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Post by nintendologic on Nov 1, 2019 18:21:12 GMT -5
You'll frequently see discussion of who has/had the coolest finisher, but you hardly ever see appreciation of mastery of more mundane maneuvers. So who had the best punch? The best headlock? The best bodyslam? The best dropkick? The best execution of any other basic hold/strike/throw?
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Post by elliott on Nov 1, 2019 18:53:59 GMT -5
Great topic.
Will be trying to think of some. Can anyone top Jim Brunzell's dropkick?
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Post by elliott on Nov 1, 2019 18:55:23 GMT -5
I love Hansen's knee drops and elbow drops.
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Post by nintendologic on Nov 1, 2019 19:07:46 GMT -5
I was always partial to Doug Furnas when it comes to dropkicks. I don't think anyone matched his combination of height and precision.
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Post by bossrock on Nov 1, 2019 19:52:36 GMT -5
Best punch: Jerry Lawler (at least in a worked sense) Best dropkick: Kazuchika Okada Best elbow: Mitsuharu Misawa Best piledriver: Bret Hart Best chop: WALTER Best powerbomb: Mike Awesome or Yuji Hino Best lariat: Stan Hansen Best kick: Shinya Hashimoto Best spear: Goldberg Best DDT: Jake Roberts
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Post by elliott on Nov 1, 2019 20:03:40 GMT -5
I really like Dean Malenko's monkey flip.
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Post by elliott on Nov 1, 2019 20:08:55 GMT -5
Miss Jackie actually had a really good body slam.
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Post by elliott on Nov 2, 2019 1:00:04 GMT -5
Furnas is a good pick for best dropkick. I'm partial to Brunzell's though because he could use it as a finish. The High Flyers vs Martel/Tito match from 82 is like Brunzell's dropkick masquerading as Hansen's lariat.
Buzz Sawyer's Powerslam is great. Young Sasaki's is also pretty damn amazing.
JBL's big boot.
I love Waltman's execution when taking a hip toss. He always seemed to do a really good sprawled out splat bump.
Kobashi was great at leg drops.
Especially in the context of 90s wrestling, all of Bret Hart's 5 Moves of Doom felt like basic moves, and I'd really add just all of those. The side backbreaker, the 2nd rope elbow, the side russian leg sweep. His piledriver was mentioned. I don't think his was the "best piledriver" ever. But when he was using it in his main events, it would qualify as a basic wrestling move. Compared to say "Backlund's Piledriver" which was a high end move for the era. Anyway. 5 moves of doom.
70s Jumbo's gut wrench suplex where he'd dead lift guys. He moved away from it as time went on and it was probably more high end than basic in the 70s. But fuck what a great move.
Jumbo's jumping knee is technically a basic spot, but it feels out of place in this thread because it was such a signature spot. On the other hand, it feels fair game to mention Fujiwara's headbutts or Harley Race's headbutts. And besides, all jumping knees are great.
I guess Ted Dibiase's vertical suplex is sort of a classic answer. Davey Boy's as well.
Choshu vs Hashimoto G1 96 and several Low Ki vs Homicide matches started with the best lock ups ever.
To have one in the complete opposite direction. I hate how El Dandy takes backdrops. I'm sure they would make the tiniest splashes in the pool though.
And of course the Rock has the best elbow drop ever.
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Post by elliott on Nov 2, 2019 1:00:21 GMT -5
Love this topic.
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Post by nintendologic on Nov 2, 2019 17:06:57 GMT -5
Co-sign on Fujiwara's headbutts.
I'd say best stomp is a toss-up between Yoshihiro Takayama and Jumbo Tsuruta. Takayama bringing his foot down like he was trying to squash a cockroach is the best single stomp while Jumbo laying the boots to someone is the best series of stomps. Speaking of Jumbo, I can't think of anyone with a better kitchen sink (the wrestling move, not the plumbing fixture).
How about best selling of specific moves? Rick Rude selling an atomic drop is an obvious choice. I also like Tenryu selling a DDT by grabbing his head and kicking his legs in the air.
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Post by elliott on Nov 2, 2019 17:37:47 GMT -5
Agreed about Jumbo's kitchen sink. I'd include Choushu in the stomp discussion
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Post by KB8 on Nov 2, 2019 18:10:04 GMT -5
Arn had great stomps as well, especially the ones where he'd stomp on someone's fingers.
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Post by elliott on Nov 2, 2019 20:54:09 GMT -5
Its not selling, but I love how Waltman would bump on hip tosses. He'd often do a splayed out splat bump.
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Post by bossrock on Nov 2, 2019 23:07:29 GMT -5
Love Jumbo's stomps. His lariat and running knee were terrific as well.
As much as Misawa is the undisputed master of the elbow, I think Takashi Sugiura is an incredibly worthy second.
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Post by bossrock on Nov 3, 2019 22:56:30 GMT -5
Carlos Colon had terrific punches and headbutts.
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