The clothesline is one of the most frequently used professional women’s wrestling moves. It is more of a “wear-down” move than one meant to secure a significant edge. If you’re a women’s wrestling fan you probably know that this move is used in every single match, at least a few times. Even though it is a very basic move, the clothesline and the way it’s sold by the victim is extremely important in the overall feel a match conveys. There’s nothing worse than sloppy clotheslines executed in a boring and uninteresting manner.  This is my personal opinion and as such, it is highly subjective, but I believe Crystal Carmichael sold the best clotheslines in women’s wrestling. When she got hit it really looked like she was swept off her feet. She didn’t just land on her back, she threw her legs up and apart and when she landed her whole lower body folded up in a jackknife position.

A clothesline starts with the attacker whipping her victim into the ring ropes. The victim bounces back from the ropes, as the attacker runs towards her and holds out her arm hitting the victim around the neck/upper chest area (above the breasts). The force of the impact takes the victim down, onto her back, as if she ran into a clothesline - hence the name of the move. Sometimes the attacker takes her victim off her feet via a breast edge chop.  When well executed, despite its simplicity and basic nature, the clothesline is an extremely spectacular move, which contributes leaps and bounds to the overall success of a bout.

Possible escape: duck under your opponent’s arm when she’s about to unleash the clothesline on you.

Rating: very efficient at knocking the wind out of the victim, though a clothesline is almost never used as a finisher. A well executed clothesline is extremely spectacular.