Anatomy of a Wrestling Hold: Cutters

They’re as identifiable as the performers who use them. They’re the moves that kids do in their backyard…right before an ambulance and / or clergy is called. They’re the tools of a show biz trade, that can nonetheless legitimately injure. In the proper hands of professionals, they’re dynamic staples of the wrestling industry. Otherwise, they’re lawsuits waiting to happen. Guy takes a look at these wrestling holds, how they work and how they developed… into things kids shouldn’t try at home.

The Holds: Cutters (the Ace Crusher, Diamond Cutter, Twist of Fate, 3-D, RKO)

Randy Orton's RKO

Used By: Johnny Ace, Diamond Dallas Page, Matt and Jeff Hardy, The Dudley Boyz, Randy Orton,

Technical Name: Three-quarter facelock bulldog

Move Type: Knockout finishers

Anatomy Affected: Head, neck

The Mechanics of the Hold

Diamond Dallas Page's Diamond Cutter

The user applies a three-quarter facelock on the opponent, basically holding his head with his dominant arm over the back of his shoulder, similar to a stunner.  But rather than driving the opponent’s head onto the shoulder, the user drops the opponent head first all the way to the mat in a layout maneuver.

Selling The Hold

Matt Hardy's Twist of Fate

The user does the job by bouncing his head off the mat and laying prone for the pinfall.  Some wrestlers may sell the move even more by trying to get back up before collapsing “unconscious” or spasming.

Countering the Hold

Orton

Generally, the best way to counter a cutter is for the intended recipient of the move to shove the user off of himself or perhaps holding onto the ropes before it can be delivered.  If the user slaps it on and the opponent finds himself falling forward, it’s too late.

Avoiding Injury with the Hold

Orton RKOs CM Punk from a ladder

This move does have a high possibility for either head or neck injury.  It usually falls to both wrestlers to ensure against injury.  The user must take care to make sure that his arm is helping to cushion the opponent’s fall to the mat, and the recipient must take care to safeguard his head during the fall, often by bracing himself with his arms.

History of the Hold

The Dudley Boyz' 3-D through a table

The cutter was developed by John “Johnny Ace” Laurinaitis during his time as a wrestler, which he called the Ace Crusher.  It was highly popularized by Diamond Dallas Page in the ’90s during his run in WCW and later the WWE.  He called the move his Diamond Cutter.  Page’s signature with this move was that he could pull it on anyone at anytime as a counter from nearly any wrestling move.  Around the same time, the Dudley Boyz, Buh Buh Ray and D-Von, started using a tandem version of the move they called the 3-D.  This variant involved D-Von lifting an opponent off of his feet and falling backward with him into the waiting arms of Buh Buh Ray, who would execute a jumping version of the maneuver.  The Dudley Boyz also raised the stakes by frequently executing the move through tables or from ladders in many of their extreme matches.

Both Matt and Jeff Hardy use a version of the move called the Twist of Fate / Twist of Hate which involves setting up the move by placing the opponent in a front facelock and then quickly spinning into the cutter position and executing it.  It’s Matt’s finishing move, while Jeff usually uses it as a set up to his Swanton Bomb.

Orton also has developed a panache for executing the move as a highly inventive counter to aerial moves.

The cutter is currently the signature move of Randy Orton, who uses a jumping version of it he calls the RKO.  Orton gives a big buildup to the move by getting into his “Viper crouch,” in which he pounds his hands on the mat and then slowly rises behind the opponent like a snake stalking its prey (yeah, it’s very melodramatic).  But like Page, Orton can pull the move out of anywhere at any time.  Orton also has developed a panache for executing the move as a highly inventive counter to aerial moves. He’s executed one on Evan Bourne when he was in full rotation from his Air Bourne move and Orton sprung from a prone position on the mat.  He also pulled it on on Christian when he was diving headlong from the second rope at Orton, winning the World Heavyweight Championship from him early this summer.  Orton has also used a top rope / second rope version of the move for added effect.  He did so on Christian in a steel cage match they had a few weeks ago.

Page's symbol for the Diamond Cutter

The cutter has many variations and has long been a crowd pleasing move.

The Replay