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- In pro wrestling, submission maneuvers are often the moves with the most “legitimacy” behind them, as many of them have been used in non-scripted fighting like mixed martial arts. After all, the technical wrestlers are usually the ones presented as legitimate threats, and they pretty much exclusively rely on submissions. Considering the sheer number of submission holds, it only feels appropriate to go beyond the original 10 that were featured in this list. Let’s go back and take a look at a few more submissions that look like they hurt as well as those that don’t — even if they actually would in real life.
Submission moves in wrestling are always great when they look good. However, with so many moves throughout the history of the sport, there are plenty of wrestlers who haven't been able to make submissions look painful enough to be overly convincing to the fans. This has a really damaging effect on the finish of a match, which is a real shame.
However, for every lackluster-looking submission finisher, there are some amazing submissions that look like they would cause nothing but serious pain. These submissions are the ones that fans really remember and can buy into, which is what makes the fans really buy into them when they lock them in.
UPDATE: 2023/05/18 17:19 EST BY DANNY DJELJOSEVIC
In pro wrestling, submission maneuvers are often the moves with the most “legitimacy” behind them, as many of them have been used in non-scripted fighting like mixed martial arts. After all, the technical wrestlers are usually the ones presented as legitimate threats, and they pretty much exclusively rely on submissions. Considering the sheer number of submission holds, it only feels appropriate to go beyond the original 10 that were featured in this list. Let’s go back and take a look at a few more submissions that look like they hurt as well as those that don’t — even if they actually would in real life.
14 Looks Painful: The Hurt Lock (Bobby Lashley)
One of the most basic everyday moves in wrestling is the Full Nelson, where a wrestler reaches under an opponent’s arms and holds them by the back of their neck. WWE stars like Billy Jack Haynes and Hercules fought over the quality of their Full Nelsons, but in modern times it’s not really considered all that exciting a hold.
However, Bobby Lashley — who’s got legit skills — brought the move to a whole new level with his version, The Hurt Lock, where he applies the Full Nelson and then begins jerking the dude around. The fact that it’s Lashley doing it makes it seem all the more painful.
13 Doesn’t Look Painful: Ankle Lock (Kurt Angle)
An Olympic gold medalist, Kurt Angle entered the wrestling business with some legitimate skills, which he regularly showed off in loads of classic matches. As a submission specialist, Angle utilized a simple but effective finisher called the Ankle Lock, which he can apply to pretty much anybody.
While someone like Kurt Angle gripping a person’s foot and twisting it no doubt hurts, it also didn’t always look as painful as it actually was in the ring. At its worst, it looked like Angle was just hugging a dude’s boot.
12 Looks Painful: Code Of Silence (Carmella)
Compared to moves like the Hurt Lock and the Ankle Lock — which are legitimate fighting holds — Carmella’s Code of Silence submission doesn’t have a lick of realism as far as what the move looks like. In that sense, it’s a perfect wrestling maneuver because it’s so flashy and recognizable.
Carmella balancing on one hand is just a bit of showboating, however. What makes it look painful as a finisher is what actually gets the opponent to tap out — she basically chokes opponents with her legs.
11 Doesn’t Look Painful: The Mandible Claw (Mick Foley)
Ever since the move was invented by Sam Sheppard — the doctor turned actual inspiration for The Fugitive turned actual pro wrestler — The Mandible Claw has become a favorite move for scary characters like Mick Foley’s Mankind or Bray Wyatt’s Fiend persona. It’s a move that targets a nerve in the opponent’s mouth, which sounds painful, but there’s just one problem — it might rely too much on the audience’s imagination. To the average viewer, the wrestler just has their hand in another’s mouth, prompting the age-old question: why not just bite down?
10 Looks Painful: Liontamer (Chris Jericho)
The original Liontamer move that Chris Jericho used was an incredibly painful looking submission finisher. Yanking the legs back as he bends his opponents in half like a pretzel, this was one move that was obviously a painful one.
