Combo Breaker comes from Killer Instinct, the fighting game series first released in arcades in 1994, where the announcer calls it out when a player breaks an opponent's combo. The phrase became one of the game's most recognisable sound bites and was reused in later Killer Instinct titles, including the 2013 reboot. As clips spread through fighting game tournaments, streams and YouTube edits, it moved beyond its original game and became a shorthand meme for any interruption, comeback or sudden stop, which keeps it popular with editors today.