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

It was a testament to Bruno Sammartino's intensity and charisma that the bearhug, often used as a rest hold, seemed like a killer finisher. The greatest star the WWWF ever saw would hoist up his opponents, most of whom weighed more than him, and crush their ribs and guts into mush.

Often presented as the strongest man in wrestling in his day, the hulking Sammartino would use his superior grappling skills and power to trap his foes. Crowds (New York mostly) would go wild as 'The Living Legend' pitilessly compressed his opponents into submission.

Vince McMahon Sr. was a huge fan of the friend-turns-heel-on-the-babyface-champion angle. For Sammartino, this meant suffering betrayals a plenty during his incomparable seven year first run with the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship. Watching him dismantle freshly villainous titans of the old days like Wahoo McDaniel and Gorilla Monsoon with the bearhug sent fans in the late '60s and early '70s into a frenzy.

Sammartino would often wear his rivals down with huge bodyslams and backbreakers, winding and bruising their midsections before hoisting them up for the powerful hold. Perhaps most freaky of all was the ease with which he performed it on the 6'9" 290 pound 'Big Cat' Ernie Ladd during their classic program in the early '70s.

While many big men have used this hold in the decades since, no one made it a heated finisher the way Sammartino did.