Welcome to another edition of #FinisherFriday! This is Wreddit_Regal bringing you the only Spanish Fly variation that is acceptable in the eyes of the general public and smarks.
In the world of combat sports, innovation is the key to flourishing. The basic straight punch has developed over the course of a few millennia to having many different variations, and having a whole discipline devoted to it. The same holds true for your simple front kick (which now has over 50 types), and the brute strangle (which has now evolved to having various submissions, and not just targeting the head and neck).
Pro wrestling isn't one to be left behind: from the humble suplexes and Irish whips of old, a lot of fresh material have been innovated by wrestlers over the years, enabling them to deal damage while keeping the audience's mouths wide open in awe. One such move is the Spanish Fly.
Originally invented by the S.A.T. as a tag team finisher, this high-risk manoeuvre has become one of the most overused non-finisher moves for spot monkeys in wrestling. This indirectly resulted in having its defects visibly shown to the public.
An inherent problem with Spanish Flys (or flies? I don't know) is that the move itself is too telegraphed, which leads to questions like "Why would an enemy want to do a front flip in sync with his opponent, and deal damage to himself?"
Another problem that arises is that with the move setup, it looks like the opponent could make a counterattack in mid-air and do something reminiscent of a reverse STO to the opponent.
So how does a wrestler address these two obstacles, creating a move that looks realistic and is foolproof at the same time? Let's ask Laredo Kid how he successfully did it.
The AAA/Impact talent has been practising the art of lucha libre for so long, it feels like second nature to him. True enough, most of his arsenal consists of bouncing around the ring like a humanized version of Spider-Man, dealing damage in the most unconventional of ways. His finisher looks like something taken straight out of a ninja anime, named the Laredo Fly:
Laredo solves the riddle by doing one simple thing: he changes the Spanish fly's setup into an overhead belly-to-belly suplex, but without letting go. This way, he makes it look like he's flipping with the opponent and not the other way around. With both of them completing the flip, Laredo Kid lands on top of his opponent for the automatic pinfall attempt, which looks pretty badass if you'd ask me.
Using my Regal Rating, I would give this move a:
10/10 for aesthetics. It's done from the top rope, they flip, he wins matches with it, and it doesn't look as telegraphed as the original version. It definitely has all the points checked on my clipboard.
10/10 for damage. The Laredo Fly slams the opponent on his back while adding Laredo Kid's own body mass on top. This adds the possibility of broken ribs or damage to internal organs to the mix, which makes the move even deadlier.
And that's it chaps, my short analysis of the Laredo Fly! Do you have any finishers that you want to be analyzed? Let us know in the comment section below!
Wreddit_Regal is the resident sports kinesiologist of Reddit's wrestling forum, r/squaredcircle. From the most basic of punches to the most intricate double-team manoeuvres, he can explain them within the realm of human anatomy and physics, because when doing absolutely nothing wrestling-related, he also happens to work as an operating room nurse.
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