Lack of Flat Back Bumps

Hey, Scott:

Really enjoy your Observer retro recaps. In fact, I’ve gone down a Clash of the Champions rabbit hole on The Network because of them. I was watching Clash VIII in which the Steiners challenged the Freebirds for the tag team titles. I never before noticed that Michael Hayes seems to rarely, if ever, take a flat back bump. The Steiners are throwing their usual stiff clotheslines and Jimmy Garvin is landing on his back after each one, while Hayes gets hit with one and lands on his butt. It really lessens the visual impact and I was wondering if you knew if there was a reason for Hayes’ goofy bumping and/or if any other wrestlers have an unusual way of bumping for a run-of-the-mill opponent’s move?

​Well, Hayes had to retire from the business due to a serious back injury​, so that’s probably what his bumping style stemmed from. He was never the guy to be taking big bumps at the best of times, and by the time he got to that phase of his career he was pretty much shot as a worker. Flair also took backdrops weird, like a bump onto his hip, because of the back injury suffered in the plane crash.