Samoan driver wrestling

Reigns late older brother was also a professional wrestler, also known Rosey, the popular tag team partner of Hurricane Helms. While his wrestling career is still short, Roman Reigns won four world championships as well as the Intercontinental and United States Championships one time each. He also won the tag team titles once with Seth Rollins. He has worked the main event of multiple WrestleMania events. WWE chose to change the nationality of the character of Yokozuna. The company used him as an evil heel character from Japan and had his gimmick mimic the classic Japanese sumo wrestlers.

With Mr. Fuji as his manager, Yokozuna won the world title twice and the tag titles twice. However, Yokozuna was not Japanese. Yokozuna was the son of Afoa Anoa'i and a blood member of the Anoa'i Samoan wrestling dynasty. Yokozuna died in Most fans remember Rikishi dancing around the ring with Too Cool after matches and was a huge fan favorite during that era. He is also the father of The Usos.

However, Rikishi was very popular before he became a dancing big man. The Usos made their debut in WWE in and quickly became fan favorites.

Over the years, they have proven to be well-rounded and work the heel roles as well as they did the babyface roles. The brothers are incredibly successful in the WWE tag team division.

They won the WWE world tag team championship two times and the SmackDown tag team championship four times. Their combined days as SmackDown tag team champions is the most of anyone. High Chief Peter Maivia is one of the earliest successful Samoan wrestlers in the industry.

He was born as an Ali'i family member but became a blood brother to Amituanai Anoa'i, who was the father of the Wild Samoans Afa and Sika. This means that Peter Maivia and his descendants are regarded as a member of the family.

Unlike most Samoan wrestlers on this list, Samoa Joe is not related in any way to the Anoa'i family. Joe was born in Orange County, California, and spent his childhood in Hawaii. His family even started a Polynesian dance troupe and performed at the Summer Olympics when Joe was just five. While Samoa Joe is not part of the Anoa'i family, it is clear he is proud of his heritage based on his name.

Champion in WWE. The Wild Samoans are really where the popularity of the Samoan wrestlers started. Afa and Sika were brothers and took on the role of the crazed, animalistic Samoan monsters who never spoke, only grunted and growled, and had manager Capt.

Lou Albano do their speaking for them. They were very successful as a tag team, winning the WWF tag team titles three times. In Japan, a backdrop is the term for what is called a belly to back suplex in America. The opponent runs towards the wrestler. The wrestler stands to the side of their opponent, grabs them, and throws them forward, causing them to flip over onto their back.

It is considered a very basic technique, so basic that a forward rolling fall is commonly called a biel bump and is mainly used by very large wrestlers to emphasize power and strength over finesse. A bulldog, originally known as bulldogging or a bulldogging headlock or the headlock jawbreaker is any move in which the wrestler grabs an opponent's head and jumps forward, so that the wrestler lands, often in a sitting position, and drives the opponent's face into the mat.

This move plus some other variations are sometimes referred to as a facebuster. It can also be used as a reversal to a powerbomb. The wrestler applies a cobra clutch and then leaps forward, falling into a sitting position and driving the face of the opponent into the ground.

The wrestler hooks a half nelson hold on his opponent with one arm and his opponents waist with the other. He then leaps forward into a sitting position, driving the face of the opponent into the ground.

This move is also incorrectly referred to as a faceplant, which is a different move altogether. The one-handed bulldog is in fact more of a facebuster than an actual bulldog and generally sees a wrestler run up from behind their opponent, grab the opponent's head with one hand and leap forward to drive this opponent's face into the mat.

A two-handed variation of this sees the attacking wrestler charge at the opponent and push, with both hands, down on the back of the opponent's head to force them face-first into the mat below. In another variation, the attacker runs to the opponent and executes the move. This is usually referred to a lariat takedown.

The wrestler places the opponent in a modified fireman's carry in which the opponent is held diagonally across the wrestlers back with their legs across one shoulder and head under the opposite shoulder usually held in place with a facelock.

