In this guide, we’ll outline how to do pro wrestling moves for beginners. Learn techniques by watching our free video lessons taught by professional instructors!
Let’s start by going over how to do the iconic body slam. This move is a good way to get control of your opponent—and to hurt them pretty bad. Here are the basics:
To get a better visual of how this should look, watch the video at the beginning of this section.
The clothesline is one of the most powerful wrestling moves for beginners due to its simplicity and the strength behind it. This move works, because when a moving object meets a not-moving object, the impact will knock it down.
Here’s how you do the clothesline wrestling move:
Sounds simple enough, right? To see exactly how this should be done, watch the tutorial video at the beginning of this section.
The hammerlock is a pretty brutal move in wrestling, and is another great way to control your opponent. Here’s how you do the hammerlock:
While this is a simple move, it’s important that you do it properly to get the most out of it (and avoid doing too much damage to your opponent). Watch the video to see how the pros do it.
The backdrop is designed to wear your opponent down and weaken the muscles in their lower back. Typically, wrestlers use the backdrop when there’s not enough time to do the clothesline we talked about earlier. Like the clothesline, you start preparing for the backdrop while your opponent is coming off the rope.
Here’s how the backdrop is done:
If this sounds a bit complicated, don’t worry. In Howcast’s video, the Monster Factory crew goes over this in more detail and shows you a step-by-step breakdown.
Now for the headlock suplex! This move is generally used when your opponent de-neutralizes the collar-and-elbow hold by putting you into a headlock. It helps you get control of the situation again and is going to hurt your opponent pretty badly.
Here’s how to perform a headlock suplex on your opponent:
Watch the video at the beginning of this section to see how this move should look, step-by-step, from the pros at the Monster Factory.
By now, you should have a better idea of how to perform the most popular professional wrestling moves. If you don’t feel quite ready to practice yet, you can go through this article again and watch each video until you’re more comfortable trying out these pro wrestling moves yourself. To learn even more pro wrestling techniques, watch the rest of the videos in this series below!
Monster Factory
The Monster Factory has become the world's most famous wrestling school, with good reason: Its list of notable graduates reads like a virtual Who's Who in the pro wrestling world -- King Kong Bundy, Kevin Von Erich, The Pit Bulls, Raven, just to name a few. Founded in 1983 by "Pretty Boy" Larry Sharpe and "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers, the Paulsboro, NJ-based training facility turned into The Monster Factory under Sharpe's sole ownership and is now owned by Sharpe protege Danny Cage.