Wrestling's Greatest Moments by Mike Rickard

Author:Mike Rickard
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, pdf
Published: 2012-01-27T08:08:19+00:00

01WrestlingsGrtstMomnts_1-117FINAL:Layout 1 11/3/08 11:46 AM Page 109

Chapter 6

THE MATCHES

Wrestling has always pushed the idea that “bigger is better.” Whether running weekly house shows or monthly events, promoters were always on the lookout for something to make a wrestling event seem more special. No matter how hot a feud or program is, the fear lurks: what if the fans grow bored?

Over the years, promoters developed various techniques for keeping things fresh. Sometimes this meant wrestlers would work in a territory for just a few months before moving on to a new employer; sometimes it meant turning a babyface heel (or vice versa). Other approaches included putting a singles wrestler into a tag team competition, or splitting a team to form a new combo.

Another tactic was to develop variations on traditional matches. The need for



01WrestlingsGrtstMomnts_1-117FINAL:Layout 1 11/3/08 11:46 AM Page 110

wrestling’s greatest moments

novelty has led to all sorts of interesting matchups — mixed tag team matches, no disqualification matches, steel cage matches, and even wrestlers vs. animals.

You name it, and promoters have probably thought of it. Of course, not all the concepts have had staying power. When was the last time you saw a shark cage match or a bear vs. wrestler match?

Many “new matches” are simply variations on old ones. A Punjabi prison match is, for all intents and purposes, a cage match — except the cage is made of bamboo. Texas death matches are now better known as last-man standing matches.

That’s not to say that variations haven’t been successes. The Royal Rumble, a mod-ification of the traditional battle royal, has become an annual tradition in the wwe (and it’s spawned its own variation in tna’s Gauntlet for the Gold).

But promoters have also learned that bigger isn’t always better. It’s proven difficult for the wrestling business to leave well enough alone: hence the evolution of coal miner’s glove matches to turkey-on-a-pole matches and, the ultimate in awfulness — the Judy Bagwell-on-a-pole match. Nevertheless, wrestling has seen some interesting variations added to the rich legacy of the sport. What follows are some of the best innovations of the last thirty years.

MICHAELS VS. RAMON (LADDER MATCH)

The hardware store has always played a special role in the world of professional wrestling. Whether it’s ladders, scaffolds, or salt miner’s gloves, the denizens of the squared circle have always found new ways to use tools meant to build things to destroy their opponents. Perhaps the greatest of these weapons is the ladder: over the years, it’s provided wrestlers with a myriad of ways to play daredevil and reach new in-ring heights of both heroism and depravity.

The ladder match’s origins date back to 1972, when, ahead of its time, Calgary’s Stampede Wrestling featured a ladder in a match between Tor Kamata and Dan Kroffat. For a decade, the match was all but forgotten, and seemingly did not surface again until 1983, when Bret Hart battled Bad News Allen, once more in Stampede Wrestling. Hart himself bought the concept to Vince McMahon when he began working for the wwf, and during the early 1990s McMahon decided to try it.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.