By 2006, it was really hard for anyone to come up with a truly unique wrestling maneuver; after all, by that point pretty much every move known today had been created. But NOAHs resident @$$-kicker KENTA (NXTs Hideo Itami) managed to come up with one of the most creative, innovative, and popular finishers of the last decade: the Go 2 Sleep. Like other finishers on this list, its a simple move, one which involves hoisting ones opponent onto the users shoulders, before dropping the victim down and hitting them in the face with a knee lift. The move added to KENTAs kick-based fighting style, and it often looked quite stiff when he delivered it. There were even some concerns that he could easily break his victims orbital bone from the slightest mistake, or worse. Though popularized in the United States by CM Punk, its KENTA who made the move legendary, which also includes an inverted version that looks just as painful. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXn3dLxJrw8 Recently, Itami used the Go 2 Sleep for the first time in his WWE career, and received a deafening ovation for it. That goes to show how popular and appealing this move is.
Alexander Podgorski is a writer for WhatCulture that has been a fan of professional wrestling since he was 8 years old. He loves all kinds of wrestling, from WWE and sports entertainment, to puroresu in Japan.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Queen's University in Political Studies and French, and a Master's Degree in Public Administration. He speaks English, French, Polish, a bit of German, and knows some odd words and phrases in half a dozen other languages.
