Gallery 537 Across the Face The "Canadian Crippler" Chris Benoit loves to apply a neck-cracking hold he calls the "Cripper Crossface."  He scissors Eddie Guerrero's arm and pulls up on his neck like pulling the reins on a horse. Here is Eddie again trapped in Benoit's deadly Crippler Crossface, bent to the breaking point in his sexy red tights.  I wonder if Eddie is tired of being humiliated in this hold. Benoit is a bad-ass and even top stars in the WWE like Edge have been forced to tap the mat once the "Rabid Wolverine" applies his Crossface. Here is a black and white version of Benoit clamping Jericho's arm between his thighs while he "wrenches back on the head." Many wrestlers have silly gimmics or tag lines to make themselves more popular, but Benoit's only gimmic is that he is a no-nonsense fierce bad-ass in the ring. Even Rob Van Damm, one of the most skilled wrestlers in the WWE, finds his arm pinched between Benoit's legs and his neck twisted out of the socket as he screams in pain. When young Shelton Benjamin climbed in the ring with Benoit, there was no question of who would win.  The only question was when Benoit would take the kid down and submit him with the "Crippler Crossface." Benjamin quickly taps out so Benoit will allow him to keep his head connected to his neck. Another stud who loves to apply this hold is Nick Dinsmore, also known as Eugene.  Here he forces the champ, Triple H, to slap the mat and cry for mercy. Back when they were students learning the ropes in Ohio Valley Wrestling, the wrestler now known as Eugene forced the wrestler now known as Muhammad Hassan to tap out to the Crossface. The bell rings as big Doug Basham slaps the mat violently, admitting he can't stand up to the pain applied by Nick Dinsmore. The bell continues to ring but Dinsmore maintains the pressure for several minutes, to humiliate Basham and teach him a lesson. Many up-and-coming young lions on the Independent scene have adopted this cool hold and even added some variations.  This stud in white pants is twisting the victim's entire upper torso in a painful backbend. The shirtless kid's version almost resembles the Abdominal Stretch.  His suffering victim's arms are trapped as he is bent and twisted like an old pop can. Like most cool western inventions, the Japanese have also copied our Crippler Crossface and now use it to punish each other. This fierce Japanese warrior is determined to rip his opponent's head right off if the dude does not submit. The ref leans in to quickly ask the victim whether he is ready to submit.  Any delay in breaking this hold could cause the victim to turn his head in all directions like a bobblehead doll. This ref cups his hands and screams in the victim's ear so the poor victim can hear the ref over his own screams of pain. This hold also produces some interesting expressions on the attacker's face.  This kid opens his mouth wide like he was just branded with a hot poker as he applies the pressure to the masked man's neck. Is this the same cute young man, applying the Crippler Crossface on some stud with a soul-patch??  He seems to have the same intense, howling expression on his face.  Maybe the victim's arm is pinching him in a sensitive spot. Here the attacker appears to be roaring with laughter, like he is trapped in a tickle machine.  He must think it's hilarious that Christopher Daniels must tap in submission. Free at last.  This victim was wise enough, or lucky enough, to reach the ropes, so the attacker must release that hold and wrestle him some more. This dude's manager is trying to stretch the bottom rope so he can reach the rope and force the break.  The ref is quick to order the fat manager to stop cheating. I think this is A.J. Styles, grounded and beaten by the other muscular hunks stretching Crippler Crossface.  A.J. taps in shameful submission to the strong rookie. Here is A.J. in white gear, again beaten by the Crossface as the fat dude threatens to rip his head off.  The ref pleads with A.J. to submit and avoid painful injury. Here is a double Crippler Crossface, both member of the tag team punishing their opponents' spines at the same time in the center of the ring. The victim slaps the mat, praying the stud will let him go quickly before his head get stuck in this twisted position and he'll have to walk around all day looking over his left shoulder.