Worst in-ring habits of otherwise great wrestlers.

[u/RGS_1994]

Romans immersion killing staring at the ref during false finishes is up there (he is far from the only offender here though) and inspired this. Any nitpicks you have been holding onto?

[u/AutoModerator]

Help make SquaredCircle safer and more inclusive by using the report button to flag posts and comments for moderator review.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/WeaselWeaz]

Undertaker and the Old School. Just shove the dead bastard.

[u/RGS_1994 → u/WeaselWeaz]

He gets away with killing kayfabe on that move a bit lol, its as hand hold as a lot of lucha moves.

[u/azk3000 → u/RGS_1994]

Yeah except instead of some incredible feat of agility he gingerly walks on the rope for no reason and jumps right down anyway. 

[u/LakeMcKesson → u/azk3000]

I never really thought about how stupid the move is until you put it that way 😂

[u/Zomburai → u/azk3000]

As if walking on the rope isn't actually a feat of agility, especially from a dude that size

[u/LoneBlack3hadow → u/azk3000]

Him walking on the ropes generates static electricity that boosts Takers attack

[u/mrp8528 → u/LoneBlack3hadow]

https://giphy.com/gifs/SmoCFhZCi1kzu

[u/Zealousideal_Bad8877 → u/WeaselWeaz]

remeber when koslov did this and beat him

[u/RGS_1994 → u/Zealousideal_Bad8877]

Taker give game away to lots of bums all for Vince lol.

[u/MonrealEstate → u/RGS_1994]

At the time it kinda made sense, Kozlov was in world title matches with HHH, Jeff Hardy, Edge, etc.

[u/StoneGoldX → u/WeaselWeaz]

You can't. Superior wrist control.

[u/KingChingLing → u/StoneGoldX]

Yeah, technically it’s a wristlock with the walk adding pressure. Technically, Taker should get 5 counted every time he did it

[u/StoneGoldX → u/KingChingLing]

You're not wrong, but moves that start in the turnbuckle always seem to have more leeway.

[u/KingChingLing → u/StoneGoldX]

Fair, feels like Mystery Wrestling would do something where someone gets DQ’ed cause they’re scared of heights and don’t wanna get down

[u/MonsieurMidnight → u/WeaselWeaz]

I feel like there was something to do with the Old School. Like other than a hammer strike. I'm surprised not a lot of wrestlers didn't try to do variations of it outside of Lucha Libre

[u/BigPolluted → u/MonsieurMidnight]

I've seen Damian Priest do a hurricanana from Old School position a few times.

Other than that, there is potential.

[u/trishaldinho → u/MonsieurMidnight]

Lance Archer does/did the moonsault version

[u/PeaceAlien → u/WeaselWeaz]

But then he’ll strike you with lightning

[u/banananey → u/WeaselWeaz]

Was it Koslov who just randomly grabbed him during and Old School, hit a powersldm and got a 3-count?

[u/ch0w0 → u/WeaselWeaz]

worse is the influence this move had on other wrestlers to walk the rope even slower and maybe dance on it for 10 full seconds

[u/surgeyou123]

Whenever they act shocked when a move that's never pinned anyone doesn't get the 3 count.

[u/RGS_1994 → u/surgeyou123]

This is why regular moves should get wins more often. No reason the cody-cutter cant get the win over mid-card guys.

[u/TBroomey → u/RGS_1994]

GUNTHER has the right idea. He's got four moves that can conceivably end a match: sleeper, powerbomb, lariat, splash.

His matches feel a lot less predictable when he can just end it with a regular move.

[u/Sythian → u/TBroomey]

Wasn't there a phase in early NXT Gunther, possibly NXTUK even, where he really didn't have a defined finisher and would end most matches differently, his finisher just happened to be whatever he hit you with last. It was great, and I think it stood out more because no one else was doing it.

[u/KingChingLing → u/Sythian]

I remember when he beat Ciampa with a chop and it made sense with the story

[u/Thatantdog → u/Sythian]

He carried this up until he got in the main event picture really. Even before Vince got booted, I remember his run up until after he lost the IC title working somewhat like that. Seemed like the one thing everybody agreed was cool.

[u/disneysatlantis → u/RGS_1994]

Cody can't even get a 3 count with his actual finisher

[u/Drstrangelove899 → u/disneysatlantis]

That's the problem with being a main eventer, your finisher nearly always gets kicked out of at least once. Mid card matches often end with 1 finisher.

[u/boogswald → u/RGS_1994]

I think you have an interesting idea there. My one concern is a lot of guys finishers aren’t actually their most powerful moves from a perception standpoint so I feel like there’d be a lot of times where it’s like “remember when Cody did that huge cutter? Why isn’t he finishing matches with that still instead of his loopy spin neck breaker”

[u/IntoAMuteCrypt → u/boogswald]

That's a bigger problem then. The combination of good move choice, good execution and good promotion on commentary should make the finisher your biggest move. If winning a couple of times with the Cody Cutter devalues your other moves, then something somewhere isn't working.

