10 Times Wrestling Made You Lose Your Goddamn Mind
9. The Original Shocked Face
Much like histrionic c*ck rock felt lame the second grunge killed it, unless Jon Moxley is doing it, the shocked-face kick-out is a totally ironic and risible cliché; if anything, it should be expected that a signature won't do the job.
It should be as routine as taking a piss.
The dramatic effect is completely nil. Nobody looks good for surviving a major weapon in a wrestler's arsenal. Everybody just looks like a cliché at best and a geek at worst. Only Adam Cole just about gets away with it, and even then, he really should stop doing it in every last match.
The reason why it worked to such phenomenal effect is because - much like Jon Moxley - Undertaker acted out of character. Deep in the throes of a WWE masterpiece, an epic showdown of back-and-forth action elevated by the sheer star power, unreal execution and the magic pacing of which only two veteran masters are capable, Shawn Michaels kicked out of the Tombstone. It was a surreal moment that the fans went apesh*t for because 'Taker, the stoic, chilling presence, wore a completely human, even pitiable expression.
It was an iconic facial expression germane to the storyline; Michaels had appeared to make the immortal Undertaker feel like a mere mortal, and in his career-best moment, 'Taker sold the unthinkable prospect of imminent defeat as something nailed-on to happen.