I caught the end of it and saw a match. The winner was leaning over the side of the table in the direction he was pulling and dropping to the floor. I've heard of putting your weight into it, but this is ridiculous.
As an observer looking to see who's the strongest and who has the best technique, I would think remaining uptight and over the table should be a given.
"Sister, they don't know what to do with just one of me." Riddick
Did you catch the fist episode? It was hilarious. The Sacramento team is awarded a victory at the very end due to the competitor from the other team obviously intentially breaking the grip right before he gets pinned. The Sacramento guy wins the match 3-2 and his team wins 3-2 overall. Then the NY team bitches and complains and the ref OVERTURNS his own decision. Probably just for TV drama matters. So now they have to redo the final pull of the final match. Of course, the NY team wins this time and therefore wins the overall team match controvertially. Just LMAO.
shareNo, that was the first footage of it that I'd seen. I guess its not exactly sanctioned like boxing (not that boxing doesn't have its share of controversy), and they're doing what they can to pump up the "drama" for reality TV. LOL
"Sister, they don't know what to do with just one of me." Riddick
When you get familiar with the sport, you see that you use your whole body. It's safer, stronger, and totally within the rules as long as the elbow is on the pad and a foot is on the ground.
The reffing on the show has been weak. In an actual tournament there are two refs. They would be calling lots more elbow fouls. Also there have been some incorrect calls as to intentional slipping and elbow fouling in losing positions. But for the show, my understanding is they want more lax reffing to keep it exciting. In an actual tournament, it can get a bit boring for the average viewer because there can be so many fouls and restarts and fighting over the grip.
Although the reffing has been somewhat dubious, the matches are real.
I've only seen parts of two episodes; in the episode in which Cobra is first seen, in one of his matches, he almost has his guy beat and then he makes a speed move in which he quickly leans so far over table that I'm pretty sure he closes down the last few inches by nailing the back of his own hand/wrist with his right shoulder.
Did you see that? I know nothing about this sport, but that doesn't seem like it could be a legal move, but he got away with it.
I'm sure this show is staged/scripted for the most part, but that seemed too obvious to me. Is it supposed to just make you think that if a guy can get away with something, and your opponent doesn't call you on it, you're okay?
I was also surprised to see them competing on a table that was wobbling around, unattached to the floor, but maybe that is the way its done in some quarters.