FIVE STARS OR A DUD, IT’S UP TO YOU!

I was reading a "rant" produced by a wrestling fan that was submitted to Rantsylvania.com’s rant crew. In it, he took the time and energy to belittle The Netcop and his writing style. He also took the time to make reference to the fact that he did not agree with The Netcop’s rating system. Siting it to be bias against Extreme Championship Wrestling. This "ranter" was angered that Scott Keith only gave the Living Dangerously match between Rob Van Dam and Jerry Lynn **3/4 stars yet he gave Survivor Series 1999’s match between X-Pac and Chris Jericho ****1/2. Now when I read Scott Keith’s review of those respective matches, I did not agree with either of those ratings. Personally, I think the Jericho vs X-Pac match deserves the Rob Van Dam vs Jerry Lynn rating and vice versa. In the end, it really comes down to opinion and it is that opinion that I wish to address this week. What do you think goes into creating a match that is ***** as opposed to a DUD.

I’ve sat back and watched wrestling tapes with Felix (he writes the Mammoth Rant), Mark "The Mark" Hoffberg, and my friends Scott, Dave, and Jason. Between the six of us, we have watched just about all there is to see from professional wrestling. Each person has a pretty differing view on professional wrestling on the whole. Jason, Mark, and Felix don’t look at Puroresu the same way that Dave, Scott and I do. The reason quite simply being that they don’t own Puroresu material, nor do the keep up with any Puroresu news. As such, when they look at Japanese matches, there’s no connection to the match. There’s only the looking to see what new and innovative moves come out of the matches. Dave, Scott and I know how a Japanese match works. It’s not a matter of looking for a move as it is appreciating how the match was constructed and what story it told in the ring. If the six of us were to rate the same match, it would be my experienced guess that the ratings would work on a relatively sliding scale. My friends who don’t have steady access to Puroresu would probably rate the match highly based on the new moves seen and the way the match was presented. The more Puroresu inclined friends would look at the match, base it on other material considered as similar and base the rating as such. The point I’m trying to make (yes there is one) is that the rating of each and every match is purely subjective upon the viewer.

To me, there are a multitude of factors that play into a match. Each factor is a necessary component in order to construct an excellent or ***** star match. I’m going to go through each of these factors.

TIME

This is an absolute necessity to creating a great match. I have watched hundreds of matches in my lifetime and I will tell you right now that no match that I have watched will come close to **** without at least ten minutes to work with. That should be the absolute bare minimum necessary to construct a compelling match. If I were to think of my top five favourite matches of all time, the one that took the least amount of time to finish was Ricky Steamboat vs Randy Savage and that clocked in at around the seventeen minute mark. Time can make or break a match more than just about everything.

WORK RATE

This is a term that seems to get thrown around a lot. As with rating matches, work rate is a term that tends to differ with each person that uses it. To me, work rate is a term that applies to the amount of time, or lack there of, that is given to resting. Rest holds such as rear chin locks, extended side headlocks, front facelocks, etc… are completely unacceptable in my eyes. It kills any and all interest that I may have had in the match. If you don’t rest, then you’re on the move. If you’re on the move, then you’re executing some type of move or you’re transitioning between moves.

TRANSITION

Wrestlers such as Sabu have been branded with the name of spot wrestlers. They are those that execute an impressive move, then rest, then execute another impressive move. The impression that these men are putting on great matches, masks the fact that there was no real wrestling match at all. It was all a matter of executing enough spectacular moves to keep the fans into the match. To me, the spot-rest-spot formula is fun to watch, but a great match it does not make. A wrestling match should involve the spots, but they should be strewn together in such a manner so as to understand why the moves are being pulled off. Throwing out a summersault plancha through a table and then lying there only to do something else equally or exceedingly grand serves no purpose. There was no reason to do the move other than to do the move. A wrestling match needs to have reason in order to tell a great story. Transition between moves whether it be in the form of a missed move, a reversal, or a smooth movement from one move to another is what keeps consistent crowd interest, or heat.
 
 

HEAT

See what I just did? Transition between paragraphs. Crowd heat is key to a great match from an overall point of view. It is not necessarily a component such as the above mentioned factors. Crowd heat is what truly keeps a crowd into it. If a wrestler, or wrestlers has no crowd heat, then the match will not be a true success. Fans both live and on television alike, draw from the amount of noise that is being generated in the match. Wrestlers such as The Rock are proof posotive that you can put on a match with a limited amount of wrestling yet still make it come off as excellent because the crowd was generating so much noise in favour of the wrestler.

HISTORY

This is more of a sub category of crowd heat. Should two wrestlers have a history of competing against each other, or in the case of the more sports entertainment side of things, have a long history of "hatred" for one reason or another, it generates interest in the match. Some of the classic matches over history such as Steamboat vs Savage, Steamboat vs Flair, Misawa vs Kawada, and even now with HHH vs The Rock, the history has been there. With each match, each run in, each slanderous interview, more history is laid down between the two wrestlers, and more heat is generated. From the match side of things, history can play a huge role in determining things such as weak points or injuries afflicted upon one wrestler. This injury can play a role in the next match and builds a sense of psychology within the match.

PSYCHOLOGY

This facet of a match is something that has become more or less lost in today’s wrestling match. The shock type of fan is mainly interested in giant spot fests. It’s the main reason why wrestlers such as the above mentioned Sabu continue to be extremely popular despite lacking many of the qualities that go into a great match. When I watch a match and know that a man has an injury, I want that injury to be exploited. An injured leg, arm, rib, etc… should be worked over in a match. If there is no injury, then create one. Find a body part and work it over. It creates a sense of empathy between the fan and the wrestler. The fan worries that the injury may be more serious that originally thought and cheer for the wrestler as a means of getting them back into the match.

Every person looks for something different when they watch wrestling. Some want a brawl, others want to watch a basic, technical wrestling match. Still others are looking for high spots all over the place; Forever wanting to see something bigger and better than the last time. So what constitutes a ***** match or a DUD? The answer, quite simply, is whatever you feel is necessary in order to get the most gratification out of a match.

Email me at crippler_crossface@hotmail.com