TJ Wilson Doesn’t Think “Crazy Stuff” Gets A New Wrestler Noticed

Speaking recently with McGuire On Wrestling, WWE producer TJ Wilson (fka Tyson Kidd) shared his thoughts on the pros and cons of risky maneuvers as part of a wrestler’s repertoire (via Fightful). He also mentioned the aspects of a talent’s performance that catch his eye when evaluating a wrestler. You can find a few highlights and listen to the whole podcast below.

On the place of flashy, high-risk moves in the ring: “I totally understand why you would, as a talent, as a performer [do those moves]. I totally understand on any level why you would try to do whatever it takes to get noticed and to stand out. So it’s hard to kind of put a cap on and say like, ‘Well, that shooting star press is good, but the 630’s pushing it. For example, Jack Evans, at one point, that guy could do a 630 in his asleep. So who am I to say, ‘Hey, dude, you shouldn’t be doing that.’ Because, you know, if I hadn’t been signed when I got signed, I would have kept trying to get noticed too. But I understand the chase and kind of leaving no stones unturned. So I get that side of things. The other side of things is that, like, these crazy moves, they’re awesome and they’ll go viral or whatever — They might get the right eyeballs on you but they don’t make a match. What I mean is they’re not the only part of a match that matters. — When we’re younger, we all kind of have that mindset, but you realize, ‘Oh, it’s not about that.’ That’s a good addition, no doubt. It’s a great addition if you can do these things, but if you can’t, or you feel like you can’t do it correctly every time, you’re putting yourself and your opponent at risk. Then maybe it’s not worth doing because the truth is it’s not really going to make or break [your match].”

On what stands out to him personally from a wrester’s work: “I’d rather see intensity and crisp wrestling versus crazy stuff that’s maybe not done 10/10. Now if you can do that stuff 10/10, then you have my attention, for sure. But again, it’s not the be all end all to me. And it’s not the be all end all in in my world where I work. It’s a great additive for sure, but it’s not super necessary.”