10 MMA Maneuvers Wrestlers Should Use More Often
These moves from the Mixed Martial Arts world would improve anyone's game.
“People really didn’t know back then,” Mick Foley told MMA Junkie in an interview about how MMA has influenced the world of professional wrestling. Back when he started wrestling, fans weren't wise to the moves. The average fan knew what they saw wasn't legitimate, but they weren't sure what moves actually hurt.
Outside of the diehard wrestling fans, hardly anyone knew what some of the real moves looked like in Foley's early years. This allowed wrestlers to writhe in agony as a rudimentary chin lock or armbar brought them near to tears.
Then that all changed. MMA, especially the UFC, gained popularity. Many fans of pro-wrestling also turned their eyes to the real, brutal combat sport for entertainment. As spectators were exposed more to martial arts, professional wrestling then began to adapt. In place of antiquated rest holds, there were more realistic submissions and strikes. Wrestling required its fans to suspend their disbelief, and to achieve that, promotions had to present a product that had some verisimilitude.
Chain-grapples, multi-point holds, and strikes became more prevalent over time. Even the knockout system in WWE changed from the dramatic three-count to a single hand drop and referee's discretion. While we have seen the likes of Brock Lesnar, CM Punk, and Daniel Bryan apply MMA-influenced holds, there are still plenty of moves for performers to add to their move sets.
10. D'Arce Choke
Also known as the Screw or the No-gi Brabo Choke, the D'Arce Choke is a wrestling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu manoeuvre that places your opponent in a vulnerable position and then puts them to sleep if they are unable to tap out first.
Joe D'Arce, a third-degree Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, is often associated with the move, but he didn't invent it. That credit goes to Bjorn Dag Lagerstron, who only discovered the submission by applying an Anaconda Choke the wrong way. As a fun tidbit that demonstrates just how painful the manoeuvre is, the move is actually pronounced "Darce" because that was how Jason Miller pronounced "D'Arce" when he was surprised by the hold, and it did not yet have a name.
The move is not only painful to the recipient, but it is also visually brutal to onlookers. Intense visuals are important to pro-wrestling, after all. Watch any UFC fight in which a D'Arce Choke is applied. The fans, as well as the commentators, immediately get riled up at first sight of it. After a long slobberknocker, one opponent could catch the other off-guard, snatch them in the D'Arce Choke, and shock fans with an ugly, abrupt ending to the bout.