10 Wrestling Secrets Hiding In Plain Sight

9. The Facewash Brainwash

Not The Back
YouTube

The YouTube channel Pro Wrestling Cinema recently uploaded an absolutely tremendous slow-mo highlights package of GCW's Spring Break show over WrestleMania Weekend.

The entire 20:04 is well worth your time, for this lovely piece of work, astutely and appropriately soundtracked by Bruce Springsteen's anti-authority anthem 'No Surrender', captures wonderfully the magic of true, modern Independent wrestling in its defiant creativity.

A show that when watched live whizzes by in a drunken blur of incredulous endorphin rushes, the decision to slow everything down isn't just a cute effect; it conveys the sheer heart and passion and effort driving the endeavour. Dustin Thomas' unbelievably spirited breakthrough; the superlative performance of referee Bryce Remsburg, whose work in manipulating a crowd reaction between two invisible wrestlers generated more noise than Triple H in front of 80,000 fans; the preposterous sight of 62 year-old Ricky Morton pulling off a Canadian Destroyer: the video reveals the hard graft behind the breezy, postmodern fun.

There was but one misjudged creative decision: slowing down the legendary Shinjiro Otani's much-imitated facewash spot, which reveals that the brunt of the impact is taken by the shoulder to create the illusion of an intimate face-scrape.

Contributor
Contributor

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 surefire Undisputed WWE Universal 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!