It doesn't have to win every time. Just give a couple of wins on TV or B-tier PPVs.

[u/Hank_Scorpio_ObGyn → u/RGS_1994]

Then you'll just have people bitch that Wrestler A got buried by a DDT instead of a finishing move.

[u/PeaceAlien → u/Hank_Scorpio_ObGyn]

People bitch no matter what. You have to get them used to things

[u/KingMobScene → u/surgeyou123]

Russian legsweep, guy kicks out at 1.9 and their opponent is shocked. My guy, that move hasn't beat anyone since Farmer Burns' day

[u/phantominway → u/surgeyou123]

I think Liv is a great heel, but omg do I hate when she does this. Like, she looks like shes about to start crying and it never feels deserved

[u/etr4807 → u/surgeyou123]

So my own personal annoyance is the same thing, but with the announcers not the wrestlers.

In theory, it makes sense a wrestler could be surprised. Like okay yes this move has never won me a match before, but I REALLY nailed that one, I think this will be enough…damnit!

Announcers acting surprised though requires another level of suspension of disbelief. Any announcer that legitimately thought a scoop slam would get a 3 count would be replaced immediately, because they clearly have no idea what they’re watching. 

[u/Background-Gas8109 → u/surgeyou123]

That's why I appreciated when Sami pinned someone (I think maybe like Dolph) with the Blue Thunder Bomb. 2 count moves should occasionally be able to get the win.

[u/RumHamComesback → u/surgeyou123]

Guy hits a clothesline first move then flips out at the ref when it’s not even a 2 count. Classic.

[u/JetBrink → u/surgeyou123]

Things like this are for live crowds and first timers

[u/Dr_N00B → u/JetBrink]

I love being the idiot in the crowd to yell "that was 3" and hold up 3 fingers after an obvious 1 or 2 count pin

[u/TotallyNoted]

It's been happening with plenty of wrestlers lately, but I DETEST when Seth Rollins stops mid-match to say some cheesy dialogue to his opponent.

Somebody said wrestling was "cinema" a few years ago & now everyone thinks they're Denzel.

[u/Odd-Promise2661 → u/TotallyNoted]

Roman's external monologues straight up broke a lot of brains on what storytelling is, it worked during covid when you had no fans to work towards but now noooope

[u/rapidronyrabbit → u/Odd-Promise2661]

Also people forget that the original heel shittalking thing he does was with Jey Uso who was hesistating to respond.

It didn't stretch believability because Jey wasn't just laid out like an idiot letting Roman monologue. He was just dealing with a mental hang up.

Roman's other opponents shouldn't take that shit.

[u/Odd-Promise2661 → u/rapidronyrabbit]

EXACTLY. Like it was a very specific reasoning behind it and people, including Roman, often try to replace storytelling with it. It's why some fans now genuinely don't think you can tell a story in a match through moves and how you to have exposition of why your character is doing this

[u/Dbthesage → u/rapidronyrabbit]

The only times it’s worked for me is at MITB when LA was talking shit back and Roman looked befuddled.

[u/TBroomey → u/Odd-Promise2661]

"Community Theatre Roman" is one of my favourite fan nicknames ever.

[u/hhhisthegame → u/Odd-Promise2661]

Roman is great at it, and Kevin Owens is fun with it too, but not everybody is good at it

[u/Odd-Promise2661 → u/hhhisthegame]

I think people underestimate how good KO is at the little things

[u/HanzoKurosawa → u/Odd-Promise2661]

On the flip side though, Roman doing a cross Rhodes on Cody, Cody kicking out of it and Roman going "I knew it, that move sucks. That move don't beat nobody." Is some of the hardest I've ever laughed at wrestling. Fucking hilarious thing to say mid-match.

[u/hhhisthegame → u/TotallyNoted]

For Seth I used to hate when he would sell his leg, do all his normal flying moves, sell the leg again. It's such bad storytelling to me. That isn't selling (IMO)

[u/Aggressive-Mix4971 → u/hhhisthegame]

I feel like it can be, but it has to be done just right. Like, I don’t think every kayfabe injury needs to be sold throughout the entire match unless the point is to generate babyface sympathy or tell a specific story around that injury. But if you’re going to sell a limb at all then even if you “power through the pain” for a sequence there needs to be a follow-up where the lingering pain plays a role in the match’s story (e.g. someone manages to hit a big move/sequence despite the pain, but then is slow to follow up for a pin because the adrenaline’s wearing off).

But yeah, Rollins is guilty of this, and in AEW I’d say Bandido may be the biggest offender; I think Bandido’s awesome, but he needs to scale back some of his choices just a bit before he hits the “ok, you’ve lost me” moment.

[u/hhhisthegame → u/Aggressive-Mix4971]

It can be, yeah, if you do it right, but I think often people want to sell without sacrificing their spots and getting their moves in, and so you get what feels like obligatory selling. Whereas other wrestlers in the past would do a better job of working the selling into all of their motions. HBK would still hit his moves but he would seem half dead by the end of the match.

