Facebuster

A facebuster, also known as a faceplant, is generally a takedown move in professional wrestling in which an attacking wrestler forces his/her opponent down to the mat face-first without involving a headlock or facelock. If these are used then the move is either a DDT or bulldog variation.

"Inverted mat slams" are commonly referred to and considered to be facebusters.

A standard "Facebuster" also known as a "Jumping facebuster" involves the wrestler grabbing hold of the opponent's head / hair and jumping down to their knees, forcing the opponent's face into the mat. Ivory is best known for using this version, which she dubbed Poison Ivory.

Other variations

Argentine facebuster

The attacking wrestler places an opponent in an Argentine backbreaker rack, where the opponent is held face-up across both the shoulders of the wrestler, from here the wrestler falls sideways (towards the side where the opponent's head is held) while still holding the opponent's head with one arm and flipping the opponent's legs over with the other, driving them down to the mat face-first.

Belly-to-back inverted mat slam

From a position in which the opponent is bent forward against the wrestler's midsection, the wrestler grabs around his or her opponent's midsection and lifts so that the opponent is held upside down, facing in the same direction as the wrestler. The wrestler then hooks both arms of the opponent using his or her legs, and then falls forward planting the opponent's body into the mat face-first.

The move often sees the wrestler keep his/her legs hooked under the arms of the opponent after hitting the move, using the underhooking technique to turn the opponent on to their back into a Rana style pinning position.

The move has been popularised and closely associated with A.J. Styles who calls it the Styles Clash. Styles has been known to perform a Super Styles Clash from the second rope. Former WWE superstar Mike Lockwood used this as a finisher, dubbing it the Crash Landing.

Complete Shot

Well known as the Reverse STO, this is a move in which a wrestler stands side-to-side and slightly behind with the opponent, facing in the opposite direction, and reaches around the opponent's torso with one arm across the opponent's chest with his/her hand holding onto his/her other hand which is behind the opponent's head. The wrestler then falls backward, driving the opponent into the mat face-first. In Japan, the wrestler known as Gedo began using the move while a member of a stable of wrestlers known as the "Complete Players"; this is where the Complete Shot name derives. The wrestler can also cross his/her leg between the opponent's leg before hitting the Complete Shot, with this slight variation being known as a leg hook reverse STO. The leg hook variation has been used by numerous wrestlers, most notably Kanyon, who called it the Flatliner, Edge, who called it the Downward Spiral and Mr. Kennedy, who calls it the Mic Check.

Arm triangle facebuster

This version of a Reverse STO first sees an attacking wrestler apply a standing arm triangle choke before falling backwards to drive the opponent's head face-first to the mat. This stresses the choke which is already applied on the opponent while further damaging their arms, shoulders, and neck as well as impacting the opponent's face on the mat. The arm triangle choke is often maintained after the initial facebuster for a submission attempt.

Leaping reverse STO

A variation introduced by Judas Mesias, who called it the Straight to Hell, involves the wrestler leaping and grabbing the opponent and then driving the opponent's face into the mat. Shelton Benjamin also uses this variation, known in WWE as Paydirt.

Lifting reverse STO

A variation used by Carlito and Angelina Love,the latter of which calls the move the Lights Out, is executed when the opponent is lifted off the matt then drop them into the complete shot.

winging reverse STO

A variation also known as spinning reverse STO in which an opponent is drawn forward before being thrown back and the attacking wrestler then swings them around and down to the mat, the most notable users of this variation are Alex Shelley and Kaz who call it the Shellshock and Wave of the Future respectively. WWE superstar Mike Knox is also notable for using this maneuver, calling it the Knox Out.

Diving facebuster

This variation sees the wrestler grab a hold over the opponent's head/hair,then climb to the second rope and finally jump from there dropping to their knees or in a sitout position and planting the opponent face first to the mat. This has been used by Traci Brooks and Melina Perez.

In another variation the wrestler could just jump from the turnbuckle grabbing the opponent's head/hair in the air and planting them to the mat.

Double underhook facebuster

also used this version of the move, called Overheat, and called it the Slapjack while with the nWo.

Another variation of this move, famously used by CM Punk who called it the Pepsi Plunge, sees a wrestler ascend to the top turnbuckle so that they are standing on the top rope. While doing this they pull their opponent with them so that the opponent is standing on the second rope. The wrestler then applies the double underhook and jumps forwards lifting their opponent into the air before dropping to the mat, landing on their knees and driving the opponent's face into the mat with increased force. However, Punk stopped using this move months before coming to WWE.

CM Punk also innovated a slight variation of his Pepsi Plunge in which the opponent is seated on the top turnbuckle facing the ring while Punk stands in front of the opponent on the top turnbuckle before applying the double underhook and jumping backwards, pulling the opponent off the top rope, and falling to his knees driving the opponent's face into the mat.

