8 Wrestlers Who Put Insane Details Into Things You Didn't Notice
Kliq & collect (a massive paycheque).
Quite tedious people like to say the devil's in the details, and that's even true in professional wrestling, an artistic endeavour which more often than not says sayonara to subtlety.
Yes, the industry's larger than life characters have a habit of wearing every aspect of their personas very obviously on their bulging sleeves, and rare examples of a 'subtle' wrestling storyline, in real world terms, pass with the typical understatement of a Christmas panto. Yet that's only if you consider what's happening immediately before your eyes; more often than not, there's a jet-stream of hidden brilliance bubbling beneath the surface, inappreciably adding to the overall illusion.
The most paradoxically obvious example of the not-readily-apparent are the moments between moves - those metaphorical spaces breaking up a wrestler's standard vocabulary. William Regal - and this is perhaps a clue to NXT's continued excellence - was a big proponent of using those gaps to tie together a match's narrative, rather than using them as intermissions. The best in the game do, and always did.
But in an era of heightened excellence, even this has become a basic expectation. To be the best of the best then? You have to take things to another level. Be Shawn Michaels or Bret Hart, in other words.
8. Chris Jericho Rejects Merch
You can't notice something which doesn't exist, which perhaps makes this little detail courtesy of pro-wrestling classicist Chris Jericho amongst the most stupendously smart.
Y2J has been a veritable production line for immediately repeatable catchphrases down the years, from his breakthrough 'Jericaholics' quip way back in WCW, right up to his effortless quotable French fancies as AEW's 'Le Champion' in 2019. Yet, unlike several of his main event contemporaries, the Canadian - 'Monday Night Jericho' notwithstanding - has rarely troubled the merchandise charts. In fact, few of his best lines have made cotton in the same way as, say, The Rock's.
Turns out, it's quite by design. Speaking with Fansided back in 2016, the 'Ayatollah of Rock 'n' Rollah' revealed that he specifically requests his slogans not be pasted on shirts when playing heel. "I don’t want someone in the crowd wearing a shirt with that phrase and thinking it’s funny when it’s supposed to be an insult," he said. "I still have enough old school in me that I don’t want people wearing my slogans or phrases that are supposed to be booing me."
Guess he's not old school enough to know the true purpose of wrestling isn't art, but filling your bank balance...