Boston crab
From Freepedia
The Boston crab is a professional wrestling submission that typically starts with the victim laying back-first on the mat, with the attacker standing and facing them. The attacker hooks each of the victim's legs in one of his arms, and then turns the victim face-down, stepping over him in the process. The final position has the attacker in a semi-sitting position and facing away from his victim, with the victim's back and legs bent back toward his face.
In modern wrestling, the Boston crab isn't treated as a lethal submission maneuver, even though it was considered a finishing hold in the past, used by such wrestlers as Rick "The Model" Martel in the WWF and Nobuhiko Takada in the original Japanese UWF.
Many different variations are used today, including the Elevated Boston Crab used by WWE wrestler Chris Jericho, who calls it the "Walls of Jericho". Jericho's original version while in WCW (known then as the "Liontamer") involved placing his knee in the small of his victim's back, thus (supposedly) further wrenching the neck and causing more pain. Jericho altered the move upon arriving to WWF/E, however, and now the move is nothing more than a higher version of the Boston Crab.
Contents |
Variations
Inverted Boston crab
Identical to a Boston crab, but with the attacker facing in the same direction as the victim. The attacker squats over the victim with the victim's legs pinioned under their arms. Chuck Palumbo used this move, dubbing it the Padlock.
Single leg Boston crab
Also known as a Half Boston Crab or Half Crab, a move that typically starts with the victim on his back, and the attacker standing and facing him. The attacker hooks one of the victim's legs in one of his arms, and then turns the victim face-down, stepping over him in the process. The final position has the attacker in a semi-sitting position and facing away from his victim, with the victim's back and leg bent back toward his face, sometimes the attacker will place his leg so that his knee digs into the back of the victim.
Lance Storm's "Canadian Maple Leaf" is a variation of this in which he performs a back somersault roll on the mat, catching a running opponent into a single leg crab. Kerwin White is also known for using this variation in which he refers to it as the White Out
Single leg Boston crab with armlock
The attacker approaches a supine victim and seizes one of their arms. The attacker then walks around the victim's head to their other side, thus forcing the victim to roll onto their stomach. The attacker then kneels on the back of the victim, clinching the victim's arm behind their knee, and applies a single leg Boston crab.
This move is used by Konnan, who calls it the Tequila Sunrise.
Rope hung Boston crab
This move involves a wrestler hooking each of the victim's legs in one of his arms, and draping him over the top rope, at this point the wrestler would hook the arms of a victim with his/her legs securing the hold.
As this move involves the use of the ropes the wrestler utilizing it must break before the referee uses up a five-count.
The Tarantula variation of this move (mainly used by Yoshihiro Tajiri) involves the wrestler hooking an opponent's arms around the top rope and legs around the bottom rope, so the move is performed upside down. It is rare to gain a submission with the Tarantula, since it is technically illegal and must be broken on a count of five.
