This may come as a shock to you, but the least believable pro wrestling move of all time began its life as a goof. I know, I know; it seems hard to comprehend. Goofs? In pro wrestling? Perish the thought.
Yes, one of The Rock’s most famous maneuvers began as a joke among “the boys,” and Triple H recently told the whole sordid tale.
Okay, so it’s not really sordid in any way, but it’s still fun. More fun than the People’s Elbow itself, probably. Triple H has been on a U.K. press tour that you might have caught wind of at some point, and during an appearance on BBC 1 radio, he shared his memories of the origins of the People’s Elbow, and how frigging ridiculous it is. (Transcript via Wrestling Inc.)
“You’re [always] trying to make each other laugh [out in the ring] and one night The Rock did The People’s Elbow. [It] wasn’t known as The People’s Elbow, it was known as ‘watch this move that’s going to make all of you lose it in your corners.’ These things morph in those ways, but they catch on. Trust me, we’re quick to go, ‘Oooh, [the fans] like that, I’m sticking with that.’
“You’ve gotta wait for like 20 minutes while he takes his elbow pad off and works the crowd. He runs back and forth, then he comes up and drops an elbow on you that looks like it barely touches you, except that a lot of times the point of his elbow hits you right in the mouth and you come up bleeding and you’re like, ‘How can you bust me open on that?’ It’s also so funny that you’re running away to the bank with it.”
The People’s Elbow has long been a double-edged sword among fans: hilarious, but also infuriating by equal turns. But now it’s far enough in the past that we can all have a nice chuckle about it, right?
… Uh, right?
Anyone?
