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What a Rush! The 14 Greatest (and 3 Worst) Pro-Wrestling Moves Used in MMA

(“Call me Aldo Montoya again, bitch!”)

By Seth Falvo (@SethFalvo)

When Nick Ring walked to the cage on Saturday accompanied by professional wrestling legend Bret “The Hitman” Hart, it was one more example of mixed martial arts’ quirky love affair with professional wrestling. Oh sure, we like to pretend that we have nothing in common with those peculiar Puroresu practitioners because our sport is real, both in terms of the violence and the personalities associated with it. Nonsense. With fake fighters crossing over to the real stuff, real fighters crossing over to the fake stuff, fake matches “borrowing” their outcomes from real fights, real promos “borrowing” from the classic fake stuff and multiple guys dabbling in both sports, the line between the two is arguably blurrier now than it was back when Ken Shamrock was ankle locking fools in the World Wrestling Federation.

It should come as no surprise then that we’ve seen our share of professional fighters attempting honest-to-God professional wrestling moves in real fights. We know, we know: We’re totally not supposed to be trying this stuff at home. But fortunately for us, the following brave men have ignored the countless warnings, the advice of their trainers and their own common sense to provide us with the most entertainingly reckless ways to injure their fellow men.

But before we break out the face paint and spandex, let’s establish how I’ll be ranking such absurd maneuvers. The moves will be ranked based on their immediate effectiveness, how true to form they stay to their kayfabe counterparts, and the competence of their opponents. Let’s face it: Even if you do something insanely cool and difficult from professional wrestling in an MMA fight, if you then get knocked out, you still look like a chump. Let’s also acknowledge that a punch to a downed opponent has no business being called The Worm without the accompanying theatrics. Finally, it’s a lot easier to pull off a complex move in a fight when your opponent totally sucks at fighting. Those are my rules, and if you’re not down with that, I got two words for ya: LET’S BEGIN!

(“Call me Aldo Montoya again, bitch!”)

By Seth Falvo (@SethFalvo)

14.) Bob Sapp Piledrives Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at PRIDE Shockwave, 8/28/2002.

For those of you who are new here, believe it or not Bob Sapp used to actually try during his fights. After crushing two straight foes while looking absolutely terrifying in the process, ”The Beast” found himself across the ring from PRIDE heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Right from the start, Big Nog shoots for a takedown and immediately gets caught between Sapp’s monstrous legs. What follows is one of both men’s most iconic moments: Sapp pulls Nogueira up and piledrives him straight to the canvas.

Either that piledriver wasn’t nearly as effective as it looked, or it was far too effective and had zombified Big Nog, because Nogueira refused to stay down afterwards. Well damn, dropping the guy straight on his neck didn’t work. Now what? If you’re Bob Sapp, you respond by unsuccessfully attempting more piledrivers while your Brazilian foe mounts what I’m on record calling the greatest comeback in MMA history, eventually securing a fight ending armbar.

While this fight established Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira as a bonafide badass, it also proved once and for all that one should bring a more diverse strategy into a bout against a top heavyweight fighter than “repeatedly attempt to break his neck with a professional wrestling move.” Attempting to break his shoulder with a jiu-jitsu hold, however…

13.) Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett Uses the Airplane Spin Against Anthony McDavitt at King of the Cage: Legends, 6/6/2009.

Let’s pretend you’re a cocky journeyman with nothing resembling a ground game. Some punk tries to lock in an armbar against you, not realizing that you are Krazy with a capital K. How do you handle this?

If you answered “spin him around like I’m a coked up 80′s wrestler and slam him head first into the cage on my way to a split-decision loss,” then accept my condolences: you and Bennett have the exact same problem solving skills. I’d advise you to stay in school and keep away from drugs, but apparently that’s what got you in this mess in the first place. So drop out and do a lot of meth, I guess.

12.) Houston Alexander Chokeslams Thiago Silva at UFC 78, 11/17/2007.

(The slam comes at the 1:23 mark.)

When then-feared knockout artist Houston “The Assassin” Alexander (Ah, how nostalgic that felt to type) found himself across the cage from Thiago Silva, he knew he’d have to break out something extra special to keep the suspiciously burly Brazilian down. Taking a cue from the giants of professional wrestling that came before him, Alexander decided that the easiest way to knock out Silva was to use a straight-up chokeslam on him.

