The history of ECW featured talented wrestlers getting the chance to show their in-ring skills outside of WWE and WCW. Many of the top names who spent time in ECW were used poorly in other promotions before or after their run on the wilder side of wrestling. Quite a few loved to utilize submissions as part of their style.
Every wrestler using a submission finisher must get it across as a damaging move with the ability to harm others seriously. The best moves to be used in ECW helped wrestlers find more success with such a boost adding to the fan interest towards the end of matches. Extreme Championship Wrestling had some of the best submission-based wrestlers in the world. These performers took their craft to the next level with submission holds that worked very well to put away their opponents in The Land of Extreme.
9 Terry Funk (Spinning Toe Hold)
Terry Funk changed his style when joining ECW as an older wrestler, but he stayed true to some of his classic moves. The Spinning Toe Hold was a popular submission used by both Terry and Dory Funk Jr. during their tag run.
Funk brought it out a few times in ECW instead of going for wilder moves every time like the moonsault. The ECW run of Funk added another strong chapter to his career and made his legacy even stronger with new fans of the time.
8 Jazz (STF)
The matches of Jazz in ECW typically saw her mowing down weaker male opponents as an attraction rather than her serious matches in WWE. Jazz was one of the most intimidating female performers at the time.
ECW saw her using the STF finisher as her submission of choice that became even more prominent in WWE. John Cena will always be remembered as having the most popular version of the STF, but Jazz’s version was more technically sound.
7 Perry Saturn (Rings Of Saturn)
The Rings of Saturn became Perry Saturn’s top finisher in WCW, but he did test it out in ECW. Saturn would have used it more if he was a singles star instead of teaming with John Kronus in The Eliminators tag team.
The tandem finisher of Total Elimination was the more popular move, but Saturn discovering the Rings of Saturn as an option paid off for his career in the long run. Many fans believe Saturn would have been a huge star for ECW if he received the singles push there.
6 Dean Malenko (Texas Cloverleaf)
Dean Malenko was arguably the best submission wrestler in the world during his journey from ECW to WCW. The background learning every aspect of wrestling earned him the nickname of “The Man of One-Thousand Holes” for his versatile move set.
ECW fans appreciated the technical wrestling skills of Malenko with his submission moves in most matches. Malenko had a few great submissions, but the Texas Cloverleaf was the one to follow him throughout his career.
5 Sabu (Arabian Clutch)
The success of Sabu in ECW made him one of the most important wrestlers for the company’s rise. Sabu was most remembered for his wild moves using weapons and/or the top rope to leave the audience in awe.
Many fans forget that Sabu had a relevant submission move that did win him a few matches. The Arabian Clutch submission was a modified version of the Camel Clutch that Sabu used when matches got too gritty for the high-risk moves.
4 Chris Jericho (Liontamer)
ECW was the first major American wrestling promotion to book Chris Jericho early in his career. Paul Heyman loved the work of Jericho in Mexico and Japan enough to bring him to Philadelphia for the rising promotion.
Jericho used a few of the moves that would become successful for many decades. The Liontamer finisher was the submission that got fans talking as he used it in both ECW and WCW under the name before changing it to the Walls of Jericho in WWE.
3 Tajiri (Tarantula)
One of the most memorable submission moves created in ECW was Tajiri’s Tarantula. The move saw Tajiri trapping his opponents in the rope before wrapping around them with the visual providing the comparison to a spider.
The move became part of Tajiri’s identity and made him stand out by doing something no one else was at the time. WWE allowed Tajiri to keep using the Tarantula, but it had the five-count restrictions as an illegal match hold.
2 Lance Storm (Straightshooter)
The half-leg Boston Crab from Lance Storm had a few different names in different promotions. WCW came up with the name of the Canadian Maple Leaf, but it was called the Straightshooter during his time in ECW.
Storm was among the best submission wrestlers of the time and utilized moves like that as his style in the hardcore promotion. ECW fans enjoyed different styles and Storm thrived with the Straightshooter for a few years.
1 Taz (Tazmission)
No submission moves in ECW provided as much credibility of fear as the Tazmission. The rise of Taz already saw him thriving with his vicious suplexes and no-nonsense style making him one of the top stars in company history.
Fans reacted huge every time he locked in the Tazmission hold to make his opponents tap out or pass out. Taz truly represented the energy of ECW as he made his submission feel realer than anything in WWE or WCW at the time.