Some believe wrestlers are good or bad based on how many moves they perform and believe adding more moves to a one’s repertoire will make them better as well, but both statements are false. A wrestler does not need many moves to have a compelling match, nor to be a great wrestler. There are more important things they should be able to do.
The most important attribute a wrestler needs is ring psychology, which essentially means realism. Back in the day, it was something a wrestler needed to have to keep kayfabe alive, but even if kayfabe is dead, it is still very important today. Psychology helps fans to suspend their disbelief, and also enjoy the story each match tells. Most people know wrestling is predetermined these days, but fans are more likely to emotionally invest into something that feels real versus something contrived.
A wrestler ought to stay true to their character. It would make no sense if a wrestler acted like coward outside the ring but dominated in it. Ric Flair was one to back out of a fight, and his cowardice continued in the ring, where he would take every shortcut to win a match. Conversely, you have The Undertaker’s Deadman gimmick, whose character was an immortal zombie, thus he would wrestle methodically and no-sell moves, all the while keeping a blank expression on his face. But both stayed true to their characters in polar opposite ways.
Wrestlers should adapt to whom they wrestle. Bret Hart was great at this. When he wrestled against Kevin Nash, a giant monster, he was on his toes trying to pick his opportunities to attack, yet when he faced Curt Henning, an in-ring technician, he would try to out-wrestle him. He wrestled differently based on his opponents’ strengths and weaknesses, which added realism to Hart’s matches. Just like one would in a real fight, he adapted his style to give him the best chance of winning.
Selling means acting injured or hurt, and it might be the most important part of psychology. It happens anytime a wrestler is pretending something is happening to them. Facial expressions, body language, and mannerisms are critical keys to being a great seller. HBK, in my opinion, was impeccable at it. He would act as if he was nursing a bad back by constantly grabbing at it, and his sentiments made him an ever-so-loving, sympathetic babyface. Fans could feel the make believe pain he was going through, all because of his amazing facial expressions and body language.
Selling consistently and adjusting appropriately are two pivotal keys to selling a body part. Wrestler B, for instance, spears people with his left shoulder, but wrestler A is really working it over. Wrestler B should therefore either properly adjusted to the injury, via spearing him with his right shoulder instead, or sell the effects of spearing him with his wounded shoulder. Christian used to do both well, as he consistently sells his injury and found different ways to win a match.
The injured body part does not always have to play into the deeper courses of a match, though a worked over body part should not be ignored after the wrestler makes a comeback. They should adapt for a while, and then do certain things to “shake it off”, or something to that nature.
Timing, execution and pacing a match are also important. A wrestler should be on the same page as his in-ring partner, as they need to do an effective job of communicating with each other. It is like dancing. If someone is off rhythm, it is will look bad. It does not matter how good the other person is. Also, it is crucial for reversals/counters and sequences to be timed and executed well, or the moves will sloppy and ineffective. Bad execution and timing can lead to more serious tragedies than just bad matches; they can lead to career ending injuries.
The pace is all about the speed of the match. Good wrestlers know the time of when to slow or speed up a match. It is because the good ones basing their match off the crowd’s responses. Adjustments can be made if the wrestlers are properly listening to the crowd. If a heel, for example, uses a sleeper hold that is not creating any heat, thus the best thing would be to get out of that spot. But, of course, if the move is creating lots of heat, then they should leave it in longer to infuriate the crowd (but, in that case, in a good way). Daniel Bryan was a great example of all the above; he worked a rapidly paced style; paced his matches based upon the crowd’s reactions, yet neither his timing nor execution are marred because of it. His timing was on point while his execution was flawless.
Storytelling and structuring are the two of the most important things a wrestler must do. Both can make or break a match. Without a story, the fans will have a hard time emotionally investing into a match, and a story must do these important things: create drama, suspense, make the moves being performed matter, take the crowd on a journey, and keep them intrigued to see how everything unfolds. Structuring is about putting a match together. The more traditional (and arguably more effective) way is building it like a pyramid. Work from the base, build it up by putting the correct layers conjointly in place, until it reaches its crescendo. Mick Foley was great at these things. He could tell a different yet compelling story every time he wrestled. He could also preplan big spots ahead of time and understood the best time to do them.
Without these things mentioned above, a wrestler who performs a bunch moves will be terrible. Matches that have lots of moves but nothing else are glorified spot-fests. I am all for spot-fest once in a while, as they serve their purpose in wrestling, but they are a cheap form of pro-wrestling. They consist of one big spot after the other, and their only real purpose is to get a cheap pop from the crowd, as the moves never string together, and the crowd hardly ever becomes emotionally invested into the match. Besides, spot fests can have a long-term detrimental effect of a promotion if they’re overdone. One time, TNA trained their audience to pop just for high spots, and as a result, the fans would sit there quietly, waiting for a big spot to cheer about.
The amount of moves can help a wrestler or match to a certain extent, although moves do not make or break a wrestler or match. There have been countless of wrestlers who used a limited move set that are considered masters at honing their craft. There is a reason NWA early 80s stuff holds up to this day while stuff in the late 90s like ECW’s hardcore matches do not. The point is this: a wrestler can have compelling matches, even with a basic move set, if they do most of the stuff mentioned above correctly.
