Why, In Your Opinion, Do Deathmatch Wrestlers Do It?

[Turkeyninja]

I just finished watching Nick Gauge's "Dark Side Of The Ring" episode.

[BHK1978]

<p>That is a very good question and it is one I cannot think of an answer to. I mean I can't believe they get paid a lot of money to do it, at least in North America. Maybe in Japan they pay better, but Indy workers who do not have major name value in the States really do not get paid much.</p><p> </p><p>

Is it really worth putting oneself through all of that trauma? I don't think it is.</p>

[The Swanton825]

I never did any deathmatches during my short stint wrestling, but I did get a kendo stick broken across my back Tommy Dreamer-style and didn't get paid a cent for it. It's the second most painful thing I've ever experienced but it was completely worth it to shock the crowd and for the props I got backstage for going through with it. I can see those two sensations becoming addictive so you start working more and more dangerous matches to get that same high again.

[Blodyxe]

I think it's a mix of catching a thrill and proving that you can take a lot of punishment. It's an easy way to showcase your toughness and get attention. Plus most deathmatch guys also can't do anything else, to be frank.

 

And of course self-hatred that stems from miserable lives or old traumas.

 

It's the second most painful thing I've ever experienced

 

What takes number one?

[Jaysin]

I ask myself this all the time. In Ohio we had two real solid workers, Eric Ryan and Rickey Shane Page that do a lot of death matches and I just don't get it. Both can work real matches and are fairly good workers, but both take part in lame ass GCW stuff. Atticus Cogar is involved there too and he's a fairly solid worker too.

 

I don't mind hardcore matches and such when it fits a story, but workers like Nick Gage that are only able to do deathmatches will never be something I'm into. He has an undeniable connection with fans that I respect the hell out of, but I never want to see him on AEW again.

[The Swanton825]

What takes number one?

 

Kidney stone. It hurt so bad I was sure my appendix burst and I was dying.

[CQI13]

I ask myself this all the time. In Ohio we had two real solid workers, Eric Ryan and Rickey Shane Page that do a lot of death matches and I just don't get it. Both can work real matches and are fairly good workers, but both take part in lame ass GCW stuff. Atticus Cogar is involved there too and he's a fairly solid worker too.

 

I don't mind hardcore matches and such when it fits a story, but workers like Nick Gage that are only able to do deathmatches will never be something I'm into. He has an undeniable connection with fans that I respect the hell out of, but I never want to see him on AEW again.

 

Allegedly he can work a technical style too (or so he says in an interview I just saw). I don't see the appeal to the deathmatch though. I think Raven mentioned years ago that the boys in ECW used to talk crap about Hogan. His comment years later was something like "Hogan looked like he was getting beat up, and wasn't, and made tons of money. We were getting beat up for real and not making a lot of money. He was smarter."

 

Obviously Gage was never going to beat Jericho, but if MidCardona is going to beat him at his own game, how serious can we take it?

[Self]

I never did any deathmatches during my short stint wrestling, but I did get a kendo stick broken across my back Tommy Dreamer-style and didn't get paid a cent for it. It's the second most painful thing I've ever experienced but it was completely worth it to shock the crowd and for the props I got backstage for going through with it. I can see those two sensations becoming addictive so you start working more and more dangerous matches to get that same high again.

 

I wrestled for a few years, and spent much of that time terrified of having anything to do with weapons. When promoters would suggest it I'd refuse or ask for more money. Which shut them up fast. Then I worked a Money In The Bank style/ripoff ladder match, and the first time I got hit with the ladder I realised.... it didn't hurt. Well, it kinda did, but I was so full of adrenaline that it didn't matter. So I started playing around with weapons in my matches. It didn't hurt as much as I thought it would, I found some bumps I was comfortable taking, and it always got a great reaction, even for the lazier spots. I played a weaselly chickens*** most of the time, so I could spend a match fleeing from the scary weapons, then take a few shots at the end. I bought a steel chair, which I'd bring to shows as an added bonus to cheapskate promoters, and when I moved into my house I found a bunch of metal bins that the previous owner had left. Those were great. Looked solid but crumbled on impact. I'd place them at ringside "for the fans to use" then "accidentally discover them" when I was ready to do something diabolical... which would backfire tremendously.

 

I had fun.

 

Why do they do it? Honestly, I partly did my stuff (more WWF Hardcore than Deathmatch) become it was easy. My cardio was getting worse. I was so bored of the gym. I was already more pantomime act than technical workhorse and this was an effective shortcut.

 

A lot of wrestlers want to prove they are tough. This isn't unique to deathmatch guys, but "look how much damage I can take" is fairly common.

 

Acceptance? Being part of a group. If the local community of wrestling is deathmatch oriented, it's easy to see how youngsters would lean that direction. I did a seminar at one school which was very flippy. "If you can't do a moonsault you can't be a wrestler.". So everyone was trying to copy Young Bucks spots. Even the heavyweights. Nonsense.

 

There was a time that this got you noticed, because it was different. I think partly folks chase that... but the only way to be different in this style is more extreme. And hey, it worked for Nick Gage. He got a buzz. He got a documentary. He got on AEW. I'm sure more youngsters will follow his example.

