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. 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.

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.

Belly-to-back facebuster

Like a belly-to-back suplex, the attacking wrestler wraps their arms around the opponent in a waistlock and lifts the opponent in the air, and falls forward into a facebuster. This move is currently used as a finisher by Brooke Tessmacher.

Diving facebuster

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

Triple H about to perform a Pedigree (double underhook facebuster) on John Cena

The wrestler bends their opponent forward, placing the opponent's head between the wrestler's legs and then applies a double underhook on the opponent. The wrestler then jumps, releasing the opponent's arms, and performs a kneeling or sitout facebuster. Triple H popularized the maneuver, naming his finisher the Pedigree.

Inverted double underhook facebuster

The wrestler stands behind and facing the same way as their opponent and hooks both their arms. The wrestler then places their head next to the opponent's back and turns 180 degrees while twisting one of the opponent's arms over both of their heads. With the wrestler now in front of the opponent and still hooking the opponent's arms, the wrestler drops on to their back, driving the opponent down face-first into the mat. Examples of people to use this move are wrestlers such as - Christian Cage and Candice Michelle.

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, as if the performer was going for a double underhook piledriver, the wrestler then falls forward planting the opponent's body into the mat face-first. A sitout variation of this move exists.

Electric chair facebuster

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.

Fireman's carry facebuster

This facebuster variation sees a wrestler 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, causing the opponent to land on his face and upper body. This move was made famous by WWE Superstar Brock Lesnar, who innovated the move calling it the F-5. Matt Morgan also uses this move as his finisher later on.

Forward Russian legsweep

The wrestler grabs the opponent by the arm and goes behind him while holding the arm and hooking the opponent's leg. The wrestler then bends the opponent's back and slams their face to the mat.

Full nelson facebuster

The wrestler approaches the opponent from behind and puts him in a full nelson. The wrestler then trips the opponent by the leg, or applies a leg hook, slamming their face to the mat. This move has been made famous by The Miz, calling it the "Skull Crushing Finale" and Chris Jericho who used to use the move calling it the "Breakdown"

Inverted full nelson facebuster

The wrestler approaches a standing opponent, facing him. Then, the wrestler tucks and slides his arms under the opponent's armpits (the wrestler could then lock his hands or simply keeps his arms under the opponent's armpits without locking his hands). From this point, the wrestler falls backwards, slamming the opponent face-first into the canvas. A leaping variation is as well possible. The execution of the inverted full nelson facebuster looks like the execution of the reverse STO.

Inverted half nelson facebuster

A very similar maneuver as the reverse STO with all its variations and the inverted full nelson facebuster. The wrestler approaches an opponent whom he's facing, and wraps one of his arms (or forearms) against the opponent's similar arm (for example, if the wrestler uses his right arm, then he would wrap it against the opponent's right arm). The wrestler then falls backwards, slamming the opponent face-first into the canvas. The execution of the move can be done while leaping or swinging. This move is as well similar to the armbar takedown.

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.

Kneeling facebuster

The wrestler grabs the opponent by the head or hair and jumps in the air, landing in a kneeling position. This is also known as the Poison Ivory. 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.

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.

Reverse STO

Also known as the Complete Shot, the Downward Spiral or the Flatliner, 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. A leg hook variation also exists.

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 that involves the wrestler leaping and grabbing the opponent and then driving the opponent's face into the mat.

Lifting reverse STO

A variation that is executed when the opponent is lifted off the mat then dropped into the reverse STO.

Swinging reverse STO

The opponent is drawn forward before being thrown back and the attacking wrestler then swings them around and down to the mat.

Shoulder facebuster

Also described as a hangman's 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.

Over the shoulder facebuster

This variation of the facebuster sees the wrestler seating his opponent over his own shoulders (as in a powerbomb). From this point, the wrestler pushes the opponent off his shoulders, and grabs the opponent's head with both hands, and drops seated or kneeled to hit a sitout or kneeling facebuster. Also known as a powerbomb facebuster.

Sitout 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 then jumps in the air, lifting the opponent and landing with their legs spread apart, driving the opponent's face into the mat. Another variation of this move is to grab the opponent by the hair, perform the same jump and landing but lift only the opponent's head, giving a harder effect when the opponent's face is driven into the mat.

Spinning facebuster

Also known as spinning kneel-out facebuster or tornado facebuster sees the opponent grabbing his\her head or hair and spinning in the air and then kneel's out on the mat before the opponent goes in face first 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 into a backdrop position before then falling to a sitting position, swinging the opponent down so that their face is driven into the ground. A variant, sees the wrestler lift the opponents legs around their waist before placing both hands around the opponents waist and lifting them into a wheelbarrow position. The wrestler then elevates their opponent into the air before performing a seated drop, driving their opponents face into the canvas.

Chickenwing facebuster

The wrestler hooks both an opponent's arms in an elevated double chickenwing, lifts them up into the air from behind, then drops the opponent down onto the mat face first. There is also a sitout variation, where a wrestler hooks their opponent's legs and drops to a seated position, while planting the opponent's face into the canvas between the wrestler's legs.

See also

• Professional wrestling throws