10 Wild Wrestling Plans That Were JUST NOW Discovered

6. Flashlight Match

Yokozuna WWE
WWE.com

Be honest.

Recall your first foray into inside wrestling circles, the first time you ever experienced a brand new lexicon which, intended for hardcore fans, you had no understanding of yet.

What does "carrying" mean? I didn't see anybody get lifted up, unless they mean for a move?

What about "gas"?

What's a "dark match"? That sounds so evil and cool, why aren't they on television?!

The truth of course is significantly less interesting, but for a while, it held a certain allure. Vince Russo wanted to make this a literal match type on Shotgun, with the idea being that fans would be handed torches to light up the action with no in-house source of light. This, funnily enough, was a terrible idea.

It's bad enough when fans audibly revolt with chants of "Bullsh*t" and "Boring" and the like. A negative crowd reaction can be spun, just about, as some aberration unique to a certain city - "They're booing competitors they usually cheer!" - but imagine an entire crowd entertaining themselves by pointing torches at one another or turning them off altogether in revolt.

"The fans are so scared of the violence in this Crush Vs. Bart Gunn match that they can't even bear to look!"

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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!