AEW star Dustin Rhodes recently appeared on Talk Is Jericho for a discussion about all things pro-wrestling, which included The Natural sharing his thoughts about the art of selling and how he believes it is the biggest thing that is missing in today’s industry. Highlights from the interview can be found below.
Says he learned the art of selling from wrestling greats like Arn Anderson and Ricky Steamboat:
It wasn’t until about WCW when Arn and Bobby Eaton and Barry Windham, because me and Barry had known each other since [we were] kids. Me just being around them and driving around them and learning their ways and the way they handled business and things like that, and just listening to Arn, because we worked a lot. Like I said, they were my teachers, and I learned the most probably from Arn and Steamboat. Some nights, I would wanna sell, and Steamboat said, ‘No, I want you to sit and watch this.’ I got the best seat in the house. I learned his selling, the way he used his hands. Even if his face was covered up, he’s using his hands to sell and shake, and you feel it. He’s the greatest salesman in the business, the greatest arm drag in the business, so you learn those two things, you’re gonna be really good.
Believes that many wrestlers today don’t truly understand the art of selling:
That’s why I started really liking to sell because I think you can tell a really good story by selling. So many guys don’t wanna sell anymore. It’s like nah, let’s do this and get up and do this. Please let me sell. Even if you’re going over, I still like to sell, but I’m gonna get my stuff in, but it’s like I’m gonna sell. I have to. I think that’s kind of what’s missing today, the art of selling.
(H/T and transcribed by Fightful
)