The wrestler then spins simultaneously throwing the opponent's legs off the wrestler's shoulders and dropping to the ground, driving the opponent's head into the mat in a bulldog position.

This can also be held for a backbreaker. A DDT is any move in which the wrestler falls down or backwards to drive a held opponent's head into the mat. The wrestler in cradle position and two hand of victim on the back or also like chickenwing. Then the wrestler fall and drive a held opponent's head into the mat. This move is use by Gail Kim. While maintaining the wrist-clutch, they then perform the driver. Another variation has the attacking wrestler apply a pumphandle prior to executing this technique.

Technically known as a sitout scoop slam piledriver. Facing their opponent, the wrestler reaches between his opponent's legs with their right arm and reaches around the opponent's neck from the same side with their left arm. They then lift the opponent up and turn them around so that they are held upside down, as in a scoop slam before dropping down into a sitout position, driving the opponent down to the mat neck and shoulder first.

Many people usually call it Michinoku Driver because it is more often used than the original Michinoku Driver. A variation of the Michinoku driver II in which the wrestler stands behind the opponent, applies an inverted facelock, lifts them upside down, and then drops down to a sitting position, driving the opponent down to the mat between the wrestler's legs upper back first.

The attacking wrestler drapes an opponent over their shoulders in a fireman's carry position and then takes hold of the opponent and pulls them over their shoulder and down to the mat while falling to a sitting position so that the opponent lands on their upper back and neck between the legs of the wrestler, facing towards them.

A cross-legged version of this move also exists. Similar to a wheelbarrow facebuster but instead of dropping their opponent face first, they drop their opponent so that the opponent lands on their upper back and neck between the legs of the wrestler, facing towards them usually resulting in a pin. There is also a driver, a facebuster and a suplex variation of the move.

This facebreaker involves an attacking wrestler, who is standing face-to-face with an opponent, hooking both hands around the opponent's head and then leaping to bring both knees up to the face of the opponent. The wrestler then falls backwards to the mat, thus forcing the opponent to fall forwards and impact the exposed knees. A single knee variation is also possible. The move is a standard facebreaker which involves the wrestler facing an opponent and grabbing him or her by the head or hair and pulling the opponent's face down, dropping it on to the wrestler's knee.

Often used by a wrestler to stun an opponent and set him or her up for another move. Many other facebreakers use the knee to inflict the damage; one variation sees the wrestler apply a standing side headlock, and simultaneously pull the opponent forward and smash the wrestler's knee to the opponent's head.

The user applies a standing wrist lock on their opponent, then places their foot on the opponent's face and falls backwards, forcing the opponent's face into their foot. A fireman's carry involves the wrestler holding the opponent in place over both shoulders. From this position, various throws can be performed. Also known as the Death Valley bomb in Japan, this is a move in which a brainbuster-type slam is performed from a fireman's carry.

The wrestler falls in the direction that the opponent's head is facing, driving the opponent's head into the mat. This move is executed from an Argentine backbreaker rack position.

The wrestler then falls sideways, driving the opponent's head to the mat. This is considered an extremely dangerous move, as the opponent's body cannot roll with the natural momentum of the move to absorb the impact. In a cut-throat variation of this driver, instead of holding the body of the opponent, a wrestler holds the far arm of the opponent across the opponent's own throat and maintains it by holding the opponent's wrist before performing the inverted Death Valley driver.

A variation between the regular Death Valley driver and the inverted one. The opponent lays on the shoulders of the wrestler on his side, facing either the opposite or the same direction as the wrestler, with the wrestler holding the opponent by the lower leg, and either the head or lower arm. The wrestler then falls sideways, driving the opponent down to the mat shoulder and neck first.

The wrestler first drapes an opponent over their shoulders in a fireman's carry position. The wrestler then takes hold of the thigh and arm of the opponent, which are hung over the front side of the wrestler, and leans forward, pulling the opponent over their head and shoulders, slamming them down on their back in front of the wrestler.

A rolling fireman's carry slam is a variation that sees the wrestler keep hold of the opponent and run forward before slamming the opponent to the ground, using the momentum to roll over the opponent.

