The over-the-top-rope DQ in the NWA/WCW

[JN News 0]

What was the purpose of the over the top rope DQ in the NWA/WCW back in the day? I just got done watching the Road Warriors vs. The Horsemen for the NWA World Tag Team Titles at NWA Starrcade '87 where the "Dusty finish" took place where the RW got DQ'ed for throwing Arn Anderson over the top rope.

 

 

 

 

Why did they even come up with that pussy rule.

[Guest The Real Nosferatu]

It's not really Dusty Finish since it was a NWA Rule for a long time. The only exception were Battle Royales and NO DQ matches.

 

I don't know why it was a rule though. Probably no one wanted to bump over the top to the floor. LOL

[Guest Stunt Granny]

Not as bad as the no jumping off the top rope rule.

 

Fucking Watts.

[Guest ToddRoyal]

The idea was to keep matches in the ring and "grounded" but it ended up being used more as a bad plot device to end matches on DQ's after a while than an actual rule to improve matches.

[Guest The Real Nosferatu]

Not as bad as the no jumping off the top rope rule.

 

Fucking Watts.

Were there any other dumbass Rules Bill Watts made during his booker run in 1992?

 

 

 

 

BESIDES pushing his son Erik down out throats.

[Guest drdrainoscott]

Not as bad as the no jumping off the top rope rule.

 

Fucking Watts.

Were there any other dumbass Rules Bill Watts made during his booker run in 1992?

 

 

 

 

BESIDES pushing his son Erik down out throats.

I seem to remember a rule where you couldn't wear anything to the ring other than normal ring gear. This was due to Mr. Hughes blinding JYD after his glasses broke during a headbutt.

 

Ole Anderson was appointed head refferee by Watts, and there was a rule where you couldn't touch the official.

 

I know there were more, as there was a whole article in WCW Magazine about it back in the day.

 

And yes, I wonder how I remember this also.

[JHawk 0]

The idea behind the over-the-top-rope rule was to sell that going over the top rope to the floor could seriously injure your opponent. Much like the Memphis promotion banning the piledriver (or Mexico banning the piledriver, for that matter).

[Guest Goodear]

Right that wasn't a Bill Watts thing, that rule was around forever. Basically it was supposed to be a cheap heel thing for like tag matches and stuff where the referee would have his back turned and one of the heels would heave a face over the top. It's just like putting your feet on the ropes and such, its not a big heat thing but it was there.

[King Cucaracha 0]

The idea was to keep matches in the ring and "grounded" but it ended up being used more as a bad plot device to end matches on DQ's after a while than an actual rule to improve matches.

Case in point- Flair/Fujinami in Japan, before Superbrawl 91.

 

The sad thing is, the announcers would only bring it up if it would lead to a DQ or if a heel used it behind the ref's back.

[kirk angel 0]

Not as bad as the no jumping off the top rope rule.

 

Fucking Watts.

Were there any other dumbass Rules Bill Watts made during his booker run in 1992?

 

 

 

 

BESIDES pushing his son Erik down out throats.

i remember the reasoning behind banning moves from the top rope was to try and avoid wrestlers from being injured but then he also made a rule that all the protective mats around the outside of the ring had to be removed to show how tough wcw wrestling was...kinda contradicting if you ask me

[tekcop 0]

Did the AWA have the same rules? I was watching a Road Warriors/Curt and Larry Hennig match where one of the RW's gets thrown over the top rope and Curt does a dropkick off the top turnbuckle and the ref calls DQ on the Hennig's.

[JHawk 0]

The AWA also had a rule that you couldn't ram someone head first into the ringpost. Come to think of it, Watts used that one too in 1992 (Simmons vs. Williams at Starrcade).

[kirk angel 0]

i think the piledriver was illegal for a while in the awa too

[Ace309 0]

My all-time favorite use of this rule was at... one of the Superbrawls, I believe. I think it was Ron Simmons and Vader for the WCW Title, two out of three falls. They were brawling against the ropes, ready to go over, and Harley Race (Vader's manager) held Simmons in the ring so it looked like he'd thrown Vader over the top. Bam, DQ.

 

I'm almost sure I have the details wrong, but the spot was really clever.

