Your Wrestling Pet Peeves/Utter Hatreds

[Goodear]

Its one thing to boo the product because you don't like that Ric Flair is a cheating bastard or because Hulk Hogan is a hypocritical douche. I'll even support being upset because your guy didn't win because you wanted that release from the storyline presented. I think its another thing entirely to go to a show to boo Roman Reigns because he's not Daniel Bryan and you don't like his push. For example, going to a Royal Rumble and booing Rey Mysterio when Daniel Bryan isn't entered in the thing is weird when he's not promoted to even be in the match. Or going in knowing the main event and being upset it doesn't change on the fly. There is a sense of entitlement to some wrestling fans that just doesn't get that shows aren't made for them personally.

[dawho5]

I tend to agree that Tanhashi is better than a lot of the backlash suggests, and has pretty good match structure if you remove certain aspects. But that's a discussion that seems like it belongs in another topic.

[goodhelmet]

Yeah, that's another topic. My pet peeve is when people try to argue that shitty booking is actually good booking.

[Goodear]

So you hate Johnny Sorrow? But you always introduce him as your buddy!

[goodhelmet]

I don't hate Johnny Sorrow at all. I hate his opinions.

[sek69]

To me it's more or less falling into two camps when it comes to "hate watching". There's a group who clearly doesn't enjoy the product but at least is fair in their criticism and gives credit when it's due if they enjoy a match or segment. The other group just takes a giant hate dump on everything and anyone who points out anything good is an idiot or worse an "apologist".

 

There's also an odd corollary to this, the people who refuse to watch certain groups. TNA has actually been good most weeks since going to Destination America, yet there's people who will refuse to watch it even for a second because...reasons, I guess. People acting like a TV show getting less viewers due to a change in networks means the wrestling quality isn't worth watching.

 

Speaking of ratings, another pet peeve is fans acting like ratings/ppv buys/network subs affect them directly. Unless you own stock or are directly related to the McMahons it doesn't make a bit of difference.

[Blehschmidt]

I am so fucking tired of the constant need to say a person's nickname before saying their name in current WWE. "The Lunatic Fringe" Dean Ambrose. "The Architect" Seth Rollins. "The Devils Favorite Demon" Kane. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

 

Almost all of the nicknames suck, it's so repetitive, but I guess it all goes back to the buzz words and social media and shitty announcer problems that are making the show unwatchable.

[SteveJRogers]

The amount of downtime by wrestlers when they aren't on camera during a multi-man match.

 

It could be, say a 6 pack challenge, and a guy does a dive onto three guys in the entrance way, we're led to believe they've all been rendered unconscious, or biding their time as the other two guys run a five minute sequence in the ring?

 

It's one thing to over sell injuries on the outside, but it gets towards suspension of disbelief territory when someone sells it like death, then 5 minutes later they get back in the match at the designated time to do so like they hadn't been "broken in damn half" or something.

 

I think this way of booking hurts a lot of the latter Elimination Chamber matches, where just because the camera is focusing on two guys in the ring, doesn't mean the others shouldn't be doing something, even if it is clear that its nothing but low impact moves.

[Mad Dog]

Social media being mentioned in wrestling promos also drives me insane.

[dawho5]

yeah, every time the WWE puts up some kind of hashtag to discuss a match or whatever it might be my mental response goes something like, "#gofuckyourselfWWE." Watching anything from lately makes me wish you had video game type options where you could turn off the announcers volume and certain graphics and just watch some good wrestling while listening to crowd reactions.

[SteveJRogers]

Social media being mentioned in wrestling promos also drives me insane.

 

Remember when Tout was a thing?

 

When was the last time THAT has been mentioned on the air? Ditto WWE.com/Mobile App content?

 

At least they've haven't overused YouTube and Instagram mentions.

[Tenese Sarwieh]

"Grabbing the brass ring" I hate that phrase with a passion.

[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.

 

 

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.

 

The objective is to pin the man. I have no idea why it matters how forceful the throw is in this situation. Does La Magistral Cradle have to be executed to wrench a person into place? I agree with you 100% that shitty or light strikes are awful and work against the match. I honestly can't think of a Tanahashi moonsault. If you are talking High Fly Flow, I think he hits that with pretty good impact, I love the urgency with which he gets into position for the move and how he doubles it up. What about his somersault from the middle rope, he fucking slams down on the opponent! I happen to not find his forearms as offensive as you do. They are not Misawa's but they connect. The only time I was taken out of a match of his was against Nakanishi and it was his stomps to the knee that clearly were not connecting.