Unfortunately for Alexander, it turns out that them pro wrasslers is lyin’ to us: A chokeslam is no more devastating than any other takedown. Especially when you’re a fish out of water on the ground and your opponent is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt. Alexander would go on to get knocked out in the first round by Silva, end up on the wrong end of what was then the UFC’s fastest knockout, get choked out by Eric Schafer and released from the UFC, brought back to job to Kimbo Slice and has currently lost two straight fights by way of vicious knockout. But other than that, his life is just wonderful.

11.) Mark Hunt Leg Drops Wanderlei Silva at PRIDE Shockwave 2004, 12/31/2004.

(Leg drop comes around 6:45)

It’s no secret that Mark Hunt was as one-dimensional as they came when he first started competing in MMA. When the Samoan kickboxer found himself staring at a grounded Wanderlei Silva, he wisely decided that a grappling match was not in his best interest. Rather, Mark Hunt figured that attempting a giant leg drop was his best option in this situation. Hey, it worked for Hulk Hogan, right?

Even though Hunt would have only connected with Silva’s stomach if it landed cleanly, and ended up with a pissed off Axe Murderer in his guard, it technically still worked: Super Samoan walked away with a split-decision victory that night.

10.) Ikuhisa Minowa Dropkicks Butterbean at PRIDE Bushido 12, 8/26/2006

For those who have never seen “Minowaman” fight, allow me to break down a typical fight of his for you in four easy steps:

Step One: Sign up to fight someone who is more than twice your size yet only half as skilled.
Step Two: Do something weird to train, like ask your sparring partners to sit on each others’ shoulders while poking at you with sticks.
Step Three: Attempt a professional wrestling move at some point during your fight.
Step Four: Either submit your oversized grappling dummy, or get beaten to a pulp by the much larger foe.

Any questions?

9.) Jon Jones Suplexes Stephan Bonnar at UFC 94, 1/31/2009

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8.) Jon Jones Suplexes Brad Bernard at Full Force Productions: Untamed 20, 4/12/2008.

Yes, nerds: I’m well aware that suplexes are legitimate wrestling takedowns. Well la-dee-frickin’-da. Let me guess, you also call rappers by their real names instead of their stage names, complain about the “unrealistic” parts of science fiction movies and just can’t enjoy a hilarious YouTube video because of all the bad grammar in the comments section.

Now, if you’re looking for an MMA bout that will more than likely produce a German suplex that would make Chris Benoit blush, put the arrogant hotshot who would go on to be the youngest champion in UFC history (and arguably the greatest American MMA fighter in the brief history of our sport) in the cage with an aging veteran and let nature take its course. If you’re looking for one that is practically guaranteed to produce a wild double underhook suplex, lock said hotshot in the cage with an unathletic looking self-described “bar room brawler” who is 0-2 in cage fights and keep a camera on them at all times.

Since being dominated by Jon Jones, Brad Bernard has wisely walked away from the sober, sanctioned stuff. Likewise, Stephan Bonnar lost his next two, then won his next three, then maybe retired, but definitely ruled out the possibility of a rematch. Oh, and I guess this Jones guy has been doing okay, too.

7.) Jonathan Ivey Uses The People’s Elbow on Some Fatty (Event and Date Unknown)

I have no idea who the tubby in the yellow trunks is that’s doing his best Bob Sapp impression. I have no idea what event this went down at, or even what year this fight took place during. What I do know is that the fighter in black trunks is none other than heavyweight journeyman Jonathan Ivey, who upon seeing that for once he’s actually the guy doing the damage, decides to use The People’s Elbow against that disgusting fatbody.

Technically, you’re right: I have no idea if Jonathan Ivey actually won this fight, so it shouldn’t really be this high up on the list. But come on, once you allow someone to use The People’s Elbow on you in a real fight – most of the theatrics included – you automatically lose. In a just world (i.e. my mind), the referee watched Ivey dance his way into The People’s Elbow and immediately stopped the contest. Ivey celebrated, while chunky decided to retire from the sport, grow a killer mustache, adopt a beagle and never speak of his career as one of them Vale Tudo fellers again.

