John Georgopoulos
 Senior Editor and Founder John T. Georgopoulos is a 15-year veteran of the fantasy sports industry. He has written for several national fantasy magazines and has appeared on sports talk stations around the country.
John has also been a six-time finalist for various Fantasy Sports Writer Association (FSWA) awards; his Fantasy Forecast column was awarded the 2006 Best Fantasy Football In-Season Series by the FSWA. View all blogs by John Georgopoulos...
Pro Wrestling Grumblings: The Best Wrestling Moves of All Time
There's nothing quite like a Superfly Leap when it comes to wrestling excitement.
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Last week I opined on the lamest moves I have ever witnessed in pro wrestling; it's only natural that I know delve into the most devastating moves I've had the pleasure of seeing-- and my breadth of wrestling viewing goes back almost 35 years!
Jumping Piledriver (Paul Orndorff, Brett Hart)
When a move has a better than 50-50 chance of breaking your opponent's neck, it must be awesome. Anyone who has seen the great Mr. Wonderful, Paul Orndorff, execute this move cringed in anticipation... even a slight miscalculation could result in a broken neck. An awesome sight to behold.
FrankenSteiner (Scott Steiner)
Looking at Scott Steiner, aka "Big Poppa Pump", these days it is difficult to imagine him performing a thrilling move like the FrankenSteiner. But in his younger days, Steiner was a brilliant mat technician-- and the FrankenSteiner (a hurricanrana executed against an opponent running straight at him, combined with a backflip take-down) a breath-taking move. Not only was the move dangerous for his opponents but for Steiner as well. But when Steiner was on his game, it was an awe-inspiring move.
DDT (Jake 'The Snake' Roberts, Raven, Mick Foley, Lita, others)
No one really knows what "DDT" stands for-- one theory says it stands for "Demonic Death Trap"-- but everyone knows that the DDT, in all its various forms, is a vicious maneuver. And no one did it better than the (supposed) inventor of the DDT: Jake ' The Snake' Roberts. Roberts set the move up with a devastating short-arm clothesline, then hooked a front-face lock, rapidly dropping his dazed opponent forehead-first into the mat. Others have added nice twists to the original DDT (Lita swings her leg in a big arc for added momentum, while Mick Foley uses a double-arm underhook to secure his opponent), but nothing beats the original.
450 Splash/Shooting Star Splash (2 Cold Scorpio, Jushin Liger, Billy Kidman, John Kronus)
Both of these moves have allegedly been banned by the WWE, due to their (legit) dangerous nature. The 450 Splash sees the wrestler climb to the top turnbuckle, jump into the air almost vertically, spin forward 450 degrees, then splash the prone opponent. 2 Cold Scorpio and John Kronus used this move very effectively. The Shooting Star Splash is even more dangerous. A shooting star press is a technique invented by Jushin Liger. In a standard Shooting Star spalsh, the wrestler jumps forward from an elevated position and presses knees to chest, executes a backflip in mid-air, and lands on the opponent in the splash/press position. When Kidman does his version of the Shooting Star, I cringe every time-- it looks like he's gonna break his own neck.
Superfly Leap (Jimmy Snuka, Rob Van Dam, Eddie Guerrero)
When executed properly, is there anything more majestic (and devastating) than a full body splash from the top rope? Whether a Frog Splash from Van Dam or Eddie Guererro, this move is always spectacular. And the passage of time has not diminished the greatest practitioner of the big splash, Superfly Jimmy Snuka. Snuka's Superfly dive from the top of the steel cage in a 1983 matchup against 'Magnificent' Don Muraco in Madison Square Garden is probably the greatest wrestling move I have ever seen-- and inspired a young Mick Foley to enter the business.
Discuss the best wrestling moves ever in our forums!
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