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| Akira Tozawa attempting a superplex on Sami Callihan; Tozawa's got big workrate, but is that all that matters? |
It's a move that's tossed around lightly, but it's usually misapplied. A lot of people I've seen use the word to describe someone's in-ring ability on the whole. It really isn't. If it's not an all-encompassing term, then what does it entail? Well, I'm glad you asked... wait, what do you mean you didn't ask? Okay, well, here's what I take it to mean.
Break the word in half. On one side, you get the word "work" and on the other side, you get "rate". I take it to mean that it's the rate of work, or to fine tune it down, it's the rate at which a wrestler performs moves in a match, or even the variety of said moves. By that definition, WWE wrestlers as a rule usually have very small workrates and indie wrestlers can sometimes have huge ones. I often find that it can be used qualitatively as well. A guy can have a small pool of moves that he does exceedingly well, and he'd have a good workrate, whereas you can have a guy who does a ton of moves sloppily and have bad workrate.
So when people try to equate having a large workrate into quality of wrestling, it makes me shake my head. Workrate can be important, both in the size and quality of it. Small workrates don't necessarily mean that the wrestler's ability is worthless, since it's only one part of what makes the in-ring action good. However, a large workrate can open up matches and add several different dimensions to how stories can unfold in the ring.
However you describe it though, workrate is only a portion of what makes a match good. There are other things to consider, including but not limited to selling, pacing, psychology, stiffness, storytelling, facial expressions and crowd interaction. Over the next couple of weeks or so, I'll go into several different aspects and tell you what's important and what's not important in looking for a good match or a good wrestler. Well, I'll tell you what I think is important. It might not win you over in how you analyze matches, but maybe it'll give you an appreciation for what I look for. At least that's what I hope.
And if you're someone who doesn't know what to look for, I hope that maybe you can learn something. Well, not learn what I think is good, but hopefully, when I speak factually on things, I hope my facts are indeed right.
Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein - Please visit his site to view the plentiful amounts of pictures he's taken for DGUSA, ROH and other indie feds: Get Lost Photography
Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!
