Ever since it's ingress into prime time television, the World Wrestling Federation has incused hysteria and won fans from all over the world with the fervour, madness and hard hitting impact! This was largely due to the efforts of Bret Hart, The Undertaker, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock and all the other superstars who attained ‘demi God’ status with the business.
Yet despite the fan-following, there emerged a group of naysayers who criticized the mock fights in the WWE and refused to acknowledge the ‘sporting’ aspect of the business and the hardwork that all the superstars put-in, in selling the business.
While WWE might be categorized as ‘sports entertainment’ that includes storylines, ‘bra and panties’ matches, choreographed fights and other glorified paraphernalia, let’s not take away the hardwork that WWE superstars put in.
True, the matches are choreographed but the preparation and the horrific botches that creep up, are real! Choreographing a fight isn’t monkey business though, because of the ever-varying circumstances under which the match takes place.
Where to fall, when to fall, when to take the hit, when to avoid a swing are certain variables that need to be worked out well in advance so that the match goes on smoothly!
Let’s talk about some of the WWE moves that are extremely difficult to learn and execute successfully, to give a fair idea of how things transpire in the squared-circle once the gong goes off! Trust me, these are way too dangerous even for the ‘real fighters’.
Wrestling is fake? Well, so is Star Wars!
#5 The Swanton Bomb
Imagine an MMA fighter climbing up the octagon, prepping himself/herself to unleash wrath at the helpless carcass below, taking a leap of faith and doing a flip somersault! A mistimed Swanton Bomb could mean a plummet ‘hellwards’ hence it’s a move that qualifies as “extremely dangerous” but nothing dissuades the high flying Jeff Hardy from executing this on his opponents.
Jeff took the high-flying manoeuvre from “The Great Sasuke” and made it his own. The Swanton Bomb was later used by other superstars, namely Mr. Kennedy, Kevin Owens and Aiden English. The move has enthralled fans from across the globe, unanimously spraying “piss” over the notion that “WWE is fake”.
The iota of ‘fakeness’ in the execution of the Swanton Bomb is close to 0 as the wrestler is putting his life on the line. A bad fall could either result in a dislocated neck or a permanently damaged spine! And that’s just for the person executing it!
#4 The Canadian Destroyer
The Canadian Destroyer is one of the most epochal moves, to such an extent that, it was banned by the WWE for entailing a “high risk” factor. Now, don’t get me wrong; the WWE prides itself on the ‘prima facie’ haven of high-flyers, muscled maniacs, blood and even gore to a certain extent.
But, the Canadian Destroyer was one move that couldn’t find a home in the WWE. The progenitor of the Canadian Destroyer is Peter Williams who decided to take the piledriver to the next level. The Canadian Destroyer is basically the attacker doing a front flip whilst forcing the victim to do a backflip till the piledriver position is reached.
Doesn’t sound fun at all, eh? It also takes some serious balls of steel to agree to have this performed on you, so even the opponent has his work cut out!
#3 Moonsault
Hail Cody Rhodes, Lita, Shawn Michaels, Brock Lesnar (barring that botched variation in the form of the Shooting Star Press) and every other WWE superstar who has had the guts to pull this off! The Moonsault or the ‘back flip splash’ is another move that has found less takers owing to the ‘danger’ quotient that it entails.
The Moonsault has myriad variants, but the most common one sees the wrestler climbing on to the top rope, facing towards the crowd and executing a back flip, landing straight at the opponent. It is one of the toughest finishing moves to successfully execute because it is a complex utilisation of rotational speed that sets the trajectory.
A little here and there can cause a massive concussion, even worse, a bigtime botch can end a wrestler’s life!
#2 Go to Sleep
CM Punk’s Go To Sleep delivers exactly what it promises: putting victims to sleep albeit without a goodnight’s kiss. The move is a combination of variables that work in synergy, to deliver the most vicious way to end the game. While it delivers high impact and a perfect way to win the bout, the difficulty level in executing it is extremely high.
It involves catching and lifting the opponent onto the shoulders, tossing them and hitting them in the face with the knee. The timing has to be spot on, lest you want the opponent to counter it. But once this devastating move connects, the opponent has to grieve through concussion.
If only CM Punk had held his ground in the first round in his first fight against Mickey Gall, he could have had the opportunity to use the Go To Sleep to its fullest advantage. Or could he?
1# La Mistica
The best is saved for last and rightly so! For those who’ve followed the Lucha Libre and been fans of Sin Cara, need no introduction to this highly devastating finisher, which would be a perfect fit with the high-impact requirements of Mixed Martial Arts.
La Mistica is a confusing yet brutal amalgamation which, put in simple terms is, a ‘headscissors takedown’ that culminates in an arm-bar, forcing the opponent to submit right when he hits the ground. La Mistica starts off with a headscissors which trickily transitions into a single arm drag takedown. Sounds impressive, doesn’t it?
Well, it is one hell of a finisher if employed correctly, because the chances of a botch are extremely high on this one. The move is so complex that it would take years of practice to perfect it. There is also a high chance that the opponent can counter this move and turn it into a brutal body slam, which is why it isn’t a UFC favourite yet!
Did we miss out on anything? Let us know in the comments below!
