Ranking What Was Really The Best Wrestling Finisher Every Year 1990-2020
20. 2001 - Ankle Lock
Kurt Angle debuted as a polymath, that's how exceptional he was at all areas of the craft, but he was a midcard comedy act, ostensibly, for those first few months.
Fans immediately knew him to be a legitimate proposition - hilariously, Angle liked to remind them of his Olympic credentials literally every time he was out there - but we only glimpsed the first exhilarating, dangerous flashes of his main event act in his 2000 series with the Rock.
In it, he tried to rupture the tendons in his ankle with a totally unhinged sell-job at No Mercy 2000 - "I'll break your f*cking ankle!" he roared, spittle flying out underneath the peeled whites of his eyes - bending the joint at a wince-inducing angle to get himself over as a man who you could so easily mess with, but should not, under any circumstances.
In 2001, Angle used it to low-key tremendous effect against Steve Austin; really, it was the only time you half-wanted the hero who drew you back in to lose.