What is the greatest submission finisher in WWE history?

[CM Steel]

A submission finisher is rare now adays in the WWE. There are a few guys like Daniel Bryan, Alberto Del Rio, and Chris Jericho who still use submissions as their finisher in matches. But it isn't like how it use to be. Like how we would have these dramatic finishes at the end of almost every Bret Hart match where Bret won with the sharpshooter.

But my question is. What is the greatest submission finisher in WWE history?

My answer to that question personally is the Iron Shiek's Camel Clutch finisher. That looks like it hurts like a mutha!

What's your answer?

 

[SickJames]

I have to get in here immediately and say this before everyone comes in with the SAME answer.

Now, yes, based on its legendary status, popularity and beloved place in the "harts" of fans, The Sharpshooter is the greatest submission finisher in a sentimental value way only... that's it. I'll give you that. It can be your personal favorite.


BUT, realistically it's not the greatest submission ever. A submission hold is meant to cause pain and make you tap out, hurt you badly if you dont. That move isnt the BEST at this and thus is not the best submission hold. But people wont be real with themselves because of their love for Bret and The Hart Family or Sting and I hate it.

I mean come on, realistically the BEST submission finisher of all time is the most deadliest and that IS without a doubt the one that would make any of you tap quicker, cause you extreme pain that could kill you quicker etc.

and it was created a few years ago...



Hell's Gate

That move directly effects your THROAT. Come on people. Be real with yourself and stop acting as if something effecting any other part of the body via a submission hurts more. Tazmission isnt even on par with The Hell's Gate nor are other moves like it. They are great and all, but Taker's hands down would kill quicker and is more deadly and causes more pain and no doubt you would bleed for real!

 

[CraigThe13th]

Not just for the fact that Buddy Rogers, Greg Valentine, Tito Santana and of course Ric Flair used it as a finisher in the WWF/E but because it is legit very painful I have to go for the old classic Figure 4 Leglock.

Honourable mentions to - The Sharpshooter, The Sleeperhold and The Cobra Clutch/Million $ Dream.

The camel clutch is a badass hold but I don't like the racial connection to it, why does every middle eastern heel use it as a finisher?

 

[Wald]

Wrestling is fake so we have to judge submission holds on how effective they are presented to us.

For that reason alone the only answer can be the Sharpshooter. Only the Undertaker ever kicked out of that, once it was locked in you knew it was the end of the match

 

[Beyond Pro Wrestling]

The Liontamer version of the Walls of Jericho... That is serious pain... If not I would say the crossface which is my personal favorite but I think the greatest submission in WWE history has to be Kurt Angles's Anckle Lock.

 

[TheChristmasCreature]

My favorite submission move, and greatest in my opinion, is the crippler crossface. It looks legitimately painful and has been a very successful submission move in wrestling.

 

[The_Midnight_Show]

My top 3 are three that have already been stated. I agree with the OP that the best of all-time is Sheik's camel clutch. Even though I know others have brought it back since, the one thing I really like about Jinder Mahal is that he brought back the camel clutch as his finisher and it looks good. My second would have to be the sharpshooter, it is incredibly iconic and looks good. Lastly, the crippler crossface would be my third. Benoit made it look vicious. Daniel Bryan's "No Lock" (Labell) is obviously very similar to the crossface but they are different moves and though the No Lock looks plenty painful, the crossface is still greater in my book. Perhaps as Bryan's career skyrockets, his move will get that more "iconic" feel to it and surpass Benoit.

 

[HBKistheHOF]

Personal All-Time Favorite: Texas Clover Leaf
(Close 2nd is the inverted version by Edge, either The Edgeacution, Edgeocation, or Edge-O-Matic. I forgot all the names since he stopped using them.)

Most Painful Looking: The Lion Tamer

Favorite Submission of Present Day Roster: Aniconda Vise

Honorable Mention: Figure Four Leg Lock, Hell's Gate, Falcon's Arrow, No/Yes Lock, Del Rio's Arm Bar, and Dolph's Sleeper!

