In this week's Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer discussed that WWE was cracking down on wrestlers for slapping their thigh or leg when throwing kicks and on Saturday's Wrestling Observer Radio, he had more details on the genesis of the new policy.
Meltzer said there is new signage outside the gorilla position and backstage that reads "Do not slap leg when kicking." From what Meltzer was told, Vince McMahon saw someone do a fairly obvious slap on an episode of SmackDown and got upset, resulting in the new doctrine. Meltzer initially reported there was a memo sent to NXT talent at one point but that no one said a word about it since it was sent.
It's unknown how WWE will enforce this new rule if it's broken.
"The irony of a group where Shawn Michaels is one of the main instructors, who grew up watching (Chris) Adams, getting mad because Internet trolls who hate the Young Bucks complain about thigh slapping is the ultimate in silliness. The only time I can recall it even being notable was once when Nikki Bella came off the top rope with a kick that missed. Because her body was so programmed on delivering a kick motion, she slapped her thigh in mid-air which was obvious on a kick that was supposed to miss. Yes, that spot should be taught not to do," he wrote in this week's Newsletter.
The slight of hand in creating a sound effect is something that has been part of the business for decades as noted by Meltzer:
"Mr. Wrestling II was famous for hard back slaps on the kneelift for sound effects. Dating back to the 50s, there was the stomp your foot hard on the mat at the moment of connection of the punch. The thigh slap superkick dates back to Chris Adams from when he came over from the UK. It’s one of the silliest things to worry about because the perfectly timed moves garner great crowd response generally. But it became a buzzword for people who are mad it’s used so frequently (as if punches weren’t far more frequent doing the same thing in the 70s and punches worked fine in those days)."
Bet AEW, Impact, ROH and everyone else won't ban it.. Wanna bet me? I'll gladly take your money. :)
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