Your Wrestling Pet Peeves/Utter Hatreds

[Zoo Enthusiast]

The terms workrate and moveset have always bugged me. I know I'm in the vast minority with that view, though.

Absolutely. I especially despise "workrate."

[artDDP]

Matches being made no-DQ at the last minute to prevent someone from having to job clean and/or smoke-and-mirrors jobs to hide that someone shouldn't be working.

[JaymeFuture]

Just wanted to thank everybody in this thread for the awesome suggestions - the podcast discussing a great many of the Pet Peeves/Utter Hatreds mentioned in this thread is now available to listen to at the following link:

http://squaredcirclegazette.podbean.com/mf/play/5jscg6/SCGRadio35-WrestlingPetPeeves.mp3

 

This ended up being a really fun podcast, talking everything from wide-reaching issues such as WWE buzzwords, hypocrisy and policies, to the humorous minor foibles that many have with the Greatest Sport Of Them All, if you've never listened to the show before (and especially if you have) - check it out and let me know what you think!

[Wade Garrett]

Pro Wrestlers performing a match instead of actually working a match bugs the shit outta me. I understand there are ideas in regards to certain spots. But laying a match step for step like you would as a dancer bugs me. Because if you can't adjust to the particular crowd your working in front of you can lose pops and heat in a split second and never recover.

 

I'm not saying you can't have a great match doing this. It's just something that I don't agree with. Promos fit into this too imo.

 

It's why Savage loses points with me and I'm a big Savage fan pre-87.

 

Maybe I'm in the minority because I'm an old guy?

[jackwebb]

 

Absolutely. I especially despise "workrate."

 

That reminds me of my hate for "technical wrestler." I just don't understand what it means. Every attempt to have it explained by the person using it has come up empty. Maybe some people just use it wrong. I don't know. I just don't get what unites Benoit, Regal, Lance Storm, Davey Richards and Daniel Bryan as workers. At times it seems like the word just gets applied to guys that do mat wrestling or have longer matches. I just haven't seen it applied consistently enough to know what those using it are trying to say.

[Steenalized]

 

 

Absolutely. I especially despise "workrate."

 

That reminds me of my hate for "technical wrestler." I just don't understand what it means. Every attempt to have it explained by the person using it has come up empty. Maybe some people just use it wrong. I don't know. I just don't get what unites Benoit, Regal, Lance Storm, Davey Richards and Daniel Bryan as workers. At times it seems like the word just gets applied to guys that do mat wrestling or have longer matches. I just haven't seen it applied consistently enough to know what those using it are trying to say.

 

Basically, if you aren't a 'brawler' or 'high flyer' (ignore those being just as nebulous) then you're a 'technical wrestler'.

[jackwebb]

 

Basically, if you aren't a 'brawler' or 'high flyer' (ignore those being just as nebulous) then you're a 'technical wrestler'.

 

That definitely covers a broad enough range to explain it so thanks. Was a mistake on my part assuming the answer would be more concise.

[dawho5]

So "technical wrestler" is some kind of catch-all term then? I won't say this for me at all times in my wrestling fandom, but I hate the idea of classifying wrestlers into groups like that. Is Rey Misterio, Jr. a high flier despite being good at suplexes when he's not way undersized and a capable striker? My feeling is that everybody has their own constantly evolving skillset as a worker and it's futile to say they are this,, that or the other. Roughly speaking, Sheamus, Ambrose, Reigns, Barrett, Harper, Wyatt and Cena are all "brawlers." But they all have different aspects of wrestling they excel at besides brawling as well as different weaknesses. So it's hard for me to throw them into a grouping together and call it good. At best it gives you the idea that they spend a lot of time engaged in fisticuffs during a match.

 

Great podcast to listen to. Not sure about all the logic bombs, but I'm willing to ignore those.

[Loss]

Pro Wrestlers performing a match instead of actually working a match bugs the shit outta me. I understand there are ideas in regards to certain spots. But laying a match step for step like you would as a dancer bugs me. Because if you can't adjust to the particular crowd your working in front of you can lose pops and heat in a split second and never recover.

 

I'm not saying you can't have a great match doing this. It's just something that I don't agree with. Promos fit into this too imo.

 

It's why Savage loses points with me and I'm a big Savage fan pre-87.

 

Maybe I'm in the minority because I'm an old guy?

 

I totally agree with this. I am not someone who cares so much about process as long as the end result is good, but it's usually painfully obvious that matches are planned out in advance. Guys who can work a pre-planned match that they make seem spontaneous and reactive to the whims of the crowd have my respect. So for me, it's not so much about whether they planned the match out in advance. It's more about whether it's obvious watching the match that they are sticking to a script.

[dawho5]

I think that's one of the things that made Bryan stand out so much. He somehow makes all the pre-planned sequences work for the crowd.

[JaymeFuture]

Great podcast to listen to. Not sure about all the logic bombs, but I'm willing to ignore those.

Thanks very much man, glad you enjoyed it....and you and me both >_>

[Hector]

I hate arm wringers with a passion. Nobody knows how to make them look good and they almost always lead to some stupid looking wrestling school drill reversal. I would say the same thing about headlocks, but at least headlocks have some basis in reality.

[Mad Dog]

Molly Holly always did a nice arm wringer.

[BBscout]

Indy fucks saying "can't wait to punch so and so in the face."

[Parties]

This is just the inverse of my "utter love" thread comment about TV time remaining, but: it's a drag how much modern wrestling TV (really just WWE/TNA) is presented as if each week's main events and other big matches are being booked on the fly in the middle of the show. The Authority coming up with 11EST's main event during their 8pm promo. Segments which lead to matches thirty minutes later on the same show. Matches which Kane cancels and rebooks into a different match halfway through.

