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It is not unusual for wrestlers to have pre-game rituals or practices. These practices engage a wrestler to concentrate physically and mentally against their in-ring opponents. In a profession where injuries can happen anytime, wrestlers depend on beliefs or practices.
We must not forget that they use their body as a means of livelihood. The WWE stars who are famous among the fans for their stunts and performances are also ordinary human beings.
While fans love to see their favorite wrestlers in action inside the ring or indulge in their lives through backstage interviews, few of us actually know what keeps them strong throughout their careers.
We often fail to see the real nature of a person behind the image the company has put forward for the fans. Let us take a look at top 3 pre rituals wrestlers perform before going into the ring.
#3 Cesaro: Abnormal exercises
When it comes to talking about one of the strongest wrestlers in the company, it is usual that his pre-match ritual will include something that deals with extreme physical exertion. The ‘Swiss Cyborg’ is an absolute wrestling machine who performs extreme physical exercises before getting into the ring.
While other wrestlers prefer to warm up lightly before a match, Cesaro, on the other hand, prefers to work out more. He performs the Hindu Push-ups, the reverse push-ups, dive bomber push-ups, and handstand push up among the few.
Cesaro also tries to include everything around him in his pre-match exercise. For example, if there are stairs, he tries to jump on and off them. When asked about his strange exercises, Cesaro replied that these exercises, being old-school, helps to make his body stronger and more functional just before a match.
#2 John Cena: Knocking the wood
A man who has been the face of WWE for more than a decade and arguably is still the best wrestler the company has got - surely needs some rituals to keep him going. The 16-time world champion, John Cena, was asked about the rituals he performs before going inside the ring. Cena elaborated a number of practices such as drinking water from other’s bottles, to eating tic-tac and talking to himself.
But the most valid ritual he follows devotedly is knocking the wood before going inside the ring to perform. Knocking on wood is not so unusual for luck. Cena does it before every match, including hitting the turnbuckle to knock on wood after getting in the ring. If you look carefully, Cena’s first move inside the ring is hitting the turnbuckle before he shows off his trademark signature moves.
#1 Goldberg: Pre-match head butt
Arguably, the most famous pre-match ritual of a wrestler has to be that of Goldberg. He always looked like an intense fighter, and it takes a big, serious fighter to perform a pre-ritual of head butting through doors before coming in the ring. The essence of his build-up in the entrance defines the character Goldberg is made of. Goldberg would head butt the locker room door, a locker, or a wall.
Goldberg’s pre-match ritual came into limelight in the winter of 2017 when he appeared on RAW with blood gushing down his forehead. The site of blood in the bloodless PG era was absurd to many fans. It was later revealed that he got the cut by performing his pre-match ritual and he decided that he would retire such practice after such an embarrassing result.