The wrestler kneels down on one knee and simultaneously grabs hold of one the opponent's thighs with one arm and one of the opponent's arms with his other arm. He then pulls the opponent on his shoulders and then rises up slightly, using the motion to push the opponent off his shoulders, flipping him to the mat onto his back.

The wrestler lifts the opponent on to his shoulders, The wrestler grabs hold of the opponent's near leg with one hand, and his head with the other. He then pushes the opponent's upper body up and simultaneously spins them, causing them to end up in front of the wrestler face up. The wrestler then either sits down or stays standing. He may also wrap his hands around the opponent's upper legs. Also known as the Angle Slam, the wrestler stands behind the opponent and grabs hold of one of the opponent's wrists, tucks his head under that arm's armpit, and wraps his free arm around the near leg of the opponent.

The move can also be initiated from the front of an opponent. The wrestler drapes an opponent over their shoulders in a fireman's carry position then falls backwards, driving the opponent down to the mat on their back. A Samoan drop is usually a counter to drop the opponent's momentum.

In a basic flapjack, a wrestler pushes his opponent upward by reaching under his legs and lifting him into the air. While retaining the hold on the opponent's leg, the wrestler would fall backwards, dropping the opponent front-first into the canvas. It is commonly used by a wrestler when an opponent is charging towards him. A hotshot is referred to when a flapjack is performed so that the opponent falls across the ring ropes.

The fireman's carry flapjack sees the wrestler lift the opponent on to a fireman's carry, and then throw the upper body of the opponent away from the wrestler while the wrestler falls backwards, driving the opponent down to the mat chest first. Also known as a reverse powerbomb.

The wrestler lifts the opponent so that they are seated on the wrestler's shoulders, facing away from him, as in a powerbomb. The wrestler then falls backwards while throwing the opponent the same way, dropping them down to the mat on their chest.

Another version sees the wrestler pick the opponent up onto their shoulders in powerbomb position and dropping backwards while throwing the opponents so that the opponent flips forward and lands on their neck and upper back.

In this move the aggressor places their opponent in a full nelson hold and uses it to lift them off the ground. Once in the air, the aggressor removes one of their arms so their opponent is now in a half nelson and slams them down to the mat. Another similar variation, known as a double chickenwing slam, sees the wrestler apply double chickenwing instead of a full nelson before slamming the opponent.

The wrestler stands behind, slightly to one side of and facing the opponent. The wrestler reaches under one of the opponent's arms with their corresponding arm and places the palm of their hand on the neck of the opponent, thereby forcing the arm of the opponent up into the air to complete the half nelson. The wrestler then lifts the opponent up, turns, and falls forward, slamming the opponent into the mat. A Giant swing starts with an opponent lying on the mat, face up, and the wrestler at the opponent's feet.

This move sees the attacking wrestler lift the opponent in a standing guillotine choke and to drop the opponent lower spine first to the mat. This eventually causes an effect to the whole spine and neck. The wrestler lifts their opponent up over their head with arms fully extended then drops the opponent down face-first in front or back.

It is a popular technique for very large wrestlers because it emphasizes their height and power. The attacking wrestler may repeatedly press the opponent overhead to show his or her strength, prior to dropping them. This move is also called the military press slam and was popularized by the ultimate warrior. A basic gutbuster is often called a stomach breaker and is essentially the same as a backbreaker but with the opponent facing the opposite direction.

This similarity with backbreakers is reflected in almost every gutbuster variation, which if inverted would become backbreakers and vice versa. This gutbuster involves an attacking wrestler, who is standing face-to-face with an opponent, hooking both hands around the opponent's head and leaping to bring both knees up to the stomach of the opponent; the wrestler will then fall backwards, forcing the opponent to fall forwards and impact the exposed knees.

This variation of a gutbuster sees an opponent first elevated into a high lifting transition hold before being dropped down for a gutbuster. This is the most common version of the elevated gutbuster and sees the attacking wrestler first lift the opponent up across their shoulders; a position known as a fireman's carry, before then dropping down to one knee while simultaneously elevating the opponent over their head forcing them to drop down and impact their exposed knee.

