Smark Out Moment

In FIVE MOVES OF DOOM, we break down a particular wrestler's moveset and examine the five signature maneuvers that they perform on a regular basis.

These are the moves that fans watch out for during a match and are usually in a sequential pattern, building up to and including their finishers that typically get the biggest pop of suspense from the crowd each and every week.

This edition examines the Beast Incarnate and the current number one contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, Brock Lesnar. The former WWE and UFC Heavyweight Champion's size and incomprehensible power has seen him demolish some of the most legendary competitors in modern wrestling history. He is a former Royal Rumble winner, King of the Ring, and is the man who broke The Undertaker's winning streak at WrestleMania.


1. Standing Double-Legged Takedown

Usually performed at the beginning of a match to get an immediate crowd reaction or to regain control mid-match, Lesnar charges towards his opponent wrapping his arms around their legs. With their legs gripped, he hoists their body into the air and slams them back first onto the map. Now in the dominant position above his prone opponent, Lesnar peppers him with punches or forearms. This has been noted to cause the victim to bleed on occasion, and harks back to his years in MMA. The combination causes damage to an opponent's back and head.

2. Overhead Belly-to-Belly Suplex

Lesnar wraps both of his arms around the waist of his opponent. Then, employing his freakish levels of strength, he tosses the opponent over his head whilst simultaneously falling backwards. The victim is launched high into the air, and flips through the move, landing hard onto their lower back. This move causes damage to the opponent's lower back and neck.

3. Double/Triple Non-Release Powerbomb

Used more prominently during his debut months as a secondary finisher, it is now often brought in sporadically as a demonstration of Lesnar's power. It begins as an ordinary powerbomb, when the opponent is hoisted onto Lesnar's shoulders, sitting facing him. Wrapping his arm across his legs, Lesnar powers his opponent down onto their back and neck. Then, with the victim still held by Lesnar, he is lifted back into the air in the powerbomb grip, and slammed back onto the canvas once or twice more. This causes damage to the back, shoulders and neck of the opponent.

4. Kimura Lock

Lesnar's key submission hold is pays heed to his UFC career, and is a prominent means of forcing a submission in MMA. Lesnar grabs the wrist of his opponent's arm (usually the left) with his hand on the same side. Then, he wraps his free arm around the body of the victim, threading it underneath the grabbed arm and clasping his own wrist, placing the arm in a figure-four. This gains Lesnar complete control of the arm, applying pressure immediately onto the victim's shoulder and elbow. Furthermore, in storylines it has been utilised to break the arm of the opponent.

5. F-5

Lesnar's primary finishing move since he debuted in 2002, it is more often than not the manner in which he secures a pinfall victory. Lesnar hoists his opponent onto his shoulders in a fireman's carry, often with the added theatrics of being held for a number of seconds. He then throws the victim's legs in front of him while his body is lifted momentarily, and spinning in the air he falls face first towards the mat. This move damages the face, neck and upper-body of the opponent. Also, Lesnar has shown a proficiency at being able to perform the move on super-heavyweights, including The Big Show and Mark Henry.

CONCLUSION

Brock Lesnar's moves and finishers have been tailor-made to fit his persona as a conqueror and destroyer of other wrestler's. No matter their size or build, Lesnar's ability to employ these moves on any competitor ensures that he is a perpetual megastar. His success in UFC has not only transformed his ringstyle into a more realistically brutal manner, but demonstrated a genuine toughness and physicality that few others in the WWE can attest to. His genetically gifted power and look has kept him in the main-event almost from the moment he debuted, and although his stamina is questionable, the realism of his bouts is a rare and compelling feature. Furthermore, with Paul Heyman as his mouthpiece, it allows Lesnar to allow his moves to do his talking. Whilst he is now on a part-time contract, the impact of his moves and his insurmountable presence has ensured he remains one of the principal members of the roster for the foreseeable future.