Longtime mat pundit Chris Smith has followed the business for decades. With a keen and discerning eye for talent and good storylines, he admits he is partial to old-school wrestling methods, but not simply for “nostalgia’s sake.”
“I like them because they work regardless of where they are applied. I grew up watching Jack Brisco vs. Dory Funk Jr., and there’s much about modern wrestling that leaves me cold,” says Smith.
But there’s one current performer and storyline that has definitely captured his attention. And it involves WWE women’s champion Rhea Ripley.
“WWE really knocked it out of the park with this one,” he says of the 26-year-old Aussie star and member of the Judgment Day faction, a black-clad foursome of goths and misfits. “She is a tremendous heel and knows how to generate real heat.”
Ripley, says Smith, is a perfect example of an old-school villain. It’s something he knows more than a little bit about.
The late Buddy Colt, one of the sport’s top heels during the ‘60s and ‘70s, personally praised Smith’s critique of the embodiment of a heel.
Although Colt’s in-ring career was cut short at the age of 39 due to a plane crash in 1975, he is remembered as one of pro wrestling’s greatest “bad guys” as well as being a world champion-caliber performer.
Smith described just how effective Colt was as a heel and how he mastered that art.
“First and foremost, there has to be the threat of serious injury to the baby (good guy) every time he steps in the ring with said heel. Not just that the baby is going to be pinned or beat up," Smith said. "Certainly that, but also he could wind up on the shelf for two to six months or longer. Look at how Buddy broke Johnny Walker’s arm not once but twice. He put Bill Watts out with the thumb to the throat. That line ‘I always pay my debts’ is full of danger. The fans have to feel their favorites are actually in peril for a heel to truly get over. They sure believed it with Buddy.
“Second, an air of condescension and arrogance serves to irritate the fans into hoping the heel will get his just desserts at the hands of the baby. It serves not only for the match at hand but for the future to keep the fans coming back. Add to all this that the man could flat-out go and you have everything needed for a great heel and to draw money anywhere he went.”
Modern-day heat seeker
Smith, a musician by trade and member of the popular Myrtle Beach-based Chocolate Chip & Company Band, recognized some of that same heel mastery when Rhea Ripley launched a brutal attack on Liv Morgan on the July 26 edition of Monday Night Raw, and the following week injured Morgan’s partner Raquel Rodriguez.
The following is Smith’s analysis:
Chris Smith, a longtime pro wrestling pundit and member of the popular Myrtle Beach-based Chocolate Chip & Company Band, sees Rhea Ripley as one of the best heels in the business today. (Photo Provided)
“The boos cascaded throughout the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. Raquel Rodriguez lie writhing on the floor clutching her badly damaged left knee, and the fans were angry. Rhea Ripley stood laughing over Raquel, gleeful over the injury she had inflicted and trash talking Raquel all the while.
“Within three weeks Rhea had destroyed the former WWE women’s tag champs. She left Liv Morgan with a left arm reduced to rubble after two ‘Pillmanizing’ chair stomps in a brutal beatdown that left viewers stunned at Rhea’s viciousness. Now Raquel, one of the few to rival Rhea in size and strength, was suffering as well. It makes for great, if somewhat uncomfortable, theatre. It also is taking Rhea Ripley into a new level of being an elite heel.
“Most look at Ripley and see the gothic makeup and tattoos. I see a booker’s dream girl. Most look at Ripley and see Mami who stands by Dom Mysterio while he’s being booed relentlessly. I see talent that can provide a wealth of storylines for months, if not years, to come.
“Rhea’s work has been solid as she came up through the indies and NXT ranks. It’s taken another huge step forward in the past two years. We’ve seen her amazing feats of strength. Slamming 290-pound Luke Gallows on the floor after running him head first into the ring post. Executing her Riptide finisher on the two biggest opponents in the women’s division, Nia Jax and Piper Niven. Using that same Riptide to put Wes Lee through the announcer’s table at NXT Great American Bash. She shows no fear of the male wrestlers whatsoever.
“Nothing illustrates this better than perhaps my favorite segment with her in her stare down and confrontation with the feared Solo Sikoa. Rhea’s faction, Judgment Day, lines up across from Sikoa’s Bloodline. Rhea stands directly across from Solo. She makes certain she stares at him, creating tension enough to where Paul Heyman notices what’s starting to build. He has Solo move over where he’s not across from Ripley anymore. She moves over so she can continue the stare down. An angry Solo confronts her, ready to attack as Rhea stands right in his face daring him to do something. Only Dom’s attack on Solo prevented things turning physical between Ripley and Solo. She showed no fear of one of the most dangerous male wrestlers on the roster.
“Is there a woman who can possibly even begin to intimidate her?
“Her appearance is striking, a pretty girl under the goth makeup and tattoos (despite her good friend Zelina Vega referring to her as an ‘emo buffalo.’ Ripley’s two-word response was unprintable). Her basic wrestling skills are smooth and polished. She bumps and sells very well, has good facial expressions when she’s selling pain or injury (i.e. her submission to Charlotte Flair at Money in the Bank). She’s excellent with aerial moves with one of the best dropkicks I’ve seen in a while, although her forte is her power moves. Tremendous physical skills and athleticism, I see no glaring weaknesses in her that need to be addressed. Yet as good as she is physically, that’s not what impresses me the most about Ripley.”
