OWW Top 50 Wrestling Signature Holds of All Time

[Shockage]

• Finishing moves and signature moves from a wrestler (tag team) move set repertoire are all eligible
• Each ranking should have a maneuver attached by the wrestler who applies it
• You can rank the same hold as long as it's applied by different wrestlers. Each wrestler has their own variation and style of the same hold eg: The Regal Stretch STF - Steven Regal, STF - Masahiro Chono, Tombstone Piledriver - The Undertaker, Piledriver - Mr. Wonderful Paul Orndorff, Powerslam - British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith, Powerslam - Million Dollar Man Ted Dibiase, Superkick - Chris Adams, Sweet Chin Music Superkick - Shawn Michaels
• The same wrestlers can be ranked as many times as he has a different hold

OWW All Time Top 50 Lists Discussion Thread
Top 50 Title Reigns Of All Time
Top 50 Wrestling Signature Holds Of All Time
Top 50 Wrestling Feuds Of All Time

[Shockage]

1. Jimmy Snuka - Superfly Splash
2. Jake Roberts - DDT
3. Macho Man Randy Savage - Flying Elbow
4. Doug Williams - Chaos theory German Suplex
5. Arn Anderson - Spinebuster
6. Yokozuna - Running Legdrop
7. AJ Styles - Pele Kick
8. British Bulldogs - Flying Headbutt
9. Pat Tanaka - Inverted Flying Forearm
10. Steven Regal - Regal Stretch STF
11. Tara - Widows Peak
12. Stan Hansen - Lariat Clothesline
13. Ricky Steamboat - Arm Drag
14. Kenta Kobashi – Burning Hammer
15. Bret Hart - Sharpshooter
16. Aja Kong – Double Leg Clutch Piledriver
17. Big Boss Man - Sidewalk Slam
18. Petey Williams – The Canadian Destroyer
19. Chris Benoit - Clothesline
20. Samoa Joe – CCS Enziquri
21. Ted Dibiase Sr. – Powerslam
22. The Great Muta - Elbow Drop
23. Steven Regal – Overhead Half Nelson Suplex
24. AJ Styles - Styles Clash
25. Dean Malenko – Fireman’s Carry Gut Buster
26. Hart Foundation - Heart Attack
27. Scott Steiner - Frankensteiner
28. Eddie “Umaga” Fatu – Super Samoan Drop
29. The Great Muta – Space Rolling Elbow
30. Goldberg - Jackhammer Suplex
31. Dynamite Kid - Snap Suplex
32. Rock n Roll Express - Double Dropkick
33. Demolition - Decapitation
34. Scott Steiner - Rolling Belly to Belly Suplex
35. Antonio Inoki – Manjigatame
36. Yokozuna - Samoan Drop
37. Dino Bravo - Gutwrench Suplex
38. Curt Hennig - Perfectplex (fishermen's suplex)
39. Bad News Brown - Ghettoblaster (enziguri)
40. Kerry Von Erich - The Iron Claw
41. Davey Boy Smith - Standing Suspended Suplex
42. Greg Valentine - Elbow Drop
43. Kevin Nash - Jacknife Powerbomb
44. Owen Hart - Missle Dropkick
45. King Mabel - Big Splash
46. Rick Steiner - Steinerline
47. Diamond Dallas Page - Diamond Cutter
48. Sting – Stinger Splash
49. Bam Bam Bigelow – Top Rope Flying Headbutt
50. Ted Dibiase Sr. – Fist Drop

[Wearedoomed]

