AEW's Jerry Lynn On What He Dislikes About Modern Wrestling

Through his work in WWE, WCW, ECW, TNA, and Ring of Honor during the 90s and 2000s, AEW producer Jerry Lynn developed a reputation as a wrestling pioneer, and a strong influence on the modern wrestling style seen today. But as much as Lynn is associated with the fast paced style, even he has some trepidations about it.

During an interview with "Wrestling Shoot Interviews," Lynn got in depth about a certain aspect of modern wrestling he's not a fan of; the stalemate spot, which occurs after two wrestlers attempt to get the upper hand, only to find themselves equally matched. Lynn contrasted the issues he sees with the sequence in modern times compared to how he and rival Rob Van Dam used to do it in ECW.

"We [Rob and I] were trying to hit each other with wrestling moves," Lynn said. "Like, I would trip him. I'd try and drop an elbow on him. He'd move. He'd do that flip leg drop. I would move. And now we're at the stalemate. But here's the difference too; a lot of these guys, when they do these standoffs or whatever, they're not even at the end of it, they'll turn to the camera or just do a pose or look at the crowd and hold their arms out...go 'Look what I can do' and beg for a reaction."

For Lynn, this is a sign that wrestlers are now more concerned about trying to get a reaction, instead of making it seem like they're trying to win.

"I don't want to cut down other people's work," Lynn said. "There's so many talented guys out there that can do stuff I never can do. But you can still make it look like you're trying to win a match."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Wrestling Shoot Interviews" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription