------------HOLDS AND MOVES

450 splash - standard American title for the firebird ; short for "450 degree splash". Leap from the top turnbuckle, doing a complete flip and 1/4 in mid-air, landing face-first and splashing your opponent. Scorpio's WWF finisher,

ace crusher - "Stone Cold Stunner". That should be a good enough definition for you.

achilles tendon hold - also called a leglace / leg scissors (submission). Both men grounded, grab opponent's leg and wrap your opposite leg around it so the heel is more or less in their thigh area. Lock foot under your arm and wrench, stretching the achilles tendon. Occassionally used by the Undertaker (such as on Vince McMahon).

armbar submission - standard name for what's also known as a waki-gatame. Opponent face-down, grab a single arm and wrench back on it.

armbar takedown - often preceeding the above hold; bring opponent down face-first in an armbar-style hold. Often used by Ken Shamrock to set up the anklelock.

arm breaker - grab opponent's arm, turn your back to them, and snap it down at the elbow over your shoulder.

Asai moonsault - springboard moonsault from the second rope to the floor. One of Ultimo Dragon's (Yoshihiro Asai - his move, hence it bears his real name) specialities. Also used by TAKA Michinoku and various other juniors.

avalanche - running body splash on a standing opponent in the corner, usually used by big men such as Vader.

aztec suplex - also known as an "aztecan suplex" and a "straightjacket suplex". Stand behind your opponent, grabbing their right arm with your left one and their left with your right. Pull both back, so as to "straight-jacket" them, then suplex them over your head (ala a German suplex) into a pinning hold.

backspin DDT - known also as a "Maivia Hurricane" or float-over DDT. Catch the opponent's arm, spin around them/across their back, going right into a DDT. One of Rocky Maivia's specialities.

black tiger bomb - I dunno if it was Marc Rocco or Eddy Guerrero (the first and second Black Tigers, respectively) who came up with this move, but what it is, is a sit-down crucifix powerbomb (with pinning hold).

corkscrew elbowdrop - a less-flashy "People's Elbow". Spin from a semi-legdrop setup into the elbowdrop. Used by Gangrel.

cross arm-breaker - also known as a juji-gatame / crucifix armbar. The person applying the hold will be grounded with their legs across the opponent's chest and face, forming a "T" or cross-style shape. Grab the victim's wrist, pulling it toward you through your legs, and wrench back.

crucifix powerbomb - lift your opponent as if for a powerbomb, but hoist him over your shoulder and onto your back, holding him in place by his arms ("crucifying them" on your back). Fall forward and slam them down. Scott Hall's "Razor's Edge" finisher.

death valley driver - more technically a fireman's buster, and also called a Spicolli Driver from time to time. Lift the opponent in a fireman's carry and drop them sideways, landing them on their head. Wuss variation used as the Godfather's WWF finisher.

diving headbutt - known also as a kamikaze or swandive headbutt. Flying headbutt on a grounded opponent from the top rope. Used occassionally by Shoichi Funaki and Edge.

double-leg / football tackle - often hard to distinguish any real difference between the moves; better known as the "Spear". Used often by Edge.

dragon screw - known also as a legdrag, leg whip, etc. Holding opponent's foot, fall down with a sideways-sorta twist, using your free arm to wrench them down by their knee. Used from time to time by Ken Shamrock and Gangrel.

dragon sleeper- hook on an upside-down facelock (reverse/inverted DDT setup), reaching under the opponent's far arm. With your free hand, reach under the near arm, clasp both hands together, and squeeze.Dan Severn's finisher(see the "reverse choke" below).

dragon suplex - apply full-nelson from behind your opponent, snap them back over your head and onto theirs in the suplex. Optional bridge.

Insaguri - translates to "back brain kick". A swinging kick which nails the opponent in the back of the head. Often used by Owen Hart, and sometimes by Al Snow and Hawk.

exploder suplex - cinch up the opponent sideways, hooking one hand inside their near thigh, and other around the side of their head/neck. Take them over your head, hopefully dropping them on theirs.

facebreaker - drop down to a knee, taking your opponent by the head and smashing his face into your knee. Hunter Hearst Helmsly's speciality.

face crusher- also known as a single-hand bulldog. Take the the opponent by the back of the head/hair and leap forward, slamming them face-first. Used by Great Muta; (apparently) Tiger Ali Singh's WWF finisher.

