10 Obscure Wrestling Secrets That Took Years To Discover

4. Looking At The Referee

Triple H Blade
WWE.com

The action is at its most relentless during the closing stretch of a match.

Reversals are exchanged with the pace of a tornado’s rotation. To extract the maximum reaction from the audience, near-falls are exchanged as the guessing game—who is the better man, who has the most fighting spirit left within them?—yields no answers, but rather endless frissons of excitement.

Amid the chaos, it’s probably understandable that the most senior referees botch on occasion. To mitigate this sort of error, a wrestler makes eye contact with them to ensure that this isn’t the finish. Maybe a certain fear factor was the impetus for this particular tell, which certainly worked a treat at WrestleMania 34.

Did Lesnar fire off six F5s, or just five?

Whatever the reason, since an audible verbal cue gives the game away John Cena, the wrestler closes their eyes to convey to the referee that, yes, this is the finish. Count to three.

Finn Bálor might as well not even open his eyes, at this rate. At least then, he can dream of a time WWE took him seriously.

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!