Hit that “next page” link for another example of PRIDE being awesome, a throwback clip of the WEC imitating WCW, and the perfect way to finish an opponent…

WWE: CM Punk Re-Enacts Chael Sonnen’s Botched Spinning Backfist

Despite the fact that CM Punk and Daniel Bryan have wrestled in several matches on television over the last few months, I refuse to complain about it. They always give us different moves, different spots and different finishes. Essentially, they never …

Despite the fact that CM Punk and Daniel Bryan have wrestled in several matches on television over the last few months, I refuse to complain about it.

They always give us different moves, different spots and different finishes. Essentially, they never give us the same match twice.

And last Monday was no exception.

During the mixed tag team Match on Monday Night Raw, CM Punk attempted to deliver a spinning backfist to Bryan, but Punk missed and tumbled to the mat. Bryan immediately followed up with a running knee.

On the surface, this is not a big deal.

However, several MMA enthusiasts, including J. Jones of CagePotato.com, have noticed that the sequence was nearly identical to the spinning backfist that Chael Sonnen unsuccessfully used against Anderson Silva at UFC 148. Sonnen missed, tumbled to the mat and received a big knee from Silva. Sonnen went on to lose the match by TKO.

A comparison between the two matches can be seen here.

CM Punk has spoken publicly about his love for MMA and having a friendship with a few MMA fighters, including Chael Sonnen.

So it is very likely that the spot was no mere coincidence and it was intentionally planned, perhaps as both a spoof and a compliment to his MMA buddy.

Of course, Punk has already used MMA-based techniques in the past, such as the Anaconda Vise, a choke submission from the pages of Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

Sonnen was an NCAA Division I All-American when he competed in amateur wrestling for the University of Oregon. Also, his interviews are very similar to full-blown wrestling promos. Therefore, many are beseeching for a WWE appearance by the UFC star. However, he has recently expressed his loyalty to Dana White and his promotion.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Frank Mir ‘Not Opposed’ to Doing Professional Wrestling

(“DO YOU SMELL WHAT THE FRANK IS COOKING??”)

Wow, Frank Mir wants to face Brock Lesnar again more than we realized. The two-time UFC heavyweight champion (and two-time Lesnar adversary) recently told The Chronicle Journal that he is “not opposed to the idea” of becoming a professional wrestler, although he did clarify that he “can’t do a back flip or anything.”

Mir has never kept secret the fact that he wants revenge on Lesnar for the beating he took at Brock’s hands in their rematch. With Lesnar back in the WWE, maybe Mir realizes that his only chance at getting his paws on Brock again is for the two of them to work together in a squared circle.

But could Mir really be trusted to stick to the script and work collaboratively with his nemesis, should they meet up in the WWE? Daniel Puder taught us that MMA fighters can’t always be trusted to make pro wrestling superstars look good in the ring.

(“DO YOU SMELL WHAT THE FRANK IS COOKING??”)

I’m smelling a screw job plan from Mir. Think, F-5 reversal into a rolling heel-hook for the tap. Then again, maybe Brock has enough new protective gear to keep him safe.

What do you say, ‘taters? Does Mir have what it takes to make it in professional wrestling? Surely some of his more extreme trash talk would find a welcome home in the WWE. Also, TRT exemptions wouldn’t be necessary, but he still couldn’t use a gun or knife, we’re assuming.

– Elias Cepeda

WWE News: UFC President Dana White Comments on Meeting with Brock Lesnar in May

Following UFC 146 last month, the rumors of a potential return to the world of MMA for Brock Lesnar were kicked into high gear after a meeting between the UFC president, Dana White, and the former Heavyweight Champion. During an interview last night fo…

During an interview last night following UFC on FX in Florida, White would give an idea on just how well that previously mentioned meeting went after people had been claiming that Lesnar will once again leave the WWE for the UFC.

In the video posted at the top of this article, White goes on to say that the meeting between he and Lesnar didn’t go well after UFC 146, along with saying that it was the worst meeting that the two had through the years.

Even though it’s unknown whether or not Lesnar was trying to make a play to return to the UFC, the former champion should not make a return to MMA as it will likely end with a big paycheck but more loses for Lesnar.

It would make much more sense for Lesnar to continue with the WWE since the schedule is much more manageable along with the incredible amount of money, $5 million, being given to him in his one-year deal with the company that made him a star in the early 2000s.

