10 Things In Wrestling That Can’t Be Taught
7. Improvisation
On an episode of RAW in late 2016, Enzo Amore was tasked to perform a simple bump. Sent tumbling towards the ropes by Cesaro, he mistimed his leap and sort of just wandered into them. He had a decision to make in that split second. Did he fire back from the ropes with a forearm blow, thus barely giving the audience a chance to register the error? Did he double bluff Cesaro, make the belated leap, and sucker the Swiss (and audience) into a headbutt to the gut as if it was his strategy all along?
No: unable to do anything beyond what he was taught, the Realest Guy In The Room made the match look as Fake As Sh*t - and himself look like An Absolute Prat - by performing the bump as if it were a second take. In the aftermath, Cesaro likely experienced an existential crisis. This is the guy who sells more t-shirts than me?
Improvisation is a knack that separates the true pro wrestler from the manufactured sports entertainer - and the safe from the dangerous. Enzo simply had no aptitude for the in-ring aspect, which very much sawftened his departure from it.
Does his former partner?
Since he performs every last scripted eye-roll to the letter, irrespective of whether fans are actually waiting politely for him to finish and not showering him with heat - probably not.