10 Wrestlers Who Shared A Signature Move (And Who Did It Better)

They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but sometimes you just have to call it what it is: A lazy rehash. And the pro wrestling industry is certainly no stranger to reheating old ideas, spreading a little sauce over the top, and trying to pass them off as something brand new.

It happens with gimmicks, it happens with storylines, and it happens strangely often with superstars' so-called signature moves. In fact, one could argue that very few performers in the industry do something unique enough to even call it a signature. But hey, there's bound to be overlap. After all, how many "special" moves are there?

Oh...there are...lots. Like...insane amounts? And all it takes is a little imagination and a lot of practice?

Huh.

Well, regardless, it's not uncommon for wrestlers to get a little redundant in this area. It's a little more rare, however, for someone to come along and make their version stand toe-to-toe with the already established version.

By the way, we're not talking about classic moves like the powerbomb, which pretty much every big guy from 1980 onwards used as a finishing move at some point during their careers. We also have no time for the many, many superstars who have adapted much "safer" - i.e. horribly ineffective - versions of classic finishers. 

With that out of the way, let's get down to (repeat) business...

All right, let's kick this thing off with a total softball. Out of all the jokers who have used a stiff sidekick to the face, only two have executed the move so perfectly on a regular enough basis to be in contention as the best of all time: Lance Storm and Shawn Michaels.

Sure, the Young Bucks do a pretty sweet tag team variation, Yokozuna and Rikishi each get points for being able to deliver a surprisingly high Superkick for men of their size, and Chris Adams originated the move and has maybe the best Superkick moment of all time (in a match against Rick Steiner...look it up). But in terms of crispness, fluidity, and consistency, it comes down to Storm and HBK.

Michaels has been using his Sweet Chin Music as a finisher pretty much since he first broke away from Marty Jannetty, but the two of them frequently performed a tandem sidekick that closely resembles his solo version. Storm, likewise, has had the Last Call in his arsenal practically from day one.

Who Did It Better? Shawn Michaels.

Why?

For starters, remember when he almost kicked Shelton Benjamin's head off? Yeah, that was late period HBK. It seemed like the Sweet Chin Music only got better with age.