10 Awesome Finishers WWE Stars Should Steal

1. Haas Of Pain (Charlie Haas)

Kota Ibushi GIF
OVW

For use