So I just saw Bad Bunny hit a Canadian Destroyer, which is a move I've always hated, and a celebrity hitting it (to THIS IS AWESOME like written responses) makes me hate it that much more. I am naming the Canadian Destroyer the worst kayfabe move, not because I've put the proper amount of thought into this opinion, this it a totally reactionary impulsive take, but just to start a discussion as to what could possibly be worse.

1. Is there a move that is worse than the Canadian Destroyer (in the sense that it is totally dependent on a cooperation that is so overt, you find it impossible to accept even as a kayfabe move)?

2. If so, explain why, and please roast the shit out of that awful, terrible, dogshit move.

OK, I don't think I can compete with the Canadian Destroyer but allow me to present The Big Ending.

A move that requires a crazy amount of exertion to lift your opponent off the ground, only to fall down, taking their weight and cushioning what would already be a fairly soft landing. How it's survived all these years, I'll never know.

Whenever I'm watching wrestling and see wrestlers doing anything that involves striking another wrestler with your ass makes me question what I'm doing with my life.

The Poisonrana, also known as an inverted Hurricanrana.

The technique behind the regular hurricarana is that the wrester giving the move jumps up, squeezes his legs around the opponent's head/neck, and falls backwards, taking the opponent's head - and consequently the rest of their body - flying to the mat in a rolling motion. I don't have a problem with the believability of this move because the movement the recipient takes is natural.

The reverse version is completely implausible. There's no way that if a wrestler jumps on another wrestler's shoulders, electric chair style, squeezes the neck with their legs and falls back, that the recipient would be pulled upside down and get spiked on their head. In reality the most that would happen is that the giver crashes to the mat, the recipient stumbles back and maybe trips over onto their back. Instead the recipient has to backflip and spike themselves to make the move look convincing, exactly as they do with the Candian Destroyer.

I found a cool gif, probably from the 90s, on a realistic interpretation, which is at least semi-believable and how I envision the move would naturally look. A light rollup, not a deathkill head drop.



But most of the time it looks like this which is complete nonsense.

Overdrive. This move HAS to be a meme backstage for how they tried to push it in the early 2000s.

I really don’t get the Russian Leg Sweep.

Also the slingshot into the turnbuckles (unless it’s HHH taking it!)

I mean, can you beat the invisible grenade?

Disqualifying Chikara type wrestling because obviously they would have every single worst move ever.

LMAO. That likely was not even the worst from them.

Think the diving headbutt is a stupid ass move. Like you take a headblow to basically hurt someone as much as just stomping them. Gets worse knowing it causes severe neck and brain damaged in people who do the move outside of keyfabe.


Knock out punches are also stupid.  Like you punch a person dozens of times during a match, but have a special punch that ends the match.  Like why did you not just start with that?  Superman one makes sense as it has a huge ass setup, but like a straight punch is just lame.  Moreso when others need brass knuckles or a ring to win with a straight punch, but some other dude can just do it without problem.  

May 7, 2023 9:16:08 GMT Big Pete said:

allow me to present The Big Ending.

An excellent choice. First time I saw it I thought Big E was going for a Bulldog Powerslam only to have it countered into a Slop Drop. I was extremely confused when Big E then covered for the win. 

May 8, 2023 0:13:48 GMT c said:

I mean, can you beat the invisible grenade?

Nope. We could have shut this thread down right here if not for the Kilgore clause. That first video is everything I hate about modern wrestling. Didn't have the patience to watch the second lest I go full Jim Cornette up in here. 

May 8, 2023 2:37:07 GMT c said:

a straight punch is just lame.  Moreso when others need brass knuckles or a ring to win with a straight punch, but some other dude can just do it without problem.  

Parts of your anti-punch argument are valid but I disagree with this. People vary in punching power. For example a Mike Tyson punch is going to do a whole lot more damage than a punch from me. If a wrestler is built up as having Ivan Dragoesque punching power I can easily buy it.
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First thing that came to mind upon reading the thread title was Sgt. Slaughter's Noogie as a finisher. Dude is out there submitting "RUGGED" RONNIE GARVIN* with Wayne Arnold's signature move. Low key one of the saddest moments in WWF history. I suppose I could buy it as an 'annoying' mid-match restholdy type move since it is rather unpleasant, but if I ain't tapping to it in middle school there's no way a pro wrestler should be giving up. What's next? The deadleg? The ear flick?

*Garvin's whole schtick was being a tough guy. He was basically the Finlay of the 80s. 

The punch thing though is if you can KO with a straight punch, why not start with it? That is the problem ultimately with simple strike finishers, if you can end a match at anytime with a simple punch, why would you grapple at all.

If you have specific setup for said punch things are different, like Roman's Superman, but things like Logan's punch kind of make no sense, since he also does normal punches in the match. So why is that one punch different from his other punches. Just my personal pet peeve.

May 8, 2023 3:28:09 GMT c said:

The punch thing though is if you can KO with a straight punch, why not start with it? That is the problem ultimately with simple strike finishers, if you can end a match at anytime with a simple punch, why would you grapple at all.

May 8, 2023 3:20:22 GMT Baker said:

Parts of your anti-punch argument are valid

Yeah, figured you did not dispute that part. Still annoys me to no end. I can take invisible grenades but draw the line at them punches!!!

