A facebuster, also known as a faceplant, is generally a takedown move in professional wrestling in which an attacking wrestler forces his/her opponent down to the mat face-first without involving a headlock or facelock. If these are used then the move is either a DDT or bulldog variation. Inverted mat slams are commonly referred to and considered to be facebusters. A standard facebuster, also known as a jumping facebuster, involves the wrestler grabbing hold of the opponent's head / hair and jumping down to their knees, forcing the opponent's face into the mat.
Variations[]
Argentine facebuster[]
The attacking wrestler places an opponent in an Argentine backbreaker rack, where the opponent is held face-up across both the shoulders of the wrestler, from here the wrestler falls sideways (towards the side where the opponent's head is held) while still holding the opponent's head with one arm and flipping the opponent's legs over with the other, driving them down to the mat face-first.
Belly-to-back inverted mat slam[]
From a position in which the opponent is bent forward against the wrestler's midsection, the wrestler grabs around his or her opponent's midsection and lifts so that the opponent is held upside down, facing in the same direction as the wrestler. The wrestler then hooks both arms of the opponent using his or her legs, and then falls forward planting the opponent's body into the mat face-first. The move often sees the wrestler keep his/her legs hooked under the arms of the opponent after hitting the move, using the underhooking technique to turn the opponent on to their back into a Rana style pinning position.
Complete Shot[]
Also known as the Reverse STO, this is a move in which a wrestler stands side-to-side and slightly behind with the opponent, facing in the opposite direction, and reaches around the opponent's torso with one arm across the opponent's chest with his/her hand holding onto his/her other hand which is behind the opponent's head. The wrestler then falls backward, driving the opponent into the mat face-first. In Japan, the wrestler known as Gedo (Keiji Takayama) began using the move while a member of a stable of wrestlers known as the "Complete Players"; this is where the Complete Shot name derives. The wrestler can also cross his/her leg between the opponent's leg before hitting the Complete Shot, with this slight variation being known as a leg hook reverse STO.
Arm triangle facebuster[]
This version of a Reverse STO first sees an attacking wrestler apply a standing arm triangle choke before falling backwards to drive the opponent's head face-first to the mat. This stresses the choke which is already applied on the opponent while further damaging their arms, shoulders, and neck as well as impacting the opponent's face on the mat. The arm triangle choke is often maintained after the initial facebuster for a submission attempt.
Leaping reverse STO[]
A variation innovated by Ricky Banderas, who called it the Straight to Hell, involves the wrestler leaping and grabbing the opponent and then driving the opponent's face into the mat.
Lifting reverse STO[]
A variation that is executed when the opponent is lifted off the mat then dropped into the Complete Shot. There is a variation of this move, innovated by Chris Kanyon, called a Leg Hook Lifting Reverse STO, which sees the wrestler hook the opponent leg while executing the Lifting Reverse STO.
Swinging reverse STO[]
The opponent is drawn forward before being thrown back and the attacking wrestler then swings them around and down to the mat.
Diving facebuster[]
This variation sees the wrestler grab a hold over the opponent's head/hair,then climb to the second rope and finally jump from there dropping to their knees or in a sitout position and planting the opponent face first to the mat. In another variation the wrestler could just jump from the turnbuckle grabbing the opponent's head/hair in the air and planting them to the mat.
Double underhook facebuster[]
The wrestler bends their opponent forward, placing the opponent's head between the wrestler's legs and then applies a double underhook on the opponent. The wrestler then jumps up while tucking their knees causing them to lift their opponent off the mat before landing on their knees, forcing the opponent's face into the mat. Triple H, the most famous user of this move, named it the Pedigree.
Another variation of this move sees a wrestler ascend to the top turnbuckle so that they are standing on the top rope. While doing this they pull their opponent with them so that the opponent is standing on the second rope. The wrestler then applies the double underhook and jumps forwards lifting their opponent into the air before dropping to the mat, landing on their knees and driving the opponent's face into the mat with increased force. CM Punk has used this variation in the past, with it being named the Pepsi Plunge.
Inverted double underhook facebuster[]
An attacker stands behind an opponent, overhooking both arms of the opponent and pivoting 180º so that the opponent is now looking down to the mat with the back of his/her head situated under the lower back (often with the attacker's legs partially straddling the opponent's head.) Leaving the arms underhooked behind both wrestlers, the attacking wrestler would drop to a kneeling position driving the opponent's face into the mat. This is often referred to as an Inverted Pedigree. There are also sitout and falling variations. Its most notable user is Christian.
Lifting double underhook facebuster[]
This facebuster is performed when a wrestler bends an opponent forward, placing the opponent's head between the wrestler's legs (a standing head scissors), and hooks each of the opponent's arms behind his/her back. The wrestler then pulls back on the opponent's arms lifting him/her up so that the opponent is held upside down facing in the same direction as the wrestler, as if the performer was going for a double underhook piledriver, the wrestler then falls forward planting the opponent's body into the mat face-first.
