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5 Pro Wrestling moves that could work in MMA


An MMA fighter in England is going viral after pulling off a submission straight out of a WWE ring at Full Contact Contender two weeks ago. Grabbing both of his opponent's legs, Jonno Mears applied what in wrestling terms is known as a Boston Crab, the more generic name for The Walls of Jericho. A move made famous by Chris Jericho, in theory, it applies pressure to the recipients back until they're forced to tap out.

Seeing this seemingly fictional maneuver actually work has brought questions of what other wrestling moves may be able to work in MMA. Here's five that seemingly have the best chance of success.

5. The Figure Four 


Another submission maneuver starts off the list. The Figure Four is probably most famous by wrestling legend Ric Flair.

The move involves intertwining your legs with your opponents in a way that puts immense pressure on one of their knees. You're also able to apply more pressure by leveraging your own body in different ways, causing even more pain than normal.

This move would be one that would be improbable to ever see happen. But it's conceivably possible if it's a matter of an extremely skilled submission fighter vs a novice.

4. DDT


This is actually a move that we've seen before, to an extent, inside of an MMA cage but only on accident since the maneuver is actually illegal.

A DDT has you grabbing your opponents head under your arm and intentionally falling backward, driving them head first into the canvass. We've seen this happen before when a fighter shoots for a double leg takedown and ends up knocking themselves silly when they finish the maneuver, landing on their own head. 

If this move was actually legal in MMA, it would make for an interesting technique, as well as being a possible setup for a guillotine choke if it didn't knock the recipient out cold.

3. Powerbomb


Again, this is a move we've seen before in MMA, sort of. 

A powerbomb involves lifting your opponent onto your shoulders and slamming them to the ground, back first, usually causing their head to bounce off the canvass.

The most famous examples of this move in MMA come via Matt Hughes and Rampage Jackson. The reason neither of those are the same as a pro wrestling powerbomb is the way they were set up. Hughes was in a choke from Carlos Newton whom he carried over and rested against the cage. Hughes actually lost consciousness from the choke which caused his legs to give out, slamming Newton to the ground and knocking him out.

Rampage Jackson had Ricardo Arona flat on his back on the mat. When Arona went for an arm, Jackson showed incredible strength in lifting him straight up in the air and driving him back down, into the mat, knocking him out.

So the move has shown to be effective, even though we may never see the traditional wrestling style set up to it beforehand.

2. The Sharpshooter


The Sharpshooter is very similar to the Walls of Jericho/Boston Crab in that it applies pressure to the back of your opponent. However, it adds the twist of crossing your opponents legs over one of your legs to add even more pain to the hold.

Made famous by Bret "The Hitman" Hart, The Sharpshooter is arguably the most famous submission maneuver in all of professional wrestling.

However, it faces the same some of the same issues as figure four. The improbability of being able to pull it off is immense. As incredible as it would be to see the famous sharpshooter pulled off inside of a UFC cage, the odds of it happening aren't good by any means.

1. Sweet Chin Music


This one may be cheating a bit since it's technically a head kick, but any wrestling fan in the world would instantly recognize this particular kick if it took place in an MMA cage.

Made famous by "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels, the move is pretty straightforward. It's a moving side kick to the chin of your opponent, ostensibly with enough force to knock them out.

Obviously, you can't expect to see the set-up to the move inside of a cage, which involves standing on one side of the ring/cage and stomping your foot as your opponent stumbles to their feet or turns around, at which point you unleash the kick. 

While you may not get the set-up, it's not outside the realm of possibility that we could see the kick itself. We never thought we'd see the infamous "crane kick" from The Karate Kid until Lyota Machida pulled it off against Randy Couture, so don't count out the chance of ever seeing a fighter hit Sweet Chin Music inside the octagon.

Are there any moves that should've been on the list but aren't? Disagree with the ones that are? Let me know.

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