Finisher Friday (7/8/22): Freshly Squeezed Trap

Welcome to another edition of #FinisherFriday! This is Wreddit_Regal giving you a short review and analysis of our favorite lazy dude in the AEW men's division.

Chuck Taylor may have been the modern-day pioneer of the "lazy wrestler" archetype, but it's not him who has perfected the character and the art. That accolade belongs to the one and only Orange Cassidy. Formerly known in American indy circles as The Colony's Fire Ant, he has since discarded the concept of a straight-laced hive-minded fellow in favor of the character we all came to love: a lazy genius who can deliver with less than the bare minimum of effort.

His antics inside the ring give the comedic break that audiences aren't usually prepared to watch, but are immediately engaged by once he starts:

At times he likes to play mind games with the opponent (or gaining a little bit of motivation a couple of minutes into the match), performing feats that scream "I'm so good I don't even need to pull out my hands from my pockets!":

But when needed, he goes high-octane which leaves the viewing public in awe, like they just witnessed someone unlock their full potential inside the ring:

OC is one of the rare wrestlers to sport a pinfall as his main finisher, and it's a very baffling one which he calls the Mouse Trap:

Let's try to observe that from the left-hand side so that we can break down the move into chunks

Basically, what OC does is:

1. Sneak to the left side of his unsuspecting opponent
2. His left hand quickly grabs the opponent's left arm, and tucks it between his legs
3. He forces the opponent to lean forward
4. As the opponent begins to lose balance, he underhooks the opponent's right arm using his right arm
5. With both of the opponent's arms secured, OC begins to kneel forward and lie face-down on the floor, which forces the opponent to do an incomplete front roll, which leaves their legs up
6. OC bears down on the opponent's shoulders and arms, completing the pin for a possible victory

Execution-wise, the Mouse Trap resembles the classic La Magistral cradle pin a lot:

But OC being the lazy guy that he is, he probably tweaked the move to fit his style, foregoing the eye candy and holding down the leg in favor of an easier execution and a more stable hold by lying face-down instead of being in a sideways position.

Using my Regal Rating, I would give this finisher a:

7/10 for aesthetics. I mean, it's a lazily-done version of one of the flashiest pinfall executions ever, so I can't possibly give a higher score than this.

0/10 for damage (for obvious reasons). But my headcanon says it's a 10/10 in dealing emotional damage to his opponents.

And that's it chaps, my short review of Orange Cassidy's Mouse Trap! Will OC muster up the tenacity and perpetual drive needed to be a top contender for the AEW World Championship within this year? Let us know in the comment section below!

*****

Wreddit_Regal is the resident finisher fanatic of Reddit's wrestling forum, r/squaredcircle. From the most basic of punches to the most intricate double-team maneuvers, 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.

July 08, 2022