Destor
09-27-2006, 12:32 AM
Maybe we can get some sorely needed debate going around here.
Anyone who knows their stuff will tell you that a ’spot’ within a wrestling contest could be anything from a 450 splash to a simple sleeper hold. Yet the term ’spot monkey’ seems to refer directly to the high flying, risk taking, all seeing and all dancing turnbuckle jockeys found commonly within more ‘innovative’ promotions like TNA and ROH, and its not a term of endearment.
The fact is that these jumping beans are highly skilled and expertly co-ordinated. The stunts they perform are undeniably entertaining and contain the ’wow’ factor that grab people’s attention. Yet with the existence of the term ’spot monkey’ comes the existence of the following question. Are the likes of Chris Sabin, Sonjay Dutt, Paul London and AJ Styles simply prostituting their bodies to a wrestling public that just 5 years ago where investing these same emotions into a different kind of ‘wow’ factor? Namely the blood sports of promotions such as ECW and even XPW.
Yes, its not the same thing. On the one hand you have hardcore wrestling (and yes I’m fully aware of the amount of actual, top notch, cream of the crop wrestling that existed within the old ECW), a violent style which provokes a reaction that could be transcribed as ’What the hell! Why would anyone do that to themselves?!’. Then you have the uber-athletic, high flying, super-spot wrestling that may catalyse the sentence ’What the hell! How do they do that?’. While one comes from admiration, the other comes from a sheer fascination of the willingness to mutilate one’s body in the name of ’entertainment’. One form is a showcase of physical ability, the other can easily be construed as a freak show. Or are they really that different?
If there’s one thing you can guarantee, its that we all love a freak show. If you see a guy with three ears or more importantly a women with four tits, then we’re all going to take a look. Not because we care, not because we feel sorry for them, but because its weird! This is the exact same reason that we watched New Jack staple opponent‘s skulls. Its why we watched little Spike Dudley bleed his gangly guts dry, and why we couldn’t take our eyes off The Sandman pile drive a woman through a table, its fucking weird!
The astonishing thing is that the quite brilliant antics of the exciting new X-Division style workers can very easily attract the same kind of voyeuristic interest as blade thirsty, stapler wielding hardcore maniacs. X-Division style action, although at times utterly mesmerising, is at its core definition strange and therefore weird. Whether it be advancement of human endeavour, or the fetish for self-mutilation, we as a viewing audience can be guilty of having those wide eyed moments which make for nothing more than interesting ‘headline’ chat among fellow wrestling friends.
Mr A: ‘Did you see that 8 man super-plex?’
Mr B: ‘Yeah man! Fuck me that was amazing? Hey who won that match by the way?’
Mr A: ‘Erm, I don’t know.’
So what does it matter? Who gives a shit if I’ve happened to notice the similarities between hardcore and high flying? Well we all should because its very easy to turn a wrestling product into a video library for ‘World‘s craziest Sport’s Stunts‘. The biggest criticism of wrestling styles like hardcore and high risk is that there is often no long term emotional involvement from the viewer. While its fun to see the high spots it doesn’t mean we care about the contest, the characters and the product as a whole. It’s the same reason why a crowd of twenty thousand can’t take their eyes off a Bret Hart sharpshooter but that same crowd may only exhale a mild ‘yeahhhh’ at a Paul London drop-sault.
Its this kind of criticism that spawns the label ’Spot Monkey’. Basically to attempt breath taking stunts simply for the sakes of doing a breath taking stunt. It’s the same principal as being smashed over the head by tube lights in order to slightly improve the day of a few hundred blood junkies. It begs the question; is it worth it?
Wrestling is about the audience making an emotional connection with what’s taking place inside the ring. We have to care about why each competitor is putting their body through physical torture. While a big stunt is an adrenaline rush, it always leads the after thought of why? Why did they attempt such a ridiculously dangerous manoeuvre if the guy was already out? If wrestling was about cool moves and the who can use the ropes in the most unique way, then Sonjay Dutt would be WWE Champion. The fact is that Sonjay Dutt is not WWE Champion, he is a talented athlete who is struggling to make an impression in TNA’s X-Division.
