15 Biggest False Narratives In Wrestling History
6. Wrestler X Does Not Know How To Sell
There is more than one way to sell.
Limb selling is the traditional way of going about it, and as such, if a wrestler shakes off something that may look devastating in that context, it is automatically assumed by some fans to be bad.
The “delayed” style of selling imported from puro is something that some western fans struggle with, but it’s arguably a more accurate reflection of the modern athlete in legitimate sports. In football, a flying wide forward can get his ankle raked, cutting open a hole in his sock, and continue the match more or less as normal without on-field treatment. A strong blow to a body part doesn’t necessarily affect somebody for minutes and minutes on end. That’s just wrestling logic. Adrenaline can and in real sports actually does drive recovery.
What’s particularly odd about this take, which resurfaces on a monthly basis at a minimum, is that it only holds true depending on your preferred promotion. Will Ospreay was hit by the “doesn’t know how to sell” tag following his war with Konosuke Takeshita at AEW Revolution. A mere eight days later, in a WWE Raw gauntlet match, Ricochet and JD McDonagh enacted the exact same selling philosophy to zero discourse nor controversy.
Tribalism has not merely poisoned the way in which pro wrestling is analysed. It has even poisoned the way in which it is actually watched. People sometimes just don’t see things that are literally happening in front of them.