Ripley ‘gets it’
“Wrestling is about creating emotional connections (whether positive or negative) that draw fans into caring about the wrestler. Physical skills, impressive and important as they may be, by themselves are not enough to make fans care. Not for the long term, not for what we call in the business ‘legs.’ That’s when the fans have made an emotional investment that compels them to tune in weekly, buy the PPV, or go to the matches to see what will transpire next. Ripley gets it. I don’t know if this is something she grasped on her own, or if it’s been explained to her, or just an extension of her heavy metal-loving personality. Whatever the source, she gets it. And she’s using an old school method to take herself to the next level.
“I was fortunate enough to get to know the great Buddy Colt on Facebook. Buddy was one of the best and most feared heels in Florida. Had it not been for the plane crash that ended his career, Buddy would most likely have had a run with the NWA world title. Tremendous programs with Paul Jones, Jack Brisco and Bill Watts made Buddy a star in the Sunshine State.
“I made a lengthy comment in one of our conversations that said basically two things:
“1) A true heel has to instill fear in the hearts of the fans to where they are afraid for the welfare of the babyface wrestler. Buddy broke Johnny Walker/Mr. Wrestling II’s arm twice. Twice. And he did it the same way both times, wrapping the arm around the ring post and then slamming it against the steel multiple times. He used his heavily taped thumb to the throat to incapacitate opponents and set them up for either a reverse neckbreaker or kneedrop off the top rope.
“2) The heel has to convey an attitude of arrogance to where the fans will part with much good coin to see said heel take a beating. And hopefully get injured the same way they themselves did their injuries. Buddy told me, ‘You get it! That was the life I lived for many years and you just described it better than I have ever heard anyone tell it!’ I told him I learned at the feet of Ivan Koloff and from watching great heels such as Buddy, The Assassin and Killer Karl Kox. I consider his words to be one of the finest compliments I have ever received within the business.”
Who can stop her?
“Rhea Ripley is creating that emotional investment with the carnage and injuries she’s leaving in her scorched-earth path. It started with the Con-chair-to to Beth Phoenix at Extreme Rules. It continued with her destruction of Morgan, topped off by her interaction with a trainer who was trying to attend to Morgan’s already ruined left arm. As Rhea positioned Liv’s arm for another stomp between the chair sections, the trainer yelled at her, ‘You can’t do that!’ Rhea responded with a look of sadistic joy and replied ‘Oh, yes I can!’ before delivering the second stomp.
“The segment with Liv was hard to watch. Most often this is a necessity in creating the negative emotional connection. And now Raquel has fallen victim to Ripley. She’s not the first in WWE to use injuring opponents to get heat. Mark Henry had his Hall of Pain and Brock Lesnar broke both Triple H and Shawn Michaels’ arms with the Kimura Lock. Ripley’s the first woman that I know of that is leaving a trail of bodies in her wake. So where does this go? Who is going to actually give Ripley the comeuppance she so richly deserves?
“At the moment, no one. Raquel has the size and strength but there’s not an emotional investment yet from the fans to make her the avenging angel to make Ripley pay. It’s possible she could be given a push once the knee has been healed, but that remains to be seen. Natalya can give Ripley a strong match, but again the emotional connection hasn’t been established in that capacity.
“The only woman on the roster that can walk into the ring and be accepted as a legit threat to Ripley is the woman she defeated for the title, Charlotte Flair. Yet Rhea is on Raw and Charlotte on Smackdown and there doesn’t seem to be any talk of putting them together. It’s the match I want to see, a two out of three falls over a three-year period.
"The opportunity is there if a storyline can be developed that gives Charlotte a compelling reason to want to not just defeat Ripley, but teach her a lesson in pain as well. Rhea’s gotten very, very good at giving out pain. Hopefully creative will find a way to get her a storyline and opponent to give her back what she’s been giving. I would pay to see it. So will others. The boos that filled the Toyota Center after her latest casualty is proof positive of that.”
Reach Mike Mooneyham at bymikemooneyham@gmail.com, or follow him on Twitter at @ByMikeMooneyham and on Facebook at Facebook.com/MikeMooneyham. His latest book — “Final Bell” — is now available at https://evepostbooks.com and on Amazon.com
Did you know that …
Rocky Johnson. (WWE Photo)
Before he took up pro wrestling as a career, Rocky Johnson trained as a boxer and sparred with such legendary fighters as Muhammad Ali and George Foreman.
Johnson, father of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, was born Wayde Douglas Bowles in Amherst, Nova Scotia, but legally changed his name to Rocky Johnson shortly after turning pro.
Johnson died in 2020 at the age of 75.
On this date …
Brian Adams as Crush. (WWE Photo)
Sixteen years ago today on this date (Aug. 13, 2007): Former pro wrestling star Brian Adams, who was best known for his early ‘90s run as the character Crush, was found dead at his home in Tampa, Fla., at the age of 43.
Adams’ wife found him unconscious in bed at the couple’s home and called 911. Paramedics could not revive Adams and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The medical examiner concluded that the cause of death was a result of mixing a painkiller and muscle relaxer with two sedatives. The coroner determined the drugs in his system were individually at therapeutic levels, but their combination impeded his respiratory system enough to kill him.
The 6-6, 300-pound native of Hawaii was a star in both the World Wrestling Federation (now World Wrestling Entertainment) and World Championship Wrestling during the ‘90s.
Photo of the Week
Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka was one of the biggest stars in the wrestling business during the early ‘80s. His legendary finishing move, the Superfly Splash, had its roots back in the Pacific islands where Snuka dove off its steepest cliffs with the greatest of ease. His leap off the top of a steel cage during a 1983 match with Don Muraco at Madison Square Garden ranks among the most iconic images in pro wrestling history. The WWE Hall of Famer passed away on Jan. 15, 2017, at the age of 73 following a battle with stomach cancer and other health issues. (Photo by Mike Mooneyham)
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