Electric chair facebuster[]
The wrestler approaches the opponent from behind, and lifts him on his shoulders into a seated position, the electric chair. The wrestler then lifts the opponent up by his thighs and pushes him forward and down, slamming him down to the mat chest first. The wrestler may also sit down while slamming the opponent.
F-5[]
Described as a fireman's carry facebuster, this move was named and made popular by Brock Lesnar. The move saw Lesnar lift an opponent up in a fireman's carry across his shoulders, then throw the opponent's legs out in front of him to spin them out while he simultaneously falls backwards, driving the opponent's head into the mat in style of a DDT. The move's name was taken from the Fujita scale, which ranks the intensity of tornadoes, with F-5 being the strongest. After leaving the WWE, Lesnar renamed the move the Verdict, in reference to the judicial verdict that the no-compete clause in Lesnar's release was illegal.
Forward Russian legsweep[]
This facebuster sees an attacking wrestler stand side-to-side and slightly behind an opponent (facing in the same direction) before reaching behind the opponent's back to hook the opponent's head with his/her other hand extending the opponent's near arm in front of the attacking wrestler, then while hooking the opponent's leg with his/her own leg the wrestler falls forward, pushing the opponent forward to the mat face-first.
Full nelson facebuster[]
In this variation on the Forward Russian legsweep, the attacking wrestler stands behind, slightly to one side of and facing the opponent before reaching under the opponent's arms with his/her own corresponding arms and places the palms of his/her hands on the neck of the opponent, thereby forcing the arms of the opponent up into the air (as in a full nelson hold). The attacking wrestler next hooks the opponent's near leg and throws themselves forwards, driving the opponent face first into the ground. Then pin.
Gory Bomb[]
This back to back release facebuster is a variation of the Gory special where a wrestler would release the arms of the opponent to take hold of the opponent's legs while dropping to a seated position, forcing the opponent to fall forward and impact the mat face-first. It was innovated by Chavo Guerrero, Jr..
Hangman's facebuster[]
Also described as an over the shoulder facebuster, shoulder facebuster or an inverted snapmare into a facebuster, this facebuster is performed when an attacking wrestler, who is standing in a back-to-back position with an opponent, reaches back to pull the opponent's head over his/her shoulder before (while keeping a hold of the opponent's head) falling forwards to twist the opponent's head over so they slam face first into the mat.
Kneeling facebuster[]
A kneeling facebuster sees the user kneel instead of fall into a seated position. A slight variation of the kneeling facebuster sees a wrestler fall into the kneeling position while having the opponent's head between their legs and pushing the opponent down with their hands.
Push up facebuster[]
A variation where a wrestler puts the head of his opponent between his legs as he performs a number of push ups, causing the opponent's face to be slammed into the canvas a number of times. Often instead of straight push ups, the attacking wrestler just bounces his legs up and down to create the effect.
Reverse chokeslam facebuster[]
The attacking wrestler grabs hold of an opponent's neck with both hands, one on the front, and one on the back. The arm that has the hand on the back of the neck may hook the opponent's arm. The wrestler then lifts the opponent up, releases the hand holding the front of the opponent's neck, and pushes forward and slams the opponent to the mat face first with the other hand.
Sitout facebuster[]
Also known as a sit-down facebuster. This is the most common variation of the standard facebuster in which the attacker grabs hold of the opponent by his/her head or hair then jumps down into a sitting position, forcing the opponent's face into the mat between the attacker's legs. There is also a variation in which it appears as though the attacking wrestler is executing a powerbomb but instead pushes his or her opponent off their shoulders and grabs the opponent's head for the facebuster. This variation is often called the Facebomb.
Spinning facebuster[]
Also known as a spinning kneel-out facebuster or a tornado facebuster. This sees the attacker run at the opponent, grab hold of them by his/her head or hair then spins in the air before dropping down into a kneeling position, forcing the opponent's face into the mat.
Wheelbarrow facebuster[]
Also called a reverse powerbomb this facebuster sees the attacking wrestler grab a standing opponent around the waist from behind and lift them before then falling to a sitting position, swinging the opponent down so that their face is driven into the ground. Not all wheelbarrow facebusters see the wrestler drop to a sitting position, Vader used a variation where he remains standing while he slams the opponent to the mat.
Feint backdrop wheelbarrow facebuster[]
A variation to the wheelbarrow facebuster which sees the attacking wrestler stand at the side of an opponent and begin to lift them as for a backdrop suplex. Instead of falling backwards to drop the opponent back first, the wrestler would stops after lifting the opponent, grabs a hold of his legs while still holding the opponent up, and slamming him/her face first on to the mat. Like all wheelbarrow facebusters, this can be finished with the attacking wrestler dropping to a seated position, or left standing.
Chickenwing facebuster[]
The wrestler hooks both an opponent's arms in an elevated double chickenwing, lifts them up into the air from behind, then drops the opponent down onto the mat face first. There is also a sitout variation, where a wrestler drops to a seated position while planting the opponent between the wrestler's legs.
Full nelson wheelbarrow facebuster[]
An attacking wrestler applies a full nelson from behind and lifts an opponent before falling to a sitting position and swinging the opponent down so their face is driven into the ground.