1. Jerry Lawler - Piledriver
2. Shawn Micheals - Sweet Chin Music
3. Ric Flair - Figure Four Leglock
4. The Rock - The People’s Elbow
5. Hulk Hogan - Atomic Leg Drop
6. Super Dragon - Curb Stomp
7. Edge - Impaler DDT
8. Mitsuhari Misawa - Tiger Driver ‘91
9. Kenta Kobashi - Burning Hammer
10. Chris Benoit - Crippler Crossface
11. Chris Hero - Hero’s Welcome Championship Edition
12. Shawn Micheals - Diving Elbow Drop
13. The Rock - Rock Bottom
14. Chris Hero - Roaring Elbow
15. Samoa Joe - The Choke
16. Brian Danielson - Cattle Mutilation
17. Ultramantis Black - Cosmic Doom
18. Homicide - Cop Killa
19. Super Dragon - Barry White Driver
20. Steve Austin - Stunner
21. Bret Hart - Sharpshooter
22. Jushin Liger - Shooting Star Press
23. Perry Saturn - Rings Of Saturn
24. Jake Roberts - DDT
25. Yoshihiro Tajiri - Buzzsaw Kick
26. Goldberg - Spear
27. Mike Quackenbush - Chikara Special
28. Naomichi Marafuji - Shiranui
29. Roddy Piper - Sleeper Hold
30. Dean Malenko - Texas Cloverleaf
31. Taz - Tazzmission
32. William Regal - Knee Trembler
33. Mike Knox - Running Cross-Body
34. Dory Funk Jr. - Spinning Toe Hold
35. Abdullah The Butcher - Sudanese Meat Cleaver
36. William Regal - Half-Nelson Suplex
37. William Regal - T-Bone Suplex
38. Perry Saturn - Death Valley Driver
39. Undertaker - Tombstone Piledriver
40. CM Punk - Go To Sleep
41. Kevin Steen - Package Piledriver
42. Pink Ant - Burning Snicklefritz
43. Claudio Castagnoli - European Uppercut
44. Ophidian - Death Grip
45. Diamond Dallas Page - Diamond Cutter
46. Austin Aries - Brainbuster
47. Retail Dragon - Rollback Driver
48. Christian - Unprettier
49. Low Ki - Warrior’s Way
50. Cody Rhodes - Cross Rhodes

==========
Honorable Mentions

1. Chris Jericho - Lionsault
2. Antonio Inoki - Enzuiguri
3. Dave Finlay - Celtic Cross
4. Sergeant Slaughter - Cobra Clutch
5. The Great Muta - Shining Wizard

[Shockage]

Bret Hart's version of the sharpshooter is much superior to Sting's in my opinion. Nice list Dewmed, but you may have to revise due to the guidelines of a move to a wrestler each since each wrestler has a certain style to the same move. I think Taz has more snap and power with his t-bone suplex where as Regal has the height advantage, so in a way the same move has a different kind of impact, which is why we can't rate wrestlers alongside the other.

[Wearedoomed]

Bret Hart's version of the sharpshooter is much superior to Sting's in my opinion. Nice list Dewmed, but you may have to revise due to the guidelines of a move to a wrestler each since each wrestler has a certain style to the same move. I think Taz has more snap and power with his t-bone suplex where as Regal has the height advantage, so in a way the same move has a different kind of impact, which is why we can't rate wrestlers alongside the other.

I see your point, but certain moves have multiple guys listed with them cause I personally see no real variations as to how they do the move. Regal has a height advantage, but he's shown to possess a similar amount of snap and power for his suplexes much like Taz. At the end of the day, a T-Bone Suplex is still a T-Bone Suplex.....Unless one of them transitioned it into a bridging pin or something, then I'd list it as two different moves. But, I'll just go and change it a bit.

[Shockage]

I see your point, but certain moves have multiple guys listed with them cause I personally see no real variations as to how they do the move. Regal has a height advantage, but he's shown to possess a similar amount of snap and power for his suplexes much like Taz. At the end of the day, a T-Bone Suplex is still a T-Bone Suplex.....

Not entirely, the T-Bone was a premier move in Taz' moveset, it wasn't as showcased by Regal and at one time it was a finisher by Shelton Benjamin. The legdrop was Hogan's finisher, the same move looked more devastating and slick when Yokozuna used it. Another example is the Tombstone piledriver that's been linked to the Undertaker for years, the move was also used by Don Muraco, the Dynamite Kid and Justin Credible. I think the move looked better and used with more affect by the Undertaker because he had the leg height to make a longer drop to the mat. Muraco had an amazing build and great leg strength which made the move look just as fierce. Justin had to jump to add the impact. See, every wrestler has a different variation of a pplying a move to suit their body. The way that Jake executed the DDT is far superior to the way other wrestlers have done it. Purpose, adaptability is what differs the same move when applied by a different wrestler, so in a way you can't rank the same wrestlers with the same move if one wrestler executes it better than the other.

[horsemen4life]