[u/JSNHZL → u/hhhisthegame]

Seth took the torch from RVD in that regard

[u/TBroomey → u/TotallyNoted]

Seth has to understand that he has a REALLY annoying, nasally voice. When Roman monologues, he's got that deep, commanding timbre that actually sounds like a supervillain cutting down the hero. When Seth does it, it sounds like Scrappy Doo.

[u/boogswald → u/TotallyNoted]

Usually it’s better when we don’t hear what they’re saying. If I can tell the general vibe, that works.

[u/Odd-Promise2661 → u/boogswald]

I think people just really lost a lot of physical selling, not just in wrestling but now you have TV shows making sure people can know what's happening while on their phones

[u/hhhisthegame → u/Odd-Promise2661]

Absolutely people have lost a lot of physical selling. Watch a Shawn Michaels match from the mid-2000s and the level of selling is like nothing you will see from anybody today, even the best.

[u/Odd-Promise2661 → u/hhhisthegame]

HBK is one of the greatest sellers of exhaustion I've seen

[u/Destroyeh → u/Odd-Promise2661]

whenever he was going up for the elbow drop he looked like he was climbing everest

[u/Odd-Promise2661 → u/Destroyeh]

Always would love when he hit the sweet chin music then would just collapse either on the mat or into a pin as if that was the last move he was ever gonna do

[u/fordianslip → u/hhhisthegame]

I don’t know the last time I saw the Bret hart hobble…

[u/Impressive-Dream8929 → u/TotallyNoted]

There's a time and place for it to be done properly e.g. maniacal Kenny Omega at All In, absofuckinlutely.

[u/iamgarron → u/TotallyNoted]

Kenny did this a lot particularly in NJPW

[u/Odd-Promise2661 → u/iamgarron]

I love Kenny but his is kinda like Roman for me where it works sometimes but not every time

[u/PaulaAbdulJabar → u/TotallyNoted]

when i see that fucking absolute cinema image i know i am in for some true bullshit

[u/SpooksTheGhostLaddy → u/TotallyNoted]

So many people doing this now and it's cringe worthy every time.

[u/SteveBorden → u/TotallyNoted]

Oh my god when they kept doing it after the crowds came back in the bloodline feuds! No one in the audience knows what the fuck you’re saying they just see the two of you talking for ages!

[u/FedoraTheMike]

John Cena loudly calling spots

[u/Omakepants → u/FedoraTheMike]

Has Cena ever wrestled Sandman? Those two dudes just doing their own play by play lol.

[u/hawkmasta → u/Omakepants]

According to Google, no

[u/KingChingLing → u/Omakepants]

Now I’m picturing Lance Catamaran and drunk as a skunk Sandman calling One Night Stand

[u/SenorDuck96 → u/FedoraTheMike]

NOW!!! SHINSUKE NOW!!!

[u/Hank_Scorpio_ObGyn → u/SenorDuck96]

I always canonized that as communication between opponents like "Ready....set...ATTACK!"

Or else how is Shinsuke going to know when Cena is going to attack?

[u/Big_Jarv]

We call that NXT Face, although really it should be Taker Face.

[u/NorthHollywoodHank → u/Big_Jarv]

I don't totally hate guys doing the shocked/stunned thing after a two count here or there, it can serve a dramatic purpose, but it drives me nuts when it becomes predictable and is done over and over again.

Ospreay had at least one match recently (Mox maybe?) where there was a sequence of two-counts at the end and each time Will didn't sulk, didn't spend 10 seconds looking at the ref in shock, he got up and tried to finish the match. If a promotion is doing that sort of thing reasonably frequently it becomes a lot easier to accept some Taker Face moments.

[u/stonecutter7 → u/NorthHollywoodHank]

Darby has been excellent at that-he'll immediate go from a 2 count (or rope break) to a coffin drop

[u/BiSaxual → u/stonecutter7]

That’s always the hypest shit in a Darby match. Dude will pin a guy knowing it isn’t gonna work, and have 47 coffin drops ready to go for when it doesn’t lol

[u/theirishembassy → u/NorthHollywoodHank]

that’s why I like Kenny’s “really? you’re gonna make me beat your ass more? I was kinda hoping to grab a shower..” unimpressed face.

[u/RxngsXfSvtvrn → u/Big_Jarv]

You got guys and girls being shocked about not ending matches with moves that have never beat anyone

[u/rapidronyrabbit]

Shawn doing the turnbuckle flip for non-power wrestlers always bugged me.

Its supposed to emphasize that Shawn was thrown with so much force and speed that he turns into a pretzel when he crashes into the turnbuckle. And it looks fine when its somebody like Undertaker irish whipping him.

But when did it for guys like Jericho or Christian it didn't hit the same.

