10 Most Awesome Wrestling Submissions (And Who Did Them Best)

Be honest, how long did it take you to realise it's called The Sharpshooter because Bret's a hitman?

While the Canadian legend is the most famous practitioner of this hold, he was actually the third man to use it. Initially called the Sasori-Gatame (scorpion hold), the finisher was invented by New Japan legend Riki Choshu. A titan in puroresu throughout the '80s and '90s, Choshu would knot up helpless opponents' legs around his own leg before turning them over and sitting in until they broke in half.

Stateside, Sting adopted the hold first, renaming it The Scorpion Deathlock and mostly applying a standing variation of it. The standing version simply does not look as painful as those who sit into the hold, squashing their foe's lower back as they wrench on their twisted legs.

It was Bret Hart's take, one that was more in line with Choshu's, that really popularised the hold worldwide. Locking it in tight and selling his own offence as a struggle to maintain, The Hitman's mastery of realism in the ring made The Sharpshooter a credible match-ender.

In the years since, numerous stars have employed the hold (often to draw heat from Canadian crowds in the cases of Shawn Michaels and Triple H thanks to The Montreal Screwjob). Chris Benoit often used the hold in homage to Hart as well, even submitting The Heartbreak Kid with it during his brief '04 World Heavyweight Championship reign.

Perhaps most famous of more recent users is The Rock, whose rather lackadaisical application of it has drawn criticism from many. One such critic was the king of the hold himself, Bret 'Hitman' Hart.