Who Did It Best is a weekly column where we take a look at two or more wrestlers who use the same finishing maneuver, be it a grapple or running move, or a submission hold. As we break down the move’s origins, and what each wrestler accomplished while using it, we come to a conclusion on which superstar did it better. This week, the Sasori-Gatame is featured.
Move: Sasori-Gatame (english translation; Scorpion Hold)
Innovator: Riki Choshu
Other Known Names: Sharpshooter, Scorpion Deathlock, Reverse Figure Four, Cloverleaf Leg-Lace Boston Crab, and Grapevine Boston Crab.
Riki Choshu, real name Kwak Gwang-ung, is a now-retired Korean-Japanese wrestler who was most notorious for his work in New Japan Pro Wrestling. From the late 80’s into the 90’s, Choshu tore up the Japanese wrestling scene. His accolades include being the first wrestler to turn heel, in the form of a traitor, in the Japanese market, after turning on Tatsumi Fujinami during a match. He was Wrestling Observer’s Newsletter’s Wrestler of the Year in 1987, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1996. He is also noted as one of the most inspirational grapplers in Japan’s rich wrestling history. The one feat that gets lost in the shuffle (but really shouldn’t) is the creation of the Sasori-Gatame, or as wrestling fans in North America may recognize it; the Sharpshooter/Scorpion Deathlock.
The Sasori-Gatame’s immigration to North America started in the WCW when Sting adopted the submission hold into his move-set, dubbing it the Scorpion Deathlock, a tribute to the scorpion used in his persona and attire. Ronnie Garvin is credited for being the first to use the move in North America, during a submission match against Greg Valentine, at the 1990 Royal Rumble. Over in the WWE, dubbed the WWF at the time, Bret Hart adopted the move into his arsenal. The name for Bret’s use was altered, from Scorpion Deathlock to Sharpshooter, a hommage to his nickname, “The Hitman”. Since then, the move has been utilized by dozens of wrestlers; from The Rock and Shawn Michaels, to Canadian superstars like Edge, Chris Jericho, Trish Stratus, and Tyson Kidd. The Sharpshooter was passed on through family as well, with Bret’s brother, the late Owen Hart, and the daughter of Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart, Natalya.
The move is a submission hold, consisting of a wrestler grabbing his fallen opponents legs, placing his own leg between the opponent’s, wrapping the opponent’s legs around his own into a vine-like structure, and twisting him into a Boston Crab-like pose, applying pressure to the lower-back. If done right, the move is excruciatingly painful and has caused numerous wrestlers to tap out.
In today’s debate of Who Did It Best: the Sasori-Gatame, we bring forward the two superstars that became infamous for it’s rise in popularity, Sting and Bret “The Hitman” Hart.
Sting – The Scorpion Deathlock
On January 2nd, 1990, Sting defeated Hacksaw Higgins via submission, when he locked in the Scorpion Deathlock for the first time in his career, on television, at 2:55. While information on where Sting actually learned the move is unavailable, he did wrestle in Japan in 1989, working one match in All Japan Pro Wrestling. Riki Chōshū, who was also working the Japanese circuit at that time, could have made himself available to teach the 30-year-old Sting the submission move, however, we don’t have conclusive evidence to show for it, thus making it speculation.
Sting has defeated several opponents via the Scorpion Deathlock throughout his illustrious career, including such names as Diamond Dallas Page, Steven Regal (who many now know as William Regal), and Arn Anderson. On December 28th, 1997, Sting locked on the Scorpion Deathlock on “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan, forcing him to tap out, and capturing the WCW World Heavyweight Championship Title for the first time in five years. Sting also captured his 6th Championship with the submission move, against Hogan once again, when he applied the hold while his opponent was unconcious, thanks in part to an assault with a baseball bat.
One of the most prolific wins of his career came in 2001. After Vince McMahon bought out WCW, the company held its final show on March 26th, 2001. In the main event, Sting took on Ric Flair in singles competition and defeated the 16-time World Heavyweight Champion, after applying the Scorpion Deathlock and forcing Flair to say uncle. Post-match, the two embraced each other in the closing moments of the company’s broadcast.
After deciding to make his way to Total Nonstop Action in 2006, Sting defeated Jeff Jarrett, capturing his first Championship (TNA World Heavyweight Championsip) since leaving WCW, at TNA Bound For Glory ’06, in a match where his career was on the line. Sting would regain the Championship in 2011, making Mr. Anderson submit, however he’d lose the title to Kurt Angle the following month. Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Bobby Roode, and Bully Ray would all fall victim to the Scorpion Deathlock in TNA, in the later years of Sting’s career.
Now that Sting is in the WWE, speculation has arose that he’ll likely face Triple H at Wrestlemania. Will the King of Kings be the first (and quite possibly the only) WWE Superstar to tap out to the Scorpion Deathlock?
