Dusty finish
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In professional wrestling, a Dusty Finish refers to a specific scripted ending to a match named after wrestling legend Dusty Rhodes. During his tenure as a booker in several promotions, he was known to have used this finish so often that it has since been indelibly linked to him. The finish itself is typically claimed to have been invented by Florida promoter Eddie Graham.
The archetypical scenario starts with a ref bump, in which the referee is knocked unconscious as a result of some action by one of the wrestlers. A second official is brought in to continue the match.
From here there are two distinct variations on the theme. In the first possibility the substitute official will have declared a clean win (pinfall or submission), usually by the wrestler who is not responsible for the original ref bump. However, in the meantime, the first official will regain consciousness and overturn the substitute official's decision, usually declaring that the original infraction caused a disqualification. This is especially important in title matches, as the standard rules of pro wrestling state that a title cannot change hands on a disqualification (except in federations such as World Class or TNA in which titles do change hands on a DQ).
The second variation also involves the original referee regaining consciousness, but doing so just before a pinfall occurs. The pinfall will be one where both wrestlers can be considered "down." One referee will be on one side of the wrestlers and the other on almost the exact opposite providing them with two different viewpoints. Both referees will make a three count and signal for the bell to be rung, but award the match to differing wrestlers.
A third situation can occur which some people consider to be a Dusty Finish where a match's result is declared void because of some obscure stipulation or infraction, i.e. use of the piledriver, which was largely outlawed in 1981 and never officially rescinded, so the wrestler who used the piledriver would be disqualified. This can (and has) also be applied retroactively to overturn a decision, such as the case when The Rockers were stripped of their title because the top rope broke, yet the match continued.
In modern years, most pro wrestling associations also have onscreen authority figures capable of overturning a decision on a variety of technicalities. When two or more officials are involved it can lead to various kinds of trouble, including the holding up of a title that was on the line or forcing a match to continue to a second fall.
There are two basic reasons behind the use of the Dusty Finish. The first is to put over the idea of a wrestler winning the big match, without actually letting him win and thus ending the chase. Theoretically, in this situation the fans leave convinced that the hero should have won and has been screwed leading to a revenge match and heightening the atmosphere of a rematch. This ending can have the opposite effect however, reinforcing the fans' belief that title changes will never occur unexpectedly without being revoked in some way.
The second reason to use a Dusty Finish can be to force a title off of someone without having them actually drop it. Many times the aftermatch of a Dusty Finish will involve the two wrestlers having some kind of "best of" series, especially when there's a title on the line.
Overuse of tactics like the Dusty Finish can create a fanbase that fails to react to even the most seemingly-exciting match-ups unless they're taking place on pay-per-view or a similarly high profile event.
[edit] Notable Dusty Finishes
The Dusty finish was twice used in the American Wrestling Association in the 1980s to overturn the title victories of the popular Hulk Hogan, leading to rioting among the fans. These decisions were officially overturned in April 2005, making Hogan a two time AWA World Heavyweight Champion (and thus making him the first man to hold three different prominent recognized world titles per Pro Wrestling Illustrated, the second being The Big Show).
The Dusty Finish was also used to overturn a title victory by The Road Warriors against the Four Horsemen in the Warriors' hometown of Chicago at Starrcade '87. The grounds were that the Horsemen had clotheslined their opponents over the top rope, which was declared illegal. This too almost caused rioting, and angered fans enough that the NWA did not hold further events in Chicago for a long time.
A 1987 match between Gentleman Chris Adams and World Class heavyweight champion Al Perez ended in a Dusty-finish-style controversial fashion. Adams was about to finish Perez off with his superkick when Perez shoved referee John Alexander Keaton into Adams' kick. With Keaton out, Adams executed a sunset flip on Perez, and backup referee Bronco Lubich made the 3-count, awarding the match and the World Class title to Adams. As Adams and all of the Sportatorium fans were celebrating, Keaton reversed the decision and DQed Adams, not realizing that it was Perez who pushed Keaton into Adams to begin with. The title was held up for a short time, and upon further review, Lubich's decision was null and void, and Keaton's decision stood. Adams would never regain the World Class title again, but did win the Atlanta-based Southern Championship Wrestling title in 1988 and the Global Wrestling Federation North American heavyweight title in 1993.
A 1987 steel cage match televised on Saturday Night's Main Event between Hulk Hogan and Paul Orndorff for Hogan's WWF World Heavyweight Championship also ended in a Dusty-finish-style fashion when both competitors climbed and exited the steel cage and touched the arena floor at the same time. WWF referee Dave Hebner, who saw Hogan's feet touch the floor, declared Hogan the winner. Meanwhile, Danny Davis, who saw Orndorff's feet touch the floor, declared Orndorff the winner and the new champion. After a commercial break, a simultaneous instant replay of both wrestlers' feet touching the floor was shown, and it was declared that both wrestlers touched the floor at the same time. WWF president Jack Tunney, who came down to ringside due to the controversy, informed Hogan, Orndorff, Hebner, and announcer Howard Finkel that the match would continue. Hogan eventually won the match and retained the title.
