Backlund had dominated the top of the card in the late seventies and early eighties but it was a surprise to everyone when he came back in 1994 and defeated Bret Hart for the title. His reign would be short lived, lasting only 3 days before dropping the title to Diesel but Bret’s expert selling helped get this move over as a legitimately feared submission.
Let’s fast forward now two decades to 2015. The Crossface Chickenwing was about to reclaim its place at the top for wrestling submissions. Japanese women’s wrestler Asuka would debut in WWE’s NXT brand. Immediately she was positioned as one of the toughest women’s wrestlers we have ever seen. You could genuinely see the fear in the eyes of her opponents who had never faced anyone like her before. As she said ‘No one is ready for Asuka!’ and no one was ready for the Asuka Lock, her take on the Crossface Chickenwing. Her devastating use of this submission would take her on a 914 day undefeated streak, a feat that is absolutely unheard of in the modern era and will go down in history as one of the greatest streaks in wrestling.The move has been used infrequently by a lot of big name wrestlers in recent years, usually used in big time matches that require a bit of extra drama, pulling out a rarely used move from their arsenal. It would be great to see someone else come along and take up the Crossface Chickenwing mantle because the move still has plenty more to give to the history books of professional wrestling!
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Mankind vs. The Rock – "I Quit" Match: Royal Rumble, 1999
We all know Dwayne Johnson is the highest-paid actor in the world right now and one of the nicest guys in entertainment. But skip back 22 years to Royal Rumble 1999 and The Rock was riding high as WWF’s top heel and the jewel in the crown of Vince McMahon’s Corporation, running roughshod over the roster every week on Monday Night Raw. Mankind went into the match as champion after beating The Rock on an episode of Raw that saw the then WWF overtake WCW in the Monday Night War ratings. This "I Quit" match remains to this day as one of the most infamous matches in WWE history after Mankind took 11 unprotected chair shots to the head with his hands handcuffed behind his back. It was no shock then that he was forced to retire just one year later at the age of 34 as a result of brain trauma.
Eddie Guerrero vs. JBL - Judgement Day, 2004
It doesn’t get any bloodier than this match. Eddie Guerrero was on top of the world at the time as WWE champion, a beloved babyface who had a palpable connection with the live crowd. After the match spilled to the outside JBL hit him with a monstrous chair shot to the head. Blood was literally pouring out of his face, it’s a wonder the match wasn’t stopped. Although he finished the match, Eddie lost so much blood he was still feeling the effects for weeks later.
Knowing what we know now about concussions it’s unlikely we will ever go back to a time of regular chair shots but there is no doubt from an entertainment perspective the sickening thud of the chair shot helped to elevate a match or a feud to much greater heights.
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