, rather I just want moves that look like they connect with impact and do damage. Umaga is a great example, because from all accounts he worked super light. Yet, to the naked eye his offense looks like it makes heavy impact. His strikes are believable, his moves hit with power behind them. I never get the sense that Umaga is just setting a guy down, or that his punches are just tapping a guy. He works light, but he makes me believe that he's working hard or stiff. Tanahashi is the inverse, where he works light and is unable to convince me in any way that his offense isn't as light as it actually is.

[Karl]

Was watching the Finn v Owens match from NXT and Finn did a stomp from the top onto Owens gut...this should have debilitated Owens for some considerable time, but he got up and them won the match...killed the thing for me.

[BigBadMick]

Wade Keller's been grinding my gears too. He's never finishing running down WWE. HHH and Stephanie in particular get it non-stop. That's fine when it's justified (plenty of the time) but all the f*cking time and over the most miniscule, pissy little things gets tiresome.

[Superstar Sleeze]

The seeming acceptance of moves that lack impact. This should lead into a big rant about why I think Hiroshi Tanhashi is a terrible wrestler, but I'm not going to do that. It's just, throw some fucking strikes that look like they actually hurt. Hit a German Suplex where it doesn't look like your gently setting your opponent down on a pillow. The concept is supposed to be that we're watching people compete against one another; when every move you execute is light as a feather and looks like it wouldn't hurt a fly you're really just making the business look bad. Yet people seem to accept this crap as being great.

 

Number one though would be shitty gymnastics that expose the business. Johnny Gargano is one of the worst offenders when it comes to this, and AR Fox is catching up to him. I should never have to watch a sequence where you hold a Wristlock on a guy, walk the ropes, and then proceed to jump back and forth between the middle and top rope for a minute while the idiot in the Wristlock just stares at you. And people cheer for this shit, and think it's exciting. It's embarrassing, and watching it I want to throw up in my mouth at how wretched it is.

You have made this point before about Tanahasi German , but I kept forgetting to respond.

 

First off the German is Human Capture style with his arms not just waist locking but also locking the arms of his opponent at their side. This is key for two reasons. This suplex is in response to a person breaking free of the Dragon Suplex. This is a key set up move for High Fly Flow. If you are hit with a Dragon Suplex by Tanahashi your prospects of winning go down considerably. Thus it is reasonable for the opponent to struggle hard to break free of the Dragon Suplex. Since Tanahasi is the one of best modern wrestling strategists (DaWho5 would you back me up on that?) he counters with the Human Capture Suplex. Moving onto reason number two, the objective if pro wrestling is to pin a mans shoulders down for three. Knocking him out is just one way. A tight cradle or a bridging Suplex with your arms clasped to their side is also a great way. If you think about the chances of kicking out of Tanahashi Human Capture in reality is damn near impossible. The whole point of the move is not knock someone out, it is to pin him! The problem is he does not win any matches with it. That's a New Japan problem. Tanahashi's human capture Suplex is a brilliant counter that stays true to the spirit of pro wrestling.

 

My wrestling pet peeve right now is people backlashing against Tanahashi because he is overpraised. Dave Meltzer & Co. can you please chill out so we don't have such a severe backlash against a great wrestler. Thanks in advance, brutha.

[Goodear]

I hate 'hate watching' wrestling with so many people actively wasting their own time basically to say just bad what they just watched was. Maybe I'm just busy or something, but I can't see making time to watch something I'm determined to not like. People who pay to go to shows to deliberately not enjoy themselves are even worse. How much disposable income do these people have?

[BillThompson]

 

The seeming acceptance of moves that lack impact. This should lead into a big rant about why I think Hiroshi Tanhashi is a terrible wrestler, but I'm not going to do that. It's just, throw some fucking strikes that look like they actually hurt. Hit a German Suplex where it doesn't look like your gently setting your opponent down on a pillow. The concept is supposed to be that we're watching people compete against one another; when every move you execute is light as a feather and looks like it wouldn't hurt a fly you're really just making the business look bad. Yet people seem to accept this crap as being great.

 

Number one though would be shitty gymnastics that expose the business. Johnny Gargano is one of the worst offenders when it comes to this, and AR Fox is catching up to him. I should never have to watch a sequence where you hold a Wristlock on a guy, walk the ropes, and then proceed to jump back and forth between the middle and top rope for a minute while the idiot in the Wristlock just stares at you. And people cheer for this shit, and think it's exciting. It's embarrassing, and watching it I want to throw up in my mouth at how wretched it is.

You have made this point before about Tanahasi German , but I kept forgetting to respond.

