Behind The Art #26: Top 5 with Tallon Jr

By The Masked Embroiderer

So here we have it. The very first SWN Behind the Art : Top 5

Five pieces of wrestling art chosen by a member of our Scottish wrestling community.

Let me introduce our first guest…

Tallon Jr

flashbulb moments

I was trying to think outside the box for my favourite wrestling art, so I thought about a concept more than a specific moment. Something that’s rarely seen now, if at all.

I really miss the moments from the 90’s, 00’s where everyone knows a huge spot is coming up, everyone simultaneously catches it on camera at once, and the tv feed turns white due to the the flashbulbs.

So many awesome moments just wouldn’t be the same for me if not for the visual of everyone trying to perfectly time the photo. Specific moments that stick out to me mostly involve Shane McMahon, but there’s hundreds of examples of these kind of moments. Like I said, it’s a shame that you don’t see this in modern wrestling.

The Headbutt heard Around The World

This was trending on twitter again recently, which it tends to do every few months. In 2017, someone coined it “the headbutt heard around the world”.

Katsuyori Shibata’s career ending headbutt has to go down as one of the most impactful moments of the 2010’s for me. Nobody would’ve expected at the time this to be Shibata’s last match for the foreseeable. The match had been bordering classic status prior to the moment he lands the headbutt, but due to this spot, the match is discussed in infamy.

The build up to the spot seemingly looks as though nothing unordinary will follow. Then he cracks his skull with so much force that the reaction is genuine shock. The moments following where he collects himself, potentially realising the damage he has done to himself and picturing the ramifications of the move. The blood that slowly trickles down in the moments after portray the impact of the move, the headbutt would end any fight, match etc in an instant.

El Santo Movie Posters

I’ve got a huge respect for Mexican wrestling history and heritage. One of the most famous Luchadores in history was El Santo. The man could genuinely have his masked face put on the peso.

Part of his mainstream crossover involved doing some film roles, in full gimmick and character, because that’s who he was, El Santo 24/7. The roles he would play as heroic invincible definitely added to his legacy, but the real art for me are the posters, and mainly the film titles. Such examples as “Santo vs. las Mujeres Vampiro”, “Santo contra el cerebro del mal” are the absolute tits. Look at the posters, then the IMDB score. You have to respect the legacy.

Grado Shoot Interview with Vince Russo

You can probably see the shift in tone here. I think the shoot interview between Vince Russo and Grado is art. I believe it has to be one of the most bizarre combinations that wrestling has generated, but it doesn’t look out of place.

The fact that one of the most unique figures in wrestling, one of the businesses genius minds and most compelling, while controversial, characters – sat next to Vince Russo, is an all time moment.