Leg drop

A leg drop, leg-drop or legdrop refers to an attack used in wrestling in which an attacking wrestler will jump and land his leg across a fallen opponent's chest, throat, face or head or in some cases, the groin/lower-abdominal area.

Variations

Discus leg drop

The wrestler spins 360° while they jump and land their leg across an opponent's chest, throat, face, or head.

Another variation, dubbed the Twisting Leg Drop, sees the user spin 180° to the inside of the attacking leg before hitting the leg drop. This would mean that the user approaches a prone opponent from the opposite side of a normal running leg drop that uses the same leg. This move is also called the Revolving Leg Drop or Corkscrew Leg Drop.

Rob Van Dam utilizes this maneuver, jumping from the ring apron, the ringside barricade, or the second or top rope onto an opponent, who is usually laid out on the ground, hanging over the ring apron/ringside barricade, laying supine on the announcers' table/regular table, or trapped in the ring ropes. He also uses a standing version, but only on occasion.

Double leg drop

This variation of the leg drop sees the wrestler drop both legs onto the opponent, usually onto the mid-section, instead of just one leg. This variation has recently been utilized by Kofi Kingston.

Extreme leg drop

A move innovated, named and popularized by Jeff Hardy, this leg drop variation sees the attacking wrestler hold the opponent's legs and then do a double leg drop (legs together) onto the opponent's groin/lower-abdominal area. If performed to hit the lower-abdomen, the user slightly bends their legs, to force their heels into the lower abdomen. If it is to hit the groin area, the attacking wrestler bends out (that is to say, juts out their rear end) and keeps their legs straight, to force the heels or lower legs into the groin.

Guillotine leg drop

This move is similar to the leg drop although it is done with the opponent's body hanging over something, sometimes with the opponent's head hung over one of the ring ropes or most notably the ring apron (so the head is suspended over the outside), the wrestler will then walk across the apron and execute a leg-drop onto the opponent's sternum, causing both of them to fall and land on the outside of the ring. This also refers to the attacker's leg hitting the opponent's throat in a standard leg drop. This move has been popularized by The Undertaker, Psychosis and Christy Hemme.

Inverted leg drop bulldog

An inverted version of this sees the attacking wrestler drop the opponent on the back of their head. This can be achieved by first holding an opponent in an inverted facelock or by simply grabbing the opponent and forcibly leaning them back before lifting their far leg, rotating so the leg is over the opponent's head, and dropping to a sitting position. Another variation is used by Matt Sydal that sees him use his near leg, thus falling with a split-leg position rather than a seated one; Melina uses a minor variation as her finisher, in which she maintains the splits for a pinfall. Also, TNA Knockout Rhaka Khan has used this move in a different way as her finisher.

Leg drop bulldog

A leg drop bulldog is when one jumps up in the air landing a leg across the back of their head as their head hits the ground first. Wesley Holiday uses a variation of this move, that she calls the Hoedown, she goes over the shoulders of an opponent, and jumps down on her knees. Kelly Kelly uses a variation of this move, that she calls K2.

Running leg drop

A variation to the original, the attacking wrestler bounces off from one side of the ring, runs and performs the leg drop across his/her opponent's chest. This became famous from Hulk Hogan, who used it as his finisher and dubbed it the Atomic Leg Drop.

Somersault leg drop

An attacking wrestler would perform a jumping forward somersault to drop their leg across the throat or chest of an opponent.

This leg drop is often known by the names Harlem/Houston Hangover used by Booker Huffman throughout his career.

Slingshot leg drop

The attacker, while on the outside, pulls back on the ropes and, assisted by the rebound of the ropes, propels themselves into the ring and onto their victim. Variations include using the ropes for a slingshot somorsault leg drop and a slingshot springboard (where the attacker leaps onto top of the ropes) diving leg drop.

Springboard leg drop

The attacker puts the opponent on the ground, then getting a boost from the second rope falls with leg stretched onto the opponent's neck. Not to be confused with the springboard diving leg drop, but consistent with the Famouser, which can be done springboard or from the middle of the ring, with the opponent down or bowed.

Notes