5 Incredible WWE Moves That Should Be Finishers

As a 30+ year wrestling fan, I have a thing about finishers. In fact, you could say I’m old school in thinking that they are the most important ingredient to a superstar’s success–with awesome intro music coming in a close second.

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When you look at all of the greatest superstars in WWE history, the finisher is one of the first things that jumps out to you. Stone Cold and the Stunner. The Rock and the Rock Bottom. Hulk Hogan and the Leg Drop. Goldberg and the Jackhammer. Shawn Michaels and Sweet Chin Music. You get the point. Stars are synonymous with their finishers and today too many wrestlers are suffering from having a lame finisher. Braun Strowman is the biggest, baddest dude in the world and all we got for him is a powerslam? Come on!

With modern superstars trying to impress the crowd at every moment, some of the greatest moves in wrestling become throwaways that are only used as a set up for the eventual finale.

I fully understand that, at this point, it would be hard to put the genie back in the bottle. After seeing AJ Styles bust out 42 moves in a match, no one wants to see a bunch of chinlocks and tests of strength.

But, there are some really amazing moves being used in the middle of a match that could easily be adopted as a finisher – either by the current superstar using them or another superstar who is stuck with a less than flashy finale.

Here are five incredible moves that should totally be turned into finishers.

Sami Zayn’s Blue Thunder Bomb

How many times have we heard Michael Cole scream out BLUE THUNDER BOMB! only to have it end in a two count? Spoiler: every single time, and every single time Cole seems shocked that the opponent kicks out at 2. To my knowledge, Sami has never won a WWE match with this move, so the shock should be minimal. However, it’s a great high impact move that ends in a pinning predicament. A perfect recipe for a finisher.

And if Sami can’t pin anyone with it, imagine someone like Braun Strowman using it. It’s 1,000 times better than a basic powerslam.

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Seth Rollins Phoenix Splash

Rollins is a man without a finisher. After his curb stomp was taken away, he was given the Pedigree, which served his storyline with mentor, Triple H, perfectly. Now, he’s trying this new finisher that is kind of garbage.

Let the Kingslayer use the Phoenix Splash as his finisher. It’s incredible and I still don’t understand how it’s physically possible for a human to do it. That’s what I look for in my finisher. Not a high knee lift that follows a series of other similar knee lifts.

Randy Orton’s backbreaker

I am in no way saying Orton’s signature backbreaker should replace the greatest finisher in the business, the RKO, but the reverse backbreaker would both make great finishers for a rising superstar in need of a move to call their own. It’s quick, violent and can be applied on most any opponent, which is the perfect ingredient for any finisher.

You already have the RKO, Randy, give someone else the backbreaker!

Kevin Owens’ Torture Rack Neckbreaker

The pop-up powerbomb is kind of cool, but everyone has a powerbomb. For a wrestler with an arsenal as large as Kevin Owens, he needs a move that no one else is using as his finisher. What’s great about the Torture Rack (or Argentine) Neckbreaker is that it initially contains the slow drama of seeing the opponent hoisted up into the air and the voracious finish of an RKO as the move swings into a neckbreaker. These are the same elements that make the Attitude Adjustment, F-5 and GTS so successful. And again, if Kevin is set on the powerbomb, give this to someone with a super lame finisher. You have plenty of people to choose from.

Any Superkick

What used to be the exclamation point on a wrestling match has now simply become a comma. No move has gotten watered down more than the hallowed superkick.There’s a video on YouTube with the Top 50 superkicks … not of all time … but of 2016! I understand the urge to superkick. It looks amazing. But when everyone does one every match, it has no more significance than a hip toss. Let’s phase out the superkicks and bring it back as a finisher.