4. The Elbow Drop
Whether it was from a standing position (Andre the Giant,) or from the top rope (Randy Savage,) the elbow drop at one point brought victory to many a wrestler. Again, it's an example of how simple, yet effective, wrestling finishers could be at the time. All a wrestler had to do was slightly elevate his elbow and drop it down on the chest of his opponent. Every wrestling fan has at one point tried out the elbow drop on a nasty fluffy pillow or an evil stuffed bear, but guys like Andre and Savage made the elbow drop seem like a deadly finish that nobody was going to get up from. Only a select few ever managed to kick out of Macho Man's elbow (Hogan and Warrior naturally,) and it usually signaled the end of the match, and usually the end of the show, once the three count had been made. Now the elbow drop isn't taken as seriously, especially the version that starts from a standing position. Dolph Ziggler would land ten elbow drops from a standing position and still only get a two count at best. Granted, he's no Andre, but other than Jerry Lawler, nobody has considered it to be a deadly move. Even CM Punk's elbow drop off the top, which would at times mirror Randy Savage's elbow drop, didn't mean a definitive end to a match. Elbow drops just aren't what they used to be.
3. The Sleeper Hold
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8P2r2Iyof4o It's the last of the submission holds, but it's undoubtedly one of the most popular submission holds in professional wrestler. You'll see it in just about every match because the sleeper hold no longer puts wrestlers to sleep; it just puts them in an uncomfortable position while giving them some time to rest before the next set of moves. There are many different versions of the sleeper hold that sometimes change the formula up, but hardly any of them manager to knock out wrestlers to a point where they can no longer continue the match. Right off the bat, Roddy Piper and Brutus Beefcake would use the sleeper hold as a finishing move, and believe it or not, the fans when nuts when it was applied. All they did was wrap their arms around the opponent's head and neck, and the crowd would go ballistic. Then when the referee would check the wrestler by raising his arm up and seeing if it would drop, the fans would remain in suspense. Around this time, commentators would talk about just how effective the sleeper hold was and that once it was locked in, it was a one way ticket to slumber land. Now the only thing that puts people to sleep in wrestling is the GTS, and the odds of seeing that move anytime soon are slim. It's a shame that a hold that at one point was feared by many is now considered a time to check for social updates on tablets and smartphones.