The Five Most Dangerous Moves in Wrestling

I have been having trouble recently coming up with things to write about other than current events.

Then I watched when Stone Cold broke his neck from a piledriver, so I decided to write about the most dangerous moves in wrestling.  This is not meant to say these moves should be used more, just that they are out there, and not to be done by amateurs.

5.  Moonsault/450 splash/Shooting star press

This may come as a surprise to some that a moonsault was on the list because so many guys can do them, but I will tell you that I have seen some very botched moonsaults that have almost ended careers.

The idea of doing a backflip off the ropes was considered stupid by many wrestlers for a very long time, but nowadays people want more excitement than they needed back in the earlier days of pro wrestling.  A moonsault may not be as hard as other moves, but it is just as potentially dangerous.

The 450 and Shooting star press are ven more dangerous.  Plenty of people have been injured as a result of a bad shooting star press in the WWE in the past decade.  Chavo is the first that comes to mind, he was knocked out when a superstar landed with his knee in Chavos face.

4.  Stun Gun, draped on the ropes

Some may not know what a stun gun is so Ill try and explain it the best I can.  When an opponent is running towards you, you grab them in a position not that different to a spinebuster setup, but instead of dropping them on their back, you fall back draping them neck first over the ropes.

I actually saw a guy do this at a live event to Funaki years ago and he had to be carried out because he was hurt so badly. Maybe he didn't brace himself properly, but in wrestling these things happen.

3.  Powerbomb, all variations

The powerbomb was a move that has actually been banned in the past due to so many people screwing it up.  The idea of someone being dropped from six feet or more straight onto their back does not seem like fun.

This move is widely used by big men like Nash, Batista, and Sid, but some guys like Shelton and AJ Styles will use one occasionally.  This move is dangerous because it is hard to brace ones own body when being dropped six feet straight to the ground. 

Other variations like Splash Mountain create the issue of landing on ones neck instead of back.  This is why the move was used to kayfabe retire Jamie Noble.

2.  Chair shots to the head

I know this is not considered a legal move, but due to the amount of injuries caused by chair shots it made sense to put it on the list.

Chair shots to the head have been controversial for a long time.  Jim Ross even called for an end to head shots with chairs in a recent blog entry.  Guys like Edge are known for using chairs, and some guys can do it right, but once in awhile you get a rookie who swings too hard and causes a concussion.

The WWE has asked for concussion testing but it does not change the fact that not every head shot is blocked by a superstars hands at the last second.  Foley took hundreds if not thousands of hard chair shots in his career, and he was notorious for not trying to block them so it looked as real as possible.

1.  Piledriver

This is a move that has lost its place in wrestling.  Not many guys try this one anymore and there is a reason: it is easy to screw up. 

As I mentioned earlier, Stone Cold broke his neck from being on the wrong end of a bad piledriver.  The Undertaker still uses the tombstone but he has perfected it to the point where he never hurts anyone with it, but he also lands on his knees and not on his butt, therefore putting more room between the opponents head and the mat.

More injuries have resulted from bad piledrivers than any other move on this list and that is why few guys are willing to try them anymore.

That concludes my list...thoughts?