As some of you may know, I compete in Greco-Roman wrestling, and I’m also a fan of the pro stuff (even to the point where I write for an e-fed.
So on Sunday, I went to watch the Rumble with a friend of my sister’s. Seems said friend participates in a local indy fed that’s associated with a non-profit organization.
Seems I’ve got an invitation to their next booking meeting.
DUDE! I may well have a gig working for a local indy fed! I know the money’s shit at best, nonexistent at worst, but this is one of my dreams. God, I really, really hope this works out.
You can’t do any worse then the WWE’s writers. Good luck, and remember that the average fan hates ref bumps, DQ finishes, and the dreaded “Dusty Finish.”
So called because Dusty Rhoads used it all the time when he was head booker for the NWA/WCW.
The finish happens like this…Wrestler A (usually the champion) causes the referee to be “knocked out.” Wrestler B then gains the advantage over Wrestler A and goes for the pin. Because the original referee is knocked out, another referee runs in to count the pinfall and declares Wrestler B the new champion. Crowd goes wild. However, the original referee recovers and disqualifies Wrestler A for knocking him (the referee) out. Since Wrestler A was disqualified he cannot lose his title and thus leaves the ring as the champion.
The upside to this is that it gets a quick pop from the crowd because they think that Wrestler B (the good guy) has beaten Wrestler A (the bad guy). The downside is that if used too often (as Dusty did) the crowd becomes jaded and uninterested.
The “Dusty Finish” (so named because it was used often when Dusty Rhodes was the head booker in the NWA, 1980s) unfolds as some variant of the following (always hinging on the BUT WAIT):
Evil Bastard Heel Champion vs. Happy, Well-Loved Babyface Challenger.
The fans WANT to see HWLBFC win the World Championship, but the booker doesn’t want to cash it in and blow off the feud just yet… so, he books the match so that there’s a ref bump, or the ref is distracted. EBHC brings in brass knuckles or the weapon of choice, but HWLBFC intercepts them and uses them AGAINST EBHC. He pins EBHC, and now-groggy-but-awake ref counts the pin. HWLBFC IS THE NEW WORLD CHAMPION! The peasants rejoice. BUT WAIT! The Troubleshooting Referee™ runs down and points out that HWLBFC used the brass knuckles and must therefore be disqualified.
Sometimes there’s no ref bump. Sometimes other changes are made.
One theoretical example would be to have the face pop the heel in such a manner as to bust him open. Blood everywhere. Heel grabs the face in a gruesome submission, preferably one that’s over with the fans as lethal. Inexplicably, the bell rings, and everyone assumes the face submitted. Babies cry. BUT WAIT! The STATE ATHLETIC COMMISSION does not allow a wrestler to continue if he’s bleeding! Your winner by default, the babyface!
… But that’s not what the fans want to see, because he doesn’t win the title.
The most glaring recent example was WWE’s recent RAW Tag Title Switch-but-not-really between the Dudleys and the Commonwealth Connection, in which the faces won the titles but were screwed out of them the next night.
The point of the Dusty Finish is that the fans think they get what they want, but ultimately go home unhappy. As such, it’s universally reviled.