10 Iconic Moves & Wrestlers You Never Knew Did Them
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Big moves in wrestling get repeated and innovated over time, heck all moves in wrestling get repeated and innovated over the years. Of course iconic moves are associated with specific superstars. While often times their “exclusive” to a certain wrestler for branding purposes, they’re not beholden to them exclusively either.
With some many maneuvers and wrestlers, sometimes it’s easy to either forget or plain didn’t know some wrestlers pulled off some iconic moves that other wrestlers were known for or had invented and innovated themselves.
10 Johnny Ace – The Cutter
John Laurinaitis is one of the most polarizing figures in professional wrestling. To some, he’s Vince’s top sycophant, complimenting him on all of his maneuvers with his signature raspy voice. The Bellas and Bryan Danielson call him family. He’s often laughed at stateside for his brief run as a bleach blond Dynamic Dude, but in Japan he was one of the most successful Gaijin wrestlers of his era.
One thing that no one can ever take away from him is that he is the innovator of a move called The Ace Crusher, which morphed into not just The Stone Cold Stunner but The Diamond Cutter / RKO as well.
9 Mando Guerrero – The Moonsault
During the 80s, the mysterious Great Muta would defeat his opponents with a devastating moonsault, when not blowing the Ancient Mist in their eyes. At the point, the move was seldom seen stateside and with no internet to tell fans otherwise, it was easy to think that Muta invented the move.
However, it was actually invented by and then popularized by two members of the Guerrero family. Mando had invented the move in Mexico and Chavo (later Chavo Classic) popularized it stateside.
8 Scott Steiner – 450 Splash
Plenty of fans know that a younger and more agile Scotty Steiner invented the Hurricanrana and dubbed it The Frankensteiner. But even longer than before The Frankensteiner, the future Big Poppa Pump innovated one of the most exciting moves in all of wrestling – The 450 Splash.
It wasn’t long after he invented it that he was too big to do the move, but Luchadors and Crusierweights all over actually owe Steiner a big thank you.
7 Andre The Giant – The Pedigree
Triple H has been using The Pedigree as big time finish since the moment he came to the WWE. His disciples like Seth Rollins and Tomasso Ciampa use in tribute and to shock audiences here and there. CM Punk has used it before on the Indies off the top rope as The Pepsi Plunge.
But when he was a younger and far more athletic, Andre The Giant did a whole lot more than big chops and standing on his opponents’ gullets (not that he had to, but he did). Andre actually did The Pedigree on more than one occasion.
6 Triple H – Diamond Cutter
Speaking of the legendary Cerebral Assassin, Triple H didn’t always use The Pedigree as a finish. He actually came to the WWE and tried to borrow from his future subordinate, Johnny Ace and use the cutter as a finish.
But after a simple request from his friend Diamond Dallas Page to not use that move, he decided he’d get a different finishing move over instead.
5 Ronnie Garvin – The Scorpion Death Lock / Sharpshooter
Invented by Japanese legend Riki Chosu, the Sasori-Gatame was a devastating leg submission hold that to this very day few have found a counter for. It was popularized in the states by the likes of Sting (as the Scorpion Deathlock) and Bret The Hitman Hart (as The Sharpshooter).
Bret popularized the move so well that when it’s done nowadays it’s in tribute to The Hitman. But aside from The Stinger, Rugged Ronnie Garvin of all people actually was one of the first superstars to bring the move stateside.
4 Stone Cold Steve Austin – Tombstone
One of the sad things about Steve Austin getting dropped on his stack of dimes at SummerSlam 1997 is that he and Owen were having an amazing wrestling match. While talking through the match backstage, Austin famously made sure Owen knew how to land with during the Tombstone spot.
Owen said he’d land on his rear end and Austin just assumed The King Of Harts was ribbing him. Perhaps because five years earlier, Austin inadvertently did the same exact move to Masahiro Chono and broke his neck in the same manner Owen did to The Rattlesnake that he knew it was a bad idea.
3 Chris Jericho – The Skull Crushing Finale
For years, for a time, The A-Lister, The Miz has been accused of trying to be like Chris Jericho. It’s an easy comparison – both men can get tremendous heat on the microphone. Both men wore suits for a time and all sorts of outlandish ring gear just to look ridiculous.
Both men also used the awkward looking Skull Crushing Finale as a finish. When Jericho user it, his version was called The Breakdown.
2 Cowboy Bob Ace Orton – The Superplex
For a brief time before nine hundred high impact moves were kicked out of 12 times each per competitor every match, a move like The Superplex was devastating and awe-inspiring to see.
The move was popularized by Barry Windham and used by the likes of Bret Hart and in recent years Randy Orton would occasionally break out the move from his repertoire. He can actually claim ownership of the move however, since his father Ace Cowboy Bob Orton was the first person to use it.
1 The Undertaker – The Heart Punch
As The Phenom, The Undertaker named Billy Robinson’s reverse Piledriver and called it The Tombstone. But we all know that. Prior to his epic WWE run, he was Mean Mark in WCW and used perhaps a more devastating move – The Heart Punch as his finish.
Originally used by old school heel, Ox Baker, the move was rumored in Kayfabe land to stop a man’s heart.
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