Fighting for that special move

PAV’S PATCH: DON’T know if you’ve ever watched any of the American wrestling — WWE — which is splashed all over Sky’s various channels, but every one of their fighters has some sort of special finishing move.

Stone Cold Steve Austin used the Stone Cold Stunner, the Dudley Boys slammed opponents through tables, The Rock had the Rock Bottom and there were other things called the Tombstone, the Famouser and the DDT.

My own favourite was the Worm, which was employed by a man named Scottie Too Hottie. You would have thought that once his opponent was struggling, he would have gone straight in for the kill. But no, he took the best part of two minutes to go through a rigmarole which started with him pretending to be a bird — presumably an early bird — and then wriggling across the mat as a worm.

Santino Marella now has something similar called the Cobra, which has to be seen to be believed.

I’m a fan of the old-style British wrestling from the Seventies, so I started thinking about what the stars of “World of Sport” used to do.

I suppose the most famous finishing move was Big Daddy’s splash, in which he squashed his opponent with his huge gut. Not very pretty, but certainly effective. I saw him use it against the Mighty Quinn at Belle Vue in 1979.

However, one of the most effective finishing moves belonged to Jimmy Breaks. He was an annoying little Yorkshireman, and I don’t think anyone could have liked him, but once he applied his special, a weird armlock, he always got a submission.

Another “Baddy” worth a mention is Brian “Gold Belt” Maxine. He fancied himself as a singer and employed something called a sleeper. He would get his opponent on the floor and somehow rub the back of his neck until he fell asleep despite the cacophany of booing that would have wakened the dead.

But the best bit in a Maxine fight was when his paper crown was ripped up or the other fighter smashed his guitar. To say he was upset would be an understatement. He’d throw a full-blooded tantrum.

Actually, the “Goody” British wrestlers seemed to prefer chops. Tibor Szakacs frequently used to welly people across the chest to devastating effect but the best ones were supplied by Billy Two Rivers.

Once he was sufficiently angry, Billy — a leader of the Mohawk nation — would rain down tomahawk chops and then, as his opponent staggered cork-legged about the ring, start a celebratory war dance. It was top stuff and the crowd would be howling with delight.