faceslam - basically any non-technical move that consists of slamming your opponent's face into the mat. Jarrett uses a side-russian legsweeping variation, and X-Pac's finisher is a sit-down variation.

falcon arrow - vertical suplex into a Michinoku Driver #2-style slam (sit-down as you lay your opponent out face-first). Often used by Hayabusa and Saturn (I believe it's his Death Valley Driver set-up move currently). Reverse variation used by both Edge and Christian (as part of a double-snap suplex, rev. falcon arrow combo).

firebird special - another title, often used in Japan, for the450 splash (see above).

fisherman buster - or fisherman's buster, it usually doesn't matter. Hook the front-face lock and single-leg as if for a fisherman suplex , lift the opponent, and drop them on the back of their head.

fisherman suplex - vertical suplex with a single-leg hook, optional bridge. Curt Hennig's former "Perfectplex"; used as a regular move by names such as Ken Shamrock, Owen Hart, and Val Venis.

flying snap kick - run, hop, snap one leg forward and kick the opponent right in the chest. Steve Blackman's finisher.

frankensteiner - usually called a hurricanrana as of late. Jump onto opponent's shoulders (facing the opposite direction as him/her) then fall backward, taking him over by the head with your legs. Often used by Ken Shamrock. As far as I know, a real hurricanrana is a frankensteiner with the double-leg cradle hold.

front slam - grab the opponent as if for a backbreaker (one of those ones that usually connects more with the side); fall forward, slamming them with your weight above them.

German suplex - stand behind your opponent, hooking your arms around his waist. Bridge back and carry them over you, slamming them on their shoulders/neck/head. Optional pinning bridge.

gorilla press - also called a military press. Press your opponent overhead with both arms, and drop them into a slam. Often used by Billy Gunn.

gourdbuster- or a "facebuster" (not X-Pac's finisher). Vertical suplex lift, dropped straight forward rather than backward. Opponent hits face-first.

ground cobra twist - cobra twist = abdominal stretch. Hook on the twist, and bring the opponent to the mat by the arm, holding them in a pinning cradle.

guillotine ace crusher - hook leg over the back of the head of a doubled-over opponent and drop down, planting them on their face. Used by Billy Gunn; often called a "Rocker Dropper".

hangman's neckbreaker - also called a shoulder or reverse neckbreaker. Neckbreaker over the shoulder, same as Rick Rude's "Rude Awakening".

hotshot - drop your opponent throat-first over the ropes (or guardrail or what have you). Steve Austin's "Stun Gun".

jackknife hold - somersault over your opponent (who is lying on his back), hooking both of their legs in the process for a pinning hold. Incidentally, Kevin Nash's "jackknife" is just a lame powerbomb. A true jackknife powerbomb would involve the powerbomb, going straight into a jackknife hold.

Japanese armdrag- a "vertical" armdrag, tossing the opponent straight overhead rather than more to the side. Formerly used by Marc Mero, sometimes used by Ken Shamrock and X-Pac.

jumping powerbomb- powerbomb which includes the wrestler throwing their own feet out from beneath them to add more force to the slam (usually landing them on their knees).

k driller - tombstone-style gutwrench pick-up, into a sitting piledriver. The "reverse tombstone" which Owen Hart used to injure Steve Austin and Dan Severn.

la majistral - "The magistry", also called La Majistral Cradle. (This is a tough one..) Opponent more or less on all fours (or at least on their knees)..grab one of their arm's, lacing it around your near leg with a spin. Roll over, taking them over and hooking their other arm with one of yours into a pinning hold. Used by Ken Shamrock and occasionally by Edge, etc..

leg-hanging kneebreaker - opponent face-down on the mat. Grab an ankle and lift the leg into the air, slamming it directly down onto the mat. A foot is usually held in the back of the knee/calf to keep the leg hooked correctly for the knee-slam.

leg lariat- leap into the air, extending the back of one leg to hit your opponent in the face. Used by D-Lo Brown and Dean Malenko. Spinning variation used often by Owen Hart and X-Pac, and randomly thrown by Edge, TAKA Michinoku, etc.

Lygerbomb - jumping sit-down powerbomb with pinning hold. Darren Drozdov's finisher, also used occassionally by Marc Mero, Brian Christopher, etc.

niagara driver - here's that eternal dispute I mentioned above. I believe the story goes, the niagara driver basically a top-rope black tiger bomb .