 

The fact you could immediately evaluate a wrestler on first sight is totally foreign to me, but more power to you, brutha. I'll post in Tanahashi microscope or GWE thread from now on.

[Mad Dog]

 

 

Social media being mentioned in wrestling promos also drives me insane.

Remember when Tout was a thing?

 

When was the last time THAT has been mentioned on the air? Ditto WWE.com/Mobile App content?

 

At least they've haven't overused YouTube and Instagram mentions.

Tout was the worst.

[rzombie1988]

Mine are:

 

- Just WWE as a whole. I am so over that promotion and I've watched less wrestling than ever in 2014 and 2015.

 

- Referring to the internet fans as dorks in 2015. Fine, a bunch are, but can you imagine an NFL fan not going to the internet to talk about a game/team or Game of Thrones fans staying off Twitter? It's just so out of touch. It's also the same company that tries to force people to go on twitter and stuff a million times during their shows.

 

- Everyone falsely remembering Daniel Bryan's WM 30 as this planned out amazing and long time angle coming to an end. DB got abused for weeks on end, then they tried to turn him heel with the Wyatts. Then it didn't work, the Royal Rumble happened, Punk left and people booed Batista. The storyline also marked the beginning of the Authority being on TV forever IIRC. In 2015, we've also seen that nothing has really changed and DB is still being misused and wasted.

 

- Anyone calling WM31 the greatest show ever or one of the best shows ever. No.

 

- ROH's love of small, uncharismatic workers with no personality. I'd rather see two big lugs pound each other than see the flipz

 

- Now it's irrelevant, but ending Taker's streak. Brock didn't need to beat the streak to be a monster, but booking him to lose against HHH and Cena didn't make him look like a monster.

[Seej]

CM Punk chants happening during AJ Lee's matches, or any matches, actually. Now that she's gone, maybe that will stop.

 

Also, wrestling podcast hosts who come off as virtually clueless about the subject of pro wrestling. Alice Radley is a prime example of this.

[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.

 

The objective is to pin the man. I have no idea why it matters how forceful the throw is in this situation. Does La Magistral Cradle have to be executed to wrench a person into place? I agree with you 100% that shitty or light strikes are awful and work against the match. I honestly can't think of a Tanahashi moonsault. If you are talking High Fly Flow, I think he hits that with pretty good impact, I love the urgency with which he gets into position for the move and how he doubles it up. What about his somersault from the middle rope, he fucking slams down on the opponent! I happen to not find his forearms as offensive as you do. They are not Misawa's but they connect. The only time I was taken out of a match of his was against Nakanishi and it was his stomps to the knee that clearly were not connecting.

 

The fact you could immediately evaluate a wrestler on first sight is totally foreign to me, but more power to you, brutha. I'll post in Tanahashi microscope or GWE thread from now on.

 

 

I've seen plenty of Tanahashi matches, and from the get go I didn't like what I saw. But, I gave him chnaces, and he kept bringing the same light as a father no impact offense. Add in his lackluster selling, bad timing, and inability to engage me and you have a guy who I feel comfortable in my assessment of.

[rzombie1988]

Tanahashi was always like Cena on impact moves and believeable offense. He just gets away with it because he's a good wrestler otherwise and it's been so long that it's a moot point. Neither of them are going to change so I just gave up being angry about it and accepted it.

[fakeplastictrees]

Pet Peeves eh? Some of mine have already been mentioned in the thread (i.e. tons of guys laying outside the ring during a multi-man match).

 

THE WET LOOK

 

I don't mind someone like Sid coming out drenched in water as it makes him look 'Psycho' (which is his gimmick), nor do I mind Lesnar coming to the ring drenched in water as it looks like he just finished lifting weights and is ready to kick ass. But what is Bo Dallas's excuse? The guy looks like he just took a lap in the pool before coming to the ring to cut a promo (I am surprised he hasn't been electrocuted ). Seth Rollins comes out in his pleather-spandex getup SOAKED in water! Why? It doesn't make him look tough or sleazy or like an architect, but rather someone just coming out a dunk tank. Its time for this to drastically be scaled back. Every Rock, more or less, is him coming out in a super-soaked top as if he is auditioning for Magic Mike III.

