What The Slap Seen During A DDT Means

"DDT" are three letters that pro wrestling cannot live without, whether referring to the cult Japanese promotion that gave the likes of Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi, and Konosuke Takeshita their first big break, or the move credited to WWE Hall of Famer Jake "The Snake" Roberts.

Now over forty years into its existence as a popular wrestling move, the DDT is as common as a headlock, a roll up, a clothesline, and Jeff Jarrett doing the Fargo Strut whenever he has a match. It also has more variations that humanly possible, including the Impaler DDT, the Double Arm DDT, the occasional top rope DDT, and perhaps the most popular variation, the Elevated DDT popularized by Randy Orton, where he hits a DDT on an opponent caught up in the ropes.

Given all of that, it's not surprising that the DDT, much like the dreaded X, the wrist/leg squeeze, or "hooking the leg" has its own bit of secret meaning behind it. And much like those other secret signals, this one dates all the way back to the glory days of WWE's 1980s boom, where the DDT first gained notoriety thanks to Roberts. Oddly enough, Roberts wasn't the one to introduce the DDT; the move was actually invented in Mexico back in the 1970s by luchador Black Gordman, who himself worked in WWE in the 1980s, three years before Roberts joined. Nevertheless, Roberts' subsequent success led to him becoming more associated with the move, and for good reason, as he not only gave the DDT it's name, but established it as a deadly finisher, and the certain quirk that became synonymous with the move; slapping the back before hitting it.

Much like many other secret signals, the slap on the back prior to the DDT is something that often goes unnoticed, but once spotted is impossible to unsee. It's unclear when Roberts adopted the practice before hitting the DDT, other than that it was commonplace for the WWE Hall of Famer during his rise in WWE during the mid-80s. The story would always remain the same; Roberts would have his opponent in the front face lock, ready to hit the DDT, when he would then slap his opponent on the back. A split second later, Roberts would be dropping his opponent right on his dome, and three seconds later he would be picking up another victory. This didn't just apply to matches either; a quick look at the famous moment where Roberts DDT'd Ricky Steamboat outside the ring will show Roberts slapping Steamboat's back just before Steamboat goes headfirst into the concrete.

For some fans, this may seem a tad similar to a practice the aforementioned Orton uses before his powerslam, where he claps his hands to signal that the move is coming. As it turns out, that practice of Orton's is something he likely stole from Roberts. The back slap is indeed a signal to the person taking the DDT to warn them that the move is coming, and to properly prepare themselves to take the move safely. Likewise, the lack of a back slap is also a signal; if Roberts didn't slap his opponent on the back, it meant that the move was to be countered. Given all that, it's easy to see where Orton was strongly influenced by Roberts over the course of his career. Whether or not that has led to him having any regrets about attacking Roberts in 2005 remains to be seen.