10 Fascinating Facts About Famous Wrestling Finishers
Some wrestling finishers stink - but that doesn't mean they're bad...
Conversations surrounding finisher effectiveness have died down, thankfully.
That's likely because wrestling, at least in the North American mainstream, appears to have moved on from the kick-out excess that plagued the scene in pursuit of cheap pops throughout the last decade.
In AEW, Kenny Omega's One-Winged Angel remains the most effective, mythologised kill-shot. Not even Hangman Page kicked out of it; perhaps it was thought that he didn't need the shortcut. On the subject of Page, his Buckshot Lariat has evolved into something similarly potent, or at least, that's the intention. In his superb Texas Death match opposite Lance Archer recently, the move was framed as Page's only way out against the monster. In a tremendous story beat, the top rope was removed. Most reasoned that Archer wouldn't win, but in the throes of the match, fans were asked how Page even could without his key weapon.
Even in WWE, where long-term goals and care are significantly less important, the finisher actually means something. The F5, the KOD, and Roman Reigns' guillotine choke cast those who wield them as stars that are rarely put away.
Bryan Danielson is the best active wrestler in the world not named CM Punk right now, and his approach to the finisher is ingenious. He boasts several; in addition to depicting himself as the most skilled wrestler alive, he is carefully planting multiple dramatic moments of escape.
There's an interesting story behind one finish in particular...
10. The Last Ride Made Wrestlers Void Themselves
The Undertaker's Hall of Fame induction has catalysed discourse over how great the man actually was.
Is he a bonafide legend whose poorer efforts were the understandable byproduct of a career that spanned over three decades?
Or did he benefit profoundly from WWE's 21st century monopoly?
When wrestling was competitive, 'Taker was only great for two years (1996, 1997). He was dog sh*t in the Attitude Era and was allowed a year of prep to get over as a truly world-class in-ring worker during the peak Streak years. He worked astonishing matches that didn't take place at WrestleMania - most notably a killer effort against Kurt Angle at No Way Out 2006 - but it's an intriguing question.
His Last Ride powerbomb proved that the man absolutely got it, patchy record or no. A wicked variation on the move that deepened its power, with the dread-inducing set-up and broken elevator descent, that he performed it so safely is a testament to his working prowess. He didn't damage a single neck.
He did however - if Kurt Angle is to be believed - nearly make many a man sh*t themselves. Speaking on his podcast, Angle said that it "knocked the sh*t out of you". "Empty everything before," he warned. "You'll go to the bathroom in your pants with that move alone."
It's a good job Triple H used the facilities before taking it; the man was so full of sh*t that André the Giant himself would have marvelled at what he left in the ring.