10 Absolute Best Moves In Wrestling Right Now
3. Jon Moxley's Bulldog Choke
Jon Moxley, speaking on his wife's podcast recently, revealed that he idly fantasised of devising an entirely new style when preparing for his WWE return in the summer of 2018. This actually functioned as his eureka moment; knowing he'd never be allowed to work it, he left to make it happen.
This year, he told Renee, he finally feels like he's putting it all together. And he is; the man is on Wrestler of the Year form.
It feels like he has crafted a style in defiance of a trend: the back-and-forth, ac-ting heavy, excessively long epic that reached parody levels a few years ago. He's folding both fighting spirit and fighting logic to his work. It isn't a dull, grapplef*ck-adjacent pursuit of po-faced "realism", either; Mox is smart enough to grasp that the impact, urgency, danger and general vibe of a fight is more important than credible if somewhat tedious mat work.
F*ck the false finish stretch; Mox recognises that a fight could end within eight minutes, not anywhere as long as it's after the 20:00 mark, and his bulldog choke is so beautiful in its nasty simplicity. He beats people up, and when they're nearly done and can barely fight anymore, he chokes them unconscious.
The grip is anti-STFU in its application and hurts just to look at.