10 Fascinating Facts About Famous Wrestling Finishers
8. The Fascinating Truth Behind The Burning Hammer
Kenta Kobashi's Burning Hammer is one of - if not the most - legendary finish in all of pro wrestling history.
It was never once kicked out of. Moreover, by only using it on seven occasions, its legacy has been preserved as the most mutually beneficial throw ever conceived. The aim of any competitive pro wrestling match is to put the winner over and in some way get the loser over. The Burning Hammer was ideal for that objective; that Kobashi was faced with such a challenge that he had to resort to a super-dangerous finish was itself a means of putting his opponents over in defeat.
But in a fascinating trivia note, the deranged King's Road super-finisher wasn't so deranged.
The first version was, certainly; a horrifying neck-jammer that depicted Kobashi as a noose, practically, Mitsuharu Misawa took it directly on his head in 1998 and again a year later.
Kobashi actually modified his finish as it evolved. By 2003, in the culmination of his epic quest to dethrone Misawa in a title fight, he landed his career partner and rival on his face, adapting the throw to a horizontal landing. In 2004, he debuted a wrist-clutch variation which, by 2006, saw his opponents take an almost standard flat-back.
The technique behind the finish changed, but its effectiveness and mythology remained intact.
One of the most effective finishers ever, it was also, further establishing Kobashi as a great, one of the most effective works.