The Magnificent Seven: Wrestling’s 7 Greatest Feats of Strength

The world of professional wrestling is filled with powerful people. One of the coolest ways in which the business can put this dynamic to work and capture the imagination of the fans is via remarkable feats of strength. While I recognize that most of the picks on this list are at least partially gimmicked—for example, that guys didn’t bodyslam other guys without some cooperation on the part of the slammed party–for the purposes of this countdown, I’ve opted to draw a subtle distinction between visually captivating moments that necessitated impressive power, versus more wholly gimmicked displays (e.g., The Ultimate Warrior, Davey Boy Smith, and Bobby Lashley breaking Hercules, The Warlord, and Chris Masters’s respective full nelsons). With that in mind, this week I’m counting down my picks for wrestling’s seven greatest feats of strength.

#7. Goldberg Jackhammers The Giant

I theorize that a part of what made Goldberg such a runaway superstar for WCW was his throwback quality. He didn’t have an innovative overall character that tapped into the psyche of the fans the way Stone Cold did, a lone wolf reinvention of his persona like Sting, or the superstar aura of The Rock, but he did have the sheer power and intensity of guys like Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior from yesteryear.

Case in point, one of the coolest things Goldberg did in his first run came at Road Wild 1998, when he picked up The Giant (later known as The Big Show) for his signature Jackhammer finisher. Sure, Big Show was probably a hundred or so pounds lighter than he would be later in his career, but just the same it was a pretty awesome spectacle and the kind of moment that cemented Goldberg’s place as a major player in WCW, and one of very few fresh faces to get that level in that company that tended to favor already established stars.

#6. Beth Phoenix Breaks Two Divas in Half

No, Beth Phoenix was not, as WWE would have you believe at the time, the most powerful Diva in WWE history—Chyna has that spot locked up (and Kharma and Nicole Bass would probably be ahead of Beth just the same). All that said, I won’t deny that Phoenix was a powerhouse, capable of far more remarkable feats of strength than most men will ever pull off.

The coolest visual to sell Phoenix’s power came in a triple threat opposite Mickie James and Melina at Judgment Day 2008 when in a remarkable, if contrived, spot she stacked both women on her shoulder for a monster of a double over-the-shoulder backbreaker. The hold looked fantastic and Phoenix held onto it long enough to sell that it wasn’t just adrenaline or a fluke, but rather a demonstration of one woman’s awesome capabilities.

#5. Ryback and Mark Henry Hit the Bench

The WresteMania 29 showdown between Ryback and Mark Henry wasn’t exactly a mat classic. Just the same, the bout featured a solid build, most notably including a bench press competition on Smackdown between the two men, in which each man legitimately bench pressed 225 pounds over and over again.

The record for this feat in the NFL Scouting Combine had been 51 reps. In front of a live audience, Mark Henry proceeded to bench that weight an astonishing 53 times. Immediately afterward, Ryback hit 53 and looked like he would make it to at least 54 reps before the sports entertainment kicked in and Henry started choking him out with the bar.

Yes, there have been more creative, visually captivating demonstrations of wrestlers’ power over the years, but in its simplicity, this bench press contest told a story any fan who had spent any time in the gym can appreciate—benching 225 that many times is no small accomplishment in any context.

#4. John Cena Picks Up The Big Show… and Edge

One of John Cena’s signature feats was hitting the FU or Attitude Adjustment on The Big Show—perhaps most famously at WrestleMania 20 to win his first singles championship in WWE, but on numerous other occasions as well. While the lift isn’t quite as difficult or breathtaking as a full-on bodyslam, the slam part of the maneuver itself is especially impressive.

But let’s take lifting the 500-pound-ish Show and add another 240 pounds, and you have the feat that Cena pulled off at WrestleMania 25, lifting both of his triple threat opponents up onto his shoulders. Yes, Edge got off before the slam, and thus the finish wasn’t quite as cool as it might have been (though that spot may have also, literally, killed Edge). Just the same, the visual of all seven-hundred-plus pounds weiging on Cena was iconic, and worked from a storyline perspective to sell just how badly Cena wanted to win at the twenty-fifth ‘Mania.

#3. Brock Lesnar Superplexes The Big Show

A part of what has made the WWE product so successful for so long is the masterful combination of awesome feats, amplified by sports entertainment gimmicking. There are few greater examples of this dynamic than when Brock Lesnar superplexed The Big Show on Smackdown back in June 2003. The superplex alone was a phenomenal feat, but the added effect of WWE setting up the ring to collapse upon impact sold it as a near-literally earth-shattering moment. Lesnar and Show matched up well, and the sight of Lesnar F5ing Show nearly showed up on this list, too, but for all the matches and moments these guys have had together, nothing eclipses the perfectly planned chaos of this instance.

Yes, WWE did recreate this moment when Mark Henry superplexed Big Show six years later, and I did appreciate the way in which that busted ring contributed to the atmosphere of the John Cena-Alberto Del Rio Last Man Standing Match that immediately followed. Just the same, for a stunt like this, there’s nothing quite like the first time, so Lesnar gets the spot on the countdown.

#2. Cesaro Throws The Big Show Out of the Ring

Going into WrestleMania 30, Cesaro was a dark horse to win the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, at best the fourth or fifth most favored guy to win behind guys like The Big Show, Sheamus, and Big E. Not only did Cesaro win, but he did so in truly spectacular fashion. Don’t get me wrong—we knew Cesaro was strong prior to this match, after he both swung and hit the Neutralizer on the likes of Brodus Clay and The Great Khali. Just the same, I don’t know anyone who saw it coming when The Swiss Superman lifted up Big Show clean as a whistle and bodyslammed him right over the top rope for the final elimination.

In slamming Show out, Cesaro earned himself a WrestleMania moment. It’s a shame WWE hasn’t done much of anything to capitalize on it since, but given how brightly his star shone on one of WWE’s biggest night, there’s reason to hold out hope that he may still ascend to legit main event status.

#1. Hulk Hogan Bodyslams Andre the Giant

OK, so in the year 2014, there are mitigating factors to the spectacle of Hulk Hogan bodyslamming Andre the Giant at WrestleMania 3.

Via YouTube, you can watch Hogan accomplish the same feat several times before, primarily as a heel to Andre’s babyface, and without a marked crowd reaction.

And in 2014 you can watch all sorts of other crazy power displays—superplexes, Jackhammers, Shellshockeds, F5s, powerbombs, and so on.

But much the same as Cesaro slamming The Big Show out of the ring at WrestleMania 30 was an unforgettable moment, Hogan slamming Andre in the middle of The Silverdome stands the test of time as one of the—if not the single–most iconic moments in pro wrestling. It’s the most popular wrestler in the world lifting the largest wrestler in the world up in the air for a fully realized bodyslam in front of live audience of over 93,000 people.

Hogan slamming Andre was not entirely unpredictable—careful observers knew it had happened before, and the rest of the1980s audience had been conditioned to believe unconditionally in Hulk Hogan. Just the same, this moment was one of the most satisfying pieces of dramatic theater the WWF ever accomplished and, from my perspective, the greatest feat of strength in pro wrestling history.

What are your favorite feats of strength? Let us know what you think in the comments section. See you in seven.

Read stories and miscellaneous criticism from Mike Chin at his website and his thoughts on a cappella music at The A Cappella Blog. Follow him on Twitter @miketchin.