10 Times Wrestling Made You Lose Your Goddamn Mind

At its best, professional wrestling mirrors the athletic spectacle and overwhelming drama of real sport. The difference is that, at its very best, wrestling betters real sport because your guy actually gets to win.

Unless you are lucky enough to have been born in a certain region, or are a glory-hunting plastic, your team doesn't win. Your club is probably fated to take a punt on a continental manager with a glittering reputation, fail to give him enough time to stave off relegation, give in to the expert advice of Paul Merson, and hire Tony Pulis. Yes, you might stay up, but you're knackered next season, during which the cycle begins anew. Stuff yer tactics, it's all about desire will only get you so far. Sooner or later, you will get linked to Charlie Adam, and the hangover of a 12PM kick-off kicks in. The bleak life of a football fan can't be controlled.

Wrestling is better than this, or at least it should be. It's predetermined. A good booker grasps who the audience likes, or may one day like, and sets them on a path of struggle that leads to a moment of glory. If done correctly, the euphoria of the journey makes fans lose their minds.

Case in point...

On the April 8, 2022 AEW Rampage, Wheeler YUTA lost to Jon Moxley and got over as a megastar.

It was a magical moment. The graduating spirit displayed by YUTA over the prior month informed it - he showed a brief fire-up on March 16 before refusing to die less than a month later - but the match was also informed by Mox's immense three year run. A match like this can't just be magicked out of thin air.

Moxley had been built as a super-credible, super-violent badass for ages and ages before he subverted the worst wrestling trope and restored its brilliance. When a blood-drenched YUTA kicked out of the Paradigm Shift, Mox, wearing an expression of shock, asked the referee if he was sure he'd counted correctly. Only when you establish a character for that long are you able to play against it to such euphoric, dramatic effect. In a less broad but no less outstanding touch, Mox attempted to catch YUTA with a flash pin shortly thereafter. He was no longer in a position to show YUTA violence; he was lucky just to get away with a win.

The kick-out fuelled YUTA's belief, and he very almost stoved Mox's head in what was an electrifying star-making performance for which the fans went wild. Years' worth of committed booking and masterful in-ring storytelling converged to create this moment. Moxley did the shocked-face kick-out, and it worked because it was a shock to both him and the audience.

Of course, that trope meant something once upon a time...