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Hello and welcome to what should be a thorough walkthrough of how I go from this:
To this:
So initially I gather statistics from whatever match I am watching with a quick shape based shorthand method that I made up myself. I started figuring this all out in August 2019, so i've been thinking about how I count, measure and categorise everything for 2 and a half years! The process itself, while a little taxing, is very rewarding and burrows into the deepness of how wrestling matches are created.
What Do the Symbols Mean?
When sharing my notebook pages with others before doing podcasts about a certain match, it has been remarked that my shorthand method almost looks like a different language. However there's little point being the only one fluent in a language, as the very essence of language is communication, so...
Above is the key for the symbols used in my notebook pages to track the individual metrics/actions that serve as ingredients that make up the match as a whole. On my notebook pages the between the two competitor's names serves as a barrier to show which wrestler is in control throughout the match. In the example below, Jungle Boy's offence is on the left and Dax's is on the right:
The match is recorded in one minute intervals, but also the method displays the see-saws in control. In the example above, the record shows that after using a taunt, Dax got the first piece of offence in with a quick 2 seconds of a hold before Jungle Boy reversed him and hit a grapple.
In the second minute of the match, Jungle Boy reversed Dax again, before Dax reversed Jungle Boy's attempt at an attack before hitting him with a grapple and then a 14s submission hold. You may not JB has a pin attempt during Dax's offence, this occurs during the submission hold, however it's not a reversal as Dax maintains the hold.
The record of offence moves out from the mid-line separating the two wrestler's offence. Jungle Boy's is recorded from the mid-line and moves to the left, whereas Dax's moves to the right. Jungle Boy's first recorded actions read; reversal then grapple, Dax's read; taunt then submission. This is why reversals tend to be right next to the mid-line.
What Do the Metrics Refer to Exactly?
So what exactly are strikes, grapples, etc? And how are they differentiated between? In short, this stems from the old WWE wrestling games; the WWE Smackdown, WWE Smackdown vs Raw and WWE 2k games series. The image below is found on our 'About Stats' page and provides definitions for these metrics as they are used for by myself and this website:
Big Offence!?
The only thing missing from this graphic that is now included in more recent work is the 'Big Offence' metric. This metric looks to tally the most 'impactful' offence as wrestling often utilises high numbers of 'simple strikes'; strikes that do not down an opponent, to put over an underdog/struggling wrestler's desperation.
Therefore, Big Offence is the total number of strikedowns, grapples, dives and cumulative 10s of submission used:
Big Offence = Strikedowns+Grapples+Dives+(1 for every cumulative 10s Submission)
The cumulative 10s of submission... So a 7s submission doesn't add to the Big Offence tally, a 15s submission adds 1 to the Big Offence tally and a 42s or 47s submission adds 4 to the Big Offence tally.
Total Offence and Percentages
A wrestler's Total Offence is calculated by tallying Strikes, Grapples, Dives and every 5s of Submission. So:
Total Offence = Strikes+Grapples+Dives+(Submission seconds/5)
The Match Offence is the individual's share of the combined total match offence; so this will always add to 100 when you combine both wrestler's share; Jungle Boy 43% and Dax 57% in this instance.
The Strikedown Rate is the percentage of strikes that result in strikedown; a wrestler being floored by a strike or being reduced in stature as in dropping to a knee. So all strikedowns are strikes, but not all strikes are strikedowns. I.E:
Strikedown Rate = Strikedowns/Strikes*100
The Reversal Rate is calculated by calculating the percentage of moves reversed compared to the total attempted by the opponent. This is done by adding the moves reversed; the reversals total, to the number of manoeuvres and then figuring out what percentage the successful reversals is of this total. To be exact:
Reversal Rate = (Reversals+Opponent's Total Manoeuvres)/Reversals*100
This article will eventually be updated to include information on how the Flow of Offence graphics are constructed and the reasoning behind the per hour comparisons.
If you have any questions get in touch with me on Twitter @CraigPWMusings or email us at ProWrestlingMusings@Gmail.com