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Later on during the week I will be posting articles I wrote on knowing how wrestling works and the basics of it.

Asinteresting as that all sounds, reading some articles wont turn anyone into a wrestler or a wrestling teacher

Psychology: The Lost Art.

Standing outside the ring, your looking through the ropes. You are trying to just relax and forget what you know about wrestling and enjoy the match, but for some reason you just can't. You find yourself focusing on what moves were 'botched', what spots didn't flow, how a certain wrestler wasn't playing his 'type' correctly. Why, are you unable to just "mark-out"?

Well it's quite simple. It's not that the match is horrible, or that the wrestlers are lackluster, it's that there is no psychology; or psychology that's very underlining. Why has the emphasis on psychology been lost in backyard wrestling and indepedent wrestling? Well that's exactly what I plan to look at and discuss.

Let's look back at some memorable matches in all of our lives. We'll start with Bret Hart vs. HBK, Ironman match. Now I'm sure no one has forgotten that match. I'd even wager, that most of you can recall almost the entire match, and give details on the last 15 minutes of the match. Or for another example, The Undertaker vs. Hulk Hogan the first encounter. Anyone remember that? Of course. Storyline, execution, sub-plots, all making it quite memorable. Should I list more? Well just a few. HHH vs. Y2J for the world title on RAW, Kane vs. The Undertaker Inferno, HBK vs. HHH The Comeback, Cactus Jack/Terry Funk vs. The New Age Outlaws Dumpster Match and of course Andre The Giant vs. Hulk Hogan. And why are all these matches so memorable? Psychology. The matches told a story, months went into storylining. The matches played so perfectly on the storyline. There was a plot, there was a rising action, there was a climax, and there was an end.

Now ask yourself why you can't remember the last X Division Showcase match?

Well by now the thought has crossed your mind, when exactly did psychology die? Or more correct, when did psychology in wrestling begin to die out. Well, I would have to credit that to the HBK generations and the mixture of Lucha Libre into American wrestling.

I call it the "HBK Generation", because when all those teenage boys grew up and wanted to be wrestlers, they focused on the wrong aspects. They focused on the moonsaults, diving elbows, superkicks, and kip ups. They remember that last superkick, that one the match. Or that crazy moonsault, that ended up being one of the most compelling hope spots you've seen. They looked back and thought of it as the move itself that kept them watching, when actually it was the psychology that made the move even worth watching.

With the new generation of HBK's, or HBK wanna-be's flooding into wrestling schools, and WCW's introduction of Lucha Libre into American wrestling. A completely new wrestler emerged. A fast paced, small in stature, spot machine. Who barely grasped the basic concepts, filled in the holes with Lucha Libre, and branched out acrossed America. For awhile that worked. People loved seeing the jumps and flips, and dips, and crashes and burns of these new "wrestlers". And then slowly it died down. Leaving in it's slow death, a generation of barely trained wrestlers, an unsafe backyard following of these type of wrestlers, and a grand list of "never-will-be" wrestlers.

So now you go to your local BYW supershow, or your local indy event. Fork over the money, and on your way home, you discuss the show. The general feeling was only one or two matches were worth seeing, and odds are you would love to have that money back. Those two matches that stuck out, let me take a shot in the dark here. One of those matches was a crazy beyond belief spotfest where almost everyone died. And one of those matches, was a wrestling match. It had it's spots, but it was memorable because of the story told. But wouldn't you rather, go home thinking you got your moneys worth, discussing the majority of great matches?

Well that can't happen. Sorry. Psychology has died. You want to see some great psychology, well there's always old school VHS. Without psychology this industry is dying, less stars will be produced, the length those stars shine will be short, and it will be a sad state for wrestling.


COMMENTS? THOUGHTS? etc?


NOTE: Lucha Libre is a totally different style of wrestling. It's unique and entertaining. However, when american wrestlers, adapted that particular styles movements, they did so without understanding the style.