Chairshot Top 5: Wrestling Moves That Hurt More Than You Think

Basic bumps, bodyslams and leg drops hurt far more than they appear. These five routine wrestling moves carry a surprisingly painful price.

Professional wrestling’s most spectacular moves advertise their danger, but some of its most painful moments look almost ordinary. These five familiar wrestling moves carry a much steeper physical price than fans might expect.

Nobody needs an expert to explain why a wrestler crashing through a table probably hurts. The same applies to being dropped from the top rope, driven onto a ladder or launched headfirst toward the floor.

The most deceptive punishment in professional wrestling comes from the moves seen so often that they barely register anymore. Basic bumps, routine slams and familiar transitions may not produce viral highlights, but they can leave bruises, headaches and aching joints behind.

A wrestling ring offers some protection, but it is not a giant mattress. Traditional rings are constructed with a steel frame, wooden boards, limited padding and canvas, meaning every landing still carries a considerable amount of force.

Proper technique helps wrestlers control that force. It does not magically make the impact painless.

These are the Top 5 wrestling moves that hurt more than you think…

5. Running the Ropes

Running the ropes is such a fundamental part of professional wrestling that it rarely gets treated like a move at all. Wrestlers do it during warmups, opening exchanges and nearly every comeback sequence imaginable.

Those ropes are not soft cords loosely hanging around the ring. They are kept under heavy tension so they can support a wrestler’s weight and provide enough resistance to propel someone back across the canvas.

Each time a wrestler rebounds, those tightly stretched ropes dig into the upper back and sides of the body. Wrestlers learn to make contact with a broad section of the back, but the process still creates friction, bruising and an unpleasant snapping sensation.

The pain becomes even more noticeable when somebody is running the ropes repeatedly. A sequence featuring three or four rebounds may last only seconds, but each collision targets roughly the same area.

Veteran wrestlers eventually develop tougher skin and better technique. Beginners often discover that even one of wrestling’s simplest actions can leave a collection of dark lines across the back.

Running the ropes does not look dangerous because nobody leaves the ground. Sometimes the most painful part of a wrestling match is simply getting from one side of the ring to the other.

4. The Irish Whip Into the Turnbuckles

The Irish whip into the corner is another wrestling staple that has become almost invisible through repetition. One wrestler grabs an opponent’s arm, sends them across the ring and watches them crash back-first into the turnbuckles.

The pads covering the turnbuckles make the collision appear relatively harmless. Underneath those pads, however, are metal buckles connecting the ropes to a rigid steel ring post.

Wrestlers protect themselves by turning before impact and spreading the collision across the shoulders and upper back. That technique prevents a direct chest-first meeting with the hardware, but it cannot eliminate the sudden stop.

A wrestler may be moving at full speed when the corner absorbs all that momentum. The hips, lower back, shoulders and neck can each react differently as the body compresses against the pads.

The move becomes even more uncomfortable when performed by a powerful opponent. Bret Hart’s famous sternum-first corner bump looked vicious because he accelerated into the turnbuckles and sold the collision like the wind had been knocked out of him.

Even the standard back-first version has consequences. Several corner whips over the course of a match can turn those protective pads into one of the least welcoming places in the building.

3. The Bodyslam

Few wrestling moves appear safer than the traditional bodyslam. It has been used for generations, appears in introductory wrestling training and can be performed without the rotations associated with more complicated maneuvers.

That familiarity disguises what is actually happening. One wrestler is lifted several feet into the air and dropped flat onto a thinly padded wooden surface.

A good bodyslam gives the recipient time to prepare for the landing. The wrestler can tuck the chin, spread the arms and attempt to distribute the impact across the back instead of allowing one area to absorb everything.

Even perfect execution cannot prevent the body from hitting the ring. The upper back, tailbone and neck can all feel the shock, particularly when the recipient is thrown down with extra speed.

