Sarah
Wrestling-Watch Top 5
“The Top 5 Submissions I Feared Growing Up”
by Sarah Vicik
I Grew up watching wrestling since the late ’80s. I remember watching Greg “The Hammer” Valentine, Red Rooster, Junkyard Dog, and so on. Lots of the classics.
The one thing you feared in your adolescence and teen years when you and your cousins watched wresting was one of them locking in a submission hold and not only can you not get out of it, but mom is nowhere in sight to save you. Thankfully I was the oldest of the 3 of us but that doesn’t mean I had my fair share of moves put on me.
Let’s be honest too. At that age, we didn’t know how to properly do the moves or when to stop sometimes. In this first edition of my Wresting Watch Top 5 let me take you back to the ’90s to the Top 5 Submission Moves I Feared.
#5 The Sharpshooter:
Also known as the scorpion deathlock, this move is most known as the finishing move to the legendary Bret Hart. However, Ronnie Garvin and Sting used the move. Currently the finishing move of Bret’s niece Natalya.
While not a hard move to execute when it is executed on you it’s not an easy one to break out of if you got nothing to grasp on to. Pain level increases as they lean back and pull on your legs.
#4 Full Nelson:
I’m familiar with this move by watching Hercules, no not the Disney cartoon but WWE star from the mid-’80s to early ’90s. Currently used by Bobby Lashley known to him as the Hurt Lock.
This move was hard to get in on your opponent but when you did, immediate pain, no way out unless you were bigger and can flip your attacker.
#3 Walls of Jericho:
The move of my favorite wrestler of all-time Chris Jericho. The walls of Jericho starts as a basic Boston Crab but is taken to the next degree by elevating the legs more and putting more pressure on the other person’s back.
This is a feared move because when applied right it’s going to hurt your back quite a bit and then pain can distract you enough to make it hard to break down the wall…..see what I did there. Thank you, I’ll be here every week.
#2 Mandible Claw:
This move is one of my cousins and I never did. It was used by Mankind/Mick Foley. Basically inserting your fingers in someone’s mouth and applying pressure. Yea it looks painful. But the fear of this move alone is what this list is about.
#1 Cranium Crunch:
This move is not one that is immediately thought of by many today. If you grew up in the ’90s though you remember Crush. This move also basically is known as the Vice.
The reason this was most feared at a young age and I imagine even older still, as your skull is getting crushed in, It’s hard to think. All you want is relief. All you can do is tap out.
What are your thoughts? Comment your top 5.