Got another good one. Couldn't find a clip within a five second search, but back in mid 2010s ROH Caprice Coleman was doing a ludicrous move called the one inch punch where he'd hit this comical short punch and the opponent would laugh it off only to later do a delayed sell. It was basically a punch with magic powers which should be enough to get both Kilgore and c onboard the hate train.

May 8, 2023 21:01:46 GMT Baker said:

Got another good one. Couldn't find a clip within a five second search, but back in mid 2010s ROH Caprice Coleman was doing a ludicrous move called the one inch punch where he'd hit this comical short punch and the opponent would laugh it off only to later do a delayed sell. It was basically a punch with magic powers which should be enough to get both Kilgore and c onboard the hate train.

This sounds like an unholy alliance of Bruce Lee's (legit) one inch punch and the Five point palm exploding heart technique from Kill Bill, causing a move that could be justified as having (some) real life credibility, while being an awful, terrible professional wrestling move. I haven't seen it, but I hate it. 

We might be getting more into pet peeve territory here, but what about moves that only exist as counters to moves wrestlers rarely do? Most famous example being "you can't powerbomb Kidman!" Other examples include "you can't Super Razor's Edge Rey Mysterio*," or "you can't hit a cross body block on Razor or Bradshaw."

Speaking of Rey Rey, I almost always hate the 619 due to the setups often being ridiculous. Plus I always thought the move itself was pretty weak.

The Springboard Uppercut



The motivation for this move is far away from kayfabe.

I am Cesaro. I like to use European Uppercuts at least fifty times a match. How can I make my European Uppercut cool to pop the fans? I know! Springboard!

In kayfabe, it makes no sense. The whole point of an uppercut is that the force of the strike comes from below, from your legs/hips pushing up aiding the strike with the elbow. If you're rotating in mid air while doing that, guess what? The strike has almost no force and even less precision.

The pro-wrestling logic is that everything hurts more when done from the top rope or from a flying position, such as the Phenomenal Forearm - hard to buy as a finisher, but it makes sense as a high impact strike - but not everything fits this mold. The Springboard Cutter is another example, a move that only exists because it's "cool", although it's not quite as physics-defying as as the uppercut.

Emperor just became Kilgore's favorite poster

I've always been Kilgore's favourite poster.

Is this gonna turn into a bash Chikara thread?

Because despite my old roots I'm all for it.

May 8, 2023 21:42:48 GMT Baker said:

We might be getting more into pet peeve territory here, but what about moves that only exist as counters to moves wrestlers rarely do? Most famous example being "you can't powerbomb Kidman!" Other examples include "you can't Super Razor's Edge Rey Mysterio*," or "you can't hit a cross body block on Razor or Bradshaw."

Speaking of Rey Rey, I almost always hate the 619 due to the setups often being ridiculous. Plus I always thought the move itself was pretty weak.

The sole person I ever seen hit a wheelbarrow suplex was Kevin Steen.  Every other time someone "went" for it was countered.


I also hate the springboard cutter.  Just a awkward looking move everytime.  And makes no sense why you would springboard, instead of just doing it straight.  

Because it's WRESTLING!

We demand theatrics. Why do a straight elbow when you can do it for the PEOPLE!!!

May 8, 2023 21:42:48 GMT Baker said:

We might be getting more into pet peeve territory here, but what about moves that only exist as counters to moves wrestlers rarely do? Most famous example being "you can't powerbomb Kidman!" Other examples include "you can't Super Razor's Edge Rey Mysterio*," or "you can't hit a cross body block on Razor or Bradshaw."

Speaking of Rey Rey, I almost always hate the 619 due to the setups often being ridiculous. Plus I always thought the move itself was pretty weak.

The 619 sucks and the set ups are obviously some of the worst of all time.

I agree the rest is pet peeve territory. It's more lazy psychology than bad movez.

Isn't it weird how common people end up in the middle rope when Rey is involved and suddenly it never happens when he's absent? Suddenly there's a shortage of drop toe holds!

May 8, 2023 21:54:24 GMT Emperor said:

The Springboard Uppercut

It's so bad. One of those things that a description can paint a perfectly accurate representation of why something is bad, then you see it, and it's somehow even worse. 

May 8, 2023 22:13:09 GMT c said:

1. The sole person I ever seen hit a wheelbarrow suplex was Kevin Steen.  Every other time someone "went" for it was countered.

2. I also hate the springboard cutter.  Just a awkward looking move everytime.  And makes no sense why you would springboard, instead of just doing it straight.  

1. Al Snow would occasionally hit the wheelbarrow suplex during his Leif Cassidy days. First guy I ever saw do the move.
2. Along those same lines Jay Lethal's handspring cutter is another all time bad move.

I was thinking of the wheelbarrow and how it'd make a great double team move like say wheelbarrow prone position into the Code Breaker. Then I thought, yeah I'm sure the Wolves did that. If nothing else FTR must've.

One that's bothered me is the drop down spot when running the ropes. Why doesn't the other guy just stop and stomp the piss out of him?

May 8, 2023 23:59:41 GMT Shootist said:

One that's bothered me is the drop down spot when running the ropes. Why doesn't the other guy just stop and stomp the piss out of him?

Because the dosey do is just one of those sequences that when it happens you cannot stop. Doing dozens of drills of it in wrestling school brings them back to vietnam.

hand spring and spring board cutters fallowed by the tornado ddt