Wrestling Pet Peeves

[Yaz]

We all have them. It could range from something small, like when a guy obviously slaps his leg on a superkick or stomps really hard when he throws a punch. It could be something big, like WWE's refusal to ever admit they are wrong or Dave Metlzer's insistence that the Tokyo Dome adds an extra 1/2 star to every match. I'm interested in hearing yours.

For the sake of this not matching the length of most of my other rousing topics, I will only list a couple to start, then add more later.

One of my biggest is when guys are clearly calling spots in the ring, or a referee can be heard giving the wrestlers their go home order. Cena is pretty bad at this (even my girlfriend picks up on it), Punk was another who you could clearly hear calling out spots. With the way camera work has evolved and the way Kevin Dunn insist we get twenty cuts a match, you often see certain things you weren't meant to. It isn't as bad as hearing the spots, but when you see one wrestler crawl over the other and bury their heads together, it annoys me because you know what is going down. Same with referees telling the guys how much time is left or who needs to go over.

Another of my biggest pet peeves, is fans who think they know it all. I know, a bit of irony in me complaining about know it all fans, but the point sticks. Everyday you see people with posts like "Well Wrestler X deserves this match" or "Its bullshit Wrestler Z won the title because they didn't earn it" or one I am seeing lately "If you give Wrestlers A and B twenty minutes, they will tear the house down."

It just blows my mind that some people adhere to the belief that no matter how over someone is, they should toil away for years in the lower card and work their way up. That for a match to be good, it needs to go x minutes or longer. That certain guys they find talented based on arbitrary reasons should get certain pushes. The fact is, if a guy brings in views and money, he gets pushed. If he doesn't do those things, they don't. It is fairly simple.

[Fallout]

The "I'm going to sue you" storyline.

Not only is it overdone, not only is it boring as all sin, but you effectively neuter whoever is filing this lawsuit because you make them appear incompetent and unable to back themselves up in the ring. This is especially egregious when a face does it.

[smarkmouth]

Tower of doom. Such a worthless spot, used in just about every match with more than 4 people. Contrived and dumb.

[Jack-Hammer]

It's well known that it pisses me off to see titles passed around like hot potatoes, so I'm not going there this time.

One peeve that gets my goat is when they do something foolish but try to make it seem like it's acceptable because of some feather light technicality. The Coach was trying to do it last night during the tag team battle royal with Braun Strowman winning it, saying something to the effect that the rules state that the person who won the battle royal earned the right to challenge for the tag titles at WrestleMania. It's such a stupid thing to say when you have Cole and Graves sitting right next to him saying that it's a "tag team battle royal" and Braun Strowman is a singles wrestler and, in my opinion, it's a stupid thing to do in the first place. I love Strowman's work, the guy's a lot of fun to watch and listen to but I absolutely despise when Vince decides to make the entire tag team division look like a possum's pecker just to build up a singles guy who doesn't even need it. We've seen Strowman tear his way through Raw for the past year and a half, we know he's a dominant brute and he's highly entertaining, but I simply do not see the point in hurting the credibility of 10 or 12 guys just to make one look good and there are genuinely still a couple of good tag teams left on Raw.

[#AbsoluteUnit]

When wrestlers invoke their re-match clause.

[Барбоса]

The kayfabe lack of planning for several hours of live television.

If the opening interview segment had not led to a confrontation and the GM then making a match, WWE would have it that there had been no set main event or even much of the show full stop.

What was supposed to happen for the three hours you had for RAW?

[Undying]

People who shit on Lesnar for his work schedule.

If you got offered 12 million for a handful of dates a year with 70 percent of those dates just showing up and bouncing around while your manager talks you would take it in a heartbeat.

[Y 2 Jake]

John Cena. Everything about the man.

[ShinChan]

People who shit on Lesnar for his work schedule.

If you got offered 12 million for a handful of dates a year with 70 percent of those dates just showing up and bouncing around while your manager talks you would take it in a heartbeat.
Not everyone...

[BestSportsEntertainer]

The fact is, if a guy brings in views and money, he gets pushed. If he doesn't do those things, they don't. It is fairly simple.

Then how you do explain Jinder Mahal? Just the exception?

[Барбоса]

Then how you do explain Jinder Mahal? Just the exception?

Not an exception, but an extension of that rule.

Jinder was pushed to bring in money and views. When he didn't, he was depushed.

[Yaz]

Then how you do explain Jinder Mahal? Just the exception?

They thought Jinder would help break into a new market due to his ethnicity.