The very thing that the likes of the X-Division represent, promotes and champions is ultimately its biggest downfall. The frustrating thing is that this style of pro-wrestling can still be the future of the business. It needs intelligent wrestlers to be able work a match and tell a story, but at the same time use their astonishing athletic ability to really wow the crowd, but most importantly of all, they have to make them care.
The positive report is that its already happening. Guys like Chris Daniels and all the X-Division wrestlers (whether in TNA or elsewhere) that I’ve mentioned in this piece have at one time or another participated in matches that have ticked all the boxes. Whether its necessarily the future of the wrestling is still up for debate. The fact that it can be an effective way to entertain and involve a live wrestling crowd, and a massive television audience, is enough for now.
The term ’Spot Monkey’ while incorrect in terms of an actual definition (remember a spot fest could be three sleeper holds and seven arm bars) is still relevant in terms of what it actually refers to. This is a term that highlights an extreme method for attracting a wrestling fan, but the inability to convince that same fan to watch the entire show, not just the stunts. This is why the WWE is the biggest wrestling company in the world. It gives the audience the opportunity to invest their emotions in its performers. The WWE style provides a structure in the form of storylines in order for fans to achieve involvement, and subsequently care about the actual wrestling. While the company is sometimes misguided by money and its own ’freaks’ (The Great Khali) it is fundamentally the reason why ’Sports Entertainment’ and not ’Wrestling’ is the dominant force of the squared (or hexagon) circle.
So when you get frustrated with a shitty TNA storyline and you believe they should give the X-Division guys an extra ten minutes, just take a moment and ask the question why? High spots and insane stunts will grab the attention of anyone, wrestling angles and the ability to work a proper match will keep hold of that attention, and perhaps twist it into a long term wrestling fan. Spotfest matches will be nothing but a quick fix to a long term problem, and more than likely they will be detrimental to the product.
What’s that? You got a problem? Well don’t hide behind your monitor. Post a reply and lets get down to it! Spot-fest, are they really worth it?
Anyone who knows their stuff will tell you that a ’spot’ within a wrestling contest could be anything from a 450 splash to a simple sleeper hold. Yet the term ’spot monkey’ seems to refer directly to the high flying, risk taking, all seeing and all dancing turnbuckle jockeys found commonly within more ‘innovative’ promotions like TNA and ROH, and its not a term of endearment.
The fact is that these jumping beans are highly skilled and expertly co-ordinated. The stunts they perform are undeniably entertaining and contain the ’wow’ factor that grab people’s attention. Yet with the existence of the term ’spot monkey’ comes the existence of the following question. Are the likes of Chris Sabin, Sonjay Dutt, Paul London and AJ Styles simply prostituting their bodies to a wrestling public that just 5 years ago where investing these same emotions into a different kind of ‘wow’ factor? Namely the blood sports of promotions such as ECW and even XPW.
Yes, its not the same thing. On the one hand you have hardcore wrestling (and yes I’m fully aware of the amount of actual, top notch, cream of the crop wrestling that existed within the old ECW), a violent style which provokes a reaction that could be transcribed as ’What the hell! Why would anyone do that to themselves?!’. Then you have the uber-athletic, high flying, super-spot wrestling that may catalyse the sentence ’What the hell! How do they do that?’. While one comes from admiration, the other comes from a sheer fascination of the willingness to mutilate one’s body in the name of ’entertainment’. One form is a showcase of physical ability, the other can easily be construed as a freak show. Or are they really that different?
If there’s one thing you can guarantee, its that we all love a freak show. If you see a guy with three ears or more importantly a women with four tits, then we’re all going to take a look. Not because we care, not because we feel sorry for them, but because its weird! This is the exact same reason that we watched New Jack staple opponent‘s skulls. Its why we watched little Spike Dudley bleed his gangly guts dry, and why we couldn’t take our eyes off The Sandman pile drive a woman through a table, its fucking weird!