[u/hhhisthegame → u/rapidronyrabbit]

HBK is my favorite wrestler of all time but I always thought this was kinda silly lol. Kinda immersion-breaking when only HBK ever just happens to have that happen to him

[u/rivers2mathews → u/hhhisthegame]

My kayfabe brain is he's getting whipped so hard and doesn't have enough time to react that he'd rather bend forward and "roll through" the momentum rather than go sternum first, which Bret would make look a million times worse. Later on, you could argue that he'd rather take the whip that way than have his surgically repaired back take the brunt of the force, but I know I'm stretching a bit here.

[u/Wise_Calligrapher739 → u/hhhisthegame]

...and Ric Flair and Chris Candido, and a few others as well.

[u/gwanddawd123 → u/Wise_Calligrapher739]

I liked how Flair did that flip straight to the apron and immediately ran to to climb up to the top rope (where he'd most likely be thrown off of).

[u/Vesploogie → u/rapidronyrabbit]

Even for power wrestlers he’d over do it. Nothing sillier than watching him do a 900 backflip side flip front flip side flip spinning backflip dark side 360 no scope Benihana into the turnbuckle 3 moves in then proceed to have a 20 minute match afterwards.

[u/kenssmith → u/rapidronyrabbit]

Eh, Flair did it for everyone too

[u/Vesploogie → u/kenssmith]

Flair, Slaughter, Bret, and Heenan were the best at selling a turnbuckle. HBK took his to 11 every time and it was too much.

[u/PeaceVibesAndToast]

I hate that Randy basically got reduced to just the RKO. He's become a one-trick pony. It especially made me mad during the Gunther/Orton fued a few years ago when Gunther said "youll never hit the RKO on me", and then Randy immediately hit it. They could have built up a whole storyline of Orton trying to hit the RKO on Gunther and failing until they finally have their match.

[u/jcaseys34 → u/PeaceVibesAndToast]

I'm pretty sure Randy is in even worse shape than he lets on. People wanna see an RKO but he doesn't have much more than that in the tank at this point.

[u/DaExtinctOne → u/jcaseys34]

Wouldn't be surprising. He's had so many injuries and surgeries plus considering among the OVW 4, he's the only one left still active.

[u/JUGG3RN4UT → u/DaExtinctOne]

https://giphy.com/gifs/6bd7YGR33uzWcx6ojA

[u/DontPutThatDownThere → u/JUGG3RN4UT]

Shelton is like the fifth Beatle.

[u/JUGG3RN4UT → u/DontPutThatDownThere]

because he's the best.

sad part is I feel I'm not old enough to make, let alone get this joke. The Beatles have been a thing for a loooooong time.

[u/imposterfish → u/jcaseys34]

I think he mentioned once that realized later in his career how bad the RKO actually was for his back.

It’s an elevated back bump where he has to put his own weight down to simulate the impact. And he has to do that move every week, including live events, for almost 23 years. And then you add in how many times he’s been countered or missed the RKO.

[u/Oli_Row → u/jcaseys34]

Not hard to believe, look at the fucking size of him. Guy’s bloated as shit, every time I see him he looks like he’s struggling. Should probably have said farewell with the big back injury instead of blowing himself up this much

[u/GormlessGourd55 → u/PeaceVibesAndToast]

Especially when an RKO countered into a Sleeper is literally right there. Its the most obvious thing to do in that matchup

[u/HunterOfIgnominy → u/PeaceVibesAndToast]

Randy needs to call it a day. I have zero interest in seeing a has-been Randy in the main event scene in 2026.

[u/YautjaTrooper]

I love Eddie Kingston but the machine gun chops look bad. No one except maybe Kojima can pull them off these days

[u/blaqsupaman → u/YautjaTrooper]

I love Eddie but he has probably the worst moveset in AEW.

[u/Shenanigans80h → u/blaqsupaman]

I think the issue is that his gimmick is tailor made for a brawler/strong style offense, but the dude is really bad at worked strikes. So he sorta does like a weird grappler, old-school striker moveset that can work with the right partner but is very awkward sometimes

[u/EddieVanzetti → u/Shenanigans80h]

He also just looks bad. He was never a body guy, but after his injury, he came back looking sloppier than before. He doesn't need to be a body guy either, but he simply doesn't look athletic or have the build of a brawler/tough guy at all.

[u/p0lari → u/YautjaTrooper]

I remember one specific match where he did them in a different way, pulling back his arm to get two or three chops in on a full upper body swing. I thought that didn't look half bad and was excited that he was looking to fix this stuff.

Then immediately after he went back to resting his elbow on the other guy's chest and flopping his forearm like a pool noodle on it.

[u/solanamell]

Indirect criticism of Bandido (who could be more protective of his finisher's set-up), but the way lots of wrestlers wait for his 21-plex. When you see someone who does it well (like Beast Mortos) it makes you realize that it can look awesome instead of silly.

[u/Squidinator15 → u/solanamell]

Cool move but looks so stupid having a guy bent over for a solid 15 secs while Dido takes his time. At least run the ropes

[u/solanamell → u/Squidinator15]

A lot of the times, yeah, but here's a clip of Mortos showing how it should be done:

https://youtu.be/Fxke78B17CY?t=82

Makes me feel like people could put a little more thought into the setup, MJF was the worst recent example I could think of: https://youtu.be/uCIgawfXpuc?t=421

[u/NorthHollywoodHank → u/solanamell]

MJF's awesome, but he is sometimes weirdly obvious, even by wrestling standards, on finisher setups.

