Well?

I hate to be cliché, but when the Sharpshooter is done right it's one of the better finishers.

 

I always dug Kendo Ka Shin's armbreaker in the late 90's, but I haven't seen that since the late 90's, so that may have changed.

 

Tajiri's surfboard while also putting on a face lock is pretty great too.

I really like the torture rack (and the pop that always went along with it) and actually, I'm a bit annoyed it's not a move that's been used a lot in WWE Main event style matches more, because I think it'd be fun to see different reversals out of it and into other things and what not.

I really like the torture rack (and the pop that always went along with it) and actually, I'm a bit annoyed it's not a move that's been used a lot in WWE Main event style matches more, because I think it'd be fun to see different reversals out of it and into other things and what not.

The variations on the torture rack are also cool. Ultimo Dragon's spinning one is awesome and when Atlantis drops to his knees with it is also pretty cool.

My favorites that I've seen in USA wrestling are:

 

1. Bret Hart's sharpshooter- as said, a classic and Bret always could cinch that baby in tight.

 

2. William Regal's Regal Stretch STF- Looked nasty as hell.

 

3. I won't exactly ever seek out his matches again and this move has obvious major black mark next to it, but when he was alive and not a monster, I loved Chris Benoit's Crippler Crossface for the same reason I dug Regal's STF.

I hate to be cliché, but when the Sharpshooter is done right it's one of the better finishers.

That's the first one I thought about too. Blame the 90's Bret fan in me. It was simple to built into it, it was cool looking, and it gave us one of the most iconic wrestling picture ever, a bloody Austin battling with the pain before passing out.

 

The Rock definitly made sure the move could look like complete shit though.

 

In a samey kinda way, the Texas Cloverfleaf was pretty great looking too. The Walls of Jericho always looked like the best Boston-crab ever. As a shootstyle fan, of course the jujigatame and wakigatame are classics when sold right.

 

Least favourite probably would be something like the ankle lock. Do I need to explain why ?

The Walls of Jericho always looked like the best Boston-crab ever.

Do you mean the WWE version where it was an actual elevated crab or do you mean the WCW version (Liontamer) which had that vicious bend to it with the knee in the back/neck?

Do you mean the WWE version where it was an actual elevated crab or do you mean the WCW version (Liontamer) which had that vicious bend to it with the knee in the back/neck?

Sorry, I meant the Liontamer version of course, but I didn't remember about the actual name.

I'm a fan of the Crossface Chickenwing & The Camel Clutch. Mostly because they both look like they actually hurt. Especially if the fingers get locked in the Chickenwing or if the Clutch is done Iron Sheik style, not like Scott Steiner or Sabu.

 

Kana in SMASH had a helluva Chickenwing.

Nothing really beats a good choke when done well. Gritty and violent. Cloverleaf is up there too, just looks cool.

It should come as no surprise that I'm a big fan of the Sharpshooter. I also really like Mariko Yoshida's Spider Twist.

Although they always depend on who is performing it, I would generally say the cloverleaf and the stf are my favorites to see done.

It's a really simple hold but there's something almost elegant about the top wristlock.

Sharpshooter would be my favourite. I like the Cloverleaf a lot too. Crossface chickenwing. Upside-down surfboard. I really like that move Liger does where he's sitting on ass, his opponent is lying on his stomach between Liger's legs, and the legs are hooked on Liger's shoulders, and Liger is pulling back on their arms. Anyone know what I'm talking about?

I'm a sucker for another Liger move, where he counters a flying headscissors by holding the legs, then kneeling down and basically using that to bend his opponent's body. A "bat hanging lock" as FirePro Wrestling calls it. Cool way to end a juniors match with a flashy submission.

 

The spider twist and Koji Clutch are basically from the same family, and they're both awesome.

The Goliath Bird Eater:

I love the Stretch Muffler.

Fujiwara armbar is my favorite. I once won a fight in junior high by slapping it on.

Did you lure the other guy into the corner, take a few shots and then pounce?

The figure four even though I've seen it end maybe 0.01% of matches it appears in. To me it's just a core thing that is part of what pro wrestling is.

I like my submissions to look like Picasso so my favourite are lucha and Euro holds. In terms of finishers, the Jim Breaks Special is a good one.

I always liked it when someone busted out a submission move that wasn't being used in that promotion, or regulary anywhere at the time, and the announcers acknowledged the move.

 

Doink busting out a Stump puller at Summerslam 93. Although Nick Busick used it as his finisher a few years earlier, and Monsoon seemed equally suprised to see it. I was amazed that Vince knew what one was.

 

Inoki putting the Octopus on Flair at Superbrawl 1

 

Davey Boy putting Shawn in a surfboard ( and the bridiging back pin attempt) at KOTR 96.

 

Austin using the Texas Cloverleaf at SS'96, when Malenko was using it as a finisher at the time.

The stump puller was Doink's original finisher before the whoopie cushion, he didn't just bust it out at SummerSlam.

The Dragon Sleeper is a move I just loved the look of when I first saw it in middle school, and I'll pretty much always go crazy for it.

 

Love the Crippler Crossface and the Crossface Chikenwing - always felt that those lent themselves perfectly to really crazy/intense heels because of the way the camera angles set up. You get a nice close shot of both guys and it usually made the likes of Benoit and Backlund look like they were enjoying their work a little too much...

Bret Hart's sharpshooter.

 

A finisher which finished matches, looked cool, looked painful and lord knows was put on my friends enough times back in school.