10 Wrestling Finishing Moves That Are Genuinely HORRIBLE
These finishers are anything but fake.
It's ironic how wrestlers look like they're killing each other in the ring, while they're doing everything in their power to guarantee the other's safety. Sure, the Tombstone or the Stone Cold Stunner are practically guaranteed to end a match, but finishers like these shouldn't pose any real danger. Even if a move really hurts, the athletes know how to land and tense their bodies to minimise the pain.
But no matter what precautions are taken, things can always go wrong. The risk factor is never zero, regardless how talented a pro-wrestler is or how many times they've performed their routine.
If a wrestler mistimes their movements, loses balance, or gets the angle wrong, a body slam, clothesline, or a suplex can break bones, spill blood, or worse. Certain finishers proved so devastating, they've been banned from the sport entirely. Considering some manoeuvres have ended wrestlers' careers and caused irreparable damage, it's hard to believe they were allowed in the first place.
If you saw the receiver of these finishers look like they were in genuine agony, there's a strong possibility they weren't acting.
10. The Shooting Star Splash
The risk factor for any finisher is dramatically higher if unleashed from up above. On its own, an elbow or a leg drop seems basic. But while sailing through the air, these simple attacks are devastating. Worse still, high-flying moves require an astounding amount of balance, precision, and control, meaning it's more likely things can literally go belly up.
Few techniques prove this principle better than the Shooting Star Press. This aerial assault, popularised by Hayabusa, Scott Steiner, and Jushin Liger, requires the attacker to perform a 450-degree somersault from the top turnbuckle onto their opponent.
To say the Shooting Star Splash is dangerous an understatement. During a SmackDown brawl, Juventud bungled the death-defying stunt on Paul London, damaging his eye socket and breaking his nose, urging WWE to ban it for five years.
What's worse is the Splash is just as hazardous for the athlete performing it. Zack Ryder tweeted "Never again" after suffering a bad landing from the finisher. At WrestleMania XIX, Brock Lesnar undershot the move during the headline match, slamming his face into the mat.
And when a Swanton-bombing daredevil like Jeff Hardy refuses to do the Splash anymore, you know it's gotta hurt.