MMA Fighter Uses Walls of Jericho: 7 Times WWE Moves Have Invaded the Cage

Jonno Mears did Chris Jericho proud.

The English middleweight fighter earned a victory at Saturday's FCC 19 event in Bolton, England, with the WWE star's signature move—the Walls of Jericho. In an eye-catching sequence, Mears climbed atop Aaron Jones, wrenched his foe's legs backward and flashed two thumbs-up as he earned a submission win.

The announcer roared in surprise: "The Walls of Jericho finishes it!"

The move was first known as the Boston Crab. Pedro Morales finished off opponents with it in the '70s. Rick Martel followed suit in the '80s. Y2J has since become synonymous with the hold.

And when Mears borrowed it, Jericho was happy to see it do its job:

The Walls of Jericho showing up in the cage in England was a surprising melding of the WWE and the MMA worlds, but far from the first one. Fighters have employed a number of other pro wrestling moves, from the powerbomb to the DDT.

The following is a look at six other instances of MMA pulling a trick out of the pro wrestling bag.

Powerbomb

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs. Ricardo Arona: Pride Critical Countdown (2004)

In a spot seen in countless WWE matches, Jackson powered his way out of a potential submission in 2004. While still entangled with him, the former UFC lightweight champ hoisted Arona into the air and dropped him with a powerbomb.

It didn't have quite the flair that SmackDown's Kevin Owens' pop-up powerbomb does, but it remains one of the most memorable moments in MMA history.

Rampage didn't stop there in terms of marrying MMA and pro wrestling. He debuted for Impact Wrestling in 2013 and competed alongside Sting and AJ Styles in a 10-man tag team match.

Dropkick

Ikuhisa Minowa vs. Butterbean: Pride-Bushido 12 (2006)

Minowa ended his 2006 clash with Eric Esch, better known as Butterbean, with an armbar submission. He began it with an ode to pro wrestling.

The Japanese middleweight sped toward his bigger foe and landed a dropkick. And while it didn't knock Esch down, the crowd clearly took notice that Minowa mirrored Jumping Jim Brunzell.

After seeing that move, it's not surprising to find out that Minowa later became a pro wrestler. Competing for promotions like Inoki Genome Federation, he has crossed paths in the wrestling ring with Necro Butcher and current WWE prospect Bin Wang.

Chokeslam

Houston Alexander vs. Thiago Silva: UFC 78 (2007)

Alexander didn't get the win against Silva in their light heavyweight fight in Newark, New Jersey. The Midwest native, however, did provide the highlight of the bout.

He lifted Silva up by the neck and slammed him to the canvas.

The chokeslam was long one of Kane's and Undertaker's signature moves. Alexander made it his own at UFC 78, where he lost the fight but provided the most GIF-worthy move.

Piledriver

Alan Belcher vs. Patrick Cote: UFC 113 (2010)

Aside from a few who were exempted from the rule, WWE banned its Superstars from using the piledriver beginning in 2000. Fans missing the move, though, got a taste of it in an unexpected place 10 years later—the UFC.

Inside Montreal's Bell Centre, Belcher did his best Mr. Wonderful Paul Orndorff impression and lifted Cote upside down before dropping him on his head.

The crowd didn't have much time to take in the middleweight's usage of a former pro wrestling stable. Belcher quickly followed up with a rear-naked choke to force his opponent to tap out.

Elbow Drop

James Moontasri vs. Joe Ellenberger: UFC Fight Night 44 (2014)

With his opponent prone on the canvas, kicking away at him, Moontasri decided to leave his feet and emulate Macho Man Randy Savage.

The welterweight out of Los Angeles hit a flying elbow drop. That's certainly not an everyday occurrence in MMA.

But while Savage's elbow drop most certainly spelled the end for his opponents, things didn't work out that way for "Moonwalker" Moontasri. Ellenberger recovered and eventually won by split decision.

DDT

Cat Zingano vs. Amanda Nunes: UFC 178 (2014)

En route to a three-round victory against fellow bantamweight Nunes, Zingano channeled her inner Jake Roberts.

The UFC women's bantamweight titleholder nailed her foe with a DDT during their championship fight. Zingano squeezed her arms around Nunes' neck and drove her head into the mat.

You almost expected her to go for a three-count afterward. Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful pointed out the DDT wasn't her only WWE-inspired move of the night:

Borrowing from the squared circle served her well. Zingano won to retain her title with a TKO.

We're never going to see an MMA fighter hit a Shooting Star Press, but Zingano, Moontasri and Mears certainly won't be the last fighter to have fans feel like WrestleMania has slipped into the cage.