Dead Or Alive Move Name Comments. by Reverend Doktor David Francis Smith. Age 19.
Last Updated 3/25/99.
I fixed the bit about the straitjacket suplex, added a note on Lei-Fang's style, and added some notes on Bayman's assorted submission holds. Send suggestions and comments to me at smitd@ils.unc.edu. This piece is copyright 1999 David Francis Smith.
I. WHY?
Well, one of the things I find interesting about DOA is that it includes a number of real, and real obscure, pro-wrestling maneuvers. I thought it might benefit mankind if I were to put together some notes and commentary on the moves in question in order to make them a bit less obscure to other players of the game, particularly since some of the names are nick- names, misspelled, or both. Also, I figured it would just be kind of fun.
II. COMMENTS.
Character by character.
KASUMI:
Flying Swallow: This would be called an inverted rana/Frankensteiner in pro-wrestling parlance. I don't think it's ever been done in the real world, unless this is what Manami Toyota's Victory Star Drop is. Looks like it would fubar your opponent's neck if you could even execute it in the first place. The Falling Swallow (back and hold while you're on their shoulders) is just a Frankensteiner with a bit of a twist to it.
HAYABUSA:
Cross-Arm Suplex: Doesn't look like any suplex I've ever seen or heard of.
Swing DDT: Also called a Tornado DDT. Chavo Guerrero Jr.'s finisher in WCW.
Reverse DDT: AKA the Slop Drop as used by the Godwinns in the WWF, or the Scorpion Deathdrop as used by Sting in WCW.
Ura-nage: I don't know what this name means. Something Japanese, I guess. The move is a throat slam with a 180 twist by the person doing the slamming. You can see it performed in American pro-wrestling feds on occasion; by Taz in ECW, by Saturn and occasionally Wrath in WCW, and by Rocky Maivia (sort of) in the WWF. I say "sort of" because the Rock Bottom (Rocky's finisher) isn't quite an uranage; he's got the throat slam part down, but not the twisting part.
Captured: Weird question. This move appears in the edit mode of Super Fire Pro Wrestling X Premium, except there it's called "Capchude." My question is, does anybody know what it's really called? Either Human or Tecmo is mistranslating something, but I'm not sure who.
TINA:
Flying Major: This is a misspelling. It should be Flying Mare.
Rolling Sobat: Another misspelling. It should be Rolling Savate. The same error appears in Bayman's move list.
Death Valley Bomb: Although this is the name usually used in Japan and approved by the RSPW Workrate Cult, the move is also called the Death Valley Driver (especially in WCW, where Saturn uses it as his finisher) and the Spicolli Driver, after the late Louie Spicolli. The latter name is most often used in ECW.
Bass Bomb: Just a MERC Standard Issue jumping powerbomb. Named after the character in the game, I guess.
Fishermanbuster: WHIP ASS~! Sorry, I'm fond of the move :). This move gets its funny name because a fishermanbuster is to a brainbuster as a fisherman's suplex (AKA the Hennigplex or the Perfectplex) is to a vertical suplex; you hook your opponent's leg as you're bringing them up. You almost never see this move in the US, although I recall Sho Funaki doing it on RAW during the brief KDX push.
J-O-S: Short for Japanese Ocean Suplex, one of AJW star Manami Toyota's finishers. Similar to the more common Tiger (belly-to-back double underhook) Suplex, except you cross your arms while underhooking your opponent's.
J-O-B: Short for Japanese Ocean Bomb, another one of Manami Toyota's finishers. Same variation as the JOS, except apply it to a Tiger Driver (double-underhook jumping powerbomb, AKA Ahmed Johnson's Pearl River Plunge).
J-O-Cyclone: Short for Japanese Ocean Cyclone, yet another one of Manami Toyota's finishers. I sense a pattern forming here; I guess she has some big fans at Tecmo. An electric chair with a bridge while holding your opponent's arms. I think the last bit is so they stay upright and take the bump on their back, rather than falling further backwards and possibly damaging their neck. I'm told that this has been performed in WCW on occasion by Konnan and Norman Smiley.
Reverse Wing Lock: Again I'm not sure, but this move may be the hold called the Dandina, used by the Mexican wrestler El Dandy. I've never seen the real move performed because I don't have access to real lucha libre and he always jobs in WCW, but the description in the RSPW Finishers List (crucifix armbar with a neck submission) sounds like what Tina's doing. Clarification would be appreciated.
BAYMAN:
Sambo: This isn't the name of a move, it's the fighting style Bayman uses. I bring it up because it's more obscure than Muay Thai or JKD, which everyone has heard of, but not quite so obscure as Gen-Fu's style, which I've never heard of. Anyway, the similarity to the American racial slur is coincidental. "Sambo" is an acronym for something in Russian that translates to "self defense without weapons." It's a set of unarmed combat techniques developed by the Russian (well, Soviet, I guess) military. Noted Ultimate Fighting Championship competitor Oleg Taktarov uses this style.
