To this fan, there is perhaps no better move in all of professional wrestling than the sacred clothesline. It’s no wonder this seemingly simple, forearm under the chin maneuver is the move of choice for hot tag guys and gals. JBL certainly knew what he was doing!
Blessed with an array of live promotions here in Tampa – combined with the guilty smorgasbord of wrestling on today’s cable television – one bears witness to a far number of clothesline shapes and sizes.
The traditional clothesline, of course, is most seen…one often chained to well, other traditional clotheslines. It’s a nice way to infuse rope movement into a formerly grapple-heavy match, also allow counters from those lucky enough to duck under said clothesline. RKO, huracanarana, pop-up powerbump, superkick…the list is endless. Mia Yim is a rock star at creative clothesline counters.
Big shout-out to the short-arm clothesline, the decapitation of choice for the big guys/gals near the ropes. If timed correctly by both athletes, the short-arm is akin to watching a forearm magnum unleash its force. Rhett Giddins put on a short-arm clothesline clinic at a recent FIP event.
The corner clothesline, of course, adds shame to those unfortunately stunned in said corner. The flying big man knows no shame. If done correctly – ala’ Donovan Dijak, Colin Cassady – the corner clothesline produces tears of wrestling joy.
Luke Harper arguably perfected the rebound clothesline. The Romantic Touch is a sneaky good practitioner of this, in tandem. Flying clotheslines – while rare – are brilliant went done right. Ivelisse and Sexy Star are luchador goddesses of this genre.
The maestro of all clotheslines, however, are those able to sell them. The near-perfect ACH clothesline flip upon impact. Gary Jay’s reckless hurling of himself to the far end of the ring. Christopher Daniels’ looking like a clay pigeon on the wrong part of a sight.
In a previous post, I alluded to the ‘little things’ in pro wrestling that make it fantastic. (In that instance, focusing on safety.) Clotheslines are another one these nuances, a marriage of terrific brutality and tempo shift when done correctly.
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