The reverse frankensteiner sees the user sit on their opponent’s shoulders and fall backwards, causing the victim to backflip. Compared to a normal frankensteiner, one is at greater risk of spiking themselves if they don’t fully rotate. The move is also known as a poisoned hurricanrana, with Chris Hero claiming the name comes from the word “rana” which is Spanish for frog. In a 2018 tweet, Jim Cornette called the reverse hurricanrana “the stupidest move in wrestling.”
During their Women’s Championship classic at the inaugural “NXT Takeover: Brooklyn,” Bayley performed a poison-rana from the top rope on Sasha Banks. The move was a novelty, previously unseen in WWE’s women’s division. Bayley reflected on the spot with Fightful, recalling that she doubted she could even do the move but still pulling through to give Banks “the match of her life.” Rumors floated of Banks suffering an injury from the spot, but she denied those claims on social media.
Others weren’t so lucky. Noam Dar and Mark Andrews wrestled to a no-contest during a February 2019 “NXT UK” taping, with Dar carted off after a botched reverse frankensteiner. Dar faced amputation of his leg and was out of action for two months.
During a February 2022 episode of “Dynamite,” CM Punk took on MJF and spiked his head during an attempted poison-rana. Punk was able to complete the match without injury. Since Punk is a few inches taller than MJF, one can attribute the height difference for making it harder for Punk to safely perform the move.