In the squash match where Darby took the world title off of MJF, MJF's rolls into position after the 1st and 3rd coffin drops were a bit painfully obvious in terms of how they set him up for the next one.

You can argue that there weren't a lot of other options there but a) they could have just booked it slightly differently (e.g., MJF tries to roll out of the ring after the first one but Darby stops him, hits him in the head a few times, and sets him up for the second one), b) MJF could have sold some confusion or that he was stunned, tried to get up and failed, tried to start moving away while keeping himself face up at the last moment, or c) they could have just had Darby drag him into position each time.

Also, for me, MJF's heatseeker finisher isn't a great one. It always looks like the opponent's doing at least as much work as MJF is. For a guy who's as good as MJF is, and knows as much wrestling history, it's kind of surprising that he hasn't found a more iconic or more "useful" (in the sense of being able to hit it from more spots or with less setup) primary finisher.

[u/Black_XistenZ → u/solanamell]

The way MJF stood there, bent over and literally sticking out his ass in anticipation for 10 straight seconds like a rent boy looked so ridiculously bad!

[u/blaqsupaman → u/Squidinator15]

I think the setup can work if they time it so that the opponent is basically trying to use the ropes to get up as Bandido hits it. The issue is when they're bent over holding the rope for 10+ seconds waiting for it.

[u/debeatup → u/Squidinator15]

Kinda like when the women sit there and inspect their shoelaces before a Sol Snatcher or PopRox

[u/MannySJ → u/solanamell]

It's the same with the 619 where wrestlers get tripped or kicked into the ropes and land in a position that never happens otherwise, then they just wait there like a goober.

[u/JamesCDiamond → u/MannySJ]

Rey at least has spent 25 years refining his entire moveset around setting up a spinning double knee to the face - and a few wrestlers do drop wrestlers on the middle rope (Christian, for example).

As cool as Bandido is, the 21plex seems a lot, lot cooler in theory than in practice. The deadlift version really ought to be the only one he uses until and unless his opponents can get the timing right every time. If nothing else, they must know they look like total goobers when they're stood in that otherwise completely unheard of position for 30 seconds or more.

[u/VanWylder → u/solanamell]

Ever since he did the deadlift 21 to Kofi last week that's how I want the move to be done every time.

[u/MercuryInCanada → u/solanamell]

Drives me nuts that for spots like that or sol snatcher or swerve stomp the opponent is just waiting in the correct position rather than just being on one knee/laying down until the correct time.

[u/MutatedSpleen → u/solanamell]

I feel the same way about the 619. The 21plex might be slightly more egregious, but it's the same damn thing. Sit there in a weird unnatural position forever while your opponent gets a massage, goes out for ice cream, and does some online shopping before hitting the damn move

[u/p0lari → u/MutatedSpleen]

619 is borderline acceptable to me since I can kayfabe it as Rey doing a very specific trip to put them into the position, and once there they just lie on the bottom rope not too unlike waiting for any aerial move on the mat. On the lazy 21plex setups it makes no sense to me that the target would be stuck in that position. You're fully on your feet with a solid grip on the ropes on both hands, and you want me to believe you couldn't get yourself to move?

This is all highly subjective and it's a common gripe about the 619 too so not looking to argue about it, but to me 21plex is on another level.

[u/WhosGuardingHades]

Jay White when he spits and it gets caught in his beard.

[u/Wise_Calligrapher739 → u/WhosGuardingHades]

This has made me hate his matches, which sucks because he's so so so good. I just can't watch him constantly have a loogie caught in his beard like a fucking spider web. It's disgusting. I can watch deathmatches all day long, but that shit makes me frown and look away lol

[u/blaqsupaman → u/WhosGuardingHades]

Jay is great in the ring but I absolutely hate how he slobbers as a method of selling. Like hate it with a fiery passion. It distracts me from the match because it's just so fucking gross.

[u/mexploder89]

Mercedes Mone seems like she's halfway to fucking herself up every time she dives through the ropes. Thankfully she doesn't do it much but goddamn. Same for Cash Wheeler tbh

[u/hhhisthegame → u/mexploder89]

Iyo sometimes too...

[u/GoGoPowerPlay → u/hhhisthegame]

Yeah I remember there was like 3 weeks in a row this year where Iyo almost killed herself with the suicide dive.

[u/Teckelmaster → u/mexploder89]

Mercedes has done like 3 dives max in the last 7 years. Basically almost completely took them out of her moveset after her return in 2019.

[u/Iokua113 → u/Teckelmaster]

That's a big part of what makes them so memorable. She doesn't do it much so it sticks out. 

[u/Wolfstigma]

Ibushi's lack of fucks given about his personal health. Dude could've had another decade if he just toned some of his stuff down and took longer to come back healthy.

