Doomsday device (wrestling)
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 | This article possibly contains original research. (February 2007) |
Doomsday Device, often shortened to Device, is a term used in professional wrestling to reference a tandem move in which one wrestler hoists the opponent on their shoulders so that they are facing in the same direction in what is known as the electric chair position, while another wrestler climbs the ring post to the top turnbuckle and delivers a flying attack on that prone opponent. It is also known as the Double Impact, especially in puroresu.
The Doomsday Device name comes from a popular professional wrestling tag team known as the Road Warriors, who innovated the basic version of this move in which a flying clothesline is hit on the opponent who is being set up in the electric chair position; knocking the opponent off the shoulders of the grounded wrestler, who pushes up on the opponent's legs to flip them backwards as they fall to the mat.
A slight adoptation of the standard device, best known as the Dudley Boyz's Dudley Device, sees the wrestler (in this case Bubba Ray Dudley) keep hold of the opponent's legs, falling backwards with them and completing a traditional electric chair drop maneuver. Team 3D, as the Dudley Boyz are now known, perform this Doomsday Device, to commemorate the late Road Warriors member Hawk.
Variations
Other variations of the maneuver, which use alternative flying attacks to knock opponents backwards off the shoulders of another wrestler are often named after the Doomsday Device, or are described using the Device term.
Most frontal attack variats can see the grounded wrestler simply release, or, fall backwards with the opponent, as in the basic Doomsday Device.
However, not all variations of the Device see the elevated wrestler attack an opponent head on, some see wrestlers strike from behind to propel the opponent forward off the other wrestler's shoulders. This allows the grounded wrestler to utilize a version of the electric chair which sees them drop to a seated position with the opponent landing face first between the wrestler's legs.
Doomsday dropkick
Like many variations, this version sees the ascended wrestler perform a different kind of aerial attack to de-seat an opponent while they are on the shoulders of another wrestler. The name Doomsday dropkick refers to aerial dropkick variants; like a springboard dropkick, or the more common missile dropkick.
Doomsday Rana
Unlike the previous variation noted, this Device variant sees a head scissors throw used to pull the opponent forward off the shoulders of the other wrestler. The flying head scissors throw performed is commonly known as a diving hurricanrana, and is where this move gets the "Rana" part of its name.
Doomsday Shining Wizard
Another flying kick variation of the Doomsday Device, popularized by the team of Bob Sapp and Keiji Mutoh in Japan. This variant sees a wrestler perform a diving variation of the Shining Wizard attack; a move invented by Keiji Mutoh, to de-throne an opponent from off the shoulders of another wrestler.
Elevated diving bulldog
This variation of a Device sees the elevated wrestler come from behind the raised opponent to push/drag them forward off the grounded wrestler's shoulders and down to the ground using a diving bulldog.
Elevated diving leg drop bulldog
This variation of a Device, which was popularized by the Steiner Brothers, sees the elevated wrestler come from behind the raised opponent to push/drag them forward off the grounded wrestler's shoulders and down to the ground using a diving leg drop bulldog.