100 Best Wrestling Moves EVER
73. CM Punk | The Pepsi Plunge
A top rope Pedigree, CM Punk’s early-career finisher defies the traditional aesthetics of high-flying moves and seamless techniques in that it can sometimes look terrible and takes ostensibly more hassle than its worth to even set up. Yet, despite the somewhat clunky appearance, it remains an incredibly effective and memorable finisher, largely due to the inherent danger it conveys and the storytelling it has repeatedly enabled.
When Punk finally drives his opponent head-first into the mat, the move’s impact acts as a certain killshot. The familiar finisher being hit from such a height feels catastrophic and decisive, and though it lacks the fluidity of more polished moves, the sheer visual of the plunge - both the literal drop and the metaphorical statement it makes from somebody who has the ego to even try it - commands attention.
Perfectly aligned with a Punk still working through his formative years in Ring Of Honor, it’s gritty, risky, and a little rough around the edges, but it’s not meant to be pretty - it’s meant to be a finisher in the truest sense of the word.