10 Wrestling Moves That BLEW YOUR MIND The First Time You Saw Them

6. Petey Williams' Canadian Destroyer

Van Terminator
Impact Wrestling

You didn't quite know what it was at first. You just saw a blur of movement, a perfect circular arc culminating in a grotesque (read: awesome) head drop.

Once you determined that a fairly noticeable degree of cooperation was required, you either forecast the death of professional wrestling, or, aware that everybody lifts themselves up to take practically everything, you didn't give a sh*t and just marvelled at how f*cking t*ts it looked.

Petey Williams' Canadian Destroyer was simply one of the coolest moves ever devised. Fusing a classic, accepted kill shot enduring in its power with a new strand of athleticism, it is among the biggest crowd-pleasers in the history of the industry, and certainly the most cannibalised. So many performers use it. Virtually every well-executed Destroyer continues to draw an awestruck reaction. It's so over that Adam Cole even uses it in a promotion that bans traditional piledrivers. That is quite incredible, but then, so is the move.

There are dissenters. There are people who think it's too convoluted.

Harley Race isn't one of them, which should say it all; when he was first wowed by Trevor Murdoch's variation, he correctly surmised that it was just a cooler sunset flip, and marked out.

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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!