Professional wrestling holds

Professional wrestling holds include a number of set moves and pins used by performers to immobilize their opponents or lead to a submission. This article covers the various pins, stretches and transition holds used in the ring. Some wrestlers use these holds as their finishing maneuvers, often nicknaming them to reflect their character or persona. Moves are listed under general categories whenever possible.

An element borrowed from professional wrestling's catch wrestling origins, stretches (or submission holds) are techniques in which a wrestler holds another in a position that puts stress on the opponent's body. Stretches are usually employed to weaken an opponent or to force them to submit, either vocally or by tapping out: slapping the mat, floor, or opponent with a free hand three times. Many of these holds, when applied vigorously, stretch the opponent's muscles or twist their joints uncomfortably, hence the name. Chokes, although not in general stress positions like the other stretches, are usually grouped with stretches as they serve the same tactical purposes. In public performance, for safety's sake, stretches are usually not performed to the point where the opponent must submit or risk injury. Likewise, chokes are usually not applied to the point where they cut off the oxygen supply to the opponent's brain.

The wrestler begins the hold by standing over a face-down opponent. He reaches down to pull the opposing wrestler up slightly, sits on his back, and places both of his opponents' arms across his thighs, usually locking at least one by placing the arm in the crook of his knee. Once the wrestler has the opponent's arms where he wants them, he reaches forward, cups his hands in a manner so that his fingers are interlocking, then grabs the opponent's chin in his cupped hands and leans back, pulling on the opponent's chin and applying pressure to his back. A camel clutch can also refer simply to a rear chinlock while seated on the back of an opponent, without placing the arms on the thighs. The move was invented by Gory Guerrero in Mexico, where it was called la de a caballo (Horse-mounting choke), but got its more common name from Ed Farhat, who wrestled as "The Sheik" and used it as his finisher.Rusev performs a variation he calls "The Accolade", where he stomps on his opponent's back before applying the hold. A standing variation of the camel clutch is also used, with this variation popularized by Scott Steiner in the late 1990s as he used it as his finisher dubbed the "Steiner Recliner".

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