10 Secret Genius Details Behind Wrestling Finishers
8. JBL's Clothesline From Hell
From one lariat to another, JBL's Clothesline From Hell is entirely different to that of Kazuchika Okada.
Okada layers his finisher with the spellbinding, heart-racing reversal in mind. There is no reversing JBL's version. There's no thought applied to it whatsoever. In fact, it is so thoughtless that it is utterly reckless. And therein lies the genius: it's so punishingly, violently stiff that it cannot possibly not put an end to a fight.
JBL was an unpleasant, almost vile human being underneath the persona. He relished the old practise of hazing because it was the ideal vehicle to exercise his cruelty. He took liberties in the ring when the occasion demanded it and, with a resigned sigh, he said "OK, I'll smash this c*nt's face in. I must protect the honour of the WWE!"
A hearty, full-force, concussive wallop of a strike, there's no way Bradshaw gets over without it. It was a miracle that he did get over. He was a limited bruiser whose matches dragged and were built via the most artless cheap heat that was nonetheless bellowed loudly enough to generate a reaction.
A finisher alone doesn't get a performer over - but JBL, inexplicably passable headliner in a drought of an era, was under without it.