Ricky Morton would like to see talents sell more in today’s pro wrestling, as he noted in a recent appearance on the “Talk Is Jericho” podcast.
Morton also discussed how he would change the current wrestling landscape for the better.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On selling being a lost art: “Don’t get me wrong: I don’t have the answers to everything. I sure don’t. But I sit back and I watch, and I see things [where I can say], ‘Maybe if you did it this way right here and make the people outside understand… I watched a match the other night, I forget where I was at, but the bell rang and the guy went off the rope, dropkicked the guy outside, and did a triple [twisting dive] on him. The people popped and it was good. But the people popped more the rest of the match. Why couldn’t we tell a story for that [and save it] until the end? I watch these guys give people finishes; 17 million finishes and everyone kicks out [at the count of] one. And then the guy would small package him out of the corner or something, and I’m telling this guy, ‘You’re the heel, but you made him the strongest guy in the world I’ve ever seen.”
On how not selling can devalue a character: “I wrestled Killer Karl Krupp. What an a**hole he was, too! Just a belligerent a**hole; he didn’t like to work small guys. So he’s gotta put me over. So I go to the ring with him and he will not do nothing, because we don’t talk. You call it in the ring. I called every finish in the world. I kicked out at one. Then he gives me a turnbuckle, I move, and I schoolboy him [for the win]. And I walk to the back door, and Jerry Jarrett, he says, ‘Killer Karl Krupp didn’t wanna sell for you, did he?’ […] He says, ‘I saw Killer Karl Krupp give you every finish in the world, and [you] kicked out on one. We gotta put the world belt on you! You’re the toughest son of a b***h I’ve ever seen in my life! And smart!’ You see what I’m saying?”
In other news, Impact Wrestling’s Gail Kim and Gisele Shaw will team up to compete on the upcoming season of The Amazing Race Canada. CTV lists Shaw and Kim as a team for the new season, which premieres on Tuesday.
The profile for Kim and Shaw reads:
“Two highly competitive former and current pro-wrestlers, Gail and Gisele say they feel more like sisters than friends. They’ll do anything to protect one another and are racing to deepen their friendship outside of the world of wrestling, and also to inspire young girls to never let anything, or anyone, stand in their way.
Born to traditional Asian parents who wanted her to become a doctor, a lawyer, or to marry one, Gail soon discovered that life had other plans for her. She fell in love with women’s wrestling and noticed the lack of Asian representation, so used her university tuition money to go to wrestling school instead. She promised herself she’d tell her parents once she “made it” – and two years later, she did. Now one of the most iconic names in wrestling, Gail is among the best in the world, with a Hall of Fame career to prove it.
Gisele was born in the Philippines before moving to Yellowknife with her family. For Gisele, Gail is an icon, a hero, and now a mentor. Gisele came out as a transgender woman at Toronto Pride 2022, and is the first trans woman pro-wrestler signed by IMPACT and the second to be signed by a major North American pro-wrestling promotion. There is nothing more important to Gisele than inspiring, empowering, and representing the LGBTQ2S+ community, and helping to educate not only this generation, but also the previous and next.
Gail and Gisele want to crush the stereotype of “dumb wrestlers” in a “fake” world and show Canada that they are fierce female athletes. Proudly representing their Asian backgrounds, they are racing to inspire young girls everywhere to go after their dreams – and to do it together – and for the LGBTQ2S+ community.”
