100 Best Wrestling Moves EVER
11. Kazuchika Okada | Rainmaker
Much like Kenny Omega’s One-Winged Angel, Okada, his greatest big match rival, was intelligent. He, too, knew how to add a layer to his finish.
The finish shouldn’t come from out of nowhere. The crowd should gasp in anticipation of it. Okada’s unique “ripcord” set-up allowed fans to register the imminent conclusion - but since peak Okada was such a smug, invincible heel, they pined for the escape. The elaborate set-up allowed for that last millisecond duck and the resulting near-fall from the last-ditch, adrenaline-fueled counter.
The ripcord wasn’t just a device with which to engineer more action. It made sense for Okada to take the risk, allowing him to lunge into the lariat and charge up the most emphatic connection. The tremendous bespoke camera shot was incredible in setting Okada apart as the most special attraction in the country.
A great move in and of itself, the Rainmaker lariat also informed a stylistic change; the ripcord set-up was liberally borrowed by many of Okada’s fellow wrestlers - though it’s hard to call them contemporaries, since, in the mid-to-late 2010s, he was in a league of his own.