Note: Mark Henry should be the only performer to use the "Bear Hug". He looks like a bear and his is the only one that looks like it hurts.
Same goes for Angle and the Ankle Lock. He lays down and sinks it in. If he does it the best by far, it's clearly his move.

 

[justinsayne]

Crossface, you can lock it on quick & from just about any position. It also tears at the shoulder, neck, & face causing excruciating pain.

 

[RockandSock]

Is this about what looks better or what is most painful..... ADR arm bar is probably one of the most painful.... i used to love the cruiserweight type of surf board as far as looks go... also the lion tamer used to look really badass

 

[Hardymania]

My favorite submission of all time was the Crippler Crossface. Looked effective and could be locked on really easily. Next would be Kurt Angle's Ankle Lock. Like the crossface it could be locked on easily and once he put hes legs around you knew it was over.

Honorable Mentions- Sharpshooter, Figure 4 Lock, and Hells Gate.

 

[Da Truth]

This is a great thread. I agree that the camel clutch is painful, but I have to go old school also. To me it's a ty between the the cross face chickenwing & the ankle lock. When someone locks your arm one way & turning your head the other makes you feel like your bein torn apart. The other two on my list are the crippler cross face & the yes/no lock.

 

[trashboy]

Fake or not, all these submission holds actually do hurt in real life. On a few drunkin' nights back in the late 90s, my friends and I would go in the front yard and put each other in submission holds. Moves like the sharpshooter seriously hurt, if you pull back enough, it starts to hurt the back.

My personal favorite though has to be the Lion Tamer, not the regular boston crap version that Jericho has been doing for years in WWE. I mean the original version he did in WCW, he'd put his knee on the back of the opponent's head and pull back with their legs. Always loved that move.

And yes, in real life the lion tamer hurts as well. Had that move done to me too.

 

[SixMovesOfDoom]

I agree with other posters about the Lion Tamer. Chris Jericho's version of the Boston Crab looks genuinely painful. The way he curves the back of his victim and puts his knee on the victim's head, it looks like a good submission hold.

And from what I can tell, its too good a move. Whenever someone powers out of Jericho's "Lion Tamer" Boston Crab, it seems like it can only be reversed when Jericho does the traditional Boston Crab with the victim being flat on his stomach.

I have never seen it reversed when he does the specialized version.

 

[asiatic7]

This is a great thread. I agree that the camel clutch is painful, but I have to go old school also. To me it's a ty between the the cross face chickenwing & the ankle lock. When someone locks your arm one way & turning your head the other makes you feel like your bein torn apart. The other two on my list are the crippler cross face & the yes/no lock.

Yes, I agree and you beat me to it! The crossface chicken wing! when Bob Backlund went nuts and started using this move, I thought it was the best!

I'm also a fan of the camel clutch, ironically enough, this is the move that Sheiky Baby used to relive Mr. Backlund of the WWF title! Nothing beats breaking a guys back, f#%king is @$$ and making him HUMBLE!!!

 

[barclayteo]

I would say Benoits crippler crossface because when you saw him pull the guys neck back that could cause some serious pain when it was wrenched back. The runner up would be Bob Bucklands cross face chickenwing back in the old days.

I know they are both a form of a crossface but with bucklands move the arm is trapped behind his back, his legs are kept spread apart by bob and then has his arm around the guys throat in a sleeper hold preventing people from getting out.

 

[Meatsim009]

Wrestling is fake so we have to judge submission holds on how effective they are presented to us.

An excellent point. The submission moves in WWE are done for show, not to hurt, unlike UFC, etc, which is both. Heck, I bet a bear hug by Andre would've legit made people tap out if he wanted it to.

So, yes, I would agree that it has to be a move that was seldom broken out of, and one that appeared painful. But I don't know how I would answer that, as almost every submission hold gets broken out of.

