10 Wrestlers Who Deliver The Best Chops
Olivia Owen The chop is one of the most well-loved offensive maneuvers ever to grace the professional wrestling ring. It is a move that needs no adjustment and will ALWAYS get a crowd response. Usually, that response is a hearty "Woo" in reference to the Nature Boy Ric Flair.
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The chop also has the reputation of being one of the most brutal offensive attacks based on the visible damage it has left on opponents which are not limited to redness, swelling, welting, and bleeding. Overhand, backhand, double-hand, it doesn't matter as they all attribute to the best chops ever.
10 The Big Show
An obvious entry kicks off the list with "The World's Largest Athlete" The Big Show. The seven-foot giant who has fluctuated between 450-500 pounds made a spectacle of the overhand chop due to his hand size. A big draw of seeing Big Show live was his chop.
After placing the opponent in the corner, Show would "shush" for the fans to quiet down before unloading with a wicked forehand chop to the chest. The sound his chops make echoes through the arena and is best heard with since. "Frying pan-like hands" as Tazz used to say on commentary.
9 Keith Lee
"The Limitless" Keith Lee was a fan favorite on the independents for his jaw-dropping showcases of strength, pouncing opponents across the ring and in some cases out of the ring and ring area! Lee's Spirit Bomb finisher is also another great show of strength but he is also a heavy striker.
The former NXT Champion uses a double overhand chop; as if a one-handed chop from the 6'2, 340-pounder was not enough punishment. One of Lee's most devastating chops was against Roderick Strong on the November 13, 2019, NXT. You can actually pinpoint the second when his heart rips in half.
8 "Nightmare" Danny Davis
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin has credited "Nightmare" Danny Davis as having one of the hardest chops in the industry, comparing the sound of the hand-to-chest impact to a gunshot. He is not to be confused with "Dangerous" Danny Davis who competed at WrestleMania 3 and in the 1987 King of the Ring tournament.
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"Nightmare" Danny Davis worked in various territories, notably in Tennessee, and would regional championships. Davis created Ohio Valley Wrestling in 1997 and sold it to Al Snow in 2018. Davis also made a few appearances in Impact Wrestling in the early 2010s.
7 Bob "Hardcore" Holly
Bob "Hardcore" Holly's reputation is one of being one of the toughest wrestlers and hardest strikers. Holly is a "pull no punch" guy and brought the intensity every night. This could be seen on the May 2, 2002, SmackDown against Randy Orton where he chopped the neck of the rookie.
Another infamous example was at the 2005 Royal Rumble where Holly "initiated" another rookie, Daniel Puder, into the company after winning the 2004 Tough Enough. Holly's knife-edge chops looked and sounded painful.
6 Chris Benoit
Chris Benoit's knife-edge chops crackled through tv speakers. Benoit began to regularly through chops while in WCW in the '90s and would keep the habit going in WWE through the 2000s. Competing against Booker T, Chris once delivered thirty chops in one match. He also threw some wicked chops at Daniel Puder during the 2005 Royal Rumble.
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Edge has noted Benoit as having the hardest chop; one night bleeding from the nose after receiving one. During a six-man tag on the October 11, 2004, Raw, Benoit had Ric Flair in the corner and would unleash a fury of eight consecutive knife-edge chops.
5 WALTER
"The Ring General" WALTER made a big name himself on the independents with a significant helping hand coming in the way of his hand. WALTER is a sound wrestler but the 6'4, 300-pound brute gets greater reactions for his chops than his grappling.
That comes with a great reason. WALTER's knife-edge chops absolutely destroy his opponent's chest, usually knocking them down in the process. The chops also echo very loudly in smaller arenas. If not viewed yet, his title defense against Ilja Dragunov on the October 29, 2020, NXT UK is a must-see!
4 Roderick Strong
Roderick Strong's chops do not always have that crisp "smack" that makes the initial definition of a great chop but the proof is in the pudding, or more literally the opponent's chest. Roderick's chops on the independents and throughout his time in WWE have left opponents hunched over and writhing in pain.
Strong was mentioned earlier for being chopped by Keith Lee but Strong threw his own as well that just seemed to anger Lee. Just see Daniel Bryan's chest after The Greatest Royal Rumble in 2018 for proof of his strength.
3 Wahoo McDaniel
The former NFL linebacker and guard made a name for himself in the league where his tackles resulted in a crowd cheer. Wahoo McDaniel brought his mean streak and strength from the gridiron to the squared-circle in the '70s. McDaniel won numerous championships across the territories.
Sgt. Slaughter has had to get stitches after being chopped by Wahoo along with drawing bloodshed and receiving scars. McDaniel had a legendary feud with Jonny Valentine in the mid-'70s where the two assaulted each other with strikes and chops. Jonny's son Greg would "break" Wahoo's leg in 1977 resulting in the iconic, "I Broke Wahoo's Leg" shirt.
2 Kenta Kobashi
Considered by many to be the "king" of the chop, Kenta Kobashi has incredible endurance and power when it comes to the chop. The Japanese legend used his big hands to throw flurries of overhand and knife-edge chops that could range in the hundreds during an exchange.
Kenta engaged in one of the most brutal chop exchanges ever against Kensuke Sasaki at NOAH Destiny 2005 where the two threw back-and-forth knife-edge chops non-stop for several minutes, absolutely destroying each other's chests. The live crowd showered the two with cheers and applauds of respect and appreciation for the war they had just witnessed.
1 Ric Flair
As great as Kenta Kobashi was amazing fans with his chops, "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair is undoubtedly the most notorious wrestler to ever use the strike. Flair would throw wicked knife-edge chops in his own right that would clearly wear down his opponents but the crowd interaction he received with the fans calling back with his signature "WOO" after a chop is both fantastic but an industry faux pas.
Bret Hart would reveal that Flair's chops got to be too much for him, threatening to punch Flair in the nose if he delivered another one. Hart said he never got another chop from Flair after that.