Bret Hart – The Sharpshooter
The first time Bret locked on the Sharpshooter and forced his opponent to tap out came in a match against Barry O, uncle of Bob Orton, on episode #237 of WWF Superstars of Wrestling, back on March 26th, 1991. Contrary to popular belief, mainly due to Bret himself discussing the move, the Sharpshooter was not learned from his father during his time in The Dungeon. After Pat Patterson approached the Canadian wrestler to discuss using the move, Bret admitted to not having any knowledge of it, other than it being the move Sting used in WCW. There was, however, one wrestler who knew how to apply the move and he would teach Bret. That wrestler was Konnan, who wrestled in the WWF in the early 90’s, under the name Max Moon.
After splitting up with Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart, putting an end to their run as the Hart Foundation, Bret began his promising singles run. After capturing the Intercontinental Championship, defeating Mr. Perfect at Summerslam in 1991, Hart went on a tear. He won the King of the Ring tournament, defeating both Pete Dougherty and Skinner with the Sharpshooter, before putting away IRS in the finals. In his next nine contests, Bret would put away seven of them with the submission hold, winning another via pinfall and one ending in a no contest decision. In 1992, his use of the Sharpshooter became a deadly weapon in his arsenal, putting away 13 consecutive opponents, from April 7th to August 10th.
On October 12th, 1992, Bret Hart made history when he defeated Ric Flair, capturing his first of five WWF World Heavyweight Championships. This was the first time the main title had changed hands by a submission decision. Following the victory, Hart put away opponents like Virgil, Papa Shango, and Shawn Michaels, all of whom tapped out to the Sharpshooter. While his first WWF Championship win would be the only time he’d capture that goal by forcing his opponent to tap, there were several other notable wins in his career with the WWF, including a Wrestlemania IX victory over Bob Backlund, in an I Quit match, and a No Holds Barred victory over his brother, Owen Hart, on an episode of Raw in 1995.
The Sharpshooter’s history took a big hit though, with the screw-job in Montreal, at Survivor Series in 1997. The often over-analyzed main event decision seeing Vince McMahon call for the bell while Michaels had Bret in the Sharpshooter, despite no evidence of a tap-out, put a rather negative light on the move itself. The remaining image of the Sharpshooter was Bret Hart leaving the company after trashing the arena, and moving on to WCW.
Before retiring in 2010, Bret had a run in WCW that lasted for two years. In that time, Hart became a 4-time United States Champion, a 1-time Tag Team Champion, and a 2-time World Heavyweight Champion. The Sharpshooter claimed a few more victims in the second company the Hitman wrestled in, names like Randy Savage, Curt Hennig, Ric Flair, and Chris Benoit. Unfortunately, due to injuries sustained during his run in WCW, Bret was forced to retire at the age of 42, putting an end to a 22-year legacy.
Ten years following his retirement, Bret made his return to the WWE in what would be a moment that fans had been waiting for. Patching things up with both Shawn Michaels and Vince McMahon, Hart would go on to wrestle a few more times, albeit in situations that prevented too much bumping on the mat. The Sharpshooter would defeat a few more foes, mainly Vince himself at Wrestlemania XXVI and a United States Championship win against the Miz, which he’d later drop due to the inability to defend. With a few more wins under his belt in tag team contests, Bret hanged up his boots for good.
Who Did It Best?
The Sasori-Gatame, once brought over to North America, was slightly modified by both Sting and Bret Hart, and created a difference between how each of them pulled off the submission hold. One of the easier differences to spot is which leg they cross their opponents over — Sting using his right leg, Hart using his left. The stylistic approach to placing the hold showcases a contrast between the two wrestlers. Bret opts for executing the move with perfection, not doing anything fancy, while Sting has his showboating ways. Locking up the legs, Sting raises his arm to signal his intent to use the Scorpion Deathlock, before giving his opponent a giant swing and finalizing the move’s procedure.
The biggest discrepancy to how both wrestlers use the move is in the way they structure themselves once the move is set. Sting chooses the standing position, going for more balance and focusing on the lower back of his opponent, while locking the legs with his hands. Bret Hart prefers a seated position, sitting on his opponents lower back to optimize the pressure on both the lower and upper back of his opponent. His ability to tightly lock the legs underneath his armpit allows him to pull back on the legs more than Sting, putting extra pressure on the thighs of the opponent.
The two have also went head-to-head, in WCW, exchanging one submission victory each, although Bret won the two other matches — one by DQ, the other by TKO decision. The exchange of the two submission victories came two months apart, with Sting winning the first bout after some outside interference allowed for him to get the upper hand. Bret got his revenge on an episode of WCW Mayhem, in 1999, in his home country of Canada.
So, who did it better? My pick is for Bret Hart. While Sting is responsible for the move’s popularity in North America, it was Bret’s Sharpshooter that was the deadlier of the two. When Bret slapped on the Sharpshooter, it was almost a guarantee that he was winning the match. The finish was coming soon and fans waited for the referee to tap Bret on the shoulder, notifying him that his opponent has given up. With Sting, the Scorpion Deathlock was just one of two finishing moves, the Scorpion Death Drop being the more dangerous finishing maneuver. Sting has also won more matches with the Scorpion Death Drop, and he has more than twice the amount of wins via pinfall than by submission. For Bret, the submission win to pinfall win ratio is slightly less and the Sharpshooter was the move for the Hitman.
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