Moonsault

Shawn Michaels performing a moonsault on Chris Jericho at WrestleMania XIX.

A moonsault, moonsault press, or back flip splash is a professional wrestling aerial technique. Much of its popularity in American wrestling is attributed to The Great Muta, despite it being used in North America by "Leaping" Lanny Poffo years before Muta came from Japan.^[1] In a standard moonsault, which is generally attempted from the top rope, a wrestler faces away from the prone opponent and executes a backflip landing on the opponent in a splash/press position but facing towards the elevated position. Though this move is generally attempted from the top rope to an opponent lying face up in the mat, myriad variations exist, including moonsaults that see the wrestler land on a standing opponent and forcing them down to the mat. The move is considered a higher-impact version of a splash, since the wrestler utilizes rotational speed.^{[citation needed]}

A less common variation sees the wrestler perform a moonsault on a standing opponent, with the torso of the wrestler striking the torso of the opponent (albeit upside down), forcing the opponent backwards and to the ground with the opponent on top of them, usually placing the opponent in a pinning predicament. Most of the variations listed below can also be performed on standing opponents.^{[citation needed]}

Variations

Corkscrew moonsault

John Morrison performing Starship Pain (split-legged corkscrew moonsault).

The corkscrew moonsault, also known as the skytwister press, is a twisting moonsault in which the wrestler stands on an elevated platform, such as the top rope,or the corner of the ring, and performs a moonsault with a 360° twist or multiple twists, landing as if performing a normal moonsault.^{[citation needed]}

Double jump moonsault

This is a variation of springboard moonsault. This variation sees the wrestler bounces off the middle-rope to elevate himself/herself to the top-rope from where he/she bounces off to perform the moonsault. This version of a moonsault is often referred to as a picture perfect moonsault or double springboard moonsault.^{[citation needed]}

Triple jump moonsault

This is a variation of the Double Jump Moonsault where, from a running start, the attacking wrestler jumps to a chair or other elevated platform, onto the top rope and then does a moonsault from there onto his opponent.^{[citation needed]}

Double moonsault

Also known as a double rotation moonsault, a double moonsault is a wrestling move in which an opponent is on the ground and the wrestler jumps off the top rope performing two full backflips in the air and landing on his stomach on the opponent.^{[citation needed]}

Moonsault slam

Scotty Vortekz performing a Spanish Fly in Dysfunction.

Any move where the wrestler stands on an elevated position, grabs hold of the opponent, and performs a moonsault while still holding on to the opponent, driving them down to the mat. This move is also known as a Solo Spanish fly. Multiple variations exist, such as a belly-to-belly version and a side slam version, which can also be performed while standing.^{[citation needed]}

Rounding moonsault

This variation is also referred to as a sideways moonsault, rolling moonsault, rounding splash, and Original Style Moonsault. The attacker climbs the top rope, or other elevated position facing away from the opponent, instead of doing a backflip as in a normal moonsault, the attacker rotates his or her body off to one side horizontally and lands on the opponent chest first, facing the turnbuckle as in a normal moonsault.^{[citation needed]}

Split-legged moonsault

This moonsault variation sees the performer jump up and split their legs onto both the left and right top ropes surrounding the top turnbuckle, using the impact of their thighs on the rope to flip themselves over, executing a moonsault onto a prone opponent.^{[citation needed]}

A variation of the split-legged moonsault is the Arabian Press, which involves the performer's thighs both landing on a single top rope, and the performer then continues to use the impact of their thighs on the rope to flip themselves over, executing a moonsault onto a prone opponent.

Springboard moonsault

Called La Quebrada in Mexico, sometimes shortened to simply Quebrada, and is also known as the Lionsault which is Chris Jericho's name for the move, this is a move in which a wrestler springboards (bounces off ropes), then executes a backflip and lands on an opponent. When a springboard moonsault is performed onto an opponent on the floor outside the ring, rather than one in the ring, it is called an Asai moonsault, after Yoshihiro Asai, who popularized it. This can also be used as a setup for an inverted DDT.^{[citation needed]}

Standing moonsault

This is a wrestling move in which the wrestler does a backflip on the mat landing on the opponent. This move can be set up by preceding with a roundoff.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Professional wrestling aerial techniques - (moonsault leg drop, moonsault double foot stomp)
• Professional wrestling attacks

References

1. ^ RF Video: Lanny Poffo Shoot Interview Synopsis