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 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 (TNA is a rare exception to this).
The second variation also involves the original referee regaining conciousness, 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obscure stipulation or infraction, i.e. use of the piledriver, which was largely outlawed in 1981 and never officially rescinded, so the wrestler who used the piledriver would be disqualified.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.
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.
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. 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.
The Rockers won the Tag Team Championships from The Hart Foundation during a house show. This was frequently done to make the arena shows seem important, but the saying of the time was "If it's not on TV, it didn't happen." The change was reported as fact by the Apter magazines, but they reported it prematurely. So, they created a second story claiming the title change was declared void due to the top rope becoming disconnected from the turnbuckle.
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.
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 WWE 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. This angered many fans who wanted Jericho to be champion and a lot see it as the beginning of Jericho's fall down the card in the WWE despite being incredibly popular.
At the 2005 Royal Rumble, John Cena and Batista went over the top rope and hit the floor at the same time. SmackDown! officials awarded the victory to Cena while RAW officials awarded the match to Batista. This was resolved when Mr. McMahon ordered that the rumble restart with Cena and Batista the only competitors. Batista eventually won the match.
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