Dives Or Headlocks?

Over the weekend, a post began to make its way around the internet. The general consensus in the "big leagues" of the WWE is that every indie match is the exact same. A dive-heavy, finisher-fest where no one sells anything and moves are inconsequential. The guys makin the big bucks after all, well, they're very safe workers and put butts in seats with a headlock and a pose! And of course, the man that is leading the charge on this anti indie crusade is Randy Orton.

Randy Orton is a 13 time world champion, so surely his opinion certainly comes with more weight than someone sitting behind a keyboard (or for this particular writer, sitting on the subway, typing on his phone). With that said, I have to say that this is all coming from the man who couldn't be trusted to put on an entertaining match with Bray Wyatt to the point of having to have a projector be a main focus of their Wrestlemania match, and a B-movie scene for a rematch. Maybe doing something a little different with either of their movesets could have created a more intriguing match. What if Randy hit a Sister Abigail, or a discus clothesline, one of the moves he learned from spending so long behind enemy lines. Orton also goes on to, in a separate tweet, brag about how Smackdown Live outsold Raw on the latest European tour. Keep in mind that this is with an additional show, but they did still sell product. The WWE model is clearly the most popular in the world of professional wrestling, and with the exception of John Cena and possibly Roman Reigns, no one exemplifies the WWE style quite like Orton.

One thing Orton fails to mention is that some of the biggest names on the current Smackdown Live card have cut their teeth for years either in the indies or Japan. For every Randy Orton, Tye Dillinger, or Mojo Rawley who have spent the majority of their careers in the WWE system, there was a Kevin Owens, AJ Styles, or Shinsuke Nakamura. This is actually something that I greatly appreciate about the current product: Orton isn't wrong, but he isn't exactly right. While we've all seen our fair share of indie matches with no psychology we've also seen plenty of indie appearances by older WWE guys who show up, don't bump, and hit their three moves before collecting their paychecks. For every unnecessary flip botched on Botchamania, there's an episode of World Famous Flea Market where guys are botching scoop slams.

Keeping all of this in mind, I am of the opinion that "flippy shit" is far more entertaining than rest holds. I'd rather see Ricochet than Randy Orton, but I'll take a guy like AJ Styles, who has blended the best of the two extremes of this standoff, every single time. There's too much room in the world of pro wrestling for one side to be right about this argument. Go out and actively support what you enjoy. The unnecessary infighting between people looking to make a living doing the same thing is the biggest problem about this entire situation, but by Friday, no one will remember any of this, and hopefully you'll be experiencing a live event. I know I will.

Until then, thanks for reading, and stay (too) sweet!