For many years, WWE star John Cena has relied on the STF as his trusted submission, working alongside his classic Attitude Adjustment as some of his go-to tools. Like its counterpart, Cena's submission has had its name changed around several times, and many fans have wondered: what does STF actually mean?
STF stands for stepover toehold facelock, which describes exactly what the move entails. To apply it, a wrestler starts by grabbing their opponent's leg and bending while stepping over it. As they apply pressure to the bent leg by leaning over their opponent's back, the wrestler reaches forward and places them into a facelock. From there, the person applying the submission can pull up to wrench their opponent into a painful-looking position in hopes that they'll tap out.
In Cena's early days (and during his recent heel turn), the move was referred to as the STFU, meaning "shut the f*** up." Once Vince McMahon started the process of cleaning up WWE's product to make it more family-friendly and secure a TV-PG rating, the name was shortened. Not everyone is aware that it was changed back to the original name. In fact, the history of the STF stretches back to the early days of pro wrestling as we know it.
Industry legend Lou Thesz used the STF frequently throughout his career, with some stating that he actually invented it while others claim he merely popularized it. With an in-ring career that spanned nearly 60 years, Thesz is credited as one of the most influential performers in wrestling history. Known as a "shooter" because of his amateur wrestling background, Thesz incorporated many legitimate techniques into his matches, and the continued use of the STF is just one of the many ways Thesz directly impacted the industry's future.
WWE Hall of Famer The Great Muta (AKA Keiji Muto) also utilized the STF to great success, but in quite a different fashion compared to Thesz or Cena. Muto inverted his stepover toehold facelock, leading to the Muta Lock finisher.
Of course, Cena is the person most closely associated with the move today. He first adopted it in 2005, a little over three years into his main roster WWE run. When he initially started using the submission, it looked quite a bit different, with Cena applying more of a chokehold than a facelock. Over time, it's developed into the version we see today. Though Cena rarely uses it to successfully end a match, he did just that in February 2025 when he put CM Punk to sleep, winning the Men's Elimination Chamber match minutes before he infamously turned heel on Cody Rhodes.