A slight variation of this uses a modified double knee gutbuster and sees the attacking wrestler drop down to their back while bringing both knees up for the opponent to land on. An elevated gutbuster in which an attacking wrestler would lift an opponent up, stomach-first, across one of their shoulders before dropping down to their knees forcing the opponent's stomach to impact on the wrestler's shoulder.

The move is performed with the wrestler's legs scissored around the opponent's head, dragging the opponent into a forced somersault as the wrestler falls to the mat. This move is derived from the original Huracanrana. It is described as a headscissors takedown that is performed against a running opponent. The wrestler jumps on the shoulders of the charging opponent and performs a backflip, using his momentum to throw the opponent over him and on to their back.

It was named the "Frankensteiner" by Scott Steiner , who used it as a finishing move. The move also has a variation where the opponent is sitting on the top rope, that variation is also referred to as frankensteiner.

Also known as an inverted frankensteiner or a poison rana, this move is similar to a standard Frankensteiner but instead of performing the move facing the opponents face it is done facing the back of the opponent. This is a headscissors takedown that ends in a rana pinning hold. A rana is any double-leg cradle. A high velocity version of the huracanrana, popularized by Japanese wrestler Dragon Kid , is known as the Ultra Rana.

A third version, which sees the attacker perform a full front flip usually following a springboard before executing the huracanrana, is known as the Dragon Rana. The wrestler stands next to the opponent with both facing the same direction, and the wrestler hooks their closest arm underneath and behind the opponent's closest armpit.

The wrestler then quickly lifts the opponent up with that arm and throws them forward, which would lead the wrestler to flip the opponent onto their back to end the move.

The wrestler would then throw the opponent forward while falling to a seated position, flipping the opponent over in midair, and slamming them down to the mat back first.

Also called a hammer throw. An Irish whip into the turnbuckles usually sees the opponent remain in the corner, allowing a follow-up attack from the wrestler; the opponent may remain standing or slump to the ground, usually in a seated position, which will vary the attack.

One occasional use of the Irish whip is to try to "hit for the cycle" by whipping one's opponent into each corner in turn. Some professional wrestlers can use this move as an advantage by running up the turnbuckle and using a high flying move.

Sometimes it is also used to counter a headlock by the opponent. A stunner is a sitout three-quarter facelock jawbreaker. It involves an attacking wrestler applying a three-quarter facelock reaching behind the head of an opponent, thus pulling the opponent's jaw above the wrestler's shoulder before falling to a seated position and forcing the defender's jaw to drop down on the shoulder of the attacking wrestler.

This move was popularized by Stone Cold Steve Austin. A mat slam is any move in which the wrestler forces the back of the opponent's head into the mat which does not involve a headlock or facelock. If these are used then the move is considered a type of DDT if the wrestler falls backwards or bulldog. Some neckbreakers also slam the back of the opponent's into the mat, but the attacker is back-to-back with the attack's receiver.

The wrestler takes hold of their opponent from behind, holding them by either their hair or the top of their head. The wrestler then jumps backwards and falls to a sitting position, driving the back of the opponent's head into the ground between their legs. A variation sees the wrestler run up the corner turnbuckles, perform a backflip over a chasing opponent, and at the same time grab hold of the opponents head and perform the slam. This slamming version of a headlock takedown sees a wrestler apply a sleeper hold to the opponent, then falls face first to the ground, pulling the opponent down with them and driving the back and head of the opponent into the ground.

As the name suggests the wrestler would first use a tilt-a-whirl to raise the opponent into a belly-to-belly piledriver position, from here the wrestler would fall forward planting the opponent into the mat back-first.

At this point, the attacking wrestler would shift their weight so that they fall backwards to the mat while forcing the opponent to fall forwards with them only to have the attacking wrestler push up with their legs forcing the opponent to flip forwards, over the wrestler's head, onto their back.