 

FIREFLIES~! AND OTHER WEEKLY TAGLINES

 

This is WWE specific. EVERYTIME Bray Wyatt makes his entrance SOMEONE on the announce team says "He calls them his fireflies!". Every damn time. There is some variation of it. This is the same with the announcers going over certain points about a character time and time again. Ignoring recent events, the announcers make a wrestler's history to be A, B, and C. Nothing more and nothing less. Oh the current stuff is happening and that's reported- but the character is the ring is A, B, and C, and NOTHING MORE. It annoying as its the same narrative. EVERY week for the majority of guys.

 

INTERNET HATE IN 2015

 

WWE will run a graphic to talk about how many Twitter and Facebook followers the company has. WWE will also release a graphic touting how socially interactive WM 31 was. WWE will make trips to Google, Facebook, and Twitter HQ and then after all of this will have one or more personalities cut a promo about how STUPID the internet fans are and how the internet doesn't matter. This is not said or done in a cheeky way- everyone tossing out this opinion is dead serious. But then again if you are not subscribed to The Network (no fiber in your area, etc.) then you are a moron and are laughed at by the lead commentators every week.

 

#

 

I am tired of seeing this on t-shirts that come out. Its okay to have a classic and timeless t-shirt. The Axelmania shirt would have been so much better with the hashtag.

 

WRESTLER'S GETTING EMOTIONAL AT MANIA

 

WM has become (in large part) a glorified Raw. Plain and simple. Outside of a few instances, Mania is just Raw held in a bigger arena on a Sunday. John Cena hugging his dad, Paige lipping the words to her theme song and then give her mother a post match hug, Seth Rollins thanking Roman Reigns...all of this stuff doesn't jive with me. This all goes hand-in-hand with the 'WrestleMania Moment', JBL's gunslinger commentary (as mentioned earlier), and retirement matches out-the-ass. Its all too much and feels unauthentic.

 

 

FORCING PLUGS

 

WWE is terrible when it comes to this. WWE has a new Flinstones movie and a commercial runs for it. CUT BACK TO THE ARENA and Brie and Nikki are watching the monitors and talking about something (I cannot remember what), and one of them decides to end the promo with Fred Flintstone's catchphrase. Its all just too forced and unnatural.

[Strummer]

the constant replays of earlier segments on Raw. Constant cuts to the announce booth in general

 

Triple H and Stephanie are starting to garner "Change the Channel" heat with me. The Authority angle should have been blown off at Survivor Series. This is just a pure ego trip for both of them now. Nothing more.

 

Vince McMahon saying anything was fair game in the Austin interviews and then getting mad at him for asking tough questions. Pretty much anything Vince says in public now pisses me off.

 

Kane and Big Show still being protected in the booking

 

and um pretty much any non-Keith commentary at Cageside Seats <_>

[jackwebb]

One pet peeve. Tag matches when a partner breaks up a pin fall. The one getting pinned doesn't lift a shoulder and his opponent is still on him after the break. Made worse by how often the guy breaking it up arrives late. Such an easy fix.

 

One other. Bret Hart almost always having his mouth open. Wish I wasn't aware of it. Like his matches and sometimes get fixated on it.

[BigBadMick]

'Speaking of ratings, another pet peeve is fans acting like ratings/ppv buys/network subs affect them directly. Unless you own stock or are directly related to the McMahons it doesn't make a bit of difference.'

 

That's a really good one. Generally, I'm all for anything that involves wrestling being a part of your life, but not pretending that you live or die by it. A little distance/perspective is healthy.

[ButchReedMark]

Trunks with no knee pads. It makes their legs look silly. Skinny often.

[Steenalized]

It's something of a pet peeve that I've learned to ignore because it's so common, but like jackwebb said, breaking up pinfalls in a tag (or triple threat, etc.) match is usually awful. Not just that the guy doesn't get his shoulder up, but that the partner/other opponent doesn't really break up the pin. Just slapping a guy's back or giving him a boot shouldn't break the pin, you should have to move the pinner off of the down guy or, like jack said, the pinned guy needs to get his shoulder up. Always bothers me. I always justified it in the three way matches as 'well, now both guys are pinning him even for that instant so the ref has to stop even if the pinned wrestler doesn't get his shoulders up.' Tag matches don't have that defense.

[JerryvonKramer]

The sheer stupidity of a seven-man ladder match and numerous PWOers more or less chanting "this is awesome" at it.