1. Ric Flair- Figure Four
2. Jake Roberts- DDT
3. Jimmy Snuka- Splash
4. Arn Anderson- Spine Buster
5. Iron Sheik- Camel Clutch
6. Hulk Hogan- Leg Drop
7. Road Warriors- Top Rope Clothesline
8. Rick Steiner- Steinerline
9. JYD Thump Power Slam
10. Dusty Rhodes- Flip Flop Fly
11. Tully Blanchard- Slingshot Suplex
12. Bob Orton-Superplex
13. Leeping Lanny Poffo-Moonsault
14. Abdulah-Flying Elbowdrop
15. Randy Svage- Top Rope Elbow Drop
16. Paul Ordorff- Piledriver
17. Ricky Steamboat-Skinning the Cat
18. Bret Hart- Leg Sweep
19. Sting- Stinger Splash
20. Magnum TA- Belly to Belly
21. Rock n Roll Express- Double Drop Kick
22. Wahoo McDanials- Chop
23. Ox Baker- Hart Punch
24. HBK- Sweet Chin Music
25. Buddy Landel- Flying Corkscrew Elbowdrop
26. Muta- Green Mist
27. Harley Race- Knee Lift
28. Mick Foley- Elbow to the Floor
29. Golddust- Sliding out side Fist to Face(LOVE when he did that)
30. Kerry Von Erich- Discus Punch
31. Missing Link- Flying Headbutt
32. Afa & Sika- Samoan Drop
33. Sgt. Slaughter- Cobra Clutch
34. Rick Martel- Boston Crab
35. Big Show- Choke Slam
36. Andre- Steping on Chest
37. Baron Von raske- The Claw
38. Jerry Lawler- Top Rope Fist Drop
39. Chris Hamrick- Top Rope Moonsault Slam(You gotta look it up to see what I mean!)
40. Curt Hennig- Perfect Plex
41. Steve Corino- Old School Explosion
42. Dynomite Kid- Snap Suplex
43. Barry Windham- Flying Clothesline
44. Bruno Samartino- Bear Hug
45. Superstar Billy Graham- Full Nelson
46. Bobby Eaton- Alabama Jam
47. Roddy Piper- Eye Poke(You remember him doing that like the 3 stooges!!!! lol)
48. Chris Candido- Delayed Suplex
49. Undertaker- Tombstone Piledriver
50. Kevin Sullivan- Tope Rope Chest Stomp

[Maximo]

Wow, William Regal has had the same amount of mentions as The Great Muta. But not suprising as it's hard to find a bad match for either of them.
Hell, Regal even made the Little Bastard look decent in there match...es?

Must say Dooms list is more agreeable at the moment.

[Shockage]

1. Ric Flair- Figure Four
2. Jake Roberts- DDT
3. Jimmy Snuka- Splash
4. Arn Anderson- Spine Buster
5. Iron Sheik- Camel Clutch
6. Hulk Hogan- Leg Drop
7. Road Warriors- Top Rope Clothesline
8. Rick Steiner- Steinerline
9. JYD Thump Power Slam
10. Dusty Rhodes- Flip Flop Fly
11. Tully Blanchard- Slingshot Suplex
12. Bob Orton-Superplex
13. Leeping Lanny Poffo-Moonsault
14. Abdulah-Flying Elbowdrop
15. Randy Svage- Top Rope Elbow Drop
16. Paul Ordorff- Piledriver
17. Ricky Steamboat-Skinning the Cat
18. Bret Hart- Leg Sweep
19. Sting- Stinger Splash
20. Magnum TA- Belly to Belly
21. Rock n Roll Express- Double Drop Kick
22. Wahoo McDanials- Chop
23. Ox Baker- Hart Punch
24. HBK- Sweet Chin Music
25. Buddy Landel- Flying Corkscrew Elbowdrop

Just another 25 more moves Horsay, still got the rest of the month to edit them in. You can do it!

I think Lanny Poffo is credited for being one of the first American wrestlers to execute the moonsault on US soil.

Nice to see Hogan's leg drop get noticed. Many fans in recent years have rubbished it because it's not a flash finisher. This is when psychology comes into place and people need to start using their pea brains. The Hulkster was billed as 6'8, 303 pounds of muscle and he used the ropes to bounce off for momentum.

OUCH!

[Shockage]

31. Taz - Tazzmission
36. William Regal - Half-Nelson Suplex

The Tazmission looks even more glorious when the short and stocky Taz has his legs and arms wrapped around while lying back and there's nothing the opponent can't do.

I remember seeing Master Regal apply the move for the first time, it was against RVD at WM18. Regal had RVD looking like an accordion being thrown to the ground.

[Maximo]

Regal had RVD looking like an accordion being thrown to the ground.

One of the greatest metaphors (but the greatest non-insult) I've seen on this forum.