The astonishing thing is that the quite brilliant antics of the exciting new X-Division style workers can very easily attract the same kind of voyeuristic interest as blade thirsty, stapler wielding hardcore maniacs. X-Division style action, although at times utterly mesmerising, is at its core definition strange and therefore weird. Whether it be advancement of human endeavour, or the fetish for self-mutilation, we as a viewing audience can be guilty of having those wide eyed moments which make for nothing more than interesting ‘headline’ chat among fellow wrestling friends.
Mr A: ‘Did you see that 8 man super-plex?’
Mr B: ‘Yeah man! Fuck me that was amazing? Hey who won that match by the way?’
Mr A: ‘Erm, I don’t know.’
So what does it matter? Who gives a shit if I’ve happened to notice the similarities between hardcore and high flying? Well we all should because its very easy to turn a wrestling product into a video library for ‘World‘s craziest Sport’s Stunts‘. The biggest criticism of wrestling styles like hardcore and high risk is that there is often no long term emotional involvement from the viewer. While its fun to see the high spots it doesn’t mean we care about the contest, the characters and the product as a whole. It’s the same reason why a crowd of twenty thousand can’t take their eyes off a Bret Hart sharpshooter but that same crowd may only exhale a mild ‘yeahhhh’ at a Paul London drop-sault.
Its this kind of criticism that spawns the label ’Spot Monkey’. Basically to attempt breath taking stunts simply for the sakes of doing a breath taking stunt. It’s the same principal as being smashed over the head by tube lights in order to slightly improve the day of a few hundred blood junkies. It begs the question; is it worth it?
Wrestling is about the audience making an emotional connection with what’s taking place inside the ring. We have to care about why each competitor is putting their body through physical torture. While a big stunt is an adrenaline rush, it always leads the after thought of why? Why did they attempt such a ridiculously dangerous manoeuvre if the guy was already out? If wrestling was about cool moves and the who can use the ropes in the most unique way, then Sonjay Dutt would be WWE Champion. The fact is that Sonjay Dutt is not WWE Champion, he is a talented athlete who is struggling to make an impression in TNA’s X-Division.
The very thing that the likes of the X-Division represent, promotes and champions is ultimately its biggest downfall. The frustrating thing is that this style of pro-wrestling can still be the future of the business. It needs intelligent wrestlers to be able work a match and tell a story, but at the same time use their astonishing athletic ability to really wow the crowd, but most importantly of all, they have to make them care.
The positive report is that its already happening. Guys like Chris Daniels and all the X-Division wrestlers (whether in TNA or elsewhere) that I’ve mentioned in this piece have at one time or another participated in matches that have ticked all the boxes. Whether its necessarily the future of the wrestling is still up for debate. The fact that it can be an effective way to entertain and involve a live wrestling crowd, and a massive television audience, is enough for now.
The term ’Spot Monkey’ while incorrect in terms of an actual definition (remember a spot fest could be three sleeper holds and seven arm bars) is still relevant in terms of what it actually refers to. This is a term that highlights an extreme method for attracting a wrestling fan, but the inability to convince that same fan to watch the entire show, not just the stunts. This is why the WWE is the biggest wrestling company in the world. It gives the audience the opportunity to invest their emotions in its performers. The WWE style provides a structure in the form of storylines in order for fans to achieve involvement, and subsequently care about the actual wrestling. While the company is sometimes misguided by money and its own ’freaks’ (The Great Khali) it is fundamentally the reason why ’Sports Entertainment’ and not ’Wrestling’ is the dominant force of the squared (or hexagon) circle.
So when you get frustrated with a shitty TNA storyline and you believe they should give the X-Division guys an extra ten minutes, just take a moment and ask the question why? High spots and insane stunts will grab the attention of anyone, wrestling angles and the ability to work a proper match will keep hold of that attention, and perhaps twist it into a long term wrestling fan. Spotfest matches will be nothing but a quick fix to a long term problem, and more than likely they will be detrimental to the product.
What’s that? You got a problem? Well don’t hide behind your monitor. Post a reply and lets get down to it! Spot-fest, are they really worth it?