The little things matter

I've been a wrestling fan since 1997 and as a result I'm now a fan who is aware of the smaller details during a match. So I thought I would share 5 of the small things I love and I hate when it comes to wrestling.

Things I Love
1) Unique Gear
I love when wrestlers have special gear for a match. Whether it's CM Punk wearing a Macho Man style trunks as a tribute, Shawn Michael's anti-Taker look he had for Wrestlemania 25, Ultimate Warriors Wrestlemania 8 outfit and so many more. There are three great examples for this point the first is Rob Van Dam, while he does repeat some of his singlets they are still unique to him and they usually stand out. Another example to a lesser extent is the late great Randy Savage, his outfits were so outstanding and he rarely repeated them but he also had times where he would simplify his gear a lot. The best example and the one I really love is Rick Rude. I don't think I've ever seen him wear the same trunks twice, they were all special for that event and would often insult his opponent or put him over. I would spend the beginning of his match trying to work out what was one them and the rest loving his work as he was one of the best.

2) Heel Managers who get involved every chance they get
I'm not talking jumping up on the apron or pulling the ref out every 5 seconds but there is a great way to work it. This point hit me while watching a tag match between Steve Austin & Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat & Sting. Sherri Martel was the manager of Flair at the time and every time the babyface was laying near the ropes and the ref was distracted she was attack by going for the eyes or choking. It was nothing major and it didn't change the match flow in any way but why not do it? Now we don't see this these days as the art of being a manager is completely dead but if they do return maybe think about doing this more often.

3) Brilliant Commentators
JR, Gordon Solie, Bobby Heenan, Eric Garguilo, Ben Jordan (check out 2006 IWA Mid South and see what I mean), CM Punk, JBL, the CHIKARA crew aka Ultramantis & Eddie Kingston and also Joey Styles. When you have a someone who knows what they're talking about and can make the match important when it has to be it's great. Sadly we have really annoying commentators like the King, Cole, Booker T, Mike Tenay & Tazz who are unbearable to listen to.  It's such a shame as good commentating can make a good match great while bad commentating just makes you want to mute the TV.

4) Going back to what we forgot
I love those moments when you say to yourself "When did they do that?" during a match. It's happened a lot and works really well when someone removes the turnbuckle pad but places the pad back on. Check out the HBK vs. British Bulldog Saturday's Main Event match for a great example, Shawn removes the pad but places it back the match continues for 5 minutes or so and Shawn reverses a Irish whip to the corner and all of a sudden the pad is on the floor. It's a nice simple concept called remembering what you did earlier, I wish more guys would use it!

5) Blood
I'm not morbid or blood thirsty but blood can really help a matches story. I do feel that matches inside Cages, the Hell in a Cell or the Elimination Chamber really helps put over the dangerousness of those matches. I don't agree with Flair or Hogan bleeding from a punch like they do now and I only think WWE should use blood when it's needed. The upcoming Hell in a Cell should have blood in my opinion and I will be surprised if it doesn't.

Things I Hate
1) WHAT!
Talk about beating a dead horse! Steve Austin himself has said he regrets creating this. The fans saying "What" during the gaps in promos was funny in 2001/2002 but it's a decade later and it's just annoying now. No wonder people groan when a episode of RAW has a lot of talking as those who are good usually get drowned out by these fans chanting "What" and amusing themselves. Speaking of fans who amuse themselves....

2) Dickhead Fans!
Specifically the asses who were at the Arena and often the New York fans. I don't want to say everyone one there is an awful fan and when their on and care they can be the best crowd in the world but the people is that 9 times out of 10 they're dead for matches because they feel like they deserve better than what's in the ring. The fans can be ass holes, I watched a fantastic match between Justice Pain (a rare one for him) and Sonjay Dutt in CZW and the match was ruined by the fact the fans couldn't care because they deserved more. The best matches are the ones where the fans are hot for the action, you get a sucky crowd and you get a sucky show. That's why I love CHIKARA as they're fans love the action. I could also mention the idiots in the Impact Zone but I prefer to ignore TNA all the time.

3) Becoming Superman
We've all seen it a match that just won't end because a guy is always kicking out. I understand near falls build suspense and that's not what bugs me, what bugs me is when guys hit their finishers over and over while the other guy keeps kicking out. A prime example is John Cena who you have to shoot with a gun just to beat it seems. This is up there with the Elimination Chamber moment when a big guy gets hits with 3/4 finishers in a row (by the way they've done that treatment to Cena as well). I understand you want to put over guys but you don't have to kill a guys finishers.

4) Social Media
Or any gimmick wrestling gets it's hands on, I'm picking Twitter as it's the key thing at the moment. I understand you want to use this new media to make your product bigger but come on. We don't need it mentioning every 5 minutes and we don't need segments designed for the sole reason of being a top topic on it or whatever it is don't look at me I don't use twitter. Hopefully this will come and go soon.

5) Pass Out Submission Finish
At Wrestlemania 13 Steve Austin lost to Bret Hart in a submission match by passing out while being locked in the sharpshooter. Austin was bleeding heavily and the image is one of the most famous moments ever. Ever since that day numerous wrestling companies and wrestlers have copied this finish and it pisses me off. Instead of using it to put over a babyface who just won't quit like the original did all this shows now is that we've backed ourselves into a whole and we need this guy to win without burying this guy. I remember reading that Nigel McGuinness passed out to Jimmy Rave in a submission match and the fans chanted Bullshit. Damn straight! It wouldn't of hurt Nigel to tap in fact it would of helped Rave. This finish is so overused when it comes to submission matches that it's just annoying. Heel you could put any overused finish in this category, the Magnum/Tully Cage match finish, the Bret/Piper roll up finish. It just scream that guys aren't creative and while they want to pay homage they'd be better off trying to be original.

As the title suggests these are just small things and in the grand scope of things these can either just add or take away from a match or wrestler. This isn't anything serious but these are just the things I love or that bugs me when I watch. Cheer for watching and let me know what you think.