4. Jake Roberts DDT
Jake “The Snake” Roberts apparently invented the DDT by accident in the early 80s after grabbing an opponent in a front facelock and falling backwards by mistake. Thus was born one of the most popular finishers of all time. So beloved was the DDT in fact that Jake more or less got over in the WWF specifically because of it.
The DDT was impossible to predict, as Jake could hit it out of nowhere, and it was so well-protected that no one ever kicked out afterwards. No one. The match was just done. Many wrestlers have used the DDT since, but none as effectively as Jake (Personally I’d like to see a moratorium on the move except in cases where it’ll be protected as a finisher).
