Next observe Nikita Koloff, whom featured prominently in the NWA for Jim Crockett Promotions in the 1980s. Deemed The Russian Nightmare from his headlining feud with The American Dream Dusty Rhodes, Koloff's impressive look and heelish tendencies saw him featured in main events against the likes of Rhodes, Ric Flair and The Rock 'n Roll Express, which he inevitably lost. His most prominent weapon came in the form of The Russian Sickle which was a basic clothesline and was one of the first times the clothesline was utilised as a prominent finish on a top-level guy. Whilst primitive in appearance compared to some of the harsher Lariats we've seen, Koloff's execution of the move is perhaps the closest to its original metaphor, in being a direct strike to the throat from a straight arm. If anyone here has ever been struck across the throat by an arm (or anything else) you'll know why such executions of the move became outlawed in the years that followed. It's capable destroying your windpipe, which, in turn, can kill you. Not that it ever did in pro-wrestling but it's the thought that counts!
Betting on being a brilliant brother to Bodhi since 2008 (-1 Asian Handicap). Find me @LiamJJohnson on Twitter where you might find some wonderful pearls of wisdom in a stout cocktail of profanity, football discussion and general musings. Or you might not. Depends how red my eyes are.
