What happened to the Torture Rack ?

[ztwhite]

Why in this era of the bigger, badder & arguably better wrestler has no one picked up the torture rack for their finishing move ?

Let's just imagine for a moment that a guy like Vladimir Kozlov used the Torture Rack rather than his dumb ass head butt finisher !! I know WWE has played the head butt up as a Russian staple, that all warriors are trained to use their heads as weapons, but seriously... anyone buying it ??!!

What about the Big Show ? He needs a great repackaging idea to sell his sheer dominance. The punch certainly isn't doing it for me, even though if Show hit me or any other normal human being with his right frying pan, I'd die -- but so would half of the WWE roster !! So I ask, is it believeable ??

Let's look at the "other" show in town -- TNA.

How much more impressive could a guy like Matt Morgan be if he used the Torture Rack ?? Genetically jacked, athletically stacked, piece of crap WWE reject in my opinion. He's terrible on the mic. He IS impressive physically, but does he really strike fear inside you when you see him or do you think he's going to dominate when he hits the ring ?? Let him run in a few matches and throw a couple of guys in the Rack -- just think what would have happened if he'd have thrown Petey Williams in the Rack this past Thursday.

The thought crossed my mind after reading an interview about Lex Luger in a Carolina newspaper a few days ago. It had absolutely nothing to do with wrestling, but rather 'roids, medical problems and his newfound life in Christ.

Either way -- when I was a kid and watched Luger throw a guy in the Torture Rack, it truly looked painful. Any chance at all to rekinder that sentiment with kids and adults alike in todays wrestling world ??

 

[Slyfox696]

Well, I don't think it's the torture rack, as much as it is submission finishers in general. More and more, finishers are getting away from submission finishers, and going with "more exciting" finishers. I mean, can you name me five guys in the WWE who have a submission finisher?

I agree it's a good submission hold, but since the trend is to get away from submissions, it just makes sense that it isn't around.

 

[klunderbunker]

I think Sly's mostly right here. There's really just not a lot of submissions out there anywhere. Ankle Lock, Walls of Jericho, STFU, Khali VIce maybe? That's all I've got. It's just not there anymore. I'm not sure why but they've just gotten away from them. All of those guys that use submissions all have pinfall moves that they use as finishers as well. I guess submissions are seen as boring or something which I think if ridiculous. There's something sweet about a guy cranking on a hold until the person in it can't take it anymore. As for the rack, I'm sure there are people that could use it, such as Kozlov like you said, but I can't see it happening.

 

[Mr. TM]

Kozlov would be a great guy for the Torture Rack! If submissions were really used now a days in wrestling. The Rack was always a great move, if not for submissions but to weaken a wrestler down. I have always been high on the move, especially in big name matches. Lex Luger go over for his physique, and his ability to make it look like he was spliting a guy in half, and so can Kozlov.

 

[NSL]

I have an entire thread about this in the Smackdown section, so I'll summarize here.

Kozlov would be excellent for the Torture Rack. It's a submission that takes size and power to pull off, and would be great for someone like Kozlov that is the monster unstoppable heel.

The person that is in the rack is just as important as who is giving it, because having the right person in it can help a lot.

Watching Luger using the rack was impressive, because you could see the pain pouring off their face. If Kozlov keeps the push going, who wouldn't buy Hardy screaming in agony as Kozlov is trying to snap him in half? Or Rey Mysterio screaming for mercy?

 

[AnthonyMango/NoFate007]

Well for a few appearances, they actually had Ezekiel putting people in the Torture Rack, and man did it look painful. They should really allow him to continue doing that. A guy that size crushing your spine on his shoulders? C'mon. That's a great looking way to submit and put the guy over as ridiculously powerful. It'd work better with him than Kozlov I think due to Kozlov's size not being that much bigger than the average semi-big man in the WWE.

 

[Gelgarin]

The torture rack gets the somewhat dubious honour of being one of the only moves in existence to look better in women's wrestling.

Most male wrestlers (at least in America) are six foot monsters with more muscles on them than a king sized seafood platter. The net result being that they don't bend very well, and the rack doesn't look as effective as it should.

Conversely, the sight of Awesome Kong bending Christy Hemme clean in two early last year is still one of the wince inducing wrestling moments in recent memory.

So year, if you're going to give it to somebody, make it Beth Phoenix of Awesome Kong, and tell the men in the industry that they can have their submission holds back when they put their egos aside and stop selling hyper-extension holds for thirty seconds.