[chaoskid]

1. Sweet Chin Music – HBK
2. Frankensteiner – scott steiner
3. Powerdrive elbow – great muta
4. Hell’s gate – undertaker
5. Sharpshooter – Bret Hart
6. Stone Cold Stunner - Steve Austin
7. RKO – Randy Orton
8. Clothesline from Hell – JBL
9. Scorpion deathlock – sting
10. Figure four leglock – ric flair
11. Fury punches – roddy piper
12. Pepsi plunge – cm punk
13. Spear – Goldberg
14. FU – john cena
15. Chaos theory – Doug Williams
16. Phoenix DDT – Jody Fleich
17. Total Elimination – eliminators
18. Dynamite Kid – snap Suplex
19. Lita – snap DDt
20. AJ styles - Pele kick
21. Undertaker – Piledriver
22. Chris Benoit – Crossface
23. Rey mysterio – 619
24. Dean Malenko – texas Cloverleaf
25. Big Van Vader – Powerbomb
26. Triple H – Predigree
27. Randy Savage – Flying Elbow
28. RVD – rolling thunder
29. RVD – Van terminator
30. Jerry Lynn – cradle piledriver
31. 123 kid - running leg drop
32. Chris Jericho – lionsault
33. Dudley Boys – 3D
34. Rock – rock bottom
35. Santino – cobra
36. Cactus Jack – maniable claw
37. Dude Love – sweet shin music
38. TAzz – tazzmission
39. Edge – spear
40. Spike Dudley – LSD
41. Bam Bam bigelow – moonsault
42. Yokozuna – legdrop
43. Rock – elbow drop
44. Christopher Daniels –BME
45. Samoa Joe – facewash
46. Roddy piper – finger poke
47. Brutus beefcake – sleeperhold
48. Hart Foundation – Hart Attack
49. Goldust – shattered dream
50. Tara – widow peak

[Wearedoomed]

Not entirely, the T-Bone was a premier move in Taz' moveset, it wasn't as showcased by Regal and at one time it was a finisher by Shelton Benjamin. The legdrop was Hogan's finisher, the same move looked more devastating and slick when Yokozuna used it. Another example is the Tombstone piledriver that's been linked to the Undertaker for years, the move was also used by Don Muraco, the Dynamite Kid and Justin Credible. I think the move looked better and used with more affect by the Undertaker because he had the leg height to make a longer drop to the mat. Muraco had an amazing build and great leg strength which made the move look just as fierce. Justin had to jump to add the impact. See, every wrestler has a different variation of a applying a move to suit their body. The way that Jake executed the DDT is far superior to the way other wrestlers have done it. Purpose, adaptability is what differs the same move when applied by a different wrestler, so in a way you can't rank the same wrestlers with the same move if one wrestler executes it better than the other.

So, aside from Taz pimping it more than Regal, what is the difference on how they execute the maneuver? If one focused on the neck/head and the other the back, I would see your point on it. And, tbh, it's a bit strange to see Shelton Benjamin given a mention; sure, it was billed as a "T-Bone Suplex", but it was more of a modified Powerslam if anything. And while I do understand your logic behind how the Tombstone can be done, think about a couple other popular moves: The Leg Drop and the Figure-Four Lock. Besides Hulk Hogan flexing his muscles and wagging his finger before hitting the move and Yokozuna just going straight for one, what is the difference on how the move itself is executed? Is one of them diving off the top rope? Is one of them doing it on the apron ala Undertaker? No, neither of them are. They're just running a couple feet and dropping the leg. They're both doing a Running Leg Drop. And with the Figure-Four Leglock; Besides Ric Flair prancing and wooing for almost a minute before applying it, whilst Greg Valentine simply went for one, what's the difference on how the move itself is done?

As said before, you do bring up a valid argument, but it seems as if with your examples of the Tombstone, you're thinking more about size than actual variation (not being disrespectful, but just saying ); a good variation of the Tombstone would be a Fire Thunder Driver, or a Cradle Tombstone, or even a Steiner Screwdriver to an extent. I know, I know, I'm sorta guilty of this; I placed Mike Knox's Cross-Body instead of someone else's because of how big he is, but he makes the move look like it could legitimately hurt the opponent.

[Wearedoomed]

OUCH!

Sorry for the double-post, but....wow. Those were some freaking SICK chops. How did Johnny Valentine not have tears in his eyes? Seriously, those chops would probably send even Kenta Kobashi himself running for the hills......You know what, Shockmaster? Make a match between those two in the Face Off section! Make it happen, man, make it happen!

[Shockage]

So, aside from Taz pimping it more than Regal, what is the difference on how they execute the maneuver? If one focused on the neck/head and the other the back, I would see your point on it. And, tbh, it's a bit strange to see Shelton Benjamin given a mention; sure, it was billed as a "T-Bone Suplex", but it was more of a modified Powerslam if anything. And while I do understand your logic behind how the Tombstone can be done, think about a couple other popular moves: The Leg Drop and the Figure-Four Lock. Besides Hulk Hogan flexing his muscles and wagging his finger before hitting the move and Yokozuna just going straight for one, what is the difference on how the move itself is executed?