I personally like the looks of the texas cloverleaf, spinning toe hold, and the STFU. Crippler Crossface was good. All get broken out of though.

Perhaps the abdominal stretch should become a finisher!

 

[suleman09]

I'm tied between 2 finishers but im going to give the leverage to

1.) Chris Benoit's Crippler Crossface = Reason being is that if you apply that on someone for real you really could snap their neck fast if you did it hard enough. And seeing Benoit's arms, yea he could've snapped someone's neck easy with that move. I've had this move applied on me when i was younger wrestling with friends and this was a bitch. You could feel the muscles in your neck stretch...thats just painfull.

(This is a mention of Benoit's ability in the ring, so leave his personal life alone.)

The close second for me is

2.) Kurt Angle's Ankle Lock = Especially his modified version of clutching your leg with his, which cut off circulation to your leg and also made it harder for you to reverse but this submission (for on screen purpose dramatic effect) made HBK, Brock Lesnar, Triple H plus many more tap out.

 

[Dmbfantomas]

Sharpshooter then the Texas Cloverleaf.

The Sharpshooter obviously is the most dramatic and famous submission finisher, but I think people overlook just how much that thing would actually hurt. And of course, the way it is presented to us, it was neigh impossible to get out of Bret Hart's Sharpshooter.

The Texas Cloverleaf is so underratedly awesome. When Dean Malenko would lock that on, I got hyped as all get out.

 

[legendkillerbsal]

I've gotta say my favorites are
The Batista Bite-That's a move put in my a big guy and your arms are totally pulled back and you have no use of those so your screwed.

Crossface Chicken Wing-Just a classic move that you were able to put your brother in and make him tap out at home. A good move that was good for show and could be effective in real life too.

Indian Deathlock-Watch Greg Gagne do this move on YouTube and you'll instantly be amazed. Your legs turn immobile and then when the bridge gets put on it looks like the pressure of the move gets way more intense.

 

[NotoriousMEAT]

The Ankle Lock takes it for me. It was simple, yet effective. There was no confusion as to what he was doing and it's a move that could shoot hurt you unlike the Sharpshooter. There are so many levels of suspense to the move as well. Not only will they tap or get to the ropes, but will Angle drop down and grapevine it? Will they reverse it? Will they roll out? Will they roll over and kick him in the face? So much diversity for something so easy. I know it's gone from Shamrock, to Angle, to Swagger.. but it's Angle's move. He built his career on that hold.. and what a career it's been.

 

[Roo_bix_cube]

I really like Tyson Kidd's Dungeon Lock

 

[emeraldshogun]

I hate to say it since he didn't get a fair run in WWE But I always loved Ultimo Dragon's Dragon Sleeper. Its a cool move, wrenches the head, neck backwards while incapacitating one arm making escape even harder. Always thought it was a really cool looking move.

Props to the Lion Tamer and the Texas Clover Leaf too. Anything that torques you back that much and looks that painful is always cool in my book.

 

[Kliq69]

For me, it'll always be the mandible claw. Gave a close up view of both men, and Foley's execution with the screaming and shaking (and early on puking by the opponent) was very unique. It was also the first submission hold that Taker seemed to be effected by. Hart may have placed him in the sharpshooter, but Foley left Taker laying numerous times with the mandible claw. It was also able to be adapted to his various character changes as "the love handle" and then the socko claw. Hart could have used numerous holds as a finish, but the mandible claw fit the original mankind character completely and honestly I cannot think of another submission hold he could have used to equal success.

 

[HBsam31]

Always was a fan of Malenko's Texas Cloverleaf. It's a move that definitely hurts. We used to try it on each other. Also got so pumped when Malenko would cinch it in.

My favorite though is the Liontamer version of the Walls of Jericho. I made a thread about how good this move was in the WCW days. When he put the knee into the back of the neck/upper back and cinched it in there was not getting out of it. By far my favorite submission move of all time.