In 1996 Steve Austin ditched the Ringmaster gimmick and became the alcohol fueled redneck known as Stone Cold Steve Austin. With the new gimmick came a new finishing maneuver. A seated three-quarter facelock jawbreaker known as the Stone Cold Stunner. Austin took this new attitude and new finisher and ran with it to new heights in the WWE.
The Stunner is a great finisher for the audience because there is little setup for it. Usually the sequence was a missed punch or clothesline by the opponent, kick to the gut by Austin, and boom, Stunner. But unlike most finishers, which have an established reaction to them, selling the Stunner is open to interpretation. Some people sell it perfectly, like Shawn Michaels, Triple H, or Kurt Angle. Others….not so much.
Here are the 10 People Who Couldn’t Take A Stone Cold Stunner.
10. Vince McMahon
Don’t get me wrong, Vince can take a Stunner now. But this is more about his first effort. When most people take the Stunner they try to get their knees to hit the same time Austin is landing on the ground in a seated position. It gives the move a more fluid look. The first time Vince took the move, his timing was a bit off and he led with his face. However, with the Austin/McMahon feud Vince would become a better victim of the Stunner, being on the receiving end of countless Stunners over the last 15 years.
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10 Comments
Yeah, I agree with you on the rock. It’s a bit too excessive. It’s almost like a nuclear bomb went off. I like impactful moves, but when it’s sold like a damn anime it kind of takes away some of the realism (yes i know it’s fake, but there is a sense of realism that is sold during the matches).
Exactly. Sell it, but don’t do a backflip. Jericho had a pretty ridiculous moment, but it was off air so I let it slide.
Shane McMahon always sold the stunner to perfection!
Scott Hall at Wrestlemania 18 was an awful Stunner moment
Like he had springs in his boots.
Awesome
I have to say I disagree with the Rock. I think the whole point was to oversell the move. It made it much more entertaining. The difference between that and Ziggler is that Ziggler oversells every move, even the simple ones. Overselling a simple DDT is worse than overselling a Stone Cold Stunner. Some of the other ones were bad but for awhile it seemed that no one really knew how they should sell it.
Hey Marc, thanks for commenting. I think the main reason that I feel The Rock oversells is the way he pushes off and flops into the ropes. Angle, Shane, and Triple H knew how to sell it to perfection.
I’m afraid I have to disagree with you on The Rock. No one sells the stunner better than The Rock, and it’s in line with his other in-ring mannerisms. When The Rock gets hit with the stunner, you can believe that it took everything out of him.
I DO agree with you that the best stunner moment was the sweet chin music reversal into the stunner.
Thanks for reading Ike. I think Rock has taken some ridiculous stunners, but I think the one time he sold it to perfection was the post Wrestlemania 17 cage match where Austin and Triple H beat him down. The final stunner took everything out of him. It was a great sell.