10 Times Wrestling Finishers Passed The Torch

2. Ankle Lock - Kurt Angle To Joe Hendry

Stunner Steve Austin Kevin Owens
WWE.com/WCPW

It was Ken Shamrock who made the Ankle Lock a beast of a submission finish, with the MMA icon snapping many an ankle legit in the Octagon and kayfabe in a WWE ring. While the World's Most Dangerous Man may have brought the move to the wrestling table, it's likely Kurt Angle who is most synonymous with the move in a pro wrestling context.

The Olympic Hero even sang a goddamn song about how he'll "make you ankle hurt" to the beat of Shawn Michaels' famed Sexy Boy theme tune. And when Angle pulled down his straps and then cinched in a grapevine version of his signature move, many an opponent instantly knew they were f**ked!

Jack Swagger took on the Ankle Lock during his WWE tenure and beyond, yet the Oklahoma native never particularly had the torch passed to him by Angle on that front. One person who did, however, is Joe Hendry.

Speaking to ROHWrestling in late 2019, the former WCPW Champion explained:

"Kurt Angle told me that I needed to have a submission if I wanted to have main event level matches. Neither of us spoke for a while until he said, ‘You want to use the Ankle Lock, don’t you?’ Kurt gave me his blessing to use the hold, which I now proudly use with a little twist of my own where I will step over into a single-leg Boston Crab position, which I have humbly titled, the Hendry Lock.”

And to be fair, Hendry has had plenty of success with the move.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.