5. Palhares Subs Drwal
Palhares holds the heel hook for a loooong time after the stop, long after Drwal seems to go hoarse from screaming and the ref has strained muscles in an attempt to break the two apart.
Some time later, Drwal shared his thoughts on the moment:
“I think when someone taps and screams it means that he's done, that he concedes the win to the other guy and that the guy should stop the hold without fearing any misunderstandings with the ref.”
I’m no Big John McCarthy, but I think I must concur with that assessment.
For Palhares’ part, he protested the 90-day suspension, saying he was “just waiting for the ref to interrupt the match.” Yes, I can see how the ref pushing on you so hard that his neck tendons pop out may leave a little room for ambiguity. Way to be wishy-washy about it, ref.
(Postscript: thankfully, Drwal was not seriously injured.)