quite old news actually
SLAM! Wrestling Editorial: Piledriver ban handicaps
everyone
By JOHN POWELL -- SLAM! Wrestling
In 1997, Owen Hart put up the WWF's Intercontinental Title against
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin at the SummerSlam pay-per-view. The match
itself was going fine until Owen performed a piledriver on Austin.
Austin's head wasn't tucked in all the way and Owen unintentionally
spiked him down hard. Suffering from what is known as a "stinger",
Austin lost feeling in his arms and legs. It was almost as if he
were paralyzed. Austin would later say it was the scariest moment
of his entire life. Not knowing what to do or how seriously hurt
Austin was, Owen played to the crowd to buy time so the official
could assess the situation. Barely moving, Austin weakly rolled up
Owen to win the title. Unable to stand on his own, Stone Cold had
to be helped to the back.
The piledriver, like any move in professional wrestling, can be
very hazardous if the right precautions aren't taken. Still no
matter how much care is exercised, accidents can, will, and do
happen. NASCAR racers crash. Hockey and football players leave the
game on stretchers sometimes. Horses trample rodeo cowboys. Even
baseball players get hit with wild pitches on occasion. It's
horrible but that's the price paid for being in professional
sports. For fans and players alike, the ever present danger is part
of the adrenaline rush. It's part of the fun and there's nothing
wrong with that as long as the players respect the limitations
placed upon them.
To lessen the chance of a very serious injury sports have adopted
certain measures over the years. Protective equipment has been
brought in. New rules are put in place and penalties for breaking
them. These standards work well providing the "powers that be" are
willing to enforce them. Ain't that right, National Hockey League
or should I say the National Roller Ball League?
Following in these footsteps, the WWF decided not long ago, to ban
the piledriver manoeuver unless special permission is given. The
WWF says too many people were being hurt. This may seem odd coming
from a Federation that sanctioned Mick Foley leaping off the top of
a steel cage and falling through a table live on pay-per-view. Like
the other federations, the WWF has no qualm about allowing their
talent to take risks and put their bodies on the line. Again, it's
what the sports entertainment business is all about. It's why the
fans respect and admire the majority of professional
wrestlers.
But why the piledriver and why now? I believe the answer is found
in the WWF talent pool itself. It's the reason why Chris Jericho
was unfairly criticized when he first entered the Federation, why
Tazz and Saturn aren't tossing people around like rubber dolls like
they did elsewhere and why it has taken so long for any of the
Radicals to be pushed hard. The predominately North
American-trained wrestlers can't deal with their sophisticated
style derived from old school training and tours of Japan and
Mexico. We've seen each and every one of these talented men "dumb
down" their usually full-tilt, uncompromising, intricate approach
to "fit in" or the bookers have paired them off with suitable
opponents who have similar backgrounds like X-Pac, Val Venis and
Essa Rios.
It's the same explanation for why the WWF went outside the
promotion to fill their so-called Light Heavyweight division. Much
of the existing talent pool can't wrestle those kind of bouts. They
are great characters and a lot of fun to watch, however, some of
them don't know a hurracanrana from a plancha if they were hit with
one.
Besides, if you have to take such drastic action as banning such a
basic move like a piledriver, what does that say about your
confidence in the people that make up your locker room? Not much, I
would say. Either you don't trust them to deliver the move properly
or perhaps they are wrestling with too much enthusiasm, which could
be another explanation for the ban.
Mick Foley (God love the S.O.B.) along with ECW, started a
frightening trend. The more peril you put yourself in as a
performer, the more "over" you will be. It is bad advice that the
likes of the Hardy Boyz and New Jack have taken too far. Even Mick
Foley knew when and where to pick his spots. That what made him
smart. Go out and wrestle that way 24-7 and you are just asking to
really hurt yourself or worse, someone else you are working with.
It used to be that part of being a skilled wrestler was that you
could proudly say that you rarely hurt an opponent. It was a
distinction to wear with honour. Nowadays, some are so desperate to
"get themselves over" that they are taking many unnecessary chances
with their lives and the lives of others. Never before have I seen
or heard about so many wrestlers getting hurt in the industry.
Either wrestlers aren't being trained as well as they were 20 years
ago and being pushed into the "big leagues" too soon or they are
just trying to hard. It may be a bit of both.
Compared to the other Big Two, the WWF doesn't have a history for
putting on wildly technical matches anyhow. Attracting more
"mainstream" or "fair weather" wrestling fans than either of the
other promotions, it shouldn't be a total shock to longtime
observers that the WWF banned the piledriver or buries technical
wrestlers. Watch the audience at a live show or WWF pay-per-view
carefully and you'll see The Worm and Stink Face get more cheers
than a wonderful series of difficult holds and reversals by the
likes of Benoit and Guerrero. In the past there have been the
obligatory exceptions to the WWF rule like Ricky Steamboat, Bret
and Owen Hart, Shawn Michaels and the Dynamite Kid but they are the
minority. The McMahons have traditionally preferred pushing
imposing behemoths like Yokozuna, Hulk Hogan, Lex Luger, Andre The
Giant, The Undertaker, Big John Studd and The Ultimate Warrior over
smaller and better wrestlers.
With the inclusion of technically-sound wrestlers like Jericho
being thrown into the mix, the WWF is at a loss at what to do.
Instead of insisting their talent improve themselves and maybe
being more cautious by toning it down a couple of notches, they
handicap everyone. That's not the answer. What's going to happen
when a powerbomb or a brain buster injures someone? Are they going
to ban them too until we are left with just kicks, punches and
headlocks? If so, you won't need wrestlers any more. The WWF can
hire a bunch of Hollywood stuntmen and give them gimmicks. The
solution isn't prohibiting manoeuvers. That's just plain silly.
It's making wiser talent choices and establishing an environment
where mutual respect supersedes personal goals.