Oklahoma stamped - opponent lifted onto shoulder; wrestler performing move takes a few running steps and turns them over into a power-style slam. The British Bulldog's "Running Powerslam" finisher in either of the Big 2.

pescado - slingshot from inside the ring into a cross-body, hitting an opponent on the outside.

pendulum backbreaker - sidewalk slam-style lift into a backbreaker. Often used by Bret and Owen Hart.

la quebrada - "The waterfall". Springboard off the second ropes inside the ring, into a moonsault.

quebradora con hilo - more commonly known as a tilt-a-whril backbreaker.

reverse choke - I'm not sure of a more proper name for this hold. Opponent face up..hook the arm over the throat/around the neck and choke 'em out. Used by Dan Severn, Owen Hart, the Blue Blazer, etc. NOT the same move as a dragon sleeper.

reverse powerbomb - formerly known as Vader's "Face Eraser". Opponent is face-up on the mat; grab their legs, as if for a "wheelbarrow", and pull them up through your legs, and up into the air. Then plant 'em face-first. Used by Mark Canterbury.

reverse Lygerbomb - same as above, with the person sitting down as they slam their opponent face-first. Used by Billy Kidman, etc.

roundhouse - common name for a standing spinkick whose aim is to catch the opponent in the head/face. One of X-Pac's specialities.

running Lygerbomb - running variation of the standard Lygerbomb.

samoan drop - lift opponent onto shoulders in a fireman's carry, and drop staight back, planting them on their back.

senton - or "senton splash". Just a splash using your back. Top-rope version used as Dick Togo's finisher.

sidewalk slam - lift the opponent horizontally on your side, one arm holding a leg and the other supporting his weight by the back. Drop him down into a slam. Used by Kevin Nash, DOA, etc.

single-arm DDT - armbar-style hold, dropping the opponent face-first. Done occassionally by Jeff Jarrett and 75% of the wrestlers in the "Warzone" video game.

single-leg slam - sometimes called a "flapjack". Opponent picked up onto the shoulder, and slammed down onto their back by one leg. Edge uses a reverse (face-first) variation.

skytwister press - or a quarter-moonsault. A moonsault with 3/4 rotation rather than straight back, such as the ones thrown by Vader or Terry Funk. Not the same move as a cancun tornado, which is a corkscrew bodypress from the top.

somersault bodyblock - also called a cannonball, and other assorted names. Usually from the ropes, leap off into a flip and hit your opponent with your back in mid-air. Used by Dick Togo.

spinebomb - double-leg spinebuster-style pickup, dropped down into a sitting powerbomb. Used by Kidman; slight variation used as D-Lo Brown's "Sky-Hi(gh)".

spinebuster - lift the opponent by both legs, and fall forward, planting them directly on their back. Used more recently, Val Venis. What Tony Schiavone thinks is a "sidewalk slam".

splash mountain - see black tiger bomb .

swing frankensteiner - leaping off of a higher point (such as a turnbuckle, or going from the ring apron to the floor), hit a frankensteiner which swings you around to the opposite side of your opponent while taking them over (if that makes any sense). Used by Juventud Guerrera, Rey Misterio Jr., and even once or twice by Ken Shamrock.

swinging DDT - also called a spinning DDT or a tornado DDT. Lock opponent in a headlock, leap and spin until you've taken him in a 180-degree circle, and drop him on his head. Used by TAKA Michinoku, and various other juniors in the Big 2.

STF - "step-over toehold with facelock". Opponent is face down; step over, locking one of their legs in a forward-bent position with your leg (the stepover toehold)...reach forward, hook on the facelock and wrench. Masahiro Chono's finisher.

tiger bomb - see Lygerbomb .

tiger spin - spin from a side-headlock into a quick hammerlock, then spin directly to a drop-toehold. Used occassionally by Dean Malenko.

tiger suplex - double-underhook opponent's arms from behind and take them over your head, landing them right on theirs. Optional bridge. Gangrel uses a "released" version of this move.

tope suicida - usually just known as a "tope". A suicide dive/headbutt from the ring to the floor. The tope con hilo ("dive with thread") is a somersault variation.

Vader attack - simply a vertical bodysplash/smash on a standing opponent (usually consists of either the person hitting the move or the victim running). Used regularly by, of course, Vader.

victory roll - sit on opponent's shoulders, facing the same direction as him/her. Fall forward into a somersault, grabbing their legs and rolling them beneath you onto their shoulders.

yakuza kick - known also as a mafia kick. "Big boot" with forward-sliding momentum. Used by Men's Teioh, etc.