Where are the technical wrestlers?

[Kesteral]

Looking back 10 years ago we had a plethora of technical wrestling talent in the WWE and WCW. People like Benoit, Angle, Guerrero, Malenko, Jericho, Tazz and more. Go further back and there's more supreme technical wrestlers like Ricky Steamboat, Ted DiBiase, Mr. Perfect, Bret Hart, Ric Flair. The list goes on and on, but stops when I'm thinking about the superstars currently in the wwe or who've joined in the last five years.

Most of the people I've listed were world champions, who you felt deserved to be world champions because they were the best wrestlers. They could put on a hell of a match, whether that be at the top of the card or the undercard. Looking back at the attitude era I enjoyed the technical matches between Angle and Benoit just as much if not more than any other storyline or match. We often used to get a good technical match every week, either on smackdown or raw which is much better than the current five minute filler match we get.

So who is there who could be considered good technical wrestlers? I know there's not many recently but let's say Daniel Bryan, Charlie Hass, David Hart Smith, William Regal, CM Punk? I'm sure there's a few more I've forgotten but there's not many and there's certainly not many who've broken into the top tier. You could say that technical wrestlers aren't what Vince wants, but has he ever? All of his top guys have been big muscular guys, but the technical guys have got insanely popular for their wrestling and just burst into the main event scene. Chris Benoit certainly didn't get the belt for his personality.

I can't see how PG comes into this because technical wrestlers aren't going to do anything R rated. Is it just more technical wrestlers are going to TNA in fear of being misused? Are technical wrestlers out of favour nowadays? Perhaps it's to do with the training, most of those wrestlers I mentioned travelled the world honing their skills. Now all you need to do is go to FCW and you'll learn enough to get by.

What do you guys think? Because I think wrestling can be an art when two technical wrestlers are going at it, but sadly we don't see any of that in the WWE even though I feel it could really enhance the product. One match a week would be fine for me.

 

[vanderhevel]

i like them but they arent exciting enough for the dummies in the audience. just look at dean malenko. that guy was a beast and he got nothing in the wwe when he was there.

 

[Rammsteinerteen]

Agreed, technical wrestling is my favourate of all time. WWE should use it much much more. I loved Kurt Angle, its a shame hes gone from WWE IMO. I love Chris Benoit even more. I think WWE is lacking technical wrestlers. John Cena sure hell isn't. But WWE still has some pretty good technicals right now. CM Punk is probably the best behind Chris Jericho. Hart Dynasty and Jack Swagger are also great technicals IMO. I actually miss Eddie Gurrero too I might add. His match with Kurt Angle was epic. When Daniel Bryan was released, I was pissed because he was the best technical wrestler of our age. And now since he's fired, WWE's best is Y2J. I really hope Daniel Bryan comes back. Japan had great perfect technicals. Kenta Kobashi was really good, i recomend any technical wrestling fan to watch his match against mitsuharu misawa. Anyway, WWE really lacks a lot of technicals. Great topic by the way.

 

[Slyfox696]

I'm sorry...I'm still stunned by the assertion Taz and Bret Hart were technical wrestlers, and that Dean Malenko was a "beast". Seriously, I'm shocked.

As for where the technical wrestlers are? They're working 30 years ago. Technical wrestling is boring to today's audience, and since the concept of realism has pretty much flown from wrestling anyway, why bother with technical wrestlers, when it's clear fans would much rather see the brawling style the WWE made famous?

 

[vanderhevel]

idk i guess you are some expert or something, but to me wrestlers like bret and dean were technical, compared to wrestlers like batista and cena and the rest of the musclebound guys.

 

[Bigdog6374]

back in the 70's and early 80's where they belong. Now days the fan base is totally different and find that style kinda boring they are more into the hardcore and high flying action not leg locks and arm bars.

 

[cmillsa1]

Slyfox696 - first off, Malenko was a beast in the ring. And of course there only gonna want to watch the brawl crap, if thats all you show them. WWE has taken out its hardcore, its technical, and most of its high flyers. There is nothing really exciting about it much. Hence why i absolutley love the nWo, i mean nXt angle.

 

[triple_b2k]

I love technical wrestling but it takes a real pro to sell it. I watch today and see so many mistakes and obvious blocks. WWE has really stepped up protecting their wrestlers in the ring. I respect that but wrestling looks more fake now than ever. just tonight, when jericho kneed bourne in the stomach, you clearly saw him slap his back to make the sound. a few weeks ago when daniel bryan kicked cena, you clearly see bryan slap his leg to make the sound. things just seem sloppy and obvious. if you can't pull off something like that, I can't imagine a good technical show with strong submissions and take downs.

 

[mayankeagle]

I don't completely agree when you call Ricky Steamboat, Flair and Hart better than Angle or Benoit. I think Angle and Benoit were technically as good as anyone. In fact, I used to consider Bret Hart the best in terms of technical ability until I saw Kurt Angle and I certainly think that Angle has more variety than Bret has. Even though I might have been a childhood fan of Bret and more emotionally attached to him, I still think I'd rate Angle higher from an unbiased perspective.

