Sharpshooter (professional wrestling)

The Sharpshooter, also known as the sasori-gatame (蠍固め or サソリ固め; English: scorpion hold) and the Scorpion Deathlock,^[1][2] is a professional wrestling submission hold. Similar to several holds such as the cloverleaf leg-lace, the Boston crab and the standing reverse figure-four leglock, the move was invented by Japanese professional wrestler Riki Choshu,^[3] and was popularized by Sting and Bret Hart as the Scorpion Deathlock and Sharpshooter respectively.^[4]

The hold begins with the opponent supine on the mat. The applying wrestler steps between the opponent's legs with their own left leg and wraps the opponent's legs at shin level around that leg. If they decide to cross the opponent's legs around their own right leg, they have to cross the opponent's right leg over to the left or the left leg over the right. Holding the opponent's legs in place, they then grab the opponent's leg which they have crossed over the other and steps over the opponent, flipping them over into a prone position before leaning back to compress their lower back. This move is used more commonly by Canadian wrestlers, typically in Canada, to get a bigger crowd reaction, since it is associated with Bret Hart and the Hart family; Canadian wrestlers Edge and Chris Benoit were also notable users of the move.^[5][6][7]