 

From a kayfabe perspective, it's ridiculous that the show either goes live with little-to-no forethought, or that the would-be schedule is completely changed by workers walking into the ring with microphones to book themselves into feuds. With no thought of what would have happened had Randy Orton not decided to make a ten-minute speech at his own accord. It's so lazy and haphazard in a way that seems glaring to casual/non fans. Totally antithetical to the presentation of UFC, or stuff like Memphis/Mid-South/Crockett, in which the shows are presented as self-aware TV programs adhering to actual schedules, contendership, matchmaking, etc. All of which creates drama. You need that realism and structure not only to color in the nuances, but so that the chaotic moments actually feel chaotic. Time limits seem like such an obvious way to enhance TV right now, especially at a time of so much parity booking.

[SteveJRogers]

This is just the inverse of my "utter love" thread comment about TV time remaining, but: it's a drag how much modern wrestling TV (really just WWE/TNA) is presented as if each week's main events and other big matches are being booked on the fly in the middle of the show. The Authority coming up with 11EST's main event during their 8pm promo. Segments which lead to matches thirty minutes later on the same show. Matches which Kane cancels and rebooks into a different match halfway through.

 

From a kayfabe perspective, it's ridiculous that the show either goes live with little-to-no forethought, or that the would-be schedule is completely changed by workers walking into the ring with microphones to book themselves into feuds. With no thought of what would have happened had Randy Orton not decided to make a ten-minute speech at his own accord. It's so lazy and haphazard in a way that seems glaring to casual/non fans. Totally antithetical to the presentation of UFC, or stuff like Memphis/Mid-South/Crockett, in which the shows are presented as self-aware TV programs adhering to actual schedules, contendership, matchmaking, etc. All of which creates drama. You need that realism and structure not only to color in the nuances, but so that the chaotic moments actually feel chaotic. Time limits seem like such an obvious way to enhance TV right now, especially at a time of so much parity booking.

To be fair, this has been a problem since the start of The Monday Night War. I often feel bemused when the night's main event is created in mid-show, as if it makes me wonder if cards are ever advertized for stuff like Nitro, and eventually when Raw would pull the same routine of creating matches during the show.

[Parties]

True, but Nitro's early days (say 95-97) were always booked with a presentational gameplan that they more or less stuck to. They were always stacked shows. They at times booked too much rather than too little. But Bischoff as an announcer in particular was always really good at laying out at the top of the show what the night was going to be and why it mattered. As did Heenan, Tenay, Larry Z. They knew how to present a show that seemed to have forethought and hype behind it, and matches with high stakes. Which is what would happen in both a kayfabe and real world if Ted Turner was pouring millions of dollars into your company. Modern WWE is a billion dollar company presented with the loose ambivalence of your office's talent show.

[Loss]

In theory, it seems like ratings would go up if the top two or three matches on next week's show were announced in advance, as long as it's a fairly compelling lineup. I'm not saying something like Rollins vs Orton, as one example, would pop a rating, but Rollins vs Orton with a week of hype would theoretically pop a bigger rating than Rollins vs Orton announced cold.

 

Speaking of other pet peeves, creating social media buzz for something earlier in the same day, like Daniel Bryan's teased retirement or Savage going into the Hall of Fame, seems like it would be far more effective if it was coupled with promotion on RAW and Smackdown for at least the entire week beforehand. In theory (once again), both shows being on the same network will make it easier to keep continuity and hype the next episode.

[Superstar Sleeze]

When did they stop announce matches ahead of time and why did they stop? Is the only reason they stopped because they literally have no idea what will be on the show next week at the time of the end of the last show? That has to be the stupidest fucking thing ever.

[dawho5]

I have to think that the "evil authority figure" that seems omnipresent since the MNW started has to have a lot to do with it. What's the point of having someone abusing their power as GM/owner/show supervisor/commissioner/whatever if they don't pick on the main babyfaces and stack the deck against them? How are you going to announce a main event one week and have it consistently changed at the whim of whomever has been put into that role without pissing the fans off regularly?

[Seej]

Wrestling podcasts-or podcasts, in general- that sound like they were recorded inside a tin can, using Dollar Store gear. The content may be interesting, but the shitty quality tends to make it unlistenable.

[Shylock]

Wrestling podcasts-or podcasts, in general- that sound like they were recorded inside a tin can, using Dollar Store gear. The content may be interesting, but the shitty quality tends to make it unlistenable.

This. ^ Also, adding to that: Podcasts where the hosts start eating while they are doing a show (example: Konnan on MLW Radio).

[goc]

The current trend of thinking whatever guy you like is automatically main event caliber talent and should be in the title hunt/the champion. I just lurked too far out of the PWO zone and found a board with a size-able contingent talking about how Damien Sandow should be a main event guy.

 

I mean I understand the Mizdow thing got over but just because a guy is getting great reactions in the midcard doesn't mean he can be in the main event. I have really enjoyed some WWE midcard acts over the years like Santino, The Hurricane, Jimmy Wang Yang, Colin Delaney, Festus, hell I even really liked The Boogeyman and at times probably argued "they should be doing more with this guy" for all of them but that doesn't mean "this guy should be in the main event." I know everyone wants to parrot Steve Austin's "if you don't want to main event WrestleMania you don't belong here" line but there's nothing wrong with being a popular midcard act. Especially if you can make some nice merchandise checks.

[funkdoc]

yep goc, great pick there!

 

sandow's had that hype around him for years and it continues to mystify me. i think earlier it was just a product of WWE not having a great talent roster, so fans tried to talk themselves into guys like him & the miz. it's a bit weirder to still see it today, but i guess it happens with any midcard act that gets really over.

[Coffey]

Sandow got like a 15-minute match with John Cena on a RAW and managed to be boring, so I have completely written the guy off.