There’s no doubt about it, the Brain Buster is positively one of the most spectacular, high-impact finishers in women’s wrestling. It is also one of the most dangerous moves, so it’s definitely not recommended that beginners give it a shot. Botch this one and your opponent may never walk again.

The attacker starts out by slipping a hand between her opponent’s legs and grabbing her crotch. She then picks her up, the same way she would if she were planning on executing a bodyslam. At the top of the move though (when the victim is completely upside down), instead of throwing her opponent down to the floor, the attacker pauses for a split second, and then crashes to the mat with the victim, driving her head-first into the canvas. Basically it’s as if she jumped into the air with her before bringing down the house.

The moment of impact is the critical moment of the move. The victim has to pull her head forward looking down onto her chest, so she doesn’t land on it, but rather on her shoulders. If she fails to do that, she will end up with a broken neck.

Possible escape: once hoisted into the air, the would-be victim has few options to escape. I have seen Japanese female wrestlers make use of their momentum though to land on their feet behind the attacker and thus to reverse the move.

Rating: due to its high-amplitude nature, the Brain Buster is almost always used as a finisher in women’s professional wrestling. The victim of the move is always left spread-eagled, a sure mark for the pin in the wake of this truly devastating move.