Wacky Wrestling Theory 08.28.08: Figure Four

Recently, Batista began incorporating the figure four leg lock into his offensive arsenal. Is this a good idea? Does the figure four really hold up as a submission move these days? Sure, Ric Flair got a few victories using this signature move during his ‘retirement tour’ but those were mostly pity (or respect, depending on your viewpoint) tap outs. Does the audience truly accept the figure four as a painful, and submission worthy wrestling hold? I believe that the figure four is an outdated hold that was better suited for the big arena territory pro-wrestling scene than the current MMA influenced wrestling world. Out of respect for the legacy of Ric Flair, the pro-wrestling audience has been reluctantly accepting the figure four as a reasonable finish to a wrestling match, but with his recent retirement the figure four is no longer a viable submission hold.

With the popularity of MMA and the inevitable crossover to the pro-wrestling audience, submission moves must become more realistic. Is the figure four a believably painful move that can legitimately cause someone to tap out? I would have to say no. If there is one thing MMA has taught us, it’s that submissions should happen instantly. The figure four is not a move traditionally known for quick tap outs. Arguably, there could be a lot of pain felt from the figure four when the flat of the shin bone is ‘bent’ over the wrestlers other shin, but this is not an authentic way to break the bone so why should we believe that someone would give up on a match if there is no threat of damage or injury.

We are led to believe that pro-wrestlers are tapping out because the pain is too excruciating, or passing out from the pain in some cases (even in the figure four), yet how come the figure four can stay on some wrestlers for over ten minutes? This traditional over-extension of the figure four has now rendered the move obsolete. If wrestlers can withstand the pain for that long without quitting then I just cannot believe in it being that painful of a hold. You can flip by any MMA show and see the fighters tapping out after mere seconds in a submission hold, most likely preemptively to avoid a break and not because of extreme pain. This quick reaction to submission holds must forever alter the way these moves are used in pro-wrestling. If the figure four is not attempting to break the leg and not causing extreme pain then what purpose does it serve other than to expose pro-wrestling as unrealistic?

There are also problems with the feasibility of the figure four. First of all, the way that the figure four is configured forces both wrestlers to sprawl across the entire mat and thus makes the wrestler receiving the move quiet close to the ropes and thus being able to break the hold. Also, the figure four leaves the arms of the receiving wrestler wild and free therefore allowing them the chance to easily reach the now nearby ropes, to use their arms to pull themselves backwards, to roll themselves over, or to attack the wrestler administering the hold. I think the figure four is a move that worked well in the days before weekly HD televised close ups and jumbotrons, when a move had to look good to all the way up to the person in the back row of an arena, and thus the elongation of the bodies played well into this visual parameter. These days, for a wrestlers to want to administer the figure four, even in the middle of the ring, seems kind of silly, when we all collectively know how easy it is to maneuver to the ropes or out of the hold. And of course, there is always the ever obvious reversal of the hold, where the receiving wrestler can just flip over and reverse the flow of the pain. Purposely putting yourself in this fragile predicament seems ridiculous in retrospect.

All of these factors combine to make the figure four appear physically and feasibly obsolete. What about submission wrestling in general? Is there still a place for submissions in the pro-wrestling world?

Submissions in pro-wrestling were almost a dead art until WCW made the conscious effort, with a feud between Chris Benoit and Meng of all people, to re-establish the ‘tap-out’ as a genuine way to end a match. Then most mainstream superstar wrestlers had to adopt a submission move, even good old basic ones like the figure four, the Sharpshooter, the Boston Crab, the crossface, the Sleeper, or new-ish variations like the ankle lock and the mandible claw. The rise in MMA popularity has seen a shift away from these basic holds. How can wrestlers regain consciousness in a sleeper, or hold on for minutes in an ankle lock? It just doesn’t feel realistic anymore.

Inevitably, wrestlers had to start to create new versions of submission holds that artistically looked different from the moves of MMA and yet still gave the classic impression of prolonged pain. As usual, you don’t have to look much further than the wrestlers of ROH to see the future of pro-wrestling, with submission holds like the Cattle Mutilation, Horn of Aries, London Dungeon, as well as the MMA elbows of Bryan Danielson and the guillotine choke of Jimmy Jacobs, alongside moves like Mike Quakenbush’s CHIKARA Special and the un-named triangle style choke-out by the Undertaker, these all make moves like Samoa Joe’s rear naked choke, John Cena’s STFU and Ric Flair’s figure four look like foolish antiques in the ring. In order to carry on the tradition of submissions in pro-wrestling, the old moves need to be cycled out just as much as old wrestlers need to retire.

-Cattle Mutilation

That being said, the legacy of Ric Flair deserves to be respected. As long as wrestlers chop each other in the chest in a North American squared circle, the Ric Flair ‘woo’ will ring out, but what about the figure four? Should not the move that Ric Flair made famous be retired in his honor, especially in lieu of the previously stated reasons for its ineffectiveness in the ring? Many wrestlers rely on the chest chop, but none really need to use the figure four. Does anyone else think that the sporadic use of the figure four by Batista has seemed slightly ridiculous? The move does not match his large body and seems like a waste of time compared to his high impact, vertical offense. What about Shawn Michaels’ attempt at modifying the figure four going into his match with Ric Flair at Wrestlemania? That version of the figure four did not catch on nor did it play any kind of major role in the short feud between the two wrestlers. Now that Ric Flair is gone from active competition, nobody is going to buy the figure four as a legitimate finish to matches anymore. The move will only be seen as a decorative rest hold and thus why not retire the move along with the man?

Possibly the reversal of the figure four could be turned into its own submission hold. Why not? I always wondered why somebody didn’t play possum and let themselves get put into the figure four on purpose, only to turn it around instantly and use it to try and submit their opponent. Using the hold in this manner might be one way to breath new life into the figure four. Regardless, now that Ric Flair has retired it may be time to say goodbye to the figure four and other holds like it, such as the Fujiwara armbar and the sleeper hold, moves that are not believable in a world where MMA has as much mainstream popularity as the WWE and the audience is looking to pro-wrestling to match the intensity and reality of that fighting style, or fully embrace the ‘entertainment’ side of sports entertainment. Either way, the figure four will be connected to the career of Ric Flair forever, and as long as he is out of action then I believe it’s time to retire his old finishing move as well.

well, this might still be okay…