The dropkick is a move you are sure to see and good handful of times on a show, and to varying levels of success and beauty. Last time we looked at the lariat, and the visual appeal of that is very different to the dropkick. The lariat is a much more visceral action, and whilst dropkicks can be just as brutal to witness, the athleticism needed to pull one off adds a layer of poetic spectacle to it. Don't get me wrong, there's a fair few downright ugly dropkicks out in the world, but seeing someone leave their feet always has an air of excitement to it.
Following on from the point of the setup of the move, this also allows for a whole lot of variation and innovation. Again using the comparison to the lariat, that move essentially requires you to be on the same level, but with the dropkick, you can be on an entirely different plane of existence and still connect with the bastard.
Personally, my favourite dropkicks are always emphasised with height; a point made even cooler by the fact it gains the term 'missile' as a descriptor.
Neville's are especially beautiful - the hang time is just graceful and the slight popping of the kick right before connection makes the impact shine and the move on a whole look much more effective. Springboards in general really add a lot to the dropkick. I cannot fathom how difficult it is to get the balance to steady yourself on the ropes, let alone pulling off a dropkick from it.
With that in mind, seeing what Gran Metalik can do to prime himself for one is insane.
'King of the Ropes' is a well earned moniker.
So, those are the flashier examples of what a dropkick can be, having both a pageantry to them, as well as being used as efficient and effective weapons of squared circle warfare. Changing pace a bit though, there lies within the essence of the dropkick the ability to be used for pure destruction.
That's Conquest, War, Famine and Death all in one. With this, the devastation for me comes from both the connection of the kick and the victim being pinned down. In that one above, Honma is stuck between a rock and a hard pair of feet flying at his fucking face, not a lot of give there I don't think. As horrific as that is, probably a more vicious variety of dropkick comes when the victim is sent flying into something.
You don't have to look too much further than the audience in that clip to see the sort of reaction that generates. It must really fucking suck to be hit with that; not only does Balor properly knock him back, that connection of the head and turnbuckle is not a pretty sight. They don't come much nastier than that.
Looking across the modern world of wrestling, as well as the above examples, there are some performers out there with some stellar dropkicks, and few get me more hyped than Braun Strowman's;
Those fan-dangled dropkicks ain't just for cruiserweights, brother. Even with a silent gif I can vividly hear Braun screaming at Mark with every loop.
Making it 2-for-2 in the shoutouts for this series, Kazuchika Okada also lays claim to one of wrestling's best dropkicks, mixing height and connection to create a jaw-jacking manoeuvre to put down any bastard that just so happens to be hurtling towards him.
Gedo's little cheer at ringside is probably my favourite part of that gif.
Doing my research for this, I like to have a look at who Wikipedia cites as popularising and innovating the moves. Okada was up there for the standing dropkick, but there was another name alongside him, one that caught me off guard. I knew this guy was awesome, and I guess its probably down to limited viewing of his work, but goddamn looking it up made me see the truth.
Ladies and gentlemen, Hardcore Holly.
However, with money riding on it and in spite of Okada's majesty, I would say that the best dropkick in wrestling today goes to 'The Phenomenal One', AJ Styles.
Everything about it is beautiful, but for me, its the leap and the landing that makes it. AJ's not the tallest of lads, and for him to get the verticality needed to nail his opponent in the face is, well...phenomenal. On top of that, the landing at the end is slick as anything, essentially making the move more of a dropsault variation.
In conclusion, the dropkick is a thing of beauty. Whether you're dropping out of the sky, barrelling down at a poor fucker sat in the corner or laying in wait for perfect interception, connecting with two feet is an ideal way to rock some heads. With a lot of strikes, there's a general feeling of 'I could do that', but a dropkick is something to aspire to. I can't tell you how many times I've jumped on my bed going for a dropkick, but I can assure you each time they've looked like pure shit. So with that in mind, the next time you see a dropkick in action, look beyond the common spot it's become, and appreciate the athleticism needed to perform such a feat.
Well that's gonna do it from me for this time folks. I hope you've enjoyed this part of The Wrestler's Arsenal, and if you've any requests on what should be covered next, please do let me know, and whenever that may be, I'll see you guys there!
