10 Best Wrestling No-Sells Ever
Which wrestlers turned no-selling into an artform?
The art of selling is one that garners a good bit of debate amongst wrestling fans. The fashion in which a wrestler chooses to display the physical or mental toll a match is taking on them often adds to the suspension of disbelief needed to cultivate an engaging match.
Shawn Michaels has often been lauded for his incredible work selling his back in matches during the second half of his career. Conversely, Seth Rollins has been accused of selling a weakened knee for minutes on end before suddenly deciding he's fine and subsequently busting out Frog Splashes.
It's a delicate balance to strike, knowing when to show vulnerability and when to overcome it. But some individuals made it a part of their repertoire, specifically aiming to conceal all evidence of pain. Doing so is a risk: if done poorly, it can break the dramatic tension a match might have. But done well, and the crowd will get fired up right alongside the babyface.
The following list features some of the best examples of when a wrestler can push through the pain and achieve the best reaction possible...
10. Tatanka's War Dance
It's strange to think there was a time when Tatanka of all people was being built up as a massive babyface star. Such were the dire straits of WWE's New Generation leading into the mid-'90s. Tatanka himself was a perfectly serviceable, if unspectacular grappler, but went on a mystifying undefeated streak that lasted over a year.
There was nothing terribly interesting about Tatanka in general. He had good fire, could sell a decent beating, but ultimately, his limited moveset hampered his progress. However, that did not stop the warrior from getting the crowd behind him in his moment of need.
As a villain would beat him down, Tatanka would begin slowly skipping around the ring in a signature war dance. Reminiscent of wrestlers like Wahoo McDaniel, Tatanka would channel his inner reserves, and the opponent would be helpless to stop the incoming onslaught of, well, mostly a bunch of Tomahawk Chops coming from various angles.
Tatanka was not going to set the world on fire, but his simple, effective style, while often done better by many, still managed to garner the appropriate response from the crowd. And really, what more could he have hoped for?