[u/Marzman315]

Maybe not as apparent to non-wrestlers, but John Cena runs the ropes in a really clumsy and unorthodox way, most notably with his left foot elevated on contact. I remember my old wrestling school would have to routinely “un-Cena” a lot of new students who did the same thing unconsciously.

[u/hawkmasta → u/Marzman315]

I think this started when he became the Doctor of Thuganonics. He wasn't wrestling as a generic dude anymore (he used to run the ropes normally in 2002) and added more pep/swagger to his moves, but he'd been running the ropes like you mentioned for so long that it just stuck.

[u/crap4you]

Goldberg spitting in the ring. 

[u/RitzCrackeDude → u/crap4you]

it said great wrestlers btw

[u/Haunting-Swing-4487 → u/RitzCrackeDude]

But then mentioned Roman. Clearly "great" should be taken with a pinch of salt.

[u/RomanSJ → u/Haunting-Swing-4487]

Reigns is a trillion miles better than Goldberg, let's be serious here lmao

[u/Different_Cattle4420 → u/RomanSJ]

I loathe The Bloodline story at this point but Roman hasn’t had a dull match in years, he’s an excellent performer

[u/Dijohn17 → u/Haunting-Swing-4487]

Roman shits on Goldberg and can actually have great matches

[u/Ok-Sentence8361 → u/crap4you]

Bill Goldberg?

[u/-FangMcFrost- → u/Ok-Sentence8361]

https://giphy.com/gifs/1ziCYgz8U489WYTRTj

[u/Destro_019780]

What can be said for a ton of people in the modern era - prioritizing flash and spectacle sequences, at the cost of selling the weight of those spots

[u/KidDelta → u/Destro_019780]

As Cmon man sometimes that fighting spirit gets to ya

It just so happens everyone has fighting spirit apparently

[u/Teenage_dirtnap]

Hangman's insistence on doing the Orihara. Have mercy on your knees, my dude.

[u/solanamell → u/Teenage_dirtnap]

Probably not wrong, but I could watch him do those all day. So good.

[u/Mokiyami → u/solanamell]

Good lord it's such a pretty moonsault

[u/Janky_Welles → u/Teenage_dirtnap]

It always makes me nervous how trusting he is in his opponent catching him. He never looks back, just climbs and jumps.

[u/solanamell → u/Janky_Welles]

The crazy part is he isn't caught most of the time. He usually just lands on his feet.

(Joining the prayer circle for his ankles and knees.)

[u/boogswald]

Old heel Drew McIntyre was a master of getting up on the top rope when he didn’t use any top rope moves. Takes me out of the moment since I know he’s setting up a spot for someone else.

[u/Dbthesage]

Bianca straight up stops selling whatever body part was worked on by her opponent for the whole match once the bell rings. When she’s facing wrestlers on the same level as her it’s not that noticeable since the matches are agented differently. When she’s wrestling someone lower on the totem pole it sticks out heavily because the only offense her opponents usually get in are a worked leg or a worked arm. This is something Cena also did 24/7 around 09-13.

[u/TBroomey]

I love CM Punk and have defended him through all his bullshit, but my God his Macho Man elbow drop sucks.

[u/DontPutThatDownThere → u/TBroomey]

The funniest thing to me is that he's openly acknowledged—several times!—that his top rope elbow is awful.

And yet...

[u/cassanata]

Bully pulling up his pants.

[u/XGuiltyofBeingMikeX → u/cassanata]

🚨JOCKS WATCH🚨

[u/voodoo_eighty_five → u/XGuiltyofBeingMikeX]

can of coke to you brah (or bra)

[u/RGS_1994 → u/cassanata]

Him at his fattest with no belt was diabolical.

[u/debeatup]

Tiffany Stratton constantly telling everyone what time it is. ‘Twas cool when she was first called up and hella over but kinda annoying at this point

[u/MissMully → u/debeatup]

Just to jump on this as well because I agree, wrestlers that spam a taunt is a bugbear of mine. Penta is guilty of this too.

[u/boogswald → u/debeatup]

It’s such a fine line between “getting your stuff over” and “you’re saying that too much and I’m annoyed” since people watch the shows so much more or less frequently than each other.

Remember when Sasha Banks would do her little swoop like 3 times per entrance though? That was a lot

[u/MonsieurMidnight]

Rollins trying to "sell" his bad back and bad legs and then wrestle like he's healthy.

It's just a poor narrative for the fighting spirit schtick and it just sucks because it's not believable and overused

[u/XGuiltyofBeingMikeX]

Sammy Guevara doing the “yo I’m SOOOO CRAAAAZY” thing every time he jumps off something.

You are in your mid 30s and married with a kid…

[u/broken_radio → u/XGuiltyofBeingMikeX]

🤪👈

[u/WildHogsPart3]

Not calling out anybody specific here (and not calling out wrestlers, per se), but I dislike it when the referees change the cadence of their counting, giving away the false finish.