Inverted double underhook facebuster

An attacker stands behind an opponent, overhooking both arms of the opponent and pivoting 180º so that the opponent is now looking down to the mat with the back of his/her head situated under the lower back (often with the attacker's legs partially straddling the opponent's head.) Leaving the arms underhooked behind both wrestlers, the attacking wrestler would drop to a kneeling position driving the opponent's face into the mat. This is often referred to as an Inverted Pedigree, in reference to Triple H's use of the double underhook facebuster as his finishing move.

A variation on this which is often known as the Tomikaze sees the attacking wrestler take hold of the wrists of an opponent from behind and placing his/her head onto the upper back of the opponent. From this position the wrestler would pivot 180º so that the opponent is now looking down to the mat with the back of his/her head situated under the upper back of the attacker and his/her arms (which are still held by the wrestler) come over the shoulders of the attacking wrestler. At this point the wrestler would fall backwards driving the opponent's face into the mat below. The move was originally named the Impaler (Often erroneously named the Inhaler), later the Unprettier by frequent user Christian Cage. Candice Michelle uses a jumping variation of this and calls it the Candy Wrapper. Portia Perez uses a spinning version and calls it the Kosher Pickle

Jason Cross uses another variation of this move, which he calls the Idolizer, in that version he hooks up the arms of the opponent and places himself on an elevated surface (top turnbuckle) from here he performs a front flip over the opponent so that he connects to an "Unprettier" as he lands back down to the mat.

Lifting double underhook facebuster

This facebuster is performed when a wrestler bends an opponent forward, placing the opponent's head between the wrestler's legs (a standing head scissors), and hooks each of the opponent's arms behind his/her back. The wrestler then pulls back on the opponent's arms lifting him/her up so that the opponent is held upside down facing in the same direction as the wrestler, the wrestler then falls forward planting the opponent's body into the mat face-first. Amazing Kong (Awesome Kong in TNA) uses this move, naming it the Implant Buster.

A variation used by the WWE Diva Michelle McCool, which she calls 'Wings of Love', instead of falling forward, she plants the opponent face-first on to the mat in a sitout position. Christopher Daniels uses a similar sitout lifting double underhook facebuster variation, but he first spins 90º before executing the facebuster. That version is called the Angel's Wings.

Electric chair facebuster

Also known as an Electric Chair Bomb. Was popularized by wrestler Kanyon. The wrestler approaches the opponent from behind, and lifts him on his shoulders into a seated position, the electric chair. The wrestler then lifts the opponent up by his thighs and pushes him forward and down, slamming him down to the mat chest first. The wrestler may also sit down while slamming the opponent.

F-5

Described as a fireman's carry facebuster, this move was named and made popular by Brock Lesnar. The move saw Lesnar lift an opponent up in a fireman's carry across his shoulders, then throw the opponent's legs out in front of him to spin them out while he simultaneously falls backwards, driving the opponent's head into the mat. The move's name was taken from the Fujita scale, which ranks the intensity of tornados, with F-5 being the strongest. After leaving the WWE, Lesnar renamed the move the Verdict, in reference to the judicial verdict that the no compete clause in Lesnar's release was illegal. Lance Hoyt performs a variation where instead of landing in a sitout position with the opponent, he falls forwards, landing on his stomach. Afa Anoa'i, Jr. performs a variation where he continues to swing his oppenent's into a wheelbarrow facebuster. Japanese wrestler Naruki Doi, performs a sitout variation, where his opponent lands face first between his legs.

Forward Russian legsweep

This facebuster, best known as the Stroke as used by Jeff Jarrett, sees an attacking wrestler stand side-to-side and slightly behind an opponent (facing in the same direction) before reaching behind the opponent's back to hook the opponent's head with his/her other hand extending the opponent's near arm, then while hooking the opponent's leg with his/her own leg the wrestler falls forward, pushing the opponent forward to the mat face-first. This move is also used as a finisher by ECW superstar Elijah Burke who calls it the Elijah Experience.

Full nelson facebuster

In this variation on the Forward Russian legsweep, the attacking wrestler stands behind, slightly to one side of and facing the opponent before reaching under the opponent's arms with his/her own corresponding arms and places the palms of his/her hands on the neck of the opponent, thereby forcing the arms of the opponent up into the air (as in a full nelson hold). The attacking wrestler next hooks the opponent's near leg and throws themselves forwards, driving the opponent face first into the ground. A notable user of the move is Chris Jericho, who called his version the Breakdown.

Front facelock drop

The attacking wrestler applies a front facelock and then throws their legs out behind them, falling stomach first to the ground and driving the face of their opponent into the ground. Similar to a DDT, but targeting the face of the opponent rather than the head.

