100 Best Wrestling Moves EVER
57. Booker T | Harlem Side Kick
Ready for perhaps the oddest of odd references? OK, so maybe it's not that weird. Wrestling move enthusiasts who also dabble in video games likely spent hours in the creation suites of various WWE titles - that'd be true long before Create-A-Move became a thing. There was a unique pleasure in sifting through move menus to pick out the ideal moveset/signatures/finishers for your created superstar in even the earliest SmackDown games.
In 2002's SmackDown: Shut Your Mouth, Booker T made his PS2 debut and was one of the most fun wrestlers to play as. Sure, spamming his spinarooni taunt was always some laugh, and his axe kick finish looked ace, but there are few things more rewarding in SYM than repeatedly hitting a Harlem Side Kick on opponents and watching them bump like Curt Hennig in his prime over and over again.
That kick looked photorealistic to the one Book would hit on episodes of Raw and SmackDown too. Stretch back a little further than that to WCW Nitro and Thunder to see some of the most visually pleasing versions of the signature strike. This was the Jerry Lawler or Bret Hart punch of the kicking world, no doubt. That's how well-worked each one was.
Booker's Harlem Side Kick blended a spinning heel kick, a superkick and even elements of the traditional big boot. Imagine Sheamus going for a Brogue Kick, but using the side of his leg rather than the sole of his shoe. So, there you go, this strike was killer in reality and in the video game world.
Don't hate the player, hate the game? Nah, love the game for enhancing this signature gem.