With the meeting between Lesnar and White ending up wildly unsuccessful after UFC 146, do you think the former UFC and WWE Champion will ever return to the Octagon when his current deal ends following WrestleMania 29?

Chris Humphrey is a WWE Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. You can ask him any question regarding the WWE or any other topic that crosses your mind on either his Facebook or Twitter page.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

WWE HOF’er J.J Dillon on an Emotional Night with Dusty Rhodes and Vince McMahon

Seven buses rolled out of the hotel parking lot. Not minibuses. Full sized Greyhounds. Inside were the wrestlers, legends, families and friends of WWE owner Vince McMahon. Traffic was stopped in Miami as they rolled to I-95, then onward to the Miami Do…

Following behind was James J. Dillon. An industry lifer who has worked every job imaginable from VP to referee, Dillon was best known as the manager of the legendary Four Horseman. For his role in the group, a clique of champions that featured a rotating cast of wrestling greats like Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard and Barry Windham, Dillon was about to be recognized by wrestling czar Vince McMahon as a hall of famer.

His long time foe and backstage booking partner Dusty Rhodes would introduce Dillon and the gang.

It was the culminating moment of a long, proud career, and J.J. Dillon was scared. Not of the crowd. Not of the moment. But of those two icons, the men who had meant the most to him over his career. The men he was afraid he had done irreparable harm in his 2005 book Wrestlers Are Like Seagulls.

“With everything that had happened, if I was a betting man, I’d have never bet on this happening, me being inducted into their Hall of Fame,” Dillon told Bleacher Report in an exclusive interview. “I was worried. What’s it going to be like when I get there? Will there be a little chill in the air? I didn’t know.”

Dillon had been open and honest in his book. As a true WWF insider once part of McMahon’s inner circle alongside the stalwart Pat Patterson, Dillon had plenty of knowledge about what went on inside the headquarters building in Stamford Connecticut. And he shared—and shared plenty—with fans. A lifetime of frustration poured out on those pages. Now, sixteen years after leaving the WWF, he was about to come face to face with Vince McMahon one more time.

Meeting Vince

J.J. had actually been to one previous WWE event after leaving the company, making the trip to Ric Flair’s final match against Shawn Michaels. He had seen Vince from across the building, but never came into his orbit. Now he found himself at the run through for the WWE Hall of Fame television special, McMahon, as always, running the show. He was all business, but cordial.

“HHH was orchestrating everything, and we were the first one’s out,” Dillon said. “Tully was right in front of me, and Vince stood up, took his headset off, and in front of this room full of people, reached out, shook his hand. He made eye contact with me, saw me standing right behind him, reached around Tully and shook my hand. He said ‘J.J, thanks for being here.’ I said ‘Vince, thank you for inviting me.’ That was the extent of our conversation, our first in 16 years.”

Later, each of the Hall of Famers had a chance to meet with McMahon individually. About 40 minutes before the Ceremony, each was brought into the presence of the closest thing we have to a wrestling god. He had already met with Vince’s wife Linda and his daughter Stephanie (who heir apparent to the company business). Both had been gracious and kind. Vince though? That might be another story.

“He was going to personally present us our rings. I remember going in there, Flair first and then Arn, then it was Tully, me, and Barry Windham was last,” Dillon said. “It was in a room where they were going to take pictures. And as I walked in, I didn’t know. I said ‘Vince, I don’t have the words to thank you for this and what it means to me personally and my family.’ He had a little smile on his face and he put his hand on my shoulder and said ‘We had some great times together didn’t we?’ That was his reply. He handed me my ring, turned around and we took a whole bunch of pictures. I stepped away and Barry got his ring.”

Just thinking about it was enough to make Dillon catch his breath.

“There have been lots of great bookers in the business, and every one of them had a shelf life,” Dillon said. “Eventually their ideas would repeat themselves. And Vince has been the final say since day one. The fact that he’s still there, still has the vision, still has the final say is amazing. The proof to me was seeing the scope of that event [WrestleMania], 78,000 people in Miami setting a record for that venue, and just seeing where he’s taken the business. You can’t have anything but respect for him.”

