Ring Psychology

[Yoshimitsu]

I've heard for years about "ring psychology", but have never really grasped what it means. Some sight Jake Roberts as being a master of this. Could someone explain to me what it is, and what it involves?

[kwilson83]

I'll take a crack at it, even though I don't think there is one set definition and opinions might vary.

The main thing I think of when it comes to good "ring pyschology" is not having meaningless spots, but the moves in the match lead to a logical conclusion. Since I am a big Mutoh fan, I always use him as an example as someone with great ring pyschology. If you watch his matches, his general goal is to weaken the leg for either the figure four, or make their legs weak so they get up slow, allowing him to hit the Shining Wizard. I have probably seen him do 10 dropkicks to the knee, dragon screw leg whips, etc. Sometimes he gets frustrated, and he starts whipping off his crazier moves like the moonsault. It is important that the opponent sell it properly though, which is another part of the pyschology of it. In the ideal world, the match should be smooth and logical to the point where everything the wrestlers do makes sense.

I always thought of Jake Roberts being more of a "ring general" so to speak, in that he knows exactly how to pace a match to keep the crowd into it. Knowing when to transition the match from the opening mat work to the brawling, to the heel dominating, the face comeback, and then the ending is important, and it was something Jake was good at. I don't think I have ever seen a match of his that I would call "boring," as he controls the pace and understands what needs to be done to get the "story" of the match across.

That is the basic jist of it, if anyone has something to add or clarify something I said better, then feel free.

[Uraken]

What Kevin said was pretty clear I think. Good one.

I might add, ring psychology is not about performing 700 degree top rope splashes followed by 10 powerbombs and just pulling off super moves non stop. You may pull off the weirdest or most spectacular move , but as a purist, you won't get my attention if you have no ring psychology.

Watch the 90's All Japan main events and you will see what in ring psychology is. The best in my opinion. True wrestling.

[darktowerchilde]

Ring Psychology varies by wrestling style but essentially it's the logic of the match. There is general ring psychology that you see in most matches: heels dominate action using unfair means, faces try to fight back, to rally several times in a match, until the heel makes a mistake and the face can capitalize for the victory. This creates an overall stucture: this can change if the wrestlers are all heels or faces, have individual rivalries, or even if they have different wrestling styles.

Wrestlers tend to have a fixed set of moves and spots they use in most matches, and the moves have a power scale: for example, Jushin Thunder Liger uses moves like the shotai and the rolling koppu kick to weaken his opponent, but uses the Fisherman's Buster as his finisher. Sometimes that won't cut it, so he uses the Super Fisherman's buster to take out particularly difficult foes. If that won't work, he might even use the Shooting Star Press, a move that he rarely uses anymore do to the risk and the condition of his body, but which wins a match 99/9% percent of the time. If even that doesn't work, well, he might have to use something drastic that he's never used before...

The targeting of a body part was cited before, but if I may elaborate: focusing on a body part has (at least) four purposes:
1. Overall weardown of opponent- if you target one body part, say an arm or a back, it makes it much more difficult for the opponent to mount any sort of offense on you. The finish may not have anything to do with the body part, but attacking it during the bulk of the match allows for the dominating wrestler to control the action, ex. Arn Anderson using armbars and the like to wear down opponent but finishing the match with a spinebuster or ddt.

2. Larger overall strategy linked to finish: classic working other a body part throughout the match in order to making a (especially) a submission move more effective- Flair focuses on the leg in order to make the Figure-Four that much more effective

3. Removal of a key move in opponent's arsenal: often cited with junios, and other high fliers: if you target a body part, such as a leg, it makes it difficult for that wrestler to perform their moves. Often in puroresu matches, you'll see a wrestler work over their opponent's arm throughout the match and that opponent uses a clothesline out of desperation. Because the arm was weakened, the clothesline has less impadct and the wrestler deliverinig the clothesline (if he/she's good) will sell the damage and not be able to capitalize. ex. if you attack Stan Hansen's Western Lariat arm during the match, it's harder for him to use it.

4. If a wrestler has experienced an injury in the past, he or she can sell the pain as being greater than it actually is, linking that match to past ones. This works well for a face vs. heel match, with the face getting alot of sympathy from the fan's who understand what has happened to his/her body (more prevalent in Japan than the U.S.) while the heel gets booed for being unfair/taking the easy route. ex. Attacking Akira Hokuto's numerous injuries.

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