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In professional wrestling, wrestlers use a variety of moves at their disposal to attack their opponents. These moves could range from throws, slams, aerial attacks, and strikes to even submission maneuvers. The special ones are called finishing moves or finishers which allow a wrestler to pick up a win over his/her opponent. In most cases, we see the victim of a wrestler's move contort their face in agony as we are led to believe that the person on the receiving end is having a painful experience.
However, as we know, that is not the case as these are all pre-determined and if a wrestler was to apply a move for real on his/her opponent, it could leave them with serious injuries and then the injury rate in pro-wrestling would be off the charts.
There are some moves in wrestling, though, that may appear to be harmless and safe but can legitimately injure the person on the receiving end. Here, we take a look at 10 such wrestling moves that are more painful than they actually look.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the article belong to the writer and don't necessarily represent Sportskeeda's stand.
#10 Backhand chops
A chop is a form of striking attack that a wrestler performs by striking an opponent's chest, neck, shoulders, or their backside with the edge of their hand. There are several variations in which a wrestler can deal out chops to their opponents, but here we will be talking about the simple backhand chop that is a common move in many a wrestler's arsenal.
Although it may look simple, a backhand chop can be as lethal depending on the wrestler. If struck with enough force, these chops can leave an opponent's chest a bloody mess.
The live crowd often responds with a loud "Woo!" noise in unison whenever a wrestler dishes out those backhand chops across an opponent's chest, in honor of two-time WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair, who made the move popular. The move is also often used by Ric's daughter, WWE Superstar Charlotte Flair.
In recent years, two WWE Superstars have gained notoriety for dishing out the most lethal knife-edge chops. One of them is NXT Superstar Roderick Strong and the other one is NXT UK Superstar and current NXT United Kingdom Champion WALTER.
In this video below, you can watch Daniel Bryan giving a first-hand account of how devastating Strong's chops were as they left bloody welts on Bryan's chest when they faced-off against each other at the WWE Greatest Royal Rumble which was held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in 2018.
Also, you can see just how brutal WALTER's chops can be when you take a close look at how he struck Jordan Devlin on his chest in a May 2019 episode of NXT UK in the video below near the 2:49 minute mark.
#9 Superplex
A suplex is a common move that is used by both professional and amateur wrestlers alike. It involves grabbing one's opponent and lifting them up, then falling on the backside to slam their opponent's back on the mat or the floor. There are multiple variants of suplexes but here we'll be talking about the superplex.
The superplex is the same as any other suplex but involves delivering it from the second or the top rope. The move does involve a lot of co-ordination between both wrestlers while performing it but it does tend to hurt both the wrestlers, the one who is performing it and the one who is getting hit, as both of them have to fall flat on their backs which could end up damaging their spine.
If performed without much caution, it can even damage the neck or the head. WWE Hall of Famer 'Cowboy' Bob Orton is often credited as being the one who popularized the move and it is now often used by his son and WWE Superstar Randy Orton.
#8 Backstabber
The backstabber, which is essentially a double-knee backbreaker, may look like it does not hurt much but can actually sting the opponent's back.
To perform this move, a wrestler has to apply a rear chin lock on their opponent's head or shoulders and then jump up to place both of their knees to the opponent's back, following which both wrestlers fall back, which in turn drives the wrestler's knees into their opponent's back.
The move was made popular in WWE by former Superstar Carlito who used it as his finisher and is now used by current WWE RAW Women's Champion and Women's Tag Team Champion Sasha Banks who hits it on her opponents before applying her Bank Statement submission maneuver.
#7 DDT
The DDT was popularized by WWE Hall of Famer Jake 'The Snake' Roberts who reportedly discovered the move by accident. There have been many rumors around what DDT might stand for but Roberts himself claimed in an interview with VICE that he came up with the name when he read about the harmful effects of the chemical pesticide dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, which is commonly abbreviated as DDT.
The move involves the wrestler grabbing their opponent in a front facelock and then falling backward or down to spike their opponent's head to the ground. If not performed with enough caution it can damage the neck or the head of the person getting hit with the DDT.
