3. Figure Four Leglock
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKrNGKO47ss I told you we'd get there soon! The Figure Four Leglock is one of the oldest and most famous wrestling submission holds that there is, innovated by the original "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers and popularised by Ric Flair. There are a ton of variations on the move, such as the "Lucky 13" used by Corey Graves in NXT, but the original is still a classic, and arguably still the most painful. Ways of applying the hold can vary from wrestler to wrestler, but typically one leg is laid perpendicularly across the other at the knee (i.e. your right leg is horizontally laid across your straight left leg, just above the knee joint). From there, pressure comes from two places, your left knee and your right ankle. The pain inflicted on the straight leg operates in a similar fashion to a straight armbar, hyperextending the joint using a pivot point, which in this case is your other leg. This has been known to tear and damage the ligaments in wrestler's knees. As well as this, the downward force applied to your ankle by the opponents leg would bend the ankle sideways, in defiance of it's commitment to only-going-up-and-down. It is an extremely painful hold, especially if your opponent arches his body up. Before we move on, this needs to be said..... We're led to believe in wrestling that when you're locked in a Figure Four, you can reverse the pressure onto your opponent by rolling onto your front. This is complete crap. What it DOES do is relieve some of the pressure inflicted on you, as by rolling over, your opponent can no longer apply the same level of downward force to your legs. You can also get a slight bend in your straight leg, which will cause relief. But it absolutely will not inflict any serious pain on the other wrestler. So the next time The Miz puts a Figure Four on somebody, and they roll over and he starts screaming in pain, I want you to stand up, point your finger at the TV and say in a loud and accusatory tone of voice "LIES!!!!!!"
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Stephen Maher has been a rock star, a bouncer, a banker and a busker on various streets in various countries. He's hung out with Robert Plant, he was at Nelson Mandela's birthday and he's swapped stories with prostitutes and crack addicts. He once performed at a Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras by accident. These days, he passes the time by writing about music, wrestling, games and other forms of nerdery. And he rarely drinks the blood of the innocent.
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