On the latest episode of his “Can Chris Hero Save Wrestling” podcast pro-wrestling sensation Chris Hero (fka Kassius Ohno in WWE) spoke about the importance of finishing maneuvers, and how other stables like sunset-flips and school-boy pins should be protected. Highlights are below.
On the importance of finishing moves:
I think that finishing maneuvers are just some of the most fun parts of wrestling, just the era I grew up in you have Jake Roberts’ DDT, you have the Million Dollar Dream, you have Macho Man’s Elbow Drop, Hogan’s Leg Drop, the Gorilla Press Splash from [Ultimate] Warrior, you have these moves- Great Muta’s Moonsault- these moves that are just kind of ingrained in the fibre of that performer – it’s attached to them, it’s not just who they are; you see them and think of them and you think back to the move that they do. So I do think it’s essential for people to have moves that are their specialities.[…] It’s important to have finishing moves.
On a match being able to end at any moment:
However, it is imperative that we add credibility to things other than the person’s number one kill move. I absolutely adore the idea of a pro-wrestling match having ability to end at any point during the match; the beginning, the middle, the end, whatever, even on unexpected things, things where the crowd may fall flat. Because it is the process of educating the fans. When’s the last time you saw a match or matches consistently ending with Sunset Flips? Everyone goes to the damn Schoolboy. I don’t know why they do the damn Schoolboy, I don’t know if it’s producers saying that or if it’s the talent. It’s just an easy and simple thing to do and I love a good Schoolboy or Schoolgirl maneuver to pin in a match, but there are so many awesome pins in wrestling, why’s it the Schoolboy? I guess just ‘cause of how easy it is and it’s something you’ve done a million times, you don’t have to put any thought into it. But something like a Sunset Flip in the ‘80s, you would see that move end matches, you know not all the time but you would see it in the heat of a match but then you would also see it in the big comeback, where a guy comes flying over the ropes and hits a Sunset Flip and 1-2-3. Maybe it’s more of a House Show finish than a TV finish. But people believed that that could feasibly finish a match.
On a producers and wrestlers getting together to end matches at different times:
There’s just so many things that we do nowadays when we are trying to get a false finish reaction but what we’re doing is not congruent with that. The impetus is on the talent, who are putting their matches together, the producers who are producing the matches and the bookers who are booking the matches to get together and say ‘hey man, let’s have these matches end at different parts in the match’. And the first couple of months are gonna be rough because some people are going to be disappointed with these matches. It is ok for fans to occasionally be disappointed with the finish of a match, as long as they’re satisfied overall.
(H/T and transcribed by Inside the Ropes)
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