Monday night's episode of RAW was, uh, fine, but that Rey Mysterio & Aleister Black vs. Seth Rollins & Murphy match had a weird finish. Well, it turns out that Rollins may have broken what has been described as one of Vince McMahon's "secret rules."
Referees are told to call matches like a shoot, and on Wrestling Observer Live, Bryan Alvarez explained that Rollins attacking the Master of the 619 is what led to that rushed ending.
"In a tag team match…you know how you tag and there’s 5 seconds when you can both be in the ring at the same time, right? If I tag you, for 5 seconds we can both be in the ring as the referee counts to 5. However, outside of that 5 seconds if you are not the legal man, you cannot touch the other team’s legal man. Vince is adamant that this be enforced. If you are legal, you are allowed to hit the other team’s illegal man but the illegal man cannot touch the legal man. So Rey, because he’s legal, is allowed to hit Seth on the apron but Seth on the apron is not allowed to hit Rey. Seth can hit Aleister because they are both illegal. Legal can hit illegal but illegal cannot hit legal but illegal can hit illegal."
Confused yet?
"Vince is so adamant about this rule that when the wrestlers put together matches, there are spots that they want to do but the can’t because they will violate this rule. Even though I said all of that, you are still allowed to break up a pin. So illegal, as noted, can hit legal to break up the pin. If the illegal man tries to make a pin and the ref isn’t paying attention and the illegal man hits the illegal man, I think that’s a disqualification. If you are on the apron and you step inside and you punch the legal man, even though it has no bearing on the match, that’s a disqualification. But if someone is pinning your partner and you step in and break it up, which is a save, that is legal."
"That’s why last night Rey went for the 619 and Seth grabbed him and threw him on the floor and that was a disqualification. Because of this crazy rule," he concluded.
Honestly, that sounds exactly like something Vince McMahon would want to adhere to, and it explains why a number of matches on WWE shows have had such weird endings. Of course, it's no secret that he frequently changes his mind, so don't be surprised if this is thrown out sooner rather than later.
What are your thoughts on this crazy Vince McMahon rule?