The Chokeslam - Who Did It Best?

#5 Akira Taue

Looks can be deceiving: Taue is actually a very good wrestler

Akira Taue is one of the famed Four Pillars of Heaven of All Japan Pro Wrestling and is one of the greatest masters of the Chokeslam. This isn’t because his Chokeslam (which he called Nodowa Otoshi) was more impactful or came from great heights, but because he had so many different variations of the move.

Aside from hitting a standard, standing Chokeslam, Taue also hit it one as part of a hip toss, controlling their neck instead of their arm while hitting it. There’s also his version from a vertical suplex, which looks like a cross between a Chokeslam and a Falcon Arrow. He has also hit his famous ‘regular’ chokeslam from the top rope, into the ring post, into the turnbuckle, off the top rope, off the ring apron to the floor, and as part of a Doomsday Device combo.

But his version is a move he called Ore ga Taue which is a Chokeslam from a Belly-to-back suplex. The move looks absolutely amazing and devastating and has led Taue to many big victories over his twenty-five-year wrestling career.