This move can also see the wrestler run at an opponent who is bent over facing them which is often referred to (wrongly) as a Spinning DDT. This sees the wrestler apply a front facelock and uses his/her momentum to spin themselves in a circle before falling to his/her stomach, or back, to drive the face of the opponent into the ground.

Gory Bomb

This "back-to-back release facebuster" is a variation of the Gory special where a wrestler would release the arms of the opponent to take hold of the opponent's legs while dropping to a seated position, forcing the opponent to fall forward and impact the mat face-first.

Chavo Guerrero, Jr. invented this variation on the Gory Special, a move named after his grandfather Gory Guerrero.

Hangman's facebuster

Also described as an over the shoulder facebuster or an inverted snapmare into a facebuster. This facebuster is performed when an attacking wrestler, who is standing in a back-to-back position with an opponent, reaches back to pull the opponent's head over his/her shoulder before (while keeping a hold of the opponent's head) falling forwards to twist the opponent's head over so they slam face first into the mat.

Kneeling facebuster

A kneeling facebuster is used by former TNA wrestler Black Reign in which he kneels instead of falls into a seated position which he calls the Blackout. A slight variation of the kneeling facebuster sees a wrestler fall into the kneeling position while having the opponent's head between their legs and pushing the opponent down with their hands. "Outlaw" Ron Bass used this variation in the late 1980s, calling it the Texas Gourdbuster.

Push up facebuster

A variation where a wrestler puts the head of his opponent between his legs as he performs a number of push ups, causing the opponent's face to be slammed into the canvas a number of times. Often instead of straight push ups, the attacking wrestler just bounces his legs up and down to create the effect.

Reverse chokeslam facebuster

The attacking wrestler grabs hold of an opponent's neck with both hands, one on the front, and one on the back. The arm that has the hand on the back of the neck may hook the opponent's arm. The wrestler then lifts the opponent up, releases the hand holding the front of the opponent's neck, and pushes forward and slams the opponent to the mat face first with the other hand. The name for this move is a reference to it being an inverted (reverse) version of a standard chokeslam. This move is famously known as the Amaze Impact and popularized by Takeshi Morishima in Pro Wrestling NOAH, but was previously occasionally used by Akira Taue.

itout facebuster

Also known as a sit-down facebuster. This is the most common variation of the standard facebuster in which the attacker grabs hold of the opponent by his/her head or hair then jumps down into a sitting position, forcing the opponent's face into the mat between the attacker's legs. It was most famously used by Sean Waltman as his signature move, the X-Factor and was later adopted by many female wrestlers including Jillian Hall, Jazz who dubbed it the Jazz Stinger, Torrie Wilson who dubbed it as the Nose Job and Brie or Nicole Bella its a twinster-factor. There is also a variation in which it appears as though the attacking wrestler is executing a powerbomb but instead pushes his or her opponent off their shoulders and grabs the opponent's head for the facebuster. This variation is often called the Facebomb.

pinning facebuster

Also known as a spinning kneel-out facebuster or a tornado facebuster. This sees the attacker run at the opponent, grab hold of them by his/her head or hair then spins in the air before dropping down into a kneeling position, forcing the opponent's face into the mat.

Wheelbarrow facebuster

Also called a reverse powerbomb this facebuster sees the attacking wrestler grab a standing opponent around the waist from behind and lift them before then falling to a sitting position, swinging the opponent down so that their face is driven into the ground.

Not all wheelbarrow facebusters see the wrestler drop to a sitting position, Vader used a variation where he remains standing while he slams the opponent to the mat. Vader called this a Face Eraser, a name later used in reference to the variation.

Feint backdrop wheelbarrow facebuster

A variation to the wheelbarrow facebuster which sees the attacking wrestler stand at the side of an opponent and begin to lift them as for a backdrop suplex. Instead of falling backwards to drop the opponent back first, the wrestler would stops after lifting the opponent, grabs a hold of his legs while still holding the opponent up, and slamming him/her face first on to the mat. Also known as a Cannonball buster.

Like all wheelbarrow facebusters this can be finished with the attacking wrestler dropping to a seated position, or left standing.

Chickenwing facebuster

The wrestler hooks both an opponent's arms in a double chickenwing, lifts them up into the air from behind, then drops the opponent down onto the mat face first.

The sit-out variation, where a wrestler drops to a seated position while planting the opponent between the wrestler's legs, is often known as the Waffle Face, a name used by Paul London and the Dodon, used by Ryusuke Taguchi, who also uses a kneeling variation.

Full nelson wheelbarrow facebuster

An attacking wrestler applies a full nelson from behind and lifts an opponent before falling to a sitting position and swinging the opponent down so their face is driven into the ground. This facebuster is most notably used by H.C. Loc, who calls it the Really Effective Finisher, or R.E.F. for short, in reference to his first gimmick as a referee in ECW.

ee also

*Professional wrestling throws