[Tony149 0]

My all-time favorite use of this rule was at... one of the Superbrawls, I believe. I think it was Ron Simmons and Vader for the WCW Title, two out of three falls. They were brawling against the ropes, ready to go over, and Harley Race (Vader's manager) held Simmons in the ring so it looked like he'd thrown Vader over the top. Bam, DQ.

 

I'm almost sure I have the details wrong, but the spot was really clever.

It was Simmons/Luger at Halloween Havoc '91.

 

During Watts' run the ramp was dropped for non-PPVs (Clash of the Champions), was that his doing? I'm a mark for the ramp; I remember being disappointed seeing the June & December (Sept. was done at Center Stage so its understandable why it wasn't used there) Clashes without the ramp.

[Guest Loss]

Like all rules in wrestling, the over the top DQ was invented so the wrestlers can get heat and draw money when they're broken.

 

It wouldn't work now, just because there are no wrestling-based angles anymore, as everything surrounds some outside soap opera issue.

[Damaramu 0]

Well......they even held onto that rule way into 1996 in the WWF.

Bulldog threw HBK over the top rope in a title match and Vince starts yelling "That was intentional ref! DQ him!"

[Slayer 0]

Ole Anderson was appointed head refferee by Watts, and there was a rule where you couldn't touch the official.

 

Well, weren't you not supposed to touch the official under any circumstance anyway?

 

At least in the pre-nWo/Austin days before refs started getting their ass kicked as much as wrestlers themselves

[JHawk 0]

Well......they even held onto that rule way into 1996 in the WWF.

Bulldog threw HBK over the top rope in a title match and Vince starts yelling "That was intentional ref! DQ him!"

I remember that, but I don't remember the WWF ever actually having that rule. The closest thing I ever saw to the WWF enforcing that was during a Brain Busters match on Prime Time Wrestling, where Arn Anderson whipped his opponent into the ropes and Tully Blanchard pulled down the top rope from the apron just as the referee turned around to cause the DQ.

 

WCW held onto the rule until 1998 before someone finally realized they never enforced it, so they announced kinda casually on Thunder that they dropped it. It was so casual that I didn't hear them say that and wondered why there was no over-the-top-rope DQ called during that same match.

[Fökai 0]

I remember in an old WCW magazine, that they discussed Watts' institution of ten kayfabe rules (not the shoot ones Foley talked about in his book) in 1991, that curbed top-rope moves and other stuff.

 

These are the few that I can recall:

--automatic disqualification, if you came off the top rope in any fashion.

--automatic disqualification, if you threw your opponent over the top rope.

--the removal of the protective mats outside the ring (don't know if this was kayfabe, but Pillman and Zenk[?] both sustained injuries when they did a "top-rope to the outside" spot, forgetting about this rule)

[Ace309 0]

The top-rope rule was definitely around before Watts, though. I vaguely remember it being used as an elimination in an elimination tag match between the Young Pistols and the Freebirds that couldn't possibly have been after his reign started.

 

Thing is, it was used to eliminate Steve Armstrong, who was one of the popular babyfaces. Nothing like DQing a face to add heat to a syndicated match, eh?

[Guest Corey291]

It's not really Dusty Finish since it was a NWA Rule for a long time. The only exception were Battle Royales and NO DQ matches.

 

I don't know why it was a rule though. Probably no one wanted to bump over the top to the floor. LOL

I think you mis-understood him there.

 

The match he was referring to was a Dusty finish. The Road Warriors appeared to have pinned Tully & Arn for the tag team titles, only to have the decision reversed due to a disqualification. The Dusty finish is when someone appears to win a title, only to have the title win disallowed.

 

I don't think he meant that the top rope DQ was a Dusty finish. But it did lead to the Dusty finish though.

 

-Corey

[Guest Maccam16]

I think you mis-understood him there.

 

The match he was referring to was a Dusty finish. The Road Warriors appeared to have pinned Tully & Arn for the tag team titles, only to have the decision reversed due to a disqualification. The Dusty finish is when someone appears to win a title, only to have the title win disallowed.

 

I don't think he meant that the top rope DQ was a Dusty finish. But it did lead to the Dusty finish though.

 

Corey's right, as far as I remember that was exactly how the match finished. But I can see how the confusion arose...