 

[The Wolf]

Just look back at the greatest matches ever they all had a good amount of technical wrestling to them. Any real fan would love a good techincal match from time to time for WWE today once a month would br great so the younger fans would get into it the increase it slowly. VKM wants to go PG well what is a better way then Technical wrestling it will keep the excitement and reduce the injuries if done right. I dont recall the tops names back in the day takin injury leave everyother yr. Technical wrestling = great matches and a PG theme

 

[Kesteral]

I know that todays audience prefers the typical brawling type matches but that's exactly what it was like in the main event 10 years ago, bar a few people like Kurt and Benoit. The Rock, Austin and HHH were all brawlers when they were at the peak of their popularity. They could probably wrestle a technical match but that's not what we wanted to see. The technical wrestlers were there to put on good matches to get the crowd hot and often they turned out to be a lot better than the main event. I can't think of any match recently that has been better than the main event that hasn't featured veterans. No new guys seem to want to shine, or perhaps they're not allowed to.

The people who stopped watching wrestling after the attitude era didn't like the technical matches, they wanted to see people kick eachothers ass. The true fans who stayed watching did, so there's still an audience for technical wrestling. It might take a while to become popular, but throw a match in on superstars every now and again. Build up a wrestler who looks like he can actually take anyone down. You'd think with MMA being so popular that the WWE would try to capatalize on that and get someone who uses similiar styles but no, everyone new's a brawler except a few smaller guys.

 

[Spaceman Spif]

Technical wrestling is outdated and decaying in the WWE. That's why you see guys like Cena, Orton, Edge, even Kane, Mysterio, Punk and pretty much anyone else using higher impact moves, flashier moves and quite frankly fewer moves. There is no reason to put on a wrestling clinic anymore, the majority of fans aren't interested, they want to see flying shoulder tackle, another flying shoulder tackle, five knuckle shuffle, Attitude Adjustment and then the STFU. That's all they care about, the moves that make the masse go ohhh and awwww.

The fans' attention span is at a level that anything kind of match that requires their brains to stir is bad. They want matches that they watch, while at the same time chug their beers, wave their signs or watch the woman with the huge tits jumping up and down when Cena comes out. The kiddies too do not want to watch a match full of armbars, headklocks, octopus stretches and whatever else that lasts for 20 minutes, they don't have the attention span.

So the days of technical masterpieces is gone, we who loved them, can only recall the fond memories of years gone by, because we will not see them again. However that does not mean we do not have some very gifted technical wrestlers still. They are out there, but they do not showcase their technical prowess, there is no need.

 

[Slyfox696]

idk i guess you are some expert or something, but to me wrestlers like bret and dean were technical, compared to wrestlers like batista and cena and the rest of the musclebound guys.

Why, because he didn't have big muscles? What made Bret Hart a technical wrestler? He was a striker and a brawler in the WWE. He broke the rules with closed fist punching, he stomped people, etc. He used impact moves, opposed to holds to wear down opponents. There was really very little that was technical about Bret Hart during his prime run in the WWF.

Slyfox696 - first off, Malenko was a beast in the ring.

No he wasn't, he was as boring as watching grass grow or paint draw.

A beast in the ring is someone like Hogan or Warrior or Sting, someone who can excite a crowd with so very little effort, someone who can draw them to their feet, or make them worry about his very existence. THAT is a beast.

Just because a guy knows a bunch of moves, and can execute them well, doesn't make him a beast.

And of course there only gonna want to watch the brawl crap, if thats all you show them. WWE has taken out its hardcore, its technical, and most of its high flyers.

Because those styles were proven to not be draws. If technical wrestling was wanted by fans, then the NWA would have killed the WWF, and not the other way around.

Fans dictate what is on their television, not the other way around.

There is nothing really exciting about it much. Hence why i absolutley love the nWo, i mean nXt angle.

Yes, because those guys are such technical gods in the ring.

 

[Rayne]

The technical wrestlers are wrestling in bingo halls in front of a couple hundred people on a good night.

The nature of professional wrestling has changed. It's no longer about an athletic competition, shaded by personal tensions. It's about personal tensions which erupt into an athletic competition. Listen- really listen to the announcers from a 90's edition of Raw compared to today's Raw. The match calling then centered around the moves the performers were executing and the story occurring within the match. Now, it centers around describing the story leading up to this match, or the place of this match within the overall story, or, a personal pet peeve of mine, when the announcers use a mid-card match to talk about the main event story, all but completely ignoring the two performers in the ring.

You don't need to know a wristlock from a wristwatch these days, so long as you can communicate a story to the audience and always remember to face the hard camera. Technical skills are still very useful; they're a platform from which you can develop your own style of offense (Bryan Danielson, anyone?), but a wrestler cannot be successful in today's industry by relying on technical wrestling alone.

I like it. Don't get me wrong. I love watching two performers execute an intricate series of maneuvers. But I know that the mainstream professional wrestling audience doesn't, and this business is all about giving the people what they want to see, even if they don't know what it is themselves.