• 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.

    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.

    Psychology died shortly after Kayfabe died. People stopped living their characters and only putting on their game face in the ring. You can't tell a story if there arn't any characters. How can you get into a story, if all you know if there's some guy fighting some other guy, Oh and one's evil, and the other one is rapper. That's not a story. That's an ADD attack.

    Kayfabe died probably around the same time of the HBK era, when people realized that they could get over by simply either flipping like plane propeller, or getting more color than a box of crayola. People were introduced to the Lucha Libres, and saw all the psychadelic colors, and saw all the flipping and juming, and saw the crowds marking their heads off, and thought "I could do that no problem." The problem is, not once did they realize that Lucha Libre is a life style. These Lucha Libres are Wrestler. They live, eat, sleep, breath, walk, talk, exist wrestling.

    That's the problem right there. It was lot in translation. People think, "I do that." No, you don't. I don't care who you are, you don't. If you went to school for anything other that what the law requires, you didn't do it. People think "Yeah, I want to be a wrestler, but I should go to college too, to get a back up job." No, you've just failed right there. That's not living wrestling. Getting a back up job implys you may not succedd. And that kind of thinking opens your door to failure. And Faliure is very pushy. If you existed wrestling, you'd spend that money you spent on a backup plan, on wrestling school, and gym memberships. You'd further your career and you would not give up. I'm rambeling. I digress.

    People have lost the art of wrestling and turned it into a job and in doing so, lost psychology and Kayfabe. People may not think Kayfabe is important or that you can't have it in this day and age, but that's just not true, and that's why Kayfabe is dead. People lose hope and it's all downhill from there. Wrestling can't survive without Kayfabe. WWE is slowly getting back into that aspect where they're making their wrestlers wear clothes or act certain ways outside of the ring. Granted Indy people dont have that push. No body owns them to make them or pay them do that. But look at the best indy wrestlers: Raven, ... I honetly cant think of any others. There are a few with good gimmicks, a few who know how to wrestle, but little to none with both.

    But back to the point. Psychology is selling, telling a story. If someone kicks you in the leg either hard enough, or enough times to bring you to the floor, you shouldn't be running the ropes, and if you do, you should be clearly limping. If someone works on your shoulders, you shouldn't be throwing punches. If someone works on your eye, ...you shouldn't be seeing? You get the point.if some one hits you with a move, the should by no means no sell it, ever. In the least, you can delayed sell it. If someone hits your head in a turnbuckel, but you want control, get back and do the same, but then sell your head as if it took a second to get to you becasue of the adrenaline. Tell a story. How stupid would it look if Star Wars went like, The Rebels blow up the death star, then Darth Vader controls the universe. What happened? How'd he gain control? His main means of leverage was just destroyed! Not a Star Wars fan? The Matrix. Neo stops the bullets, jumps into Agent Smith, Smith Blows up and Neo is leftin the dust. Smith Shoots and kills Neo. WHAT THE HELL? HE JUST BLEW UP?

    Get the point?

    P.S. But Psychology is not just about making sense for small point, but that that doesn't mean ignore them. It's hard to be a face, the easiest way to make a face is put him up against a guy people hate. The Heel controls the match, How can you feel bad for the face if he's kicking everyone's a**. Or how can you hate the heel is he doesn't say anything. Low Blows are as normal as suplexes these days. That's not just going to get you over. Rip into the fans.