How to Do the Sharpshooter

Giving the Sharpshooter

Place your opponent on their back in the center of the ring. To do the move correctly, you have to start by positioning your opponent so that they'll be far from the ropes to make the submission hold more believable. In general, the move is applied in the center of the ring so the opponent may not grab the ropes to break the hold. It's common to drag or otherwise place your opponent in the center for this reason. Pro wrestling moves are intricately choreographed maneuvers that need to be performed in a wrestling ring by two wrestlers who are communicating and working together. The sharpshooter is a move that looks devastating when performed correctly, but should cause absolutely no discomfort. Done incorrectly, you risk causing serious back injury.

Lift your opponent's legs by gripping the arches of the feet. Take each foot in your hand and hold them about waist-level, forming a "V" with your opponent's legs.

Step through with your dominant leg. If you're right-legged, step through the V of your opponent's legs and put your right foot on the mat next to his abdomen. Continue holding on to his feet. You can do the move to either side by stepping through with either leg. Bret Hart always stepped through with his left leg, so technically, doing the sharpshooter means you should go to your left. However, the move is the same no matter which side you roll toward; the only difference involves the order in which you cross the opponent's legs, discussed in the next step.

Cross your opponent's legs around your leg, starting with the near the leg. If you stepped to the right, cross the opponent's leg to your right (his left leg) over your thigh, then cross the other leg (his right leg) over it. Tuck the right ankle in your armpit, as you could for a front face lock, gripping it firmly. Always start with the leg on the side toward which you stepped. If you step through with your left leg, cross your opponent's right leg first.

Pivot and roll your opponent over by stepping across. If you started the move with your right leg, turn and step over your opponent's body, rolling them over in the process. This should be a cooperative move: as you support your opponent's legs, he should flail his arms as if trying to resist, but should be shifting weight to roll over comfortably. This would be very difficult to do if your opponent dead-weighted, or resisted.

Squat and support your own weight. Lean back into a squatting position while still holding onto both of their legs. Support your opponent's knee with your hand. You should squat just above your opponent's buttocks. Wrestlers will often rehearse such submission holds in the mirror while at the gym, to get a sense of how it should look. Don't pull back on your opponent's legs, but do pretend to pull back by straining your face and throwing your head back. The believability of the move depends on your making it look like you're pulling hard, but not. Under no circumstances should you sit with all your weight on your opponent's buttocks or back. This is an absolutely essential aspect of the move. While it looks like Bret Hart is sitting and cinching the move in, he's really doing a deep squat, supporting his own weight. It takes a lot of core and lower-body strength to support the weight of your opponent's legs and your own weight while squatting.

Receiving the Sharpshooter

Help roll over. Don't just lay there like a sandbag. As the receiver of the sharpshooter, help to hold your legs up as much as possible and make it easier by shifting your weight up on your elbow and shoulder as you're being rolled. Depending on the story being told, it might be important to also give the appearance of struggling. Wave your free arm around and put a pained look of fear on your face. It'll look much better.

Sell it. Once you've been rolled over, you've got to start acting. Scream and holler like it's painful, like you're having your legs pulled out of their sockets. Lots of wrestlers will grab their heads, bang on the mat, and start crawling for the ropes. If you just lay there, the move doesn't look good. In a certain way, it's mostly on you to make or break the move. If the match calls for you to tap out–to give up–don't do it right away. Give off the impression like you're trying to hold out, you're trying to get out of it, and you don't want to give the match up. Then tap on your opponent's leg three times, reluctantly, signaling your withdrawal. Check out "Stone Cold" Steve Austin's sell of the sharpshooter at Wrestlemania 13 for inspiration. It's one of the iconic images of wrestling.

Work on the common reverses and escapes. Just because you're wrapped up in a submission hold doesn't mean the only option is for you to tap out. There are less clear-cut reversals than in some other submission holds, but there are a few you can work out with your opponent, depending on whether or not the story calls for it. Head for the ropes. The best way to break the sharpshooter is to grab hold of one of the ring ropes, which will give your opponent until the count of five to break the hold, or he will be disqualified. If you're in the center of the ring, get up on your elbows and start crawling, dragging your opponent with you. Intestinal fortitude to the max. Straighten your legs. Work with your opponent to power out of the sharpshooter by straightening your legs and pushing his torso toward the ground. If you work together, you could even shift into a roll-over pinning combination. Grab his ankle and flip into your own sharpshooter. If you can reach back and get your opponent off his feet, you'll release the weight and be able to stand up. Now, he'll be in position for the sharpshooter, or another Boston-Crab-type submission hold.

Performing Variations

Try the Scorpion Death Lock. Wrestler Sting used the same basic hold as a finishing maneuver, with subtle differences. The Scorpion Death Lock always rolls to the right, for example, and typically Sting will make a big deal out of rolling over the opponent slowly, whereas Bret Hart cinches it in quickly. While Sting rolls it over, he points with his other hand straight up at the sky and yells out to the crowd, cheering wildly, before squatting. According to wrestling lore, Bret Hart actually learned the move when a backstage employee suggested that he try out the wrestler Sting's finishing move as a submission hold, making the Scorpion Death Lock the original iteration of the hold.

Try the inverted sharpshooter or "Edgecator." One of the patented moves of the "Rated R Superstar" Edge, the Educator was basically a half-completed sharpshooter. To do the move, wrap up your opponent's legs as normal, and start turning over, but stop halfway. Instead of throwing your leg over, drop down on one knee, so your opponent is on his shoulder, giving the appearance of being bent sideways. Have your opponent support his weight on his shoulder, essentially doing a side-bridge. It takes abdominal muscles of steel but looks great.

Try the double-cross sharpshooter. In pro wrestling, the sharpshooter has become synonymous with controversy surrounding the 1997 Survivor Series match commonly known as the "Montreal Screwjob," in which Bret Hart–unbeknownst to him–lost after being put in his own finishing move. Because of this, the sharpshooter is the go-to move if something shady is going on in the match. Using the sharpshooter can be a tip of the hat to that still-controversial finish.