The Rockers apparently won the Tag Team Championships from The Hart Foundation during a TV taping. The switch came because Jim Neidhart was scheduled to be released from his contract. Before the match aired, Neidhart's release was cancelled, so the planned title switch was ignored and never aired. Jack Tunney filmed a short promo which aired on the local station broadcast of the syndicated WWF shows, in which he said the match had been declared because of a rope breaking midway through. This story was then covered by the Apter mags, several of which had gone to press with the title switch before it was dropped.
In 1991, a Dusty finish was used in Japan, where such endings were being discouraged. In a match for New Japan Pro Wrestling pitting NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair against IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Tatsumi Fujinami, the main NWA referee Bill Alfonso was (kayfabe) knocked out during the match and replaced by NJPW referee Masao "Tiger" Hattori, who eventually gave the victory to Fujinami. This was done to prevent a riot by Japanese fans who had begun to dislike American-style "screwjob endings". The NWA recognized Fujinami as champion but Flair kept physical possession of the belt, which was seen as he arrived at the Japanese airport for a flight back home. To work it into the storyline, it was announced in Japan that Flair's defeat of Fujinami at Superbrawl earned him back the NWA title when in America it was simply billed as a Flair title defense.
Chris Benoit and Booker T have had two title matches end in Dusty Finishes (one in WCW, and the other in the WWE) both resulting in a title being held up and a best-of-seven series ensuing.
At the WWF In Your House: Beware of Dog pay-per-view in May 1996, referee Earl Hebner had been knocked out of the ring by The British Bulldog, during a match with Shawn Michaels for the WWF championship. Referee Mike Chioda ran into the ring to replace Hebner. Michaels German suplexed the Bulldog and held him down in a pinning combination. Chioda, noticing that Michaels' shoulders were on the mat, counted him down for a three count and awarded the match and championship to the British Bulldog. Meanwhile, Hebner had since regained his senses and noticed from outside of the ring that the Bulldog's shoulders were also on the mat and counted him down for a three count; slapping the mat at the same time as Chioda. Both officials declared each wrestler the winner of the match and the Federation champion. WWF president Gorilla Monsoon entered the ring and declared the match a draw, ordering a rematch for the King of the Ring pay-per-view event. This was billed as first for the World Wrestling Federation.
Chris Jericho and Chyna had a WWF Intercontinental Title match on SmackDown! that ended in a Dusty Finish. Jericho, the defending champion, performed a back suplex on Chyna onto a steel chair. However, both had their arms placed across the other (indicating both were in the process of pinning their opponent) with two referees present. Both referees counted three at the same time and the result of the match was disputed. Eventually it was determined that both Jericho and Chyna were to be considered champions (meaning this is the first time in WWF/E history that two wrestlers held a singles title at the same time). The title was stripped after the dispute then awarded back to the two, meaning Jericho got an extra title reign out of the whole deal.
Chris Jericho suffered a Dusty Finish in April 2000 in the WWF. He was in a match with Triple H for the WWF Championship when the original referee was knocked out in the course of the match. Earl Hebner ran out to officiate the rest of it (he was also in the middle of a feud with Triple H at the time). When Triple H went to argue (both verbally and physically) with Hebner about a call, Jericho managed to hit a series of moves then covered Triple H for the pin. Hebner, in anger, proceeded to fast-count Triple H seemingly awarding Jericho the Championship. Fifteen minutes later the call was reversed by the original referee after he claimed a fast-count was illegitimate. The title was awarded back to Triple H with Jericho's win being null and void.
At the inter-promotional January 2005 Royal Rumble, John Cena and Batista went over the top rope and hit the floor at the same time. As a result the SmackDown! officials awarded the victory to Cena while the officials from RAW awarded the match to Batista. The match was then restarted by Mr. McMahon with Cena and Batista as the only competitors. Batista eventually won the match.
There is at least one example of a false Dusty finish. At ECW One Night Stand 2006, John Cena defended the WWE Championship against Rob Van Dam. During the match, Edge attacked Cena by spearing him through a table, then knocked out referee Nick Patrick, who stepped in after Cena knocked out an ECW official. Van Dam nailed Cena with his Five-Star Frog Splash, and ECW Representative Paul Heyman ran in and counted the fall, and Rob Van Dam was declared the WWE Champion. At first, the finish was disputed, but Heyman declared the following night that since the match was under "Extreme Rules," the victory stood. Otherwise, Van Dam's victory would've been a Dusty finish.
