The Excellence Of Execution Series: Knife-Edged Chops

[Cena's Little Helper]

This is the fourth in a series of (ten) threads dedicated to discussing which wrestler best executes a specific maneuver.

Note: Before I discuss the move of this thread, I just want to make it known that I am aware that I am using one of Bret Hart's sobriquets. However, I couldn't think of a more suitable name for this series.

The knife-edged chop, the one move made infamous by Ric Flair. To this day, whenever an American wrestler chops his opponent's chest, the crowd shouts "Wooooo!!!" in unison. But, when it comes to who best performs the chop, I'm going to have to go with Kenta Kobashi and his "machine-gun" twist on the move:

[youtube]o1HH_HkmAfY[/youtube]​

More than likely, Flair inspired Kobashi, but ultimately I think Kobashi brought the brutality associated with the knife-edged chop to a whole new level.

What say you, fellow posters? Also, I encourage you to tell me of any other moves that you would like to discuss in this series, as I still have six more threads to go.

 

[SavageTaker]

Many people would say Ric Flair has the best knife-edged chops, but I am in agreement with you Tdigle that Kenta has the best knife-edged chops. Ric Flair made them popular and famous but Kenta made them better, or I guess you could say he perfected them.

Never have I seen someone continue doing chops until they made sure their opponents were down in pain except for the guy that Kenta was giving them to in the video you posted. He hits them fast and they look painful and believable. Something that can't really be said with Flair.

 

[The Hiphopapotamus]

For me,It's hard to say anyone except for Kobashi.He's my pick.They look so brutal,always make a great sound upon connection and really light up the chest.But what really makes Kobashi's chops incredible is the speed he can hit them at,as you said,"machine gun " style.His chops look like they can really do some damage.So Kobashi,and I do hate to just seem like I'm copying,is the best chopper there is.The following Kesagiri chop(I'm not sure if that counts because Kesagiri's land on the neck and not chest) is sickening.
[youtube]MecmBuh7Lyc[/youtube]

However,TNA has their own chopping machine.He packs more of a punch in his chops than Kobashi,but not as fast.He looks like he is going to damn near kill you when he winds back his tree trunk arms and smacks you full force.And that's big Hernandez!
[youtube]DVJzb8yWma8[/youtube]
Awesome.

 

[jmt225]

Damn Tdigs you're always taking my answer. Bastard.

But since you took the great Kobashi, I'll take Roderick Strong. This guy knife-edged chops like it's nobody else's fucking business. He is, in my opinion, without a doubt by far the hardest chopping American in the business. Flair, Benoit, anyone else you could bring up wish they could do it like this man. I've seen him leave Danielson's chest bloody red for a week due to his chops. It's unbelievable.

Below you can see various chops throughout this great match he had against KENTA on ROH's HD.Net television program.

[youtube]Perqto9ZvB0[/youtube]

[youtube]mmHtKS43aCw[/youtube]​

 

[NSL]

I'd say Ric Flair has the best, and that's why he's associated with the move. There are tons of people that pull them off generically, so it'd take something unique to stand out.

For instance...Big Show. I'm not a big fan of his, but when he hushes the crowd, and lands that mitt across his opponent's chest, you can almost feel it sitting on your couch. It's loud, it hurts, and it stands out as a unique move.

Chris Benoit was also great at dishing out a good plate of chops. He had the log wind up, and big shoulders, and as soon as it hit, you could hear the smack.

I think the attraction to these moves, is that although we all know wrestling is "fake", you can see, hear, and sometimes feel, the impact of this move. There's no denying a guy has been smacked in the chest when you see a red handprint covering them.





tdigs...Since you asked for suggestions for other moves, here's a small list: dropkick, vicegrip, headbutt, and boston crab

 

[JenovasWitness]

I'm with NSL. I know Benoit isn't the most beloved of wrestlers, but I always thought he had the most vicious chops. I always enjoyed how he punctuated them with a "Rabid Wolverine" snarl and he would just tear into the guy.

I love Kenta Kobashi but the whole machine chop thing never really did anything for me. I remember watching him doing it to Jun Akiyama in one match and Jun had this look on his face like he was just staring off into space letting Kenta do his thing.

Flair, well, that was basically his whole arsenal in his latter years in the WWE. He had better have been fucking good at them.