The brilliance of this is that fans could easily imagine themselves in that situation and how much it would hurt. When you add in the fact Jericho would push down his knee onto his opponent's head, the move looked even more painful.
9 Doesn't Look Painful: Surfboard (Natalya)
This is a move used by various wrestlers, with Natalya being one who quite often utilizes this one. While the surfboard submission certainly looks cool, it's not one that looks like the wrestler is in pain.
After all, the wrestler is just laid back, not really being stretched out too much, and it just seems too unbelievable that the wrestler locked in this couldn't slip out of it with ease if they wanted to.
8 Looks Painful: Khali Vice Grip (The Great Khali)
The Great Khali might not have been a brilliant in-ring worker, but there's no denying the fact that he is a giant of a wrestler who is obviously a physical presence. His Khali Vice Grip submission finisher was one that was incredibly dominant and really did look painful.
The move saw him use his giant hands as he literally squashed his opponent's head. The fact that his opponents sometimes spat blood when the move was locked in only made it appear even more painful as well, with this being a great visual.
7 Doesn't Look Painful: Abdominal Stretch (Big E)
At its principle, the Abdominal Stretch is a move that could be really painful, but the way Big E uses this move doesn't look like it hurts at all. While Big E pulls his opponent to the side, rather than really stretching them out, he spends his time dancing and spanking them.
It feels like a submission that is more for embarrassing his opponent, which is fine at times. But in a serious, heated match, this often feels out of place and never looks painful.
6 Looks Painful: Kimura Lock (Brock Lesnar)
Anything Brock Lesnar does looks incredibly painful for obvious reasons, as The Beast Incarnate is such a dominant talent. The legitimacy he has from his MMA career made his Kimura Lock look very scary as he would yank back the arm as much as possible.
Because the Beast is such a physical presence, him locking on an arm submission just looked amazing, and it was something that everyone could take seriously as a scary and painful-looking submission.
5 Doesn't Look Painful: Single Leg Boston Crab (Brie Bella)
A variety of wrestlers have used the Single Leg Boston Crab throughout wrestling history, but the move has simply never looked that strong. With the other leg completely free to help the wrestler move, it's just never made sense to use a single leg variation of this move.
When both legs are pulled back, this certainly looks more effective. But using just one leg never came out as impressive as other submissions, making this one look far less painful.
4 Looks Painful: Kirifuda Clutch (Shayna Baszler)
Much like Brock Lesnar, because of Shayna Baszler's history within MMA, her Kirifuda Clutch is something that just looks incredibly painful. The move sees Shayna wrap her opponent up, making it impossible for them to escape while she simply suffocates the air from them.
This is something that is easy for fans to buy into in terms of being incredibly painful. Fans can see the difficulty wrestlers have in escaping from the move and the panic that it often brings makes this a perfect finishing move.
3 Doesn't Look Painful: Figure Four Leglock (The Miz)
For this particular entry, it's very much down to the person who is putting the move on. When Ric Flair locks in the Figure Four, it looks fantastic and painful, but passing the move on to The Miz was a major mistake.
Whenever he locked on this submission, fans weren't impressed as the move simply didn't look good enough at all. It was a huge shame to see such a legendary move look so ineffective.
2 Looks Painful: YES! Lock (Daniel Bryan)
There's a reason that Daniel Bryan has been taken so seriously as a main event player when his finisher is a submission, and that's because it looks great. The Yes Lock is something that Bryan really pulls in tight, and it always looks very painful.
Bryan is a true submission master, and he can use a real variety of different moves and reversals to put his opponent into a world of pain. However, it really is the YES! Lock that shines the brightest, with this move clearly putting his opponents into a world of pain.
1 Doesn't Look Painful: STF (John Cena)
The big problem with the STF is the fact that the move just doesn't like John Cena is really pulling on tightly enough to hurt his opponent. Cena's in-ring ability has never been as strong as others, and this STF finisher is a great example of that.
While it's something that has certainly got over with fans throughout the years, it just doesn't look anywhere near as good as some of the other top finishers, which is a real shame.