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Originally Posted by Dave Youell
Ok here's an example of bad psychology:
If say for example Chris Benoit was working on a guys leg through out the match, with holds and striking moves, almost to the point when the other guy couldn't walk, and then finishes him off with a crossface, that wouldn't make good ring psychology as his arms and neck (where the move would do the most damage) would still be ok. Also if the other guy who's getting worked on, did a nip up or started doing irish whips after his leg had been worked on it wouldn't make sense.
Other things like working up to the big moves, i've seen too many feds with inexperinced workers not building up to a big move to pop the crowd. Take a look at most WWE matches, they don't really do any big bumps until towards the end of the matches, if you start off your match with a powerbomb it's going to be difficult to get the crowd to care about a similar finish at the end of the match (Ian, don't use the bam bam/Taz defense against me)
There's also the psychology with minds games and stuff that Raven, Jake and Pillman do, but i don't think we are talking about that
Psychology IMO doesn't mean one thing, it's the whole aspect of making it all authentic and above all make sense logically
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I agree with everything you just said, but I do have one question. Now if Benoit worked over the opponent's legs during a match, then slapped on the Crippler Crossface, couldn't it also be called good psychology? If the guy is getting his legs pounded, the legless wrestler begins to think "Sharpshooter!" and begins to get ready for the sharpshooter to be setup by Benoit's offense. Then bam, in a second he's down due to the speed of the Crossface, and without his legs to push him towards the ropes, he would eventuially either give in to the pain, or just because Benoit one-upped him and out of respect in this checkmate situation?
Or is it just stupid to try and lure a guy into false security (of knowledge of what's going on anyway, if he can stop it is another question), as it would be wasted work theoretically? This type of psychology would be more of a mental-style crossbred with the physical-style. Benoti doesn't seem to use much mental psychology in his matches, other than what comes with his wear and tear and the fact he's an 18 year veteran who has one heavyweight championships. You have experience in wrestlnig, so I think it would be fair to ask you if this woul dbe psychology, or just an imaginary idea that would look ridiculous.
Anyway, I like to think of ring psychology as the mental capaciy behind actions we see in wrestling. This probably spells out more of the greater minds in wrestling, as well as the greater werstlers. Benoit & Rhyno use the physical-style, which wears down the opponent, and makes it almost impossible for them to work. While Benoit usually wok sover the shoulder for his #1 move, The Crippler Crossface, Rhyno works over the mid-section, and just once I'd like to see a wrestler sell The Gore by sreaming in the ring when they've "awoken" from the impact of the move, due to "broken ribs". I haven't had a broken rib before, but I've heard they are painful, and themy hurt to breathe. If Rhyno breaks a rib early in the match (storyline-wise) the match would basically be in his bag. There is a good mental psychology behind what Rhyno does in the ring.
Triple H & Eddie Guerrero use a mental-style in their matches. Eddie Guerrero "lies, cheats & steals" which gets under the opponent's skin, while Triple H basically has "plan A, plan B, plan C...right down to plan ZZZ#3". Triple employs thepsychology in his macthes that if he can't win the match via clean submission or pinfall, he'll manipulate the match to basically be a handicap one, so he effectively can't lose. This is why he's so dominant, and why the place will blow off the roof when he loses the championship. The whole thnig with Triple H's psychology, is that he is depending on the physical presence of Ric Flair & Batista. If they turn face, or get injured, not only will Triple H's plans after "A" be destroyed, but so will his entire psychological stance. Which is what I'm hoping to see for a shakeup of RAW.