WWE Happy With "New Style" Approach

[EdwardKnoxII 0]

WWE Happy With "New Style" Approach

 

New match style seems to be catching on...

 

WWE management is very happy thus far with the new in-ring style they have been pushing to wrestlers. The Triple H/HBK match from the Dec. 29th RAW and the Brock Lesnar/Eddie Guerrero No Way Out match are being looked at as the best examples of the "new style" matches. WWE management feels that they are on to something good with the new style and believes that the crowd is enjoying the new style. The new style also favors many of WWE's top stars, such as Brock Lesnar, Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Kurt Angle, and the Undertaker.

 

Credit: PWTorch Newsletter

[Tawren 0]

If you eat nothing but apples, eventually you'll want an orange. They need diversity in matches, not every match being resthold-tastic.

[razazteca 0]

Restholds are needed for the commercial breaks.

[Mecha Mummy 0]

I like the new style myself, actually. It's going to need more than just one style, to be honest, though. Look at RoH. They've managed to put a balance between insane spot matches and entertaining mat wrestling. WWE doesn't need to go nuts with spots, but cruiserweight matches SHOULD be faster paced and more exciting to make it clearly different from the other style. Variety is the spice of life, after all.

[Guest TheZsaszHorsemen]

If you eat nothing but apples, eventually you'll want an orange. They need diversity in matches, not every match being resthold-tastic.

They need to teach the guys new holds that aren't restholds. If everyone uses different holds, then it works better. A Buffalo Sleeper Hold > Chin Lock.

[Guest Dynamite Kido]

The new style also favors many of WWE's top stars, such as Brock Lesnar, Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Kurt Angle, and the Undertaker.

 

But goes against every other worker that they have, so it should help push all the young wrestlers.....

 

[/sarcasm]

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

I'm flattered that Eddy & Benoit are considered top stars. I almost expected to see Orton up there

[Guest Dynamite Kido]

I'm flattered that Eddy & Benoit are considered top stars. I almost expected to see Orton up there

Really, isn't that the truth.......

[Guest Your Olympic Hero]

They manage to mention the Undertaker even though he hasn't wrestled a single match during this "new style" era.

[Downhome 0]

I'm fine with the "new style" I guess, even if it's taking some time to get used to.

 

I do have a problem with their not allowing the cruiserweight division to be the CRUISERWEIGHT division. Like everyone has said on here, for the most part it's just the heavy style with smaller guys. Not just the style of the matches either, they are booked like the heavy matches.

 

Look at the Rey/Chavo title match. It was a great match and Chavo looked like gold, he looked like he could actually beat Rey on his on, and was just about to do it. But no, they can't have him just win, they have his father get in Rey's way and Chavo wins with a damn school-boy (I believe that was it).

[tekcop 0]

They manage to mention the Undertaker even though he hasn't wrestled a single match during this "new style" era.

Well... Taker had been wrestling a psychology and holds-based style for quite a while before the WWE starting making everyone do it.

[Kardo 0]

There's a "New Style" now? What's the difference between this style and the old one? Less brawling maybe, but everything else seems the same.

[Downhome 0]

The two biggest things that I have noticed is that there is less brawling, and the matches start out and progress at a much slower pace. At times it's like the guys are wrestling in slow motion.

[Slayer 0]

People talk about the "Main Event Style" as being the transition from restholds as time filler to kicky/punchy as filler

 

The other day though, after watching the match cited as the initial ME Style match (Austin-Foley OTE '98, on the Mick Foley DVD *cheap plug*) I think the change to "ME style" was in fact the change from straightfoward wrestling-to-a-finish matches to multiple ref-bumps, run-ins and/or weapon shots to a finish (which, again, could be cited to that match)

[Guest Brian]

The thing that I've always criticized the former style on was the use of punches and kicks as filler in the match to connect points. When you switch to a hold-based style, you have the opportunity to play up the story of the match within those points of "filler". It basically is the same pacing and such, but more sensical. I think the matches build better when you get to the point where everything's coming in faster, and the story tends to build on itself better. And then brawling looks a lot better from not being overused.

 

There's two basic problems I have with this, and that's that people are not developing indivdual strands other than the usual characters, who are pretty much already versed.

 

I'm not too big on the Triple H v. Shawn Michaels matches myself, as they've all seemed rather blatantly the same with very little attempt to actually build off a number of different matches they've had. But that's just in general what I like to see, and as stand-alone matches, they're fine.