The most common example is when in 1986 Roberts gave the DDT to fellow Hall of Famer Ricky 'The Dragon' Steamboat on the outside of the ring which resulted in Steamboat getting a concussion. The idea was pitched by the WWE management and although Roberts reportedly didn't agree to do it, Steamboat complied.
#6 Wasteland
The Wasteland, which is a forward fireman's carry slam, was popularized by former WWE Superstar Wade Barrett (Stu Bennett) who used it as his finisher before switching to the Bull Hammer Elbow. Barrett used to put the opponent on his shoulders and then flung them off forwards onto the mat from a standing position.
Now, the move may not seem like much but it takes a lot of effort on the opponent's part to make it work. Although wrestlers never intend to legitimately hurt their opponents and neither did Barrett, getting slammed on the mat after getting flung off from a height of over six feet can take a toll on the opponent's back.
The Wasteland helped Barrett to become the winner of the first season of NXT, back when it was a game show, and also nearly made him a world champion.
#5 Cross Rhodes
The finishing move of AEW wrestler and current AEW TNT Champion Cody, Cross Rhodes is a rolling cutter. The move sees Cody trapping his opponent's head under his left arm and holding their right arm with his own right arm. After turning a little bit counterclockwise for some momentum he spins his opponent clockwise and slams them onto the floor.
Although it may look like a harmless move because of how quickly Cody hits his opponents with the move, it can often disorient the opponent due to the sudden clockwise turn. WWE NXT Superstar Damian Priest also uses a version of this move and calls it The Reckoning.
#4 Killswitch/Unprettier
The Killswitch or Unprettier is a move that was popularized by former WWE World Champion Christian. The move which is technically known as the inverted double underhook facebuster involves grabbing the arms of an opponent from their behind and then maneuvering themselves in front of the opponent. This puts the opponent in a position where his/her face faces the ground and the person applying the move drops onto their back which drives their opponent's face into the mat.
The opponent doesn't have an option to break themselves free of the hold while falling down and often bump their head into the mat. Current WWE Superstars Tyler Breeze and Chelsea Green uses the same move and calls it the Unprettier and I'm Prettier respectively. NJPW wrestler Juice Robinson uses a variation of this move and calls it Pulp Friction.
#3 Skull Crushing Finale
The Skull Crushing Finale is a finishing move that has been popularized by WWE Superstar The Miz and like the Killswitch in the previous point, is another form of the facebuster move. The move involves The Miz trapping his opponent's head in a full nelson hold and then sees him performing a leg sweep that allows him to slam his opponent face-first into the mat.
It is a simple and easy move to set up but it takes a lot on The Miz's part so as to not injure his opponent as they cannot protect their face with their hands as The A-Lister keeps them trapped with the full nelson hold. If applied without much caution, the Skull Crushing Finale can legitimately hurt a wrestler's face.
#2 Walls of Jericho/Liontamer
The Walls of Jericho is a variation of the Boston Crab submission maneuver that was made popular by current AEW star Chris Jericho. The former WWE Superstar applies this move by hooking the opponent's legs under his arms, turns them on over on their stomach, and then pulls back on the legs and sits down on the opponent's back. When applied for real, this could apply tremendous pressure on the quadriceps muscle of the opponent.
A more intense variation is the Liontamer in which Jericho places his right knee on the opponent's back or presses it against the top of their head. However, as mentioned earlier no wrestler will ever put real pressure into the hold, otherwise, their opponent can get seriously injured.
#1 Figure Four Leglock
The Figure Four Leglock is a submission maneuver that was innovated by WWE Hall of Famer Buddy Rogers but it is yet another move that was made popular by Ric Flair. The 16-time WWE World Champion used this hold often as a finishing move.
The Figure Four Leglock involves having the opponent's right leg bent at the knee, laid perpendicular, and placed on top of the left leg, which is kept straight. This position in which the opponent is trapped resembles the figure '4', hence the name.
The wrestler who applies the hold places his left leg in the gap of his opponent's legs and places his right leg on the ankle of his opponent's right leg. If applied with enough force, this could be very painful for the opponent's shin.
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