The Canadian Destroyer: A Modern-Day DDT
The Canadian Destroyer was once considered to be a highly effective and innovative maneuver that when executed would inevitably end the match, but it’s now seemingly just another move to add to the visual spectacle of one. This draws many parallels to the DDT which suffered a similar fate many years earlier.
How did we get here? Let’s walk through the history of the move along with how it became diluted within modern-day wrestling.
The Canadian Destroyer was innovated and named by Petey Williams who was born in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, but the move was first utilized by his trainer Scott D’Amore and even The Amazing Red years earlier.
Scott D’Amore first executed the move in Japan but has claimed that “personally, I did not ‘invent’ the Canadian Destroyer” giving credit to Petey for using it on television and Chris Sabin for taking a Frankenstein-er but backwards.
The first time Petey used this move was against Matt Sydal in Highland, Indiana back in 2003.
Sydal would duck as Williams was coming off the ropes, but was met with a forearm to the back. Williams would then set up a piledriver only to flip over Sydal creating one of the most magnificent moves in the process that would become duplicated by hundreds of performers.
Much like many intricate finishers, the cooperation from the opponent plays a key role in the proper execution of the move as it normally takes two incredibly athletic performers to convincingly pull it off.
The Canadian Destroyer received significant attention during Petey’s original tenure with TNA Wrestling where he played a pivotal role in establishing the X Division as one of the premier attractions for the promotion. While TNA Wrestling attracted a mere fraction of the audience compared to WWE, the Canadian Destroyer was commonly known and referenced by dedicated fans who were simply blown away by such a unique move.
As the style of professional wrestling started to evolve by becoming faster, more high-flying and centred on exciting spots, the Canadian Destroyer was frequently seen replicated throughout various independent shows and promotions.
In 2019, Petey Williams took aim specifically at NXT and AEW for their common use of the move by several performers.
Perhaps most frustrating of all was the fact the move became just another exciting spot sprinkled throughout a match as opposed to the highly effective finisher that Petey Williams once established years prior during his run in TNA.
This also devalued the move due to overexposure, a lack of psychology and far too many individuals leveraging it as part of their regular arsenal of attacks.
Another issue commonly faced by those who innovate a move is the lack of permission asked by others who decide to leverage it as it’s considered a best practice to inquire first prior to use. Petey Williams reiterated this back in 2018 when he stated only Chelsea Green had earned the distinct blessing for the use of the move.
Many years prior to the Canadian Destroyer losing its aura of prestige, the DDT would find itself in a similar situation.
While the DDT is widely associated with Jake Roberts, it was innovated and regularly utilized by a Mexican wrestler by the name of Black Gordman. That being said, it was Jake who not only popularized the move but introduced it to a global audience.
Jake would discover the move by a happy accident after locking his opponent in a front face lock and falling backwards after the opposition stepped on his feet. As the crowd reacted with genuine amazement, Jake Roberts knew he was onto something special.
What made the DDT (named after the pesticide) so effective were several important elements:
With falling backwards and snapping his opponent downwards on their face, it appeared to be believably vicious.
Jake being a master psychologist would actively protect the DDT and enhance the allure of it by always acting as if he was simply one action away from winning the match. All it took was the DDT to signify The End.
While individuals such as Arn Anderson among others would adapt the move as a finisher, it would evolve into a false finish due to the ease of use. Performers of all shapes, sizes and disciplines were immediately drawn to the DDT because anyone could plausibly execute it without having to physically lift their opponent.
Unfortunately, this mentality would quickly cheapen the sheer effectiveness of the once special attraction since it would rarely finish a match.
When asked by Sportskeeda about so many wrestlers using the DDT throughout the course of the match, Jake Roberts would note how it felt wasted:
It's very foolish of them to do that. It's the best wrestling manoeuvre ever invented. When they go out and do it, and the guy gets up, all you're doing is telling people that- 'When Jake Roberts did it, people didn't get up. So Jake Roberts must be better'. And here's the thing. I am better. I am smarter too. Better looking too but I don't want to bring that up (Laughter all around). But they make the mistake of going out and doing all these things that mean nothing. And yes, the most important thing for anyone in any business is that anything you do should mean something. When you do things and waste things like they do, it just shows how young and just how ignorant they are.
Despite modern wrestling becoming more reliant on exciting spots intended to be shared on social media, it’s still important to protect captivating moves such as the Canadian Destroyer and DDT by effectively concluding matches through the strategic placement of the execution to ensure it still matters along with limiting the number of individuals leveraging it.
The danger is something special being overexposed because once something is overexposed it is no longer interesting or unique. It’s never too late to change the course, so let’s hope wrestlers realize this now and alter their approach or the next time we find ourselves in this position, we will refer to it as a modern-day Canadian Destroyer instead of a modern-day DDT.
