Stiff Wrestling

[Uncle Sam]

So, I'm watching TNA 'iMPACT!'. Y'know, the one that Will gave eight of ten two and the one I said I'd rather punch through my computer screen, take the shattered glass, cut my penis off and eat it than have to watch again.

Anyway, I'm watching that and in the main event, we have Scott Steiner and AJ Styles. I know, this thread is called "stiff wrestling" and neither are renowned for their stiff styles, far as I know anyway. But, as you know, ol' Scotty's getting on in age. He goes for the belly-to-belly. AJ stalls him, presumably so Scott can gather the strength for the move. he doesn't quite manage it. Scott tosses him but AJ doesn't flip, like he's supposed to. It's thanks to his fast reactions that he moves so he lands on his face and not his neck. Steiner has a face on that just screams "Oh shit, did I kill him?". Long story short, AJ seems pissed and I swear to God he goes stiff. There's a spot where AJ is meant to throw Scott's head into a chair; he does so with unusual gusto, leaving Steiner with a big red nose, like Rudolph. AJ then gets a few punches into Steiner's face, and he's connecting and it looks hard. I dunno, maybe AJ's just really convincing, all I know is this...

It was entertaining as fuck. The best part of what was an admittedly shitty show. Maybe it's because I dislike Steiner and maybe it's because he'd just almost paralysed one of my favourite wrestler because he won't hurry the fuck up and retire, but I was like, "Yeah! Fuck him up, AJ!". Maybe AJ's just a particularly effective face and I'm just a mark. Give a shit.

Here's the question I've been needlessly dancing around: should more wrestlers adopt a stiff style? Samoa Joe has a stiff style, far as I know, and I maintain that in-ring the guy is quality. When someone boots someone else in the face and sweat, spit and blood - and maybe a few teeth - fly in the air, don't tell me you don't get excited. Surely other people share my odd bloodlust!?

Vader, Vader, Vader. Just to get IC2 interested.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

I agree...There needs to be more stiff wrestling. Sometimes the best matches are when there is blood invloved. This whole PG thing especially for the WWE is bogus because most people tune in for the bloodshed. They are afraid to show blood because it may scare away the kids who they're trying to target but I always enjoy stiff wrestling.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

If I think I have this right, you're basically saying you want more Professional Wrestlers to lose their lack of cool in the ring because an "accident" occurs, right? In other words, you now want Professional Wrestling to become more "real" by connecting more often with punches, kicks, and whatknot, right?

If that's the case, are you out of your mind? You'll have twice as many wrestlers retiring at a rapid rate because their bodies will wear down and breakdown more often than not over the course of 5 years instead of 10, or 10 years instead of 20.

Now, if the question is, should more wrestlers adapt a "stiff style" meaning, make it look like it was real.. isn't that what all of them are unofficially meant to do in the first place? I mean, how many wrestlers out there are truly told to go out and make it look completely fake and unrealistic. You know, besides Scotty 2 Hotty.

I won't lie.. I like a nice violent match, but not at the expense of someone actually getting seriously hurt. When wrestlers blade themselves off stupid moves (ie. Angle off a hurricanrana from 2002) it's a bit much, but I'd rather they did that.. then intentionally got teeth knocked out, or ear's ripped off. The last thing we need is more Foley-look alikes running around the industry.

 

[Slyfox696]

There's a very real tradeoff in the stiffness of a match that one works. Work a too stiff match, and you're hurting your partner, who put his trust in you. Work a less stiff style and you run the risk of making it less realistic. I don't think anyone would deny that a stiffer style would be more fun, as MMA shows the fact that humans like violence.

However, over the long haul, working a stiff style just isn't feasible. These guys work hundreds of matches over the course of the year, and it's enough pain just to work the much faster paced and higher impact of today's wrestling, without throwing in stiffer shots to make it worse. If wrestling was like it used to be 20 years ago, where things were more grounded, and more hold oriented, and less high impact moves, I think you could make a case.

So, overall, working a stiffer style wouldn't be a good idea, as it is just too punishing on the human body, human bodies that already take too much abuse as is.

 

[Shadowmancer]

There are three or four guys that have made the stiff style their own in the US in the last few years, Samoa Joe, Masato Tanaka, Low Ki and Tajiri. All of those guys have people saying that they make them look stiff and they are stiff but they know how to do it in such a way that it isn't putting there opponents at an undue risk. I was reading something Steve Corino wrote about it saying that there are people on the Indys that go stiff but don't know how to do it so the other guy is as protected as possible. Stiffness works in context and only with the right people, people that know where it is safe to kick the person in the back and not risk breaking the guys back.

 

[Father:_Polley]

There's working stiff with the intent to hurt, and there's working stiff with the intention of being realistic and unfortunately a lot of people struggle with the line between the two. The likes of Samoa Joe has a rep for working stiff, but I don't recall and injury he's inflicted in recent times.

Then you have the likes of Vader, who has probably injured more people than most in professional wrestling. Realistic, yes, but a little too realistic.

Then, you have people who go stiff as an act of revenge on their opponent. Take Perry Saturn and his snapping on a jobber, Undertaker stiffing Chris Masters for his idioacy in not selling an arm injury for example. There is a difference between the two... Undertaker taught Masters a lesson the rookie wouldn't forget, but Saturn just assaulted a man in anger which cost him a lot of respect.

The other prime example is Bob Holly, who merely picked on rookies, yet himself was subject to stiff work by Angle because he (a supposed veteran), kept botching moves. Harsh, but a reminder to Bob that he was in control of a man's career.

STiff wrestling is definately more entertaining, since it looks far better. I can recall Undertaker vs Koslov before Survivor Series, where Koslov hit a straight boot that legit caught Taker and put him down. All the people in the room gasped collectively because it was clear the kick caught him. That's real and it was pretty damn entertaining