10 Wrestling Messages Hidden In Plain Sight

3. Set The Table

Brock Lesnar Undertaker
WWE.com

Safety first here, but a vital one considering just how enduringly popular table bumps continue to be.

It's the perfect wrestling prop, done well. The wrestler has the full impact of a flat back bump broken up by a table suffering the same fate, making a noise that echoes around the back rows of the building with the impression that they are now finished. And, pleasingly, everything possible is done before the move itself to all make it so.

Wrestling tables have the metal supports underneath removed, and are sometimes (though not always) sawn slightly to ensure the required end result. And good. One of the worst things about devices such as clearly-very-painful ladders, dodgy rings or that old beast of an Elimination Chamber was the clear pain the wrestlers were forced to endure beyond the usual.

There came a point (or, honestly, several) in the mid-2000s where even the most ghoulish of fans came to understand how vital it was to protect the bodies and minds of those performing these incredible feats. Good for everybody that tries to make the spot safe, and to the wrestlers for making the assumption it is before the brilliant bump.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back almost 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 60,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett