7 Wrestling Rules That WWE Forgets Exist

There's a problem in wrestling right now and it's killing crowd heat, matches, and feuds. It's an epidemic that has swept over professional wrestling for the last 15 years and it could very well end up being a nail in the coffin of the sport. There are no more rules for the heels to break.

Yes, we're well aware that wrestling is predetermined, but that doesn't mean logic should go out the window. Rules are in place for one reason and one reason alone: so that heels can cheat and get people to boo them.

Think about the last time you watched a UFC fight or any other legitimate fighting sport. What's the first thing they do at the top of the show? They present their rules on the screen for any new fans and explain why they are in place. That way, if a rules violation occurs, everyone knows when it happens.

For decades, wrestling has followed a fairly standard set of rules, which passed through each territory with minor tweaks here and there. However, since the rise of ECW and the explosion of the Attitude Era, rules in wrestling have become completely useless except for when storylines dictate that they must exist.

For a long time, especially in NWA territories, the rule book was actually printed inside the programs handed out to fans in order to remind them of the code. Obviously, this was just a way to get crowds to boo when the heels broke all of these rules, but the effect was tremendous.

If you know anything about wrestling, you'll know that wrestling needs to have consistent rules that referees enforce and fans are aware exist. Without rules, heels have nothing to violate and referees look completely useless. So, allow us to present a list of rules that WWE has either phased out entirely or has completely ignored for the last 20 years.

(Note: These rules are from the NWA territory and are considered the most official "old school" rules of wrestling. These were allegedly complied by Eddie Graham around 1983 and come use courtesy of Dory Funk Jr.'s website.)