This might be a long one but please try to stick with me.
The hottest, funiest music can blare with the loudest, flashiest fireworks, but if the fans are silent after the hubbub dies down, maybe the wrestler is not over as much as even the producers have been led to believe by the smoke and mirrors. Fooling yourself is pretty easy when you're caught up in the sizzle too.
For truly big guns, there should be a buzz before the head to head actoun ever begins. It's like an invisible guitar string goosing a live crowd. A million years ago, not really but you get the point, with not a note of music or a spark of pyrotechnics, that buzz was audible and thrilling at the start of a main event. The buzz is still audible today, or should be, when performers are REALLY getting over.
These days, splashy, loud, staged moments are an integral part of the show. And maybe it's saved some wear and tear on wrestlers - or hidden a lack of talent, in some cases.
Either way, all of this shows that when the chips are down, and it's time to make money, Vince knows how to tell the story. What happens when WrestleMania is on the horizon? He puts the right workers in the right situations, minimizes meaningless high spots, maximizes key incidents, and makes absolutely sure that the viewers can grasp what's at stake. While that may mean main eventers take turns laying each other out with their specific finishing moves for a few weeks, at least the premise is established that Triple H's pedigree, Randy Ortons RKO, The Batista Bomb and the Attitude Adjustment mean the match is about to end.
Vince is selling his story to the public, working the fans, just as the wresters have to sell the story of their characters and individual matches. But do they.....
You never really see a match start with a collar and elbow tie up. Sadly, its seems that the surprise kick to the stomach is today's version. While some moders gladiators would claim that the old school headliners did not take as much physical punishment in their time, those folks forget that the bouts themselves were not only more numerous, but also each duel went longer. Therfore, an impressive number of bumps were simply spaced out over more time while executing a slower but stiffer, less acrobatic but more psychological style. Granted, some of the bumps back then might not have been as extreme, not have come at as fast a pace. All bumps hurt, however, and all bumps add up. To be rolling and bouncing around the ring 365 times a year is surely somewhat comparable to doing wilder bumps 170 times during the same period. But do the big bumps really make a difference?
"Wild Bill" Longson (back in the 40's) once said "Working is like sex, just like sex. First, you get them comfortable. Then you take them up a little, but then take them down. Then you take them a little higher. And a little higher. And relax a little. Then take them a whole lot higher. And a little more. Then hesitate and wait a bit. then take them really high and, if you feel it...Bang!!! You take them home...Now that's working, and that's sex too"
Not really quite sure what my point is, or at least I'm just not sure where I stand on the subject. Today's wrestlers work a different way and I'm just not sure if it's better or worse than before. What do you guys all think?
By the way, for those of you who made it this far, thanks (I hate that goddamn smiley)
The hottest, funiest music can blare with the loudest, flashiest fireworks, but if the fans are silent after the hubbub dies down, maybe the wrestler is not over as much as even the producers have been led to believe by the smoke and mirrors. Fooling yourself is pretty easy when you're caught up in the sizzle too.
For truly big guns, there should be a buzz before the head to head actoun ever begins. It's like an invisible guitar string goosing a live crowd. A million years ago, not really but you get the point, with not a note of music or a spark of pyrotechnics, that buzz was audible and thrilling at the start of a main event. The buzz is still audible today, or should be, when performers are REALLY getting over.
These days, splashy, loud, staged moments are an integral part of the show. And maybe it's saved some wear and tear on wrestlers - or hidden a lack of talent, in some cases.
Either way, all of this shows that when the chips are down, and it's time to make money, Vince knows how to tell the story. What happens when WrestleMania is on the horizon? He puts the right workers in the right situations, minimizes meaningless high spots, maximizes key incidents, and makes absolutely sure that the viewers can grasp what's at stake. While that may mean main eventers take turns laying each other out with their specific finishing moves for a few weeks, at least the premise is established that Triple H's pedigree, Randy Ortons RKO, The Batista Bomb and the Attitude Adjustment mean the match is about to end.
Vince is selling his story to the public, working the fans, just as the wresters have to sell the story of their characters and individual matches. But do they.....
You never really see a match start with a collar and elbow tie up. Sadly, its seems that the surprise kick to the stomach is today's version. While some moders gladiators would claim that the old school headliners did not take as much physical punishment in their time, those folks forget that the bouts themselves were not only more numerous, but also each duel went longer. Therfore, an impressive number of bumps were simply spaced out over more time while executing a slower but stiffer, less acrobatic but more psychological style. Granted, some of the bumps back then might not have been as extreme, not have come at as fast a pace. All bumps hurt, however, and all bumps add up. To be rolling and bouncing around the ring 365 times a year is surely somewhat comparable to doing wilder bumps 170 times during the same period. But do the big bumps really make a difference?
"Wild Bill" Longson (back in the 40's) once said "Working is like sex, just like sex. First, you get them comfortable. Then you take them up a little, but then take them down. Then you take them a little higher. And a little higher. And relax a little. Then take them a whole lot higher. And a little more. Then hesitate and wait a bit. then take them really high and, if you feel it...Bang!!! You take them home...Now that's working, and that's sex too"
Not really quite sure what my point is, or at least I'm just not sure where I stand on the subject. Today's wrestlers work a different way and I'm just not sure if it's better or worse than before. What do you guys all think?
By the way, for those of you who made it this far, thanks (I hate that goddamn smiley)