A lot of stick gets given to Big Daddy and his latter day career and his limited ability in the ring. But here's a question - what do we all think to his reverse double elbow lift/back drop/splash ? Look at how it works. To me it looks potentially devastating and as good a finisher as anyone would want. I think I can recall it being said that Bert Assirati used it too ? When I was training I can recall a Norfolk heavyweight Dave Daring telling me if I ever got in any bother for real to use it as it would invariably finish proceedings. For me I was a lightweight so to do it to a bigger bloke I needed more strength than I had. But it certainly always looked like it could have been dangerous. I also recall it being said that John Quinn suffered a real injury from Big Daddy in their famous televised encounter due to the drop. It is quite noticeable that at a given point Daddy stopped using it and reverted to a more simple splash after a body slam. Could it have been he was aware of the damage it could do if not performed correctly ? No one has seemed to use this move since ?
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I heard somewhere that the Double Elbow Drop did go wrong when Big Daddy used it on John Quinn. Quinn was a couple of stone heavier than the opponents that Big Daddy normally used this move on and Big Daddy's grip on him slipped a bit and they did not land correctly. I heard that Quinn did have to go to hospital for a check-up.
I also heard that after having been genuinely injured and having to go to hospital and having been top of the bill on a show that had one of the biggest audiences ever in British wrestling history, Quinn was not pleased when he later received his payment for the show from Max Crabtree and it was only for his normal amount.
I did think that the Double Elbow Drop was normally a great finishing move and I was stunned when I first saw Big Daddy use it.
The story I was told was that Bert taught the double elbow as a genuine finisher but that Shirley got the worked version wrong and did injure someone (Quinn?).
It's a great point , some moves look dangerous and this is one of them. It has often crossed my mind how much of Shirley and his weight actually landed on the opponent and sometimes it seemed very real. The only answer for myself that I could could come up with was cushioning from the extra weight he carried.
Hard men and wrestling is/was dangerous.
Not sure about Dave Darling's comment; it looks to me like a move that necessitates 100% co-operation. Big Daddy's opponents always aligned perfectly in the same plane - if they just twisted the whole thing would have fallen flat.
The Quinn bout was 1979, so I'm pretty sure Shirley used it on Tony Walsh after that.
I think you are correct about John Quinn. I think for the move to work, Big D had land on his backside, but if he didn't get it right, then he landed on top of his opponent's head. I think I recall Quinn being genuinely concussed after taking that move, and feeling groggy.
Someone on here will be able to correct me if I am wrong.