10 Wrestling Moves That Look Like They Could Legitimately Kill You

10. Burning Hammer

It was Joshi star Kyoko Inoue who innovated the art of balancing an opponent on her shoulders and then slamming them headfirst into the mat, but it was Kenta Kobashi who named it the Burning Hammer and turned it into a mythical finisher as dangerous in kayfabe as it evidently was in reality.

The Burning Hammer drops the opponent on their head, from an Argentine rack that gives minimum control over how they falls. Taking the move puts an opponent's life in the hands of the deliverer, and sees them hovering at the junction of Fractured Skullville and Broken Neck Town. It's a brutal, horrendous move that even Kobashi only broke out seven times to maintain its mystical qualities.

Then, during the Cruiserweight Classic, Brian Kendrick of all people hit one on Kota Ibushi in one of the most surreal moments in the entire competition. That Kendrick was allowed to do it is amazing. That Ibushi wasn't brained is more amazing still.