A good ref's three count will flow. There is no difference between their 1, 2 or 3.

A bad ref's three count will not. They would hit the mat one way for the 1 and 2 counts, then change that flow for the 3, giving away the falsie.

You see it more on the indies. A great example of doing it the right way is AEW's Paul Turner. Best false finish count in the game IMO.

[u/DontPutThatDownThere → u/WildHogsPart3]

Earl Hebner in big matches was the all-time worst offender.

Once you see the cadence change, you can't unsee it in 90% of the big matches he was part of.

[u/Rodan_Hibiki]

Mox needs to sell strikes better

[u/XGuiltyofBeingMikeX → u/Rodan_Hibiki]

Sell throw

[u/Drummk]

The Rock's sharpshooter 

[u/Prince_of_Kyrgyzstan]

Why does Raku always try to make her opponents fall asleep in the ring? Hasn't she realised that if they fall asleep backstage, they can't wrestle and will have to forfeit the match.

Smh fight smart not hard

[u/PeaceAlien → u/Prince_of_Kyrgyzstan]

Winning in ring pays more than forfeit

[u/HechicerosOrb]

I get annoyed w the “everybody gets to do one move in the middle of the ring” part of multi man tag matches

[u/Salzberger → u/HechicerosOrb]

"The last 4 guys all hit their finisher and then immediately turned around and got hit by someone else's finisher, but that won't happen to m...."

[u/Angry_GorillaBS]

Shawn Michaels stomping for the Sweet Chin Music. And anything like that that anybody does. Signaling for your finish is one thing, something like that that gives it away to your opponent always drove me insane

[u/Jmacz → u/Angry_GorillaBS]

I can never find the clip anymore, but JBL talks about this in kayfabe on some DVD or WWE Network show or something.

The reporter asks him why people get up for it or something similar and he said something like it was the end of the match, they had been beating the hell out of each other, and his ears were ringing after Shawn hit him with a move. He was laying on the ground and kept hearing this tapping and thinking, "what in the hell is that damn tapping?". So he got up to see what it was and the last thing he remembers is Shawn's boot hitting him in the face.

[u/mellsuck]

When Penta keeps using the same Penta driver setup by hitting the hand from the top and getting into a pumphandle position. Doing it once in a while is cool, but doing it over and over gets a bit predictable.

[u/iamgarron → u/mellsuck]

I also love the taunt but boy once he starts doing it like 5+ times in a match it gets weird

[u/PaulaAbdulJabar → u/iamgarron]

my wife once pointed out to me that every time he does the taunt he gets hit with a move right after and it kinda ruined him forever for me

[u/hhhisthegame]

I wouldn't say it's a bad habit per se but Kurt Angle seemingly being unable to backflip out of the ring and so always taking clothesline out of the ring bumps by spinning and doing a front flip is kind of funny. I can't blame him, if I was a wrestler I'd wanna do the same thing.

It always bothered me that Kane would always take face bumps on his knees, meaning the pedigree always looked horrible. I can't blame him but unlike Kurt it did detract from the spot usually

[u/Bronlonius → u/hhhisthegame]

The pedigree in general looked horrible when Triple H started releasing the arms mid move. I get that it was done for safety, but the move just never had the same visual effect.

[u/nickl104]

Any wrestler “tuning up the band” for their finisher very loudly takes me out of it.

Shawn Michaels and Drew McIntyre are the two that immediately come to mind. If someone is fighting either of those guys and hears either stomps or a countdown, they should be preparing to counter.

Adam Copeland and others don’t count because they’re not actually audibly telegraphing the move.

[u/gwanddawd123 → u/nickl104]

Cena's Five Moves Of Doom was this for me.

You're his opponent, he throws a shoulder tackle. He only ever does a shoulder tackle when it's time to go for his finish. You MUST know he will throw another one.

What comes after the shoulder blocks? A Protobomb he gives you after you try to throw a lariat. Why would you throw the lariat if it's common knowledge that it'll only get you a step closer to an AA?

And then he throws his hand up and the whole crowd goes "you can't see me". Extremely telegraphed, you can hear the five knuckle shuffle coming decades before it arrives.

At this point, it's your fault you lost.

[u/honkin1bobo]

way too many modern wrestlers looking at themselves on the Tron screen. trust the production team to get the shot and know that you're looking cool without having to rely on it

[u/NorthHollywoodHank]

Plenty of great wrestlers have used the "holding opponent's hand and walking the ropes" spot to set up a move and I hate it every time.

There's a lot of suspension of disbelief in wrestling, with every "both guys climbing in the corner" spot and lots of standard, widely accepted moves not really making sense if you think through them at all. Being too nitpicky is a recipe for hating wrestling entirely.

But for me that cooperative rope-walking spot just crosses the line. It always looks goofy, the opponent being capable enough to stand and hold the other wrestler's hand firmly but too stunned to just drop and pull the guy down or bull into the ropes and push him over always strains credulity, and the "cool move juice" is just never worth the "suspension of disbelief squeeze" for me.

