What Does STO Mean?

There are so many moves in professional wrestling that someone would likely lose count just listing off submission holds, let alone strikes, power moves, dives, slams and what not. Some old timers in wrestling would likely argue that the influx of so many moves has harmed the business more than helped, especially in comparison to the "good old days" where guys got buy on bodyslams and lariats. But its too late to put the genie back in the bottle, and thus wrestling fans now live in a world where there's the Sharpshooter, the Shooting Star Press, the Michinoku Driver, the Piledriver, the Tombstone Piledriver, and countless other moves, and countless variations to said moves. Then there's the STO, a move that fans definitely know, but one that may take a moment before it springs to mind. 

For those who are familiar with it, the STO is a distant cousin to the Complete Shot/Flatliner, a move where the wrestler grabs the opponent by the face, tilts them backwards before sweeping them forward, right onto their face. In contrast, the STO is all about sending the opponents backwards, with a sweep of the leg and some forward momentum putting the opponent down right on their back and back of the head, with the sudden movement also creating a whiplash effect for good measure. Fans that watched AEW will often see Katsuyori Shibata do a variation of it, while New Japan fans will recognize it as the finish of controversial star EVIL. But what does STO actually stand for? Is it similar to the STF? Actually no; the STO is in fact a reference to its creator, being referred to as the Space Tornado Ogawa.

That creator is none other than Naoya Ogawa, an interesting name when it comes to pro wrestling history. Born in 1968, Ogawa first gained fame in judo, where he won gold at four different World Championships between 1987 and 1991, and even earned a silver medal at the 1992 Olympic Games. At the age of 29, he was recruited to New Japan Pro Wrestling by Antonio Inoki, debuting in 1997; he would continue to wrestle until 2015, and along the way became a former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion and even a former NWA World Heavyweight Champion. In between, he found some success in MMA, working for PRIDE and going 7-2 in his career.

Somehow, he also found time to innovate the STO, which may not rank as highly as some of the World Titles he won, but may have been more influential, given how often the move is now used. Of course, innovation may not be the right word, as while Ogawa was the first to popularize the move in pro wrestling, it was very commonly used in the world of judo. In fact, the move has its own name in the sport, referred to as Osoto Otoshi, aka the "large outer drop." Ogawa used the move regularly while in judo, and when he ventured into pro wrestling decided to take the move with him, adopting it as his regular finisher.