Professional Wrestling Pet Peeves
My latest column in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review looks at my pet peeves in professional wrestling and wrestlers. The following is an excerpt:
My career is great in that I get to watch professional wrestling for a living. I love it.
But as with anything you love, it’s impossible not to have pet peeves and annoyances with something you’re around so much.
This is Volume 1 of my pet peeves — and major, psychotic hatreds — with professional wrestling and wrestlers:
MAKING THE CROWD CLAP
You see a lot of this on the independent scene.
At the start of the match, the good guy starts the methodical clap to get fans to start clapping for him. This always bothered me and came off weak.
Legendary wrestler Dominic DeNucci once said it perfectly to me. He said, “You shouldn’t have to tell the people to clap for you.”
He’s right. The babyface and their heel opponent should already have done more to establish and get people interested in who they should cheer for.
TOO MANY SUPERKICKS
The Young Bucks drive me nuts with this. Please stop using the superkick every fourth move in the big comeback and go-home portions of matches.
Adding to my frustration, often times the guys who are guilty of this — Young Bucks included — are physically capable can doing so much in the ring. They have a larger repertoire than most, but I see kick after kick.
There is a line where going back to the well of a signature move a few times has its place in a story of persistence. However, too often the line is crossed and diminishes the significance of the kick and takes me out of the match on a count of annoyance.
DUMB TWITTER HANDLES
Once again, this a problem on the lower levels, and it screams “amateur.” If you’re a professional wrestler and want to have a Twitter account, be consistent with your gimmick.
If it means you need separate accounts for your gimmick and real life, do that.
It does no good for a wrestling promotion to tweet about you being a wrestler being at the show and it looks like it’s his AOL Instant Messenger screen name being promoted.
I should be able to tell who a wrestler is from his Twitter handle. It doesn’t have to be his name, but it should be somewhat relevant to his name, nickname or gimmick. I don’t want to hear about the most dangerous cage match ever this Saturday featuring @CoolGJuice51287.
The same rule applies to booking emails for promoters to hire and pay wrestlers to work their show. Create a professional looking email with your wrestling name easily identified in it.
CLICK HERE to read more pet peeves in the full column.
CSR Social Media Share
Check out shorter clips on YouTube of CSR from this past weekend. The conversations include…
– Does Bray Wyatt NEED to win at WrestleMania?
– Root of controversy and confusion with Bill DeMott situation.
– Why Connor “The Crusher” going in WWE Hall of Fame is surprising.
All of this and much more in the episode 265 playlist.