 

First off the German is Human Capture style with his arms not just waist locking but also locking the arms of his opponent at their side. This is key for two reasons. This suplex is in response to a person breaking free of the Dragon Suplex. This is a key set up move for High Fly Flow. If you are hit with a Dragon Suplex by Tanahashi your prospects of winning go down considerably. Thus it is reasonable for the opponent to struggle hard to break free of the Dragon Suplex. Since Tanahasi is the one of best modern wrestling strategists (DaWho5 would you back me up on that?) he counters with the Human Capture Suplex. Moving onto reason number two, the objective if pro wrestling is to pin a mans shoulders down for three. Knocking him out is just one way. A tight cradle or a bridging Suplex with your arms clasped to their side is also a great way. If you think about the chances of kicking out of Tanahashi Human Capture in reality is damn near impossible. The whole point of the move is not knock someone out, it is to pin him! The problem is he does not win any matches with it. That's a New Japan problem. Tanahashi's human capture Suplex is a brilliant counter that stays true to the spirit of pro wrestling.

 

My wrestling pet peeve right now is people backlashing against Tanahashi because he is overpraised. Dave Meltzer & Co. can you please chill out so we don't have such a severe backlash against a great wrestler. Thanks in advance, brutha.

 

 

The issue isn't him knocking a guy out, it's that he places a guy down like he's setting a glass of soda down on the table. Plenty of guys have used the Dragon Suplex, German Suplex, Straightjacket Suplex, etc. and managed to both hold a pinning position and make the move look like it carries impact. It goes beyond that though, because you have moves like his Moonsault where again, he floats onto the opponent in such a way that there's zero believability of that move causing any damage. I've already covered the strikes, but really when he throws his shitty Forearm strikes it's about as convincing as me winning a beauty contest. There needs to be some impact present, not knockout impact, but some impact so that I don't immediately think, "Well, that guy is a really shitty play actor."

 

I'd also contest the whole Tanahashi being a great wrestling strategist, or him being great at anything really. I've actively disliked the guy since the moment I first watched him wrestle and find him to be an actively terrible professional wrestler. But, those are points for another topic.

[Coffey]

I have so many pet peeves & irks, there's too many to list.

 

One of my big ones right now is the use of people telling other wrestling fans that they should "stop watching" if the product sucks. That they're tired of the complaining, don't wanna read about it, etc. That one really pisses me off. "All you do is complain. If it's that bad, why don't you just stop watching? If I was watching Seinfeld & it sucked, I wouldn't watch it anymore."

 

Buzzwords in WWE are at an all-time high & I dislike most of them. It makes everything sound so unnatural when people are talking. It's not wrestling, it's sports entertainment. They're not fans, they're a part of the WWE Universe. Those aren't women, they are Divas! Those aren't wrestlers, they're superstars! That's not a belt, or a title, it's a championship!

 

I loathe how WWE is all about social media, WWE Network, the WWE App & WWE.com on one hand then turn around and call all internet fans basement dwellers living in their moms basement whining on Twitter. All those "fireflies" holding up their cell phones during Bray Wyatt's entrance? Yeah, all those phones have internet. Spoilers.

 

I hate Dave Meltzer. He's a terrible public speaker, ya know & a bad writer, ya know.. that has a podcast, ya know and a newsletter, ya know. That's like someone that can't cook, ya know, being a chef, ya know.

 

Jim Cornette using his soapbox to talk about non-pro-wrestling things such as politics or religion.

[Mr. Lacelle]

Referees not enforcing count outs. This drives me bonkers when I attend a live event. I always tell the officials to count. It's up to the workers to be smart & not stay outside so long that they make the refs look impotent.

[Indikator]

I hate 'hate watching' wrestling with so many people actively wasting their own time basically to say just bad what they just watched was. Maybe I'm just busy or something, but I can't see making time to watch something I'm determined to not like. People who pay to go to shows to deliberately not enjoy themselves are even worse. How much disposable income do these people have?

 

While I understand the point I think that wrestling has always been one way for the common fan to vent in whatever manner he or she wants to. Remember, wrestling is the (faux-)sport that established heels, there is a need to hate somebody! I've read enough from the 50s about female fans who made up half the audience just to see bodybuilders in a proto-chippendale act. And whenever I read about the other half of fans from back then they mention that they are the most normal, polite people who have to be nice all week long and "enjoy" a wrestling show by ranting and raving like a lunatic.

So it comes to the question - do those modern people really waste their time? What if it's part of their weekly routine and helps them to place their anger? It's likely impossible to determine if hate watching anything is a detriment to another person's life. You can suggest the person to skip the show in question for 1-2 weeks, but don't be pissed if they resume their routine.