100 Best Wrestling Moves EVER
39. FTR | Shatter Machine
The Codebreaker, innovated by Naomichi Marufuji, was itself an excellent move. Driving both knees into the chest of his opponent, Marufuji (and later, Chris Jericho) did a stellar, creative and brutal-looking job of knocking the wind out of their opponent en route to making the cover.
It was modified and perfected by FTR.
Dax Harwood does the lifting, with a flapjack set-up, creating significantly more momentum behind the subsequent impact. It’s up to Cash Wheeler to drive his knees in, and his ever-present braces add to the wince-inducing, jaw-breaking effect.
The tweak takes an iconic move and makes it look even more awesome, but it’s also rich in logic. It’s essentially counter-proof. What is the recipient meant to do? They can’t cover their face, otherwise they risk a pair of broken wrists. They can’t poke Cash in the eye, either; it all happens too quickly, his face is obscured, and his entire body is shaped in such a jagged way that the only thing you can do is take it and like it.
So long as the guy’s partner isn’t there to block Dax, the recipient is absolutely 100% f*cked.