 

What is a resthold, per se? It seems to imply that most submissions are restholds. If it fits perfectly into the storytelling of the match, it's a building block of the storyline. If it's out of place, then I can see the point of calling it that. But traditionally, it's been a move intended to allow a break in the match, and if it's a part of the psychology intended, it isn't a break in the match.

 

They definately should work on establishing more holds.

[Guest Coffey]

I haven't noticed a difference. Same old WWE to me. There are still run-in's, ref bumps, rest holds, etc.

[muzz 0]

One advantage to this 'new style' is that when a big move or spot is broken out, no matter how rarely, the crowd will be into it.

[Just John 0]

My favorite part of the "new style" is more mat wrestling sequences to open matches. It used to be that only matches between Benoit and Angle opened with an exchange of holds while everyone else just punched and kicked away. Now more and more wrestlers are starting to "feel each other out" at the start of a match.

 

Unfortunately, it has led to an increase in rest holds. It also features more "face nearly escapes the hold, but heel puts it back on for 2 more minutes" spots. Now, I'm not just singling him out, but Randy Orton is especially guilty of aforementioned spot.

[Jobber of the Week 0]

I thought the new style was pretty great with Eddy/Brock.

 

My main complaint though is just HOW MUCH work is on the shoulers of the heel. I know that Vince has a serious thing for big fat heels, but what happened to a strong powerful challenger who the audience really thought could win? I don't mean Goldberg, where it's a foregone conclusion. But these days there's 90% "heels stacking the deck against the face" and 10% "face makes the comeback."

 

In fact, more often than not, if a face wins, we're supposed to treat it as some sort of miracle that he managed to beat a guy who was either so huge, or survived the odds and ends that had been booked for this angle.

 

It's really hard to go nuts and want your favorite to go in and kick the other guy's ass when so many big heels (HHH especially) are marketed as being so overwhelmingly powerful and unstoppable with every card in their favor. This match style assists that. If your face does win, you just wind up being mildly amused instead of ecstatic.

 

 

Let's hope that Dead Man Taker at least provides a little more randomness to the scene.

[AndrewTS 0]

Restholds are needed for the commercial breaks.

Why does Raw have to be live anymore?

 

Why the hell do commercial breaks have to take place DURING MATCHES?

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

The difference between the new style and the old style is like the difference between Sprite and 7-up. I can't tell the difference.

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

Well...I've noticed the difference.

 

I've also noticed that only a handful of the wrestlers can manage the new style.

 

When I have to watch a Randy Orton match that goes 6 minutes...and half of it is spent in an armbar...I'm not a fan.

[Jobber of the Week 0]

That's just the OVW Curse, bps.

[JHawk 0]

The sad thing is the current WWE style is a very basic wrestling style that features holds that most people with decent training should be able to do by the time they first wrestle in an armory or high school gym.

 

Extended armbars don't bother me, but some of these guys don't even seem to know how to sell one properly.

[Slayer 0]

The sad thing is the current WWE style is a very basic wrestling style that features holds that most people with decent training should be able to do by the time they first wrestle in an armory or high school gym.

Which is funny because that's where most of the wrestlers have been winding up anyway

[Guest Your Olympic Hero]

Notice they rarely use the collar and elbow tieup anymore. They tease it, then one of the wrestlers kicks or punches the other instead.

[Insane Bump Machine 0]

I'm all for a mat-based style. But the problem is still that every WWE match has the same structure, safe for some of the main event matches. And why does EVERY non-main event heel have to use the chinlock to put heat on the babyface? Especially when he's not even targeting the neck/back for the rest of the match? A little variety would go a long way in improving my enjoyment of their product.

[Mystery Eskimo 0]

I think the WWE management is very wary of letting anyone try anything new for fear it might upset the established workers, who are already on top so dont feel the need to add to their movesets.

 

Instead of just sending guys like Matt Morgan down to OVW to work the same style of match over and over, give him a pile of Japanese wrestling tapes, and make him watch them until he's got 10 new holds he can use.

[Guest Dynamite Kido]

I think a MAJOR point that hasn't been brought up here is match time itself. The "new WWE style" can work and work well in matches, but only if the matches are given the correct amount of time (15-20 minutes at least). Otherwise the matches come off as boring and poorly worked.

[AndrewTS 0]

The difference between the new style and the old style is like the difference between Sprite and 7-up. I can't tell the difference.

Me neither, but I couldn't tell the difference between "new Coke" and Coke Classic.