Quebradora Congiro: Another misspelling. It should be "Quebradora Con Hilo." The "con hilo" part is Spanish for "on a thread," but I don't know if the "quebradora" means "backbreaker" or something else. It's usually called a twisting backbreaker or tilt-a-whirl backbreaker in the US. One of the members of Demolition, I believe it was Crush, used it as his finisher in singles matches for a while, and you can see Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, or most luchadores do it now and again in WCW.
Ghost Buster: This would be an inverted spinebuster. I don't know where Tecmo got this name for it.
Arm Bar/Flying Arm Bar: This is a cross armbreaker. Common shootstyle hold. Jerry Flynn occasionally gets submissions with it in WCW.
Shoulder Breaker: This is move #693 of Chris Jericho's 1004 holds, an arm bar.
Side Arm Lock: Usually called a double wristlock. There's an anecdote early in Lou Thesz's autobiography about how the move works.
BASS:
H+P Throw With No Name: Looks like a Northern Lights Bomb to me. You can see this in WCW, performed badly by Bam Bam Bigelow, who calls it the Greetings from Asbury Park, and performed properly by Juventud Guerrera, who calls it the Juvy-driver. The original name was given to it by Akira Hokuto, I believe.
Super Freak: A rotating powerbomb. I don't recall the name ever being used in real life, though.
T-F-B-B: A misspelling. It should be T-F-P-B, short for Thunder Fire Power Bomb, the name given to the running-jumping crucifix powerbomb by FMW star Atsushi Onita.
Kitchen Sink: Don't ask me how this got its name. Anyway, it's like a flying mare except you flip your opponent over your thigh/knee instead of your shoulder.
Stretch Plum: An abdominal stretch combined with a chinlock. This got its name when it was used as a finisher by Japanese women's wrestling star Plum Mariko. Rest in peace.
Manhattan Driver: This move is misnamed. The double-underhook brainbuster is most commonly known as the Michinoku Driver I, after former Michinoku Pro god and current WWF jobber TAKA Michinoku. Not to be confused with the Michinoku Driver II, which is a Northern Lights Bomb.
Dangerous Backdrop: RSPW (and the RSPW FAQ) calls this move the backdrop driver most of the time, but I prefer the name used by the edit mode in Super Fire Pro Wrestling X Premium: the murder backdrop. It was made famous by Dr. Death Steve Williams, who used it as a finisher during his career in All Japan Pro Wrestling and is currently punking all and sundry with it in the WWF.
Oklahoma Stampede: This name was given to the running powerslam by Dr. Death Steve Williams (him again?), who used it as his finisher in his assorted runs in American feds. It got a lot of use in WCW in 1992 when Williams and Terry Gordy received their monster tag team push from Bill Watts. Williams became a pro wrestler just out of his amateur wrestling days at the University of Oklahoma, hence the name of the move.
Spinbuster: The RSPW Finishers List defines a spinebuster as a belly-to- belly bearhug slam, and this doesn't look like one. Looks more like Bass is catching his opponent's legs and reversing into an ordinary powerbomb.
JANN-LEE:
Bulldogging Headlock: Usually just called a bulldog.
LEI-FANG:
Taikyokuken: In the last edition of this piece, I said I'd never heard of Lei-Fang's style, which as it turns out isn't quite true. Taikyokuken is the Japanese translation of "t'ai chi chu'an," the well-known Chinese martial art/exercise form. Now if only I could figure out what the heck Gen-Fu's style is. Thanks to Patrick A. Yap (uclaws@umail.ucsb.edu) for the information.
III. AFTERWORD.
Hey, that was a fun way to spend some time slacking off on the job. Anyway, if readers of this piece wish to make suggestions, additions, or what-have-you, I'm open. Drop me a line at smitd@ils.unc.edu.
Much thanks to Scott Lacy and all contributors to the rec.sport.pro-wrestling Finishers List, an invaluable resource. I got most of the move names and descriptions above from said document. By the way, I think it would be simpler to just call the DVD a Fireman's Carry DDT.
Cheers to Dean Rasmussen and the Death Valley Playboys for educating the masses in the ways of puroresu and generally being very entertaining.
- www.geocities.com/Colosseum/4693
Also cheers to Scott Keith and the rec.sport.pro-wrestling FAQ, from which I got a few bits of information from this document, and lots of other interesting trivia.
- www.tecmoinc.com
I give my regards to Tecmo for creating the best fighting game on the Playstation. Yes, it is better than Tekken 3. Dead Or Alive is, of course, copyright Tecmo, Inc. and tm and (c) Tecmo Co., Ltd.