Deonna Purrazzo once identified the bodyslam as the worst bump for her to take, explaining that the landing caused her neck to snap backward and aggravated existing back issues. Her answer illustrates how a move that looks elementary can be uniquely painful depending on a wrestler’s body and injury history.

The bodyslam was once powerful enough to finish matches. Modern wrestling has made it look routine, but the ring has not become any softer just because the move no longer ends the show.

2. The Leg Drop

The leg drop is not usually viewed as a dangerous move. A wrestler jumps or falls into a seated position while bringing the back of the thigh down across an opponent’s chest, throat or head.

The recipient certainly feels the impact, especially when the move is delivered by a larger wrestler. The more surprising damage can be suffered by the person performing it.

Every standard leg drop requires the attacking wrestler to land hard on the backside, hips and lower spine. There is no forward roll or flat-back landing to distribute the force across a larger area.

The wrestler’s body effectively folds into a seated position while falling toward the canvas. Repeating that landing night after night can place tremendous stress on the tailbone, hips and back.

Hulk Hogan made the Atomic Leg Drop one of wrestling’s most famous finishing moves, but decades of landing on his backside took a severe toll. Hogan later said he would not have used the move had he known how much damage it would cause, blaming the repeated landing for many of his back problems.

The irony is almost perfect. Hogan’s opponents were supposed to be the ones devastated by the leg drop, yet the move may have punished its owner more than anyone who took it.

Honorable Mention: The Missile Dropkick

The missile dropkick looks more dangerous than some of the other entries, but most of the audience’s attention remains fixed on the wrestler getting kicked. The attacking wrestler may actually experience the uglier landing.

After leaping from the turnbuckles and extending both legs, the wrestler has limited control over the fall. Depending on the angle, the performer can land on the side, back, hip or knees without much time to prepare.

Former WWE star Maven identified the missile dropkick as the most painful move he regularly performed. He explained that repeatedly driving his knee into the mat contributed to structural damage and eventually required arthroscopic surgery.

The move lasts only a few seconds and often produces a beautiful visual. The landing that follows can be far less graceful.

1. The Basic Back Bump

The most underestimated painful move in wrestling is also the foundation of nearly everything that happens inside the ring. Before wrestlers learn elaborate throws or spectacular aerial attacks, they learn how to fall backward.

A proper back bump requires the wrestler to tuck the chin, avoid landing on the neck and make contact with as much of the upper back as possible. The arms strike the mat to help spread the force and create the familiar cracking sound associated with a hard landing.

Those techniques make the fall safer. They do not make it comfortable.

A basic bump still involves throwing the body backward onto wooden boards with only limited padding in between. Even when every part of the landing is correct, the wrestler absorbs a sudden collision through the back, shoulders and surrounding muscles.

The basic bump is also rarely taken just once. A single match might include bumps from shoulder tackles, clotheslines, suplexes, slams and missed attacks, with each one adding another layer of punishment.

Rob Van Dam has discussed his dislike of back bumps and the concern that comes with the possibility of the head bouncing off the canvas. His comments reinforce the difference between knowing how to land and escaping the physical consequences of landing.

The basic back bump does not receive a dramatic name or an instant replay. It is simply the price of participating in a wrestling match, paid repeatedly by nearly every wrestler on the card.

That makes it easy to overlook and impossible to avoid. No move hurts more deceptively than the one wrestlers are expected to perform all night long.

Professional wrestling’s most frightening moves tend to be used sparingly. Basic bumps, bodyslams, rope rebounds and corner collisions can occur hundreds of times across a wrestler’s career before anyone gives them a second thought.

That repetition is what makes ordinary-looking moves so punishing. A controlled landing may prevent catastrophe, but years of controlled landings can still wear down the human body.

The greatest trick performed inside a wrestling ring is not convincing an audience that fake fighting is real. It is making genuinely painful actions look so routine that everyone forgets they hurt at all.

Research included wrestler interviews and reporting concerning ring construction, the physical effects of routine bumps and injuries associated with frequently performed moves.