athletic subtitles of wrestlers
 

The one thing that's taken me years to wrap my head around is the "science" (for lack of a better term) of what makes a good "wrassler". I'm not talking about story telling, and facials, which I think are definite intangibles and the complete package, but as far as being a wrassling "work rate purest" what are the big things, and the little things that go into a wrestler, living, breathing and MOVING like a wrestler, not just a guy playing wrestling and being a performer.

As an example I was watching Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko vs Barry Windham and Curt Hennig from I think Starrcade '99 which was a great match. Malenko landed a suplex of some sort and was perpendicular to Windham or Hennig, and very subtley exploded into a lateral press from that position. A lot of guys just would stand up, but Malenko being a true "wrassler" made it seem legit, and instead of the wasted/fake movement of standing up, catching his breath and flopping down for a pin attempt, he swiftly, smoothly and slickly transitioned into a lateral press.

Barry Windham cooincidentally is another great example of a natural talent when it comes to this stuff. The one thing everyone talks about is how mobile he was for a big man, and honestly this is stuff the can be argued as irrelevant because it's not like workrate= drawing power, but as a lover of wrestling it is great. The one thing people talk about with Windham is how he entered the ring at 6'7" 270, in pretty much one single bound. Not like Kevin Nash (whom I love for despite all of his "faults") , who would SLOWLY climb on the apron, and then even more SLOWLY lift the one leg over... which albeit pretty fucking cool and impressive, it's more the showmanship that made it cool, definitely not the raw athleticism.
Windham could also transition from a suplex into a lateral press like a fucking gymnast. Again, these aren't things I'd ever notice if they weren't brought to my attention, but it definitely is something interesting to talk about and maybe although you don't immediately notice it, helps with the overall presentation of the product. You may not notice it, but it's there and completes the package.

What are other little examples of guys doing these little things that really help with the legitimacy of wrestling as a "sport". What are awesome ways guys subtly move like wrestlers? The same way football players move like football players and boxers move like boxers?

Viscera did a spinning heel kick

What about Kevin Sullivan?

John Kronus did a 450 Splash.

Vader's Moonsault.

god dammit LOL

You're telling me god's finisher is dammit LOL? Got vid?

god's agility is second to none, he transfers from a waistlock into schoolboy like nobody's business.

Damn.

Did you see the one time he transferred a 450 Splash into a Cravate?

A Fucking Cravate!

Always loved how Punk would bait a guy into throwing his arm off the mat while kicking out so he had an easier way to lock in the Anaconda Vice. Not exactly subtle, but it always seemed so smart and logical.

Well Punk is kind of the opposite of what this thread is about, but I definitely appreciate your addition. He was very "unathletic" in a sense, not exactly smooth, but he was god damned smart and when using his brain could do little things like that which really add to a match and the presentation of the product.

Punk's strikes looked like shit and he probably had the worst flying elbow drop I've ever seen.

agreed, as was pointed out on hb2ks podcast. defs the truth, but still a great performer, just not an elite athlete

Keep reading this as "athletic subtitles of wrestlers"

Regals kip up. Always amazed me how effortless his was.

Yeah especially since he never considered himself an athletic guy. Very smooth. I liked Davey Boy's cartwheel he'd do as well. Davey was also friggin fast for such a bag of bricks. He did a great drop down and leap frog.

Bam Bam Bigelow. The guy could go for a big fella.

His splash from the top rope was always on point.

He certainly had some agility but I found him a tad over rated. Found Vader to be a lot quicker and more athletic.

I love it when I can read what the Boogeyman is saying on my screen at home.

Mr Perfect is the first person I think of when I see this thread. So underrated and was second to none as an athlete. People like him and Michaels started the gradual change to guys like Bryan and Dolph we see today. He did it in an era of 90% big, giant guys.

Nothing specific, but the way he sold for the bigger guys of the era, made them look like stars. He really sold the impact of everything the big men did, and at the same time, put a lot of effort and was vicious in his attacks, which gave the impression he needed to be to get on top of them.

Perfectplex always looked superb too, as did most things he did.

Perfect was really quick in his prime, would drop down to the mat quick, hit great leap frogs etc. aka super crisp basics which is so under rated.

Serious? Don't get me wrong, I'm a Vader fan also, but I didn't think he moved as quick as Bam Bam. Have you ever seen his ECW stuff? When he was able to just do his thing without restrictions, the guy could really move.

I mention this bit because I was a bit of a BW fan. One of my favorite spots of his during his run as the "Lone Wolf" was where he'd do the Suplex with the floatover for a near fall, and pop to his feet. The second his opponent would sit up, he'd obliterate them with a diving low lariat. It was such a level of nastiness that I hadn't seen to that point.

Triple H's ability to seamlessly put people in the pedigree from many different positions and transitions. The setup to the pedigree makes it a "clunky" move, but HHH can hit it out of nowhere.

his ability to bury guys gaining momentum when he seemingly is out of the picture, and feels like stealing their thunder, is also uncanny.

It happens when you are the face of the attitude era.

lol did I make the typo in the thread title or did a mod edit that?

Every time Rikishi took a clothesline.

Bam Bam's moonsault was a lie. It wasn't a moonsault. He turned in the air he didn't flip. He was great otherwise. I would say he was a notch behind Vader because of his attitude problems and not being able to stay in a company for a long stretch of time. Was hyped huge in WWE and then was in WCW so quickly after. Never got why him doing a cartwheel would get him over though. It added nothing to his attacks. It actually cost him the tournament at WM4.