10 Wrestling Rules You Had No Idea Existed
From tag laws, to ring gear no-no's, these little known wrestling rules must be followed!
Despite it often getting lost in the shuffle in favour of sweet, glorious drama and numerous nutty hijinks when it pertains to the action going down within the squared-circle, this barmy form of entertainment we love so still has to follow a rather dense set of rules... for the most part.
Now, even the most casual of fan will be able to tell you about the fact that a wrestler can't hold onto a submission for longer than five seconds once an opponent clutches the ropes. Or that the majority of WWE wrestlers are expected to dress rather smartly when away from the ring. Yet, for every rudimentary rule, there's always another, more complex or straight-up strange, law which even the most passionate wrestling nerd hasn't even heard of.
So, sit back as your writer peels back the curtain once again to reveal precisely why certain items of clothing are forbidden to be worn in certain areas on a particular day of the week, specific acts aren't allowed to be decided on the fly, and seemingly basic in-ring actions require more thought than you initially expected.
10. Weapons Must Be Approved
One of the many staples of professional wrestling, seemingly for as long as most fans will remember, comes in the form of either a heelish piece of crap swinging a destructive chair at a rival's person, or a babyface fighting off a swarm of a-holes with a baseball bat.
In short, weapons and pro wrestling go hand-in-hand like Vince McMahon and a fresh slab of meat.
However, despite the sheer frequency of foreign items being introduced to various contests, be they a basic singles or full-on Extreme Rules showdown, it may come as a little surprise to hear that absolutely every one of these weapons must first be approved before use.
For the more elaborate set-pieces involving everything from fire to barbed wire, it's fairly understandable to hear that permission from higher-ups must be requested before testing out and later executing the spot. But this ruling also extends to the tried-and-tested likes of chair and kendo stick strikes too, highlighting that just about everything you see on a wrestling product, particularly WWE, has been signed off on before a piece of steel has even been swung.