Former WWE Star Stevie Richards Explains How The Rock Does The Sharpshooter Wrong

The Sharpshooter is one of the more famous holds in professional wrestling. Former WWE Superstar Stevie Richards used side-by-side comparisons of The Rock and Bret "Hitman" Hart performing The Sharpshooter on "The Stevie Richards Show" recently, which left him less than impressed with Rock's version.

"He's not sitting down as tight as Bret would because Bret would wrench that thing," Richards said. "Bret would sit down. Rocky's more like a Sumo Squat."

Richards's co-host said The Rock did the move sloppily since his opponent's leg wasn't tucked under The Rock's armpit to create appropriate leverage.

"Do you think the size of The Rock has a lot to do with that?" Richards asked, noting Rock's physique is much larger than Hart's. "The part that bugs me more about Rocky's is ... he needs to put that boot as deep in his armpit as possible."

Richards and his co-host believe Hart did much more to cinch the move in tighter, using his left hand to secure his opponent's lower leg. The two could not agree on whether Sting or Rock had a worse Sharpshooter.

"Basically [Bret] is figure-fouring the legs," Richards said. 

He points out the influences of the Figure-Four Leglock and the Texas Cloverleaf in the way that Hart applied the move. The move has become a staple of AEW TNT Champion Daniel Garcia, who has altered the move slightly, to the point where he uses the lower leg for leverage, pulling all the way back until his head is next to the opponent's head, though the move is often broken.