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

3. Scott Steiner's Frankensteiner

Van Terminator
WWE Network

Quite possibly the most believable high spot ever performed, Scott Steiner's Frankensteiner is also among the most timeless.

The evolution of the industry is such that something like a frog splash only gets over now when it is performed by somebody who has no right to pull it off. The flying elbow drop is a risky and painful and kayfabe devastating manoeuvre, but it doesn't feel like one anymore.

And yet, despite being innovated three full decades ago, the Frankensteiner remains a fist-pumping f*ck-yeah move now, much less in the early 1990s, where it was truly mind-blowing.

Steiner's vertical leap was astonishing. He was a phenomenal athlete prior to his reinvention as the over-muscled, hyper-entertaining Big Poppa Pump. The sheer spike on the move was almost morbidly hilarious, given the snap and the jfc head-first impact. And in the true masterstroke, the Frankensteiner never felt remotely cooperative, because look at those giant sequoia trunks he called his thighs. They looked demonstrably capable of dragging anybody to hell.

Steiner invariably celebrated the perfect execution by allowing himself a fist pump of his own.

He was right to do it.

In this post: 
Rob Van Dam
 
Posted On: 
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!