[u/BurtHurtmanHurtz]

There is nothing more perfect for this than Ric Flair thinking he will ever be successful in scurrying across the apron to hustle up to the top rope, only to be tossed off by his opponent every single time.

[u/Artistic_Ask_2282]

John Cena’s facial expressions, they’re overly cheesy and cartoonish.

[u/daprice82]

90s Shawn Michaels used to be really bad about selling an injury like crazy for a whole match and then completely forgetting to sell anything once he was back on offense.

[u/Bianconeagles]

I think A LOT of wrestlers, in WWE specifically, cannot throw a worked punch worth a damn.

It's not just a WWE issue tho, guys like Moxley also throw some rough looking punches.

I was watching some older wrestling matches on youtube recently and it really stuck out to me how much better the striking is.

[u/dwrdre]

Lash Legend does not know how to sell for someone her size. I don’t know how to describe it but when watching her matches you can see

[u/velocity-monstrosity → u/dwrdre]

I’ve said the same thing about Jade, i think i noticed it after her matches with Rhea this year. She comes off as awkward when she’s trying to transition from selling to being ready for the next spot. Jade and Lash are both powerhouses but I think they both struggle with how to sell and be a powerhouse simultaneously

[u/Necessary_State_5272]

Wrestlers no selling moves in general by shaking and getting up is stupid. Looking at you Ospreay.

[u/ridewiththerockers → u/Necessary_State_5272]

It's a nooj thing. Fighting spirit allows you to no sell and go on reading forearms, chops, or even signature moves.

[u/YozoraBellossomHeart]

I love Riho down, but that 619 is really bad. I can't imagine it hurting at all.

[u/alexagogo]

Any wrestler that has an overly contrived setup to a finisher, where it would just look better if they did it normally. The two that come to mind are the 21 Plex and Nigel's Slingshot Lariat thing.

I also don't really care for Moxley's grappling work. It's like he's in a computer game sometimes going from one move to next but they left out some of the animations. Really takes me out of it.

[u/javajam]

Love Moxley, one of my favorite wrestlers of all time, but sometimes I wish he would stop selling like a super heavyweight. I understand he’s intense and I understand he’s bulked way up compared to his indie and WWE days, but jeez not everything needs to be fighting spirit. Tbh, for most wrestlers I’m tired of the “hit me, hit me, hit me, that’s all you got!?” sequences.

[u/fruitbat1994]

John Cena has many in ring faults but surely his no pressure STF is the worst.

[u/gwanddawd123 → u/fruitbat1994]

Violent overcorrection after he genuinely choked some people out with it when he started.

The fact that he can't do it without there being some fault with it should have been a sign to just not do it at all, but i digress.

[u/Caljuan]

Charlotte's moonsault to the outside

[u/TheFolksofDonMartino]

This is more of a trend than one person's "habit", but I really hate the "you have bested me, I accept my fate" finish where a wrestler "lets" their opponent hit their finisher like they're a samurai. Hated the Cena-Gunther finish. Hated every time Malakai Black pulled it out. The Mox-Ospreay one was less egregious because at least that seemed more like he just physically couldn't fight another second, but even that one I didn't love. It always scans to me as weirdly insecure - like you can't just lose the big match and put the opponent over normally, you need to give yourself this anime noble death.

[u/Fidel_Costco]

Run-ins.

I get the point of them, but after groups like the NWO, Corporation, Corporate Ministry, and the New Blood, to name a few, I was worn out on run-ins ages ago.

[u/makeittriple]

Cody cutter. Nobody looks good taking it. Cody rarely looks good balancing on the rope like a cruiserweight

[u/TJ_McWeaksauce]

I like Orange Cassidy, but it's distracting how often he runs his fingers through his hair during a match. He'll even do it when he's selling an injury.

Opponent slams OC on his back.

OC flails around on the mat selling a back injury, but also fixes his hair.

[u/TheBallasOG]

Booker T doing a spinnerooni mid match and ends up eliminated or losing a match

[u/boogswald → u/TheBallasOG]

The one Viking Raider is constantly doing moonsault as that he never hits and that feels similar to me. “This spot is supposed to be cool but you’re not over like that”

[u/colinisthereason]

As great as it is, people getting caught in a situation to get hit with the Styles Clash. It's so unrealistic, but so good. Kofi took it so well and the double stomp from Dragon Lee. Muah

[u/StoneGoldX → u/colinisthereason]

Ospreay changed the game on that. I don't know how he does it, but he's like DDP with the diamond cutter on the clash. He's doing shit, and then suddenly his opponent is magically upside down. And then it's different every time.

[u/Ode1st]

Every set up where the person taking the damage can just casually, slightly move to avoid the devastating attack, but they just stand there instead

[u/JonasAlbert84]

Cena's bumping.

[u/GeraldinePoon]

God, Roman and others staring at the ref during false finishes drives me up a wall. Granted, I’m no wrestler so I don’t know what it’s actually like, but I can’t imagine it’s that hard to time up someone counting to three with your eyes closed.