10 Wrestling Moves We Never See In WWE Nowadays

Professional Wrestling has come a long way since its early days as a carnival attraction. Even from the Attitude Era, the way wrestling looks has changed significantly. As recently as 20 years ago, most of the action would still take place in the ring, whereas these days it seems like every match has a spot that spills outside the ring. This is nothing to say how different the current product feels from wrestling 40 and 50 years ago.

When wrestling first began being televised, the idea of a wrestler hitting the move off the top rope was almost unheard of, and most of the matches were chain wrestling and a variety of holds. The idea that an opponent would fling themselves to an opponent on the outside, at least in North American wrestling, would have been thought of as insane, as opposed to almost commonplace. Wrestling also had a significantly different set of rules in those days, and those rules were more strictly enforced by referees.

10 Full Nelson

A Full Nelson, or half-nelson, is a submission move that locks in the shoulders and the head. Like most submission moves, the Full Nelson is based on something that works in a real fight. By locking the arms and shoulders with pressure on the back of the neck and head, if applied forcefully the move is painful and makes it harder for the locked wrestler to breathe. The last person to use a Full Nelson in WWE was Chris Masters, who called the move the Masterlock.

Chris Masters would create the Masterlock challenge, which offered a cash prize to anyone that could break out of Master's submission. The challenge ran for almost a year before Bobby Lashley became the first and only person to officially break free of the hold. Other wrestlers that used the Full Nelson include Ken Patera and former WWE Champion Superstar Billy Graham.

9 Bulldog

Bret Hart Bam Bam Bigelow King Of The Ring 1993

A Bulldog is a simple wrestling move that has numerous variations and types. While most Bulldog moves are performed by grabbing the opponent's head and throwing them to the ring, there are also Leg Bulldogs, which are still used by the likes of Billy Gunn and Dolph Ziggler in the Famouser.

However, the most common variation of the Bulldog is the one-armed Bulldog that was used by wrestlers like Bret Hart and Chris Jericho.

8 Bearhug

The Bearhug is a standing submission move where a bigger wrestler will grab their opponent by the waist and apply pressure to the sides. This will often result in the wrestler's feet coming off the ground. The move was used by Big John Studd during his career to pin his opponent's arms by their side while crushing their body.

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The move has largely been put to pasture as it drags the pace of the match down. The fact that it has rarely won a match for the wrestler applying the hold has ruined the move's previous aura. Instead, it just looks like two wrestlers hugging in the middle of the ring.

7 Stun Gun

No, we aren't referring to the stun gun that Scott Hall used on Goldberg to end the streak but the move that was previously used by Steve Austin earlier in his career. The stun gun is a very simple move where a wrestler picks up their opponent like a suplex, before dropping them over the ropes.

Austin would predominantly use the move in ECW, where he wrestled before making a big name for himself in WWE. Austin wasn't the only wrestler to use the Stun Gun, as Mean Mark, who would become the Undertaker also used the Stun Gun early in his career. The Stun Gun was Austin's finisher before the Million Dollar Hold and eventually Stone Cold's patented Stunner.

6 Heart Punch

Traditionally, a closed fist punch in wrestling is supposed to be a banned move. The reason given for it is so that it differentiates professional wrestling from boxing, the behind the scenes reasons are that people know what a punch feels like, and that unblocked punches should technically result in more knockouts than traditionally happen in professional wrestling. There was one historic exception and that was the heart punch.

The heart punch was traditionally a finisher used by heel wrestlers including John Studd, Stan Stasiak, and its most famous proponent Ox Baker. According to wrestling folklore, Baker killed two fellow wrestlers with the finisher, which gave the odd-looking heel an even darker aura. The move usually sees the wrestler pinning their opponent's left arm behind the back of their head, exposing their rib cage and heart before delivering the blow.

5 Test of Strength

ricky-starks-trevor-murdoch-test-of-strength

The test of strength move is pretty self-explanatory when it comes to what it is. The move has two wrestlers interlocking their hands one at a time as both battle for physical supremacy. The move is usually combined with other chain wrestling to form a sequence, it's also an alternative to a collar and elbow tie-up, which is commonly used to start many professional wrestling matches, especially on the independent wrestling scene.

There are numerous ways two wrestlers can utilize a test of strength in their match to further a storyline. A taller wrestler can use it to taunt a shorter wrestler, a heel wrestler can use it as a distraction, and two wrestlers can use it to display a power imbalance in the match. However, it has largely gone out the window in most modern wrestling as it's a slow-moving move that doesn't fit with the pace of most televised matches.

4 Eye Gouge

An eye gouge, or a rake, is when a wrestler will either poke or scratch their opponent's face, with the specific intent of blinding them temporarily. The move, like many others on this list, is technically illegal as wrestlers are not supposed to attack their opponents' eyes.

As a result, the eye gouge or rake was mainly used by heel wrestlers as a way to cheat. A variety of different wrestlers have used the eye gouge or rake over the years, including Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair.

3 Ear Clap

The ear clap is used as a counter or reversal that isn't seen in WWE anymore. The move works when a wrestler is caught in a bear hug or belly-to-belly position. The wrestler will then clap being the back of their opponent's head, hitting both their opponent's ears at the same time.

The move was last used by Ric Flair in WWE, who usually used the move against larger opponents. Flair was able to use this move against Brock Lesnar.

2 The Iron Claw

The Iron Claw is a move best associated with Fritz Von Erich and the Von Erich wrestling family, including Fritz's sons Kevin, Kerry, David, Mike, and Chris and his Grandsons Ross and Marshall. The Iron Claw was also used by foreign heel wrestlers including Killer Kowalski, and Baron Von Raschke. The move, which is usually applied to an opponent's head can also be applied to the stomach as well.

After the family was inducted into the Hall of Fame, Kevin Von Erich applied the Claw on young wrestler Rob Conway on an episode of Raw. Erick Rowan was the last wrestler to use a variation of the Iron Claw in WWE, using it as a part of his Chokeslam move when associated with Daniel Bryan.

1 Atomic Drop

The Atomic Drop and the inverted Atomic Drop are certainly two moves that you don't often see in modern-day wrestling. The maneuver calls for a wrestler to lift their opponent onto their shoulder, similar to a back suplex, before lowering them down over a knee. An inverted atomic drop ends in the same manner but starts with the wrestler lifting their opponent in a similar way to a flapjack before bringing them down over a knee.

However, some fans have pointed out that the move is technically a low blow and should therefore be illegal. This isn't why the move has been taken out of professional wrestling, but it is a good reason why we should never see it again.