[Yer Maw]

Undefeated streaks.

I can't enjoy any Asuka matches, especially on raw, as I know she's not going to lose.

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

How the camera work is somehow shittier than it was 20 to 30 years ago. Trying too hard to make woman's matches exciting by switching camera angles 150 times a minute is jarring. Having the camera man bob up and down during beat downs or stomps in the corner is continuously ridiculous. Now...trying to be different, we're getting text graphics on the screen while people talk, like it's needed at all.

[klunderbunker]

The kayfabe lack of planning for several hours of live television.

If the opening interview segment had not led to a confrontation and the GM then making a match, WWE would have it that there had been no set main event or even much of the show full stop.

What was supposed to happen for the three hours you had for RAW?

Yet the show ALWAYS ends within ten minutes of 11pm.

To go along with this: every regular match ends in a standard amount of time. Are you telling me that in the history of WWE, there has never been a matchup where no one can get a fall in like, an hour and a half? Nothing has ever been that perfectly matched up?

[Spidey]

When wrestlers lie down for other wrestlers. Just saw it happen in a promotion I'm reviewing and I thought it went the way of the dodo. Nope.

Small exception to my hatred for it was Trips and Shawn for the European title. I thought that was hilarious.

[Theo]

How the camera work is somehow shittier than it was 20 to 30 years ago. Trying too hard to make woman's matches exciting by switching camera angles 150 times a minute is jarring. Having the camera man bob up and down during beat downs or stomps in the corner is continuously ridiculous. Now...trying to be different, we're getting text graphics on the screen while people talk, like it's needed at all.

Those text graphics drive me insane. They are so cheesy looking and ridiculous to begin with.

From a wrestling standpoint I've always hated the slingshot move. Like I get you have to suspend reality, but that move is completely ridiculous. Mostly because it always looks like crap. Especially when Ziggler takes it because that dude stops to make a full leap at the corner.

Cena spot callings, like Yaz brought up have bothered me for years. That's one of my only gripes with John Cena as a performer. He is way too audible when calling matches.

[Lee]

On the back of Barbossa's post when someone rocks up to a show mid way through. If I turned up to work 2 hours late I'd be in trouble.

My absolute pet peeve though is lifting the feet up for a pin. I think it was Lance Storm who mentioned it a couple of years back and I can not unsee it now. Usually every match ends with it that way/

[Sean Valjean]

The way the flame graphics in Seth Rollins' stage tron never quite lines up with the BURN IT DOWN part. The graphic always appears a second or so behind the yell. As someone who does video/audio editing it probably stands out for me more than others. But it drives me nuts.

Also, when the camera cuts to the crowd during the backstage segment. I don't need a reminder that the live audience is watching the same segment that I am.

Ziggler aping HBK's repertoire irks me as well.

[Lee]

Just Ziggler as a whole.

Coming back from break and the heel has the face in some sort of rest hold.

On a PPV when the commentator does their "after commercial break" voice.

[Storm Trooper]

My absolute pet peeve though is lifting the feet up for a pin. I think it was Lance Storm who mentioned it a couple of years back and I can not unsee it now. Usually every match ends with it that way/

It was Lance Storm. Back in September of 2012. (http://www.stormwrestling.com/093012.html) I remembered this, and think of it often (even remembered the pictures he used to demonstrate his point). Spent 10 minutes going through his commentary history to find it and re-read it, and it still is relevant.

I really hate when a wrestler is being counted out, and is 8 feet from the ring at the count of 9, and runs and dives into the ring to prevent a countout. I don't mind the spot itself, but it should be a gradual get into the ring, not an "I'm dead until the count of 9 and sprint in before 10."

[Undying]

The fact that we have a cruiser weight division when Balor and Bryan are about to tear up the main event scene in the coming months.

Not saying they belong in a cruiserweight division but it makes that division seem like â??yeah you guys are small like them but they are like you know more interesting and popular so they are the exceptionâ?.

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

When feuds run on way too long (Especially one's that aren't that interesting to begin with) Like Randy Orton vs Sheamus from awhile back. Seth vs The Bar. K.O vs Sami... (Although it was/is interesting in portions, there was a time they fought 150 times a month) Dustin Rhodes vs The Computerized Man, Terrance Taylor (They fought every week for months...it was mind boggling) Tommy Rich vs Ricky Morton. (For whatever reason, WCW thought Tommy Rich was good...)

A recent one is Bray Wyatt vs Matt Hardy (But at least it had a crazy send off and it might do wonders for a Wyatt break/reboot, but damn, there was a point where it was just - Can these two get away from each other now?- And it wasn't really that long.)

