This rarely-used and impressive-looking move also has the dubious distinction of being one of the most dangerous maneuvers in wrestling history. Part of this is due to the victim having a much harder time rolling naturally to absorb the damage onto their shoulders or back. As such, the victim almost always lands on their neck or upper shoulders. So it should come as no surprise that the moves most prolific user, Kenta Kobashi, has only used this move 7 times between 1997 and 2006, and he only performed it on opponents that had the utmost trust in him. What also makes this move the #1 finisher is that no one has ever kicked out of it. The Burning Hammer is the most literal definition of a finishing move; when its executed, the match is over without a doubt. As such, Kobashi has only brought it out on extremely rare occasions as a big-match finisher to add extra drama and excitement to his most important of matches. Because of this moves rare use, the sheer risk involved in executing it, and Kobashis 100% success rate with it, the Burning Hammer is the best finisher of all time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AfaATYmbpQ
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.
