10 Absolute Best Moves In Wrestling Right Now
1. Will Ospreay's Hidden Blade
Will Ospreay is far more than a movez guy in 2022.
He has excelled at every aspect of the craft for several years now. His evolution from flashy aerialist to "Ow my fackin' neck!" overcorrection to master is now complete. His best move, the Hidden Blade elbow strike, is still worth putting over in isolation, however.
It requires a certain degree of contrivance, in that the wrestler taking it must dramatically fall to their knees in front of the hard camera, which doesn't tend to happen in most situations, but Ospreay's physical timing is so exquisite that it hardly matters. He looks like he's driving the point of his elbow directly into the back of his opponent's skull at a blistering pace and with a sickening thud. He isn't; when slowed down frame by frame, Ospreay creates the impeccable illusion by gliding the elbow against the back. Only through incredibly pedantic editing is the trick revealed; otherwise, it looks like revolting head trauma delivered, ironically, by somebody who doesn't know what they're doing. He does. He's just unbelievable at obscuring it.
Ospreay isn't the cleverest chap - he once literally couldn't believe that I Can't Believe It's Not Butter is not butter - but he was clever enough to enhance the transgressive legacy of the move by attributing it to the concussion Kota Ibushi suffered at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 13.