Superkick
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A Superkick is the name used when referring to a high side thrust kick attack in professional wrestling, which sees the wrestler use the sole of the foot to strike an opponent's head or chin, usually preceded by a sidestep, often referred to as a Crescent Kick, or just a Side kick. The wrestler will often slap their thigh to generate an appropriate sound effect.
"Gentleman" Chris Adams was among the first wrestlers to use the superkick and was for years credited as its originator. To set up his finisher, Adams would use a back body drop, then as his opponent gets on his feet, Chris superkicks him in the jaw. Adams first used the enzuigiri as his "superkick", before touring Japan in the early-1980s and bringing the real maneuver to the United States. He was also the first wrestler to utilize the superkick from the top turnbuckle (around 1989).
Many wrestlers have used the Superkick as a signature move since then, most notably Shawn Michaels who uses this as his finisher, referring to it as the Sweet Chin Music. Michaels often precedes the move with a series of foot stomps, called by announcers as "tuning up the band".
In 2006, Michaels in an interview said that he learned the superkick from Adams himself while wrestling in Texas during the mid-1980s.
Shawn Michaels' cousin, Matt Bentley (as Michael Shane) would also uses the move, calling it the Sweet Shane Music. But due to copyright infringement he now has to go by his real name Matt Bentley and refers to his signature move as the Head On Collision. While wrestling as "Dude Love", parodying Michaels, Mick Foley performed a superkick to the shin, calling it Sweet Shin Music.
[edit] Moves similar to the superkick
- Double superkick - two person tandem superkick
- Flying thrust kick - flying superkick
- Savate kick - a superkick, only without the sidestep.
- Shuffle side kick - after dodging an attack and going behind an opponent the wrestler would lift their leg high into the air as they twisted their hips turning him/herself side-on towards their opponent catching their foot against the opponent’s face
- Single leg running dropkick - jumping version