[Blodyxe]

Also Nick Gage is one of those guys who hit themselves in the chest about how hardcore they are. Lots of guys do the same s*** as him, but they are more reserved and... humble?

 

So I won't say that the only way to stand out on the death match scene is to do the most hardcore things.

[Rampaaage]

I remember a Mox quote (I'm pretty sure it's actually from that episode) where he says something along the lines of "It's not about the money or the fame, there's just no better feeling than lighting up a smoke out back after the match with a blood soaked face." I'm definitely paraphrasing but I would have to think that's a big part of it. The adrenaline rush, the connection with the crowd, all of that must factor into why they do it.

[BHK1978]

I was watching an interview with Tom Prichard yesterday on YouTube. Now it was not about Deathmatch wrestling it was more about wrestling in general and he brought up a pretty good point.

 

This is a little paraphrasing here but I think the point will come across, "If you come home from work and you see two elephants fornicating on your front lawn, you are going to be shocked. If you see it the next day you are going to be shocked. By the third day, the shock factor is no longer there."

 

That is how I feel about seeing dives to the outside of the ring or high-flying stuff. Back in the 1990's when you would see the Lucha wrestlers do some of their awesome moves or guys like Muta, Jushin Liger, or any wrestler's who did that sort of stuff. It was amazing to watch because as someone who only watched American wrestling that stuff was simply not done.

 

Now here we are almost thirty years later and nearly everyone does it in every match and for me, it has lost its luster. That happens with Deathmatch stuff as well. I remember seeing those exploding ring matches with Terry Funk in Japan or the ECW stuff and I was really into it. But now if I were to see it I would probably be like George Harrison in that episode of the Simpsons where he walks by and says, "It's been done."

 

I would guess a lot of other fans feel that way and so that means Deathmatch wrestlers have to push themselves further in order to get the reaction. They need to do something, even more, crazier to impress the fans. Is it really worth doing this crap if the outcome ends up being fatal?

 

I have to wonder if some of the people who do Deathmatch matches (I am not sure many women do these types of matches) have some bats loose in their belfry. Or might be into getting pleasure out of pain (With this being a family site I was struggling with how to word that without it being drity).

[Blodyxe]

I am not sure many women do these types of matches but I am not sure

LuFisto/Necro Butcher comes to mind. There are definetly a few female deathmatch wrestlers, GCW booked some not so long ago

[cappyboy]

I have a pretty standard answer for questions such as these that don't appear to have one otherwise. "It takes all kinds to fill up a world." Think what a boring planet this would be if that weren't the case.

[Atticus]

There was a time that this got you noticed, because it was different. I think partly folks chase that... but the only way to be different in this style is more extreme. And hey, it worked for Nick Gage. He got a buzz. He got a documentary. He got on AEW. I'm sure more youngsters will follow his example.

 

Love your whole post, but this part especially. I know it's easy to see a gif of someone doing something crazy/dumb, roll your eyes, and ask if it was worth it for a hot dog and a handshake or that the 10 people in attendance loved it, but a lot of guys do deathmatch wrestling for exposure and it leads to bookings. I mean even now, there's a good chunk of guys signed to WWE and AEW who have done deathmatches. Even if it doesn't necessarily translate to a WWE/AEW contract, it still gets your name out there. And for every deathmatch wrestler who doesn't make it big, there's probably 100s of "traditional" wrestlers who don't make it.

 

I know some promoters would pay guys a bit extra to do deathmatches, but not anything like to cover your month's rent or like that. But having seen deathmatches live and spoken to those who do it, it's definitely about the experience for most. Whether it be the adrenaline of doing it, the reaction from the fans, the tight knit community that comes with it or the creativity in the spots. There's a real art to deathmatch wrestling and I know, where's the art in smashing someone over the head with a VCR, I get it, but I've seen a lot of creative uses for weapons, spots and contraptions. CZW's various Cages of Death or the Tangled Web comes to mind.

 

I don't think I necessarily agree with the idea that deathmatch wrestlers have to keep pushing the boundaries to get reactions. I mean, the infamous CZW weedwhacker spot was in 2002 and I haven't seen anyone upgrade to a riding mower spot yet, but give it time I suppose. People still mark out for the first light tube breaking in every deathmatch just like people at WWE shows chant "We want tables" in every No DQ match after seeing them break the same way for the last 40+ years. And it always gets a reaction.

 

But I'm going off topic now. So to answer your question, lot of reasons why. I don't think a sport driven on trusting someone not to break your neck is going to be filled with the most well-adjusted individuals, but they love it. I watched Tracy Smothers a year before he died and I thought, "There's no reason a 54-year old man using a walking stick/cane to get around the venue needed to be taking bumps", but he did it, he had a blast doing it, the fans (including myself) marked out for him, and he stuck around to watch every other match. He loved doing it. He also was spraying himself down on stage after his match in clear view of everyone, but that's besides the point. Tracy rules.

[Makhai]

Kidney stone. It hurt so bad I was sure my appendix burst and I was dying.

 

Queue the entire Requiem for a Gleet episode from Deadwood.

[The Swanton825]

Queue the entire Requiem for a Gleet episode from Deadwood.

 

That reference is extra apt considering I grew up about an hour away from the real Deadwood.