Every Wrestling Secret WWE Tries (And Fails) To Hide
5. Referee Eye Contact
Another old method of disguise that may or may not have been abandoned in recent years, the look between pinned wrestler and referee was once a solid tell of how the count was going regardless of the moment that came before it.
If a downed foe is very literally looking at the lights, it's a clue to the referee that they can head full bore into a three count. A peek in their direction suggests the opposite. So went some of the old rules anyway.
There have been enough contradictions to that protocol over the last several years to suggest that it's either been done away with entirely or only exists as an archaic predecessor to modern times.
There's of course the possibility that WWE aren't failing to hide this one, and have instead used Kevin Dunn's schizophrenic production and direction style to their advantage. They'd be the only known benefactors of the headache-inducing camera cuts if so.