[Khalifa]

I understand why it happens and get it canâ??t really be changed, but seeing people on their own 2 feet just look at the person climbing the top turnbuckle and then just standing there for the moonsault or a crossbody to hit them is annoying.

[Uncle Sam]

When lethal weapons are used, or rather not used - because they can't be. Like, alright, a car accident isn't too rich for my blood - I can buy that one would drive a car into another car without the intent to kill - but when, for example, Samoa Joe was wandering around TNA with a knife or Jimmy Havoc pulled a fire axe on Will Ospreay. "I'm going to behead him." Yeah, but you're not though, are you? It makes me very aware that what I'm watching is a show.

[Yaz]

Yeah like during the Ambrose/Lesnar Wrestlemania match, when Ambrose tried the chainsaw. The announcers selling it like Ambrose was going to dismember Lesnar was among the many low points to that match.

[Fallout]

Yeah like during the Ambrose/Lesnar Wrestlemania match, when Ambrose tried the chainsaw. The announcers selling it like Ambrose was going to dismember Lesnar was among the many low points to that match.

I know one man who might enjoy that prospect:

https://i.giphy.com/media/13FyKF9LKBzvnW/giphy.webp

[Uncle Sam]

Yeah like during the Ambrose/Lesnar Wrestlemania match, when Ambrose tried the chainsaw. The announcers selling it like Ambrose was going to dismember Lesnar was among the many low points to that match.

Even worse because Ambrose brought out weapons that could feasibly be used, or at least had been used in wrestling matches previously, like the barbed wire baseball bat, but weren't used, presumably because of modern day WWE's environment. Which is fine, I don't need barbed wire, just don't wave it around and then not use it. What a damp fart that match was.

[smarkmouth]

Such an easy fix with the chainsaw spot. Let him rev the damn thing up. Let Brock crawl away backwards from Dean, until Dean turns it off and laughs. Now Dean is the only guy in WWE who's ever made the Beast scared. Chainsaw paid off.

[smarkmouth]

"That makes no sense." A mantra one often faces in wrestling discussion when they make an in-story suggestion. The mantra often demonstrates a lack of imagination preventing them from even considering a possible route from point A to B.

[Undying]

It's always been this way and likely will never change but storylines/segments just being dropped or forgotten. Perfectly acceptable if the angle was just utter shit though. Examples like: every one of Bray Wyatt's feuds, Strowman destroying Reigns after the Chamber, Ambrose getting over Rollins trying to cripple him with a cinderblock way too soon among a lot of others I can't recall.

[#AbsoluteUnit]

When the champion comes out first before the contender does.

[Sitonmyface]

The 'you're fired' storylines. We all know that person will be back in x amount of weeks. Try something else please!

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

When Twitter is used as a baseline to start a feud.

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

While you're settled in to watch Raw and a friend pops by to visit....a friend who hasn't followed wrestling in 20 plus years and he knows Brock, Cena and Undertaker. So now you have to explain everything that's going on because your friend tends to ask questions every 20 to 25 seconds.

"Who's that?"

"Undertaker still wrestles?"

"Who's that?"


It grinds my gears.

[Uncle Sam]

Firstly, nobody's coming by my house at one in the morning. But if they did, I'd be incredibly flattered that they liked me enough to indulge that dumb thing I spend entirely too much time thinking about.

[Yer Maw]

You're fired!!!

But you can still have a match on the biggest show of the year.

[Undying]

This probably should be in the unpopular opinion thread but also falls into a pet peeve. In my opinion, Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels at Mania 25 is the most overrated match of all time and it makes me roll my eyes when people have it on their greatest match of all time.

[Yer Maw]

In a battle royal or royal rumble and someone hits their finisher and instead of staying down the other person just gets right back up! Like come on.

[Fire Marshall Bill]

The fact that rolling through a cross body completely negates the fact that someone just jumped on top of you from the top turnbuckle. Wouldnâ??t hurt at all, Iâ??m sure.

[Undying]

How wrestling companies always hype up the amount of title reigns someone has had. It doesn't sound impressive that you were a champion 14 times, it sounds like you suck and couldn't hold it to save your life. If you were a one time champion with a reign lasting 4 years it sounds way more impressive.

[Yer Maw]

This isn't a pet peeve more of just stupid logic.

When a wrestler is lying on the ground outside the ring, the wrestler in the ring is hyping up to do a jump outside the ring, so the wrestler outside has to get up to let the other wrestler jump on him.