10 Times Wrestlers Busted Out Moves You'd NEVER Expect

7. AJ Styles Busts Out The Burning Hammer

AJ Styles Riddle
WWE

The Burning Hammer was such a devastating kill-shot in storylines and indeed reality that even its originator, Kenta Kobashi, adapted it over time.

He was intelligent enough to do so when he had already established it as a kill-shot; because of his expert ability to register and build anticipation ahead of his big moments, the wrist-clutch variation, that saw his opponents land on their upper back and not their neck, was still revered as a legendary 'super-finisher'.

Yes, Brian Kendrick used the move in the 2016 Cruiserweight Classic, but that was a Paul Levesque production. His encouraged his talent to deliver pulsating and more risky content in a bid to thwart a fringe movement on the rise.

Vince McMahon was very different, and while the daft awld sod was too far gone to determine that a Canadian destroyer was a piledriver by the end - and approved various bumps far more dangerous than a piledriver delivered safely - there was no chance of seeing the harrowing head-drop of the Burning Hammer on WWE TV under his direction. If the regulation piledriver was out, so too was Kobashi's special occasion finish.

Except it wasn't, because in 2021, AJ Styles drilled Riddle with an undiluted version of the move in 2021, before Vince resigned in disgrace. Also, it was a set-up to deliver the match-winning Styles Clash.

Can't imagine certain old heads would be impressed with such an super-indieriffic sequence, unless of course they're hypocrites.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!