The Dream

But McMahon wasn’t the only wrestling legend he had unfinished business with. Rhodes, who Dillon had battled in the ring and later worked closely with behind the scenes, had also taken some heat in Dillon’s book. The two had parted on bad terms. Could they reconcile? Thinking about Christmas parties with Dusty and his wife Michelle, Dillon couldn’t miss his chance to make things right with one of his oldest friends.

“There was that big question mark. It was never really talked out between Dusty and I,” Dillon said. “My book came out in 2005. Fast forward to the weekend of the Hall of Fame. Dusty inducted us. There was a party after that. The McMahons threw in the hotel for WrestleMania weekend, first class all the way. Sushi bar, oysters on the half shell, open bar—it was as only they could do it.

“I was tired. It had been a very emotional few days. And I saw Dusty and his wife Michelle sitting four or five tables down. And I just went up and went down there and asked Dusty if he had a minute. I said ‘Something has been bothering me for six or seven years. I’ve never had this conversation with you and I felt I should have.’

“It was very emotional,” Dillon continued, breaking into tears. “It was just him and I one on one. And I basically told him that so much of my success, which was being showcased there that weekend, I owed to him. Going back to Florida…The two of us, in this huge room full of all these people, having a very personal conversation. He told me I was important to him too… Here’s the two of us in this big room. Two grown men and I tell him I love him and he says he loves me. He told Michelle to come over and the three of us had a big hug. And I’m crying. It was like the weight of all those words, all the years, was released. Because he heard from me how I felt and he was very sincere about how he felt. It was a highlight of the weekend for me, this very personal thing.”

The Horsemen

Today Dillon is out of the wrestling business. But he still has plenty of expertise to share and stories to last a life time. His most recent project, a special DVD with Kayfabe Commentaries called Being a Four Horseman, was intended to expand the horizons of the “shoot interview.” Instead of just asking Dillon a series of questions about his career, Kayfabe’s Sean Oliver decided to focus in on a week in his life. There was one question in Oliver’s mind: What was it like to run with the legendary Four Horsemen?

“Of my whole career, the one thing that is kind of a blur is that run with the Horsemen. One day ran into another, and we were working very hard,” Dillon said. “I had these ‘week in a glance’ journals I used for tracking expenses on the road. So I knew what hotels, if there was a cab, a portion of a charter, we chipped in. It gave me some cues about where we were the night before and how we got there.

“How do you take one week, 25 years ago, and expound upon it? It was the most challenging interview that I’ve ever done. In the process we talked about a lot of things that were never asked before. What did [the] guys drink? What were their personalities really like? Things that had never come up in prior interviews. In the end, it’s a general look at what it was like to be in the Horseman and on the road with the Horseman. And I was very pleased with the end product.”

You can follow J.J. Dillon on his website. Jonathan Snowden is the author of Shooters: The Toughest Men in Professional Wrestling. He is a regular contributor to Bleacher Report.

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WWE News: Update on Meeting Between Brock Lesnar and Dana White After UFC 146

Even though being away from the UFC since December following his loss to Alistair Overeem, Brock Lesnar is still a topic of conversation as the former UFC heavyweight champion was mentioned in the post-UFC 146 press conference Saturday. Following the p…

Following the press conference, UFC president Dana White and Lesnar had a meeting to discuss things which had fans speculating whether Lesnar would be once again leaving the WWE for a return to the Octagon.

Here are the details from PWInsider (via WrestlingInc.com) on what came from the meeting between Lesnar and White this past weekend in Las Vegas.

Lesnar actually told WWE officials that he met with White but nothing happened out of it. Lesnar reportedly brought up the idea of doing something with UFC but White wasn’t interested. White does not want a pro wrestling connection with UFC and isn’t interested in working with Lesnar while he’s with WWE, despite teasing it at the post-fight press conference.

Following the pitch for a connection between the WWE and UFC in Lesnar’s current storyline, White made the right decision in declining the option as the two companies should definitely remain separate in their two worlds.

With his current deal running through WrestleMania 29 in 2013, it seems as though Lesnar is already looking to position himself in the best situation either in the WWE or UFC well before his deal expires next year.

With Lesnar trying to leverage himself into a possible better situation between the WWE and UFC, do you see the former UFC and WWE Champion staying in professional wrestling or making another run in MMA?

Chris Humphrey is a WWE Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. You can ask him any question regarding the WWE or any other topic that crosses your mind on either his Facebook or Twitter page.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com