10 Main Eventers Who SUCKED At Great Moves (But Did Them Anyway)
7. Kazuchika Okada - Cobra Clutch
Predictably, the criticism of this particular hold does not revolve around its execution. Kazuchika Okada is as technically proficient in applying the hold as he is peeling off a perfect dropkick or driving a victim into the canvas with a tombstone.
The move is an outlier though, in how bizarrely un-over it seems to be.
'The Rainmaker' is a professional wrestler almost without compare in 2018, seizing opportunities within matches to unleash his vast arsenal of weaponry against any and every opponent - an adaptable trait crucial to breaking Hiroshi Tanahashi's legendary IWGP Heavyweight Championship defences record shortly before finally surrendering the strap to Kenny Omega at June's Dominion pay-per-view.
A quick-and-deadly submission attack was a missing piece, and Okada's attempt to gamely fill it with the legendary grip was admirable. There exists a thread of continuity between Okada and Million Dollar Dream purveyor Ted DiBiase, but the roots of the move's usage were based mostly in the Champion's efforts to counter Tetsuya Naito's Destino.
When it didn't pop the crowd in their Wrestle Kingdom main event, the future for it looked bleak. It's yet to gain traction in even better matches, but it is Kazuchika Okada - he may yet make it work.