Because it's personalised, that's what separates the same move between the different wrestlers doing it. If you had a choice, would you take a leg drop from a 300 pounder of a 600 pounder? I'd rather take it from a 300 pounder because that same move would have bigger impact if a 600 pound thigh were to smash down on my face. You also have to take in how graceful Yoko moved for a big man and how devastating he makes the move look when it comes crashing down. There's always a reason to rate one wrestler's version ahead of another wrestlers, they're not the same. You could have 10 iconic guitarists share and play the same guitar, and they would all give it their own signature style. That's how a wrestling move performed by 10 different wrestlers should be looked at and why you can't say it's just another move.

[Turley]

Bret Hart had such a style that pretty much each move he performed, no matter how simple or common, can be viewed as a signature move.
The way he snapped a simple vertical suplex, the way he rolled out of a russian leg sweep and the way he kicked his leg with an inverted atomic drop are all examples.

My favourite signature move of all time was his Hitman Elbow from the second rope....

[Shockage]

I'd cringe every time Bret applied the sharpshooter because he would sit right on the opponents back.

[Turley]

I think that The Rock and Austin were two other guys that made simple moves their own. Austin with his mudhole stompling in the corner, and Rocky with the way he would flick his foot out before he stomped on his opponent....

[ScrapMetal55]

Here's a first draft of my list, which will probably undergo multiple edits as time goes on...but it's something for me to go by for now. Drumroll, please....

OWW top 50 Wrestling Signature Holds of All Time

1. Scott Steiner - The Steiner Screwdriver
2. Diamond Dallas Page - Diamond Cutter
3. Petey Williams - Canadian Destroyer
4. Sting - Scorpion Death Drop
5. Stone Cold Steve Austin - Stone Cold Stunner
6. Kevin Nash - Jacknife Powerbomb
7. Scott Hall - Outsider's Edge
8. Jake Roberts - DDT
9. Sting - Scorpion Death Lock
10. Goldberg - The Jackhammer
11. Raven - Evenflow DDT
12. Abyss - Black Hole Slam
13. Undertaker - Tombstone Piledriver
14. El Generico - Brainbustahh
15. Chris Jericho - The Lion Tamer
16. Triple H - The Pedigree
17. The Giant - Chokeslam
18. Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase - Million Dollar Dream
19. Juventud Guerrera - Juvi Driver
20. Shawn Michaels - Sweet Chin Music
21. Stone Cold Steve Austin - Lou Thesz press
22. Scott Steiner - Frankensteiner
23. Goldberg - Spear
24. Tommy Dreamer - Dreamer Driver
25. Sting - Stinger Splash
26. AJ Styles - The Styles Clash
27. "Macho Man" Randy Savage - Elbow Drop
28. Eddie Guerrero - Frog Splash
29. Chris Benoit - Crippler Crossface
30. Cactus Jack - Double Arm DDT
31. Mankind - Mandible Claw
32. Mr. Perfect - the Perfect-plex
33. Saturn - the Rings of Saturn
34. The Dudley Boyz - 3D
35. Road Warriors - Doomsday Device
36. Disco Inferno - the Chartbuster
37. British Bulldog - Powerslam
38. Christian - the Unprettier (the Impaler)
39. Road Dogg Jesse James - Stretch Armstrong
40. Hugh Morrus - No Laughing Matter
41. Undertaker - Old School (top rope walk into lariat)
42. The Rock - Rock Bottom
43. Chavo Guerrero Jr. - Tornado DDT
44. Billy Kidman - Shooting Star Press
45. Brock Lesnar - the F5
46. Edge - Edgecution
47. Sable - Sablebomb
48. Marc Mero - TKO
49. Billy Gunn - The Famouser
50. X-Pac - the X-Factor

[Turley]

Foley so low on your list Scrappy? I wouldnt have picked that in a million years....

I always thought that DLo Brown hit the best looking frog splash....

[Shockage]

I liked D'lo's Sky High power bomb

[Turley]

I liked DLos little head boggle then leg drop..... DLo was cool.

[ScrapMetal55]

Foley so low on your list Scrappy? I wouldnt have picked that in a million years....

I always thought that DLo Brown hit the best looking frog splash....

I DO love Foley, but his moves weren't all that cool....I was thinking of omitting them altogether. If anything, the double arm ddt deserves some credit, but the Mandible Claw was just a farce. Half the time, he isn't even grabbing the opponent, really. I'm still thinking about changing the order around, because as cool as the Canadian Destroyer is, I think the Steiner Screwdriver was a better move, so I might be changing the order to compensate for that fact.