The Spear is one of the most devastating moves in professional wrestling, which is why over the years many top stars have used it as their finishing maneuver. The move sees an incoming wrestler taking his opponent down onto the mat with force, similar to a football tackle. While there are different variations of the spear and each wrestler performs the move differently, the effect is still the same, and it looks impactful. Many wrestlers from WWE and beyond have used the move during a match either as a finisher or signature move, but not all of them used it to great success. These wrestlers are some of the best to have ever used the spear.

UPDATE: 2023/09/30 07:30 EST BY SHAWN S. LEALOS

While it isn't overused as much as the superkick these days, there are still more and more people who are using the spear as just a regular move in matches. What was once a unique finishing move that only the most powerful wrestlers used, anyone and everyone is hitting spears out of nowhere to either finish off matches, set up their finishers, or in the worst cases, just as a transition move to take someone down. While men like Goldberg used the spear to destroy their competition, it is now used by everyone from WWE Champion Roman Reigns to AEW star Ricky Starks, and they are influencing other wrestlers to add the move to their lineup as well.

24 Jey Uso

Jey Uso in WWE

Jey Uso has always been part of the hard-hitting and high-flying Usos tag team. However, he has lately been working on his solo career and Main Event Jey Uso has broken away from the Bloodline and his twin brother by moving to Monday Night Raw. With his time as a tag team wrestler ended, Jey is coming into his own with his very own singles move set, and this includes his version of the spear.

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It is interesting that Jey has chosen the spear to be one of his signature moves since that is also his cousin Roman Reigns's finishing move. As a result, Jey started using it more and more when he was feuding with Roman and his cousin sold it like a million bucks. This means that his move might not really be as devastating as Roman's, but thanks to his cousin's selling, it is now considered one of the most devastating spears of anyone in WWE right now.

23 Angelo Dawkins

Angelo Dawkins Raw March 13, 2023 Cropped

Angelo Dawkins has always been the big man in the Street Profits, and while Montez Ford can pull off the most dazzling high-flying moves imaginable, Dawkins is there to beat the hell out of their opposition. As the muscle of the team, it makes sense that he would use a spear in his repertoire. However, this is just one of his moves and has never been seen as a strong finishing move or even a signature move for the big man.

For Dawkins, his version of the spear is more like the pounce, or possibly even more similar to Hacksaw Jim Duggan's old shoulder tackle move. In the Street Profilts' matches, Dawkins often hits the move with such force that it sends the opponent flying out of the ring and to the floor. It is an impressive power move, but it isn't really a special spear.

22 Wolfgang

Wolfgang from WWE.

Wolfgang might not be a major name when it comes to mainstream WWE fans, but he remains one of the most talented wrestlers in the company. He got his start in WWE NXT UK and then moved on to NXT when that company shut down. In NXT, he is part of Gallus with Mark and Joe Coffey, and they are considered rough bruisers who just want to fight - almost like the NXT version of Sheamus and his Brawling Brutes.

For Wolfgang, his finishing move is the Cutter, but his spear is one of the most impressive in professional wrestling. The move is technically the Uranage Spear, which means that Wolfgang charges a person like he is about to hit the spear, but then lifts them under the arm in an uranage and then doesn't stop, driving them into the mat with all his weight. When doing this to someone smaller like Tyler Bate, this is a truly impressive move.

21 Johnny Gargano

Johnny Gargano NXT

Johnny Gargano doesn't look like someone who would use a spear with any great effect. However, his size has always been deceiving. Gargano has a spear that is very similar to something that other smaller wrestlers use and it is a nice move that looks quite effective despite his height (5ft 10).

Gargano gets his opponent stunned and disoriented on the mat. He then goes outside the ring to the apron and squats down. When they are in the perfect position, he then grabs the ropes, and launches himself between the top and second rope and hits a perfect spear into the midsection of his opposition. It is a nice move that is used to set up his next offensive attacks and is one of many Johnny Gargano signature moves.

20 Bron Breakker

Bron Breaker WWE

The newest person using the spear in WWE is none other than former NXT Champion Bron Breakker. He has used a lot of power moves, emulating his father Rick Steiner and his uncle, Scott Steiner. He has also pulled out the Frankenesteiner and Steiner Recliner.

However, more recently, he has pulled out a move from the wrestler who influenced his bicep tattoo - Goldberg. On a recent episode of NXT, Bron backed up and hit a massive spear onto Carmelo Hayes, sending him through a wall in an impressive display of power. It looks like a new king of the spear is coming up through WWE developmental.

19 Hacksaw Jim Duggan

Royal Rumble 1988 - Hacksaw Jim Duggan Wins

Just because a move wasn't called the spear does not mean that it wasn't the spear. While many people like to believe that Bill Goldberg invented the spear, he really just gave a name to the move. Before it was called a spear, most announcers called it a shoulder tackle and one of the best in the game at that as a finishing move was Hacksaw Jim Duggan.

Forget about his WWE stint. When Duggan was in Mid-South, his shoulder tackle put plenty of opponents away. Instead of crouching, he would go into a football stance, but the ending was the same with him spearing his opponent out of their boots for the three count.

18 Yota Tsuji

Yota Tsuji hits Sanada with a spear

One of the latest wrestlers in New Japan to use the spear as a finishing move is Yota Tsuji. He even used a massive version of his spear on IWGP World Champion SANADA to move into title contention. Like many people who use the spear, Tsuji had a football career, playing college football while attending Nippon Sport Science University.

Tsuji got his start as a young lion in NJPW in 2017 and ended up as one of the more popular stars in the company by the time he was ready to move up into the main ranks. After working his last match as a young lion in 2021, he returned to NJPW in 2023 and laid out SANADA with the spear to make his name again. His version is similar to someone like Edge, as he is not the biggest man, but launches himself and levels anyone in his path.

17 La Parka

La Parka

The late La Parka had his biggest exposure in the United States when he worked in WCW as the "Chairman of WCW." He was mostly known for bringing a chair into the ring and either playing it like a guitar or using it as a weapon. Most fans might be forgiven for not knowing what his finishing move was over his career. The Lucha star worked in AAA, CMLL, and ECW as well, and it was about midway through his career that he started using the spear as a finishing move.

La Parka didn't call it a spear, though. His gimmick name for his finishing move was Ramming Always Works, which is a bit fun considering his fan-friendly gimmicks. That name is from science fiction and refers to the fact that, even if a ship has its shields up, ramming it with another ship always manages to take it down. That was the thought process with him just laying people out with his spear.

16 Wardlow

Wardlow destroying someone in AEW

The current state of Wardlow sees him trying to regain momentum after losing the TNT Championship. One of the reasons Wardlow got over enough to hold that title was due to having an extremely cool move set.

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The spear and powerbomb are two moves that Wardlow has used quite well in his matches. Wardlow’s general size and strength compared to many AEW opponents makes the move look visually fantastic whenever he does it.

15 Christian Cage

Christian World Heavyweight Champion MITB 2011 Cropped

The start of Christian Cage’s spear came when he did it in nod to Edge. Christian used it quite often in TNA and made it part of his move set when returning to WWE. Edge’s retirement made it even more relevant for Christian to hit the move in the following years.

Christian does a great job setting it up and making it look both violent and visually appealing. The Unprettier remains Christian’s top finisher in his current AEW run, but he uses the spear as a secondary finisher when needed.

14 Ricky Starks

Ricky Starks hitting a spear

The rise of Ricky Starks for AEW in the latter half of 2022 makes it a treat to watch his matches. Starks is impressive in every area of wrestling and comes off smooth with every move he hits. The spear is one of the set-up moves for Starks in his matches.

Fans always react strong for Starks hitting the spear since it’s not expected. Starks runs at full speed to make his setup before the move as important as the impact itself. It would be a poor decision for AEW to not push Starks for years, so expect to see the spear in more memorable moments.

13 Kaitlyn

Kaitlyn v Eve Torres Raw January 14, 2013 Cropped

The “Divas Era” of WWE is often overlooked as it’s the period just before WWE decided to change how it presents female talent, but fans still look back fondly on wrestlers like Natalya and AJ Lee. One unfortunately frequently left out of the conversation is Kaitlyn, who might be one of the most underrated of the era.

With a bodybuilding background, Kaitlyn was a great powerhouse in the division and delivered an awesome spear. It especially looked great when she used it on her bestie/rival, the aforementioned AJ Lee in their memorable matches.

12 Moose

Moose TNA World Champion Cropped

Having a football background drastically increases the chances that a wrestler is going to employ a Spear, and former Atlanta Falcon Moose is no different in that regard. Impact’s top heel and one of its most consistently tenured stars, Moose employs a cool variation on the Spear he calls Lights Out.

The strong stars's variation executes a roll upon making contact, making the move look even more explosive than usual. While feuding with Josh Alexander for the Impact World Title, he used the Lights Out to take Alexander out while cashing in his Call Your Shot contract at the very end of Bound for Glory 2021.

11 Mil Muertes

Mil Muertes hitting a spear

Otherwise known as Ricky Banderas or El Mesias, in Lucha Underground he was Mil Muertes, the undead luchador who was like the Undertaker if ‘Taker was both tall and wide. In the temple, the eventual Lucha Underground Champion wrestled like he was intent on killing his opponents for real.

The violence was especially seen when he pulled out his signature spear, the awesomely named Reaper’s Trident. It was a nasty-looking spear that looked even nastier when he used it on smaller opponents like the various cruiserweight-style luchadors that populated the show.

10 Kairi Sane

Kairi Sane WWE return

Asuka may have surpassed Goldberg’s undefeated streak, but her former Kabuki Warriors tag team partner has a spear to rival the former WCW and WWE Champion. Fans remember Kairi Sane — now known as simply KAIRI in Stardom and NJPW — for her iconic top-rope elbow drop, which overshadows the fact that she might low-key have one of the nastiest Spears in wrestling.

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Sometimes a Spear can just look like a running hug, but KAIRI always went so hard on her Spear (called the Interceptor) that despite her size she absolutely trucked everybody she used it on. The move is hit with precision and grace to add a new take on the execution.

9 Charlotte Flair

Charlotte Flair Spear

Charlotte Flair doesn't get enough credit for how good she is in the ring. Her matches are top-notch, she's good on the mic, and she has a great mindset of the business. Along with the Natural Selection, big boot and the Figure 8 Leglock, The Queen also has the spear in her arsenal of moves.

Flair performs the move very well, though she never wins with it. She has hit it when her opponents least expected it, even in thin air. Charlotte even speared 'The Man' Becky Lynch through an LED board at one point. Out of all the people who utilize the spear in WWE right now, Charlotte Flair is, unfortunately, not close to their level.

8 Big Show

Big Show hits Roman Reigns with a spear

It is impressive to see a big man hit a spear. However, when describing big men who hit this move, it usually means muscular men like Goldberg or Bobby Lashley. When someone like Big Show hits one, it seems almost unnatural and extremely scary. At his biggest weight, he was over 500 pounds.

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Even at his lighter weight, he dwarfed almost anyone he stood in the ring with. When Big Show hit a spear on someone like Roman Reigns, it was impressive. When he hit it on a smaller wrestler, it seemed unfair. Big Show didn't use it as much as others, but his spear was a sign the end was near.

7 Big E

Big E in WWE.

One man who will probably never use his version of the spear again is Big E. There is a chance that Big E will never wrestle again after breaking his neck, but if he does return, he will have to tone down moves like his spear. He did something special in his version of the move, and it was never a finishing move.

That is because Big E would have someone on the ring apron and then he would launch himself through the middle and top rope and hit a spear, driving the person to the floor. It seemed very dangerous and was similar to Edge and Mick Foley's WrestleMania moment, but it was still impressive for a man of his size.

6 Edge

John Cena v Edge New Year's Revolution 2006 Cropped

When people think about the spear, the Rated-R Superstar Edge is always the first to come to mind. After all, he made the move popular in WWE, while former Universal Champion Goldberg, who we'll discuss later, popularized the move in WCW.

Although Edge used it as a finisher, his version of the spear wasn't very impressive as it looked very weak. It seemed like he was giving his opponents a big hug rather than a takedown. Nevertheless, Edge won multiple world championships with the spear, and he's one of the best to ever use the move.

5 Rhyno

Rhyno gores Chris Jericho through the stage

While Rhyno calls his version "The Gore," it's no different from a spear. The Man-Beast's most popular execution of the move was when he drove Chris Jericho through the SmackDown set almost twenty years ago.

The Gore has won the ECW Original many matches, including at Backlash 2016 where he and Heath Slater defeated The Usos to become the inaugural SmackDown Tag Team Champions. When he used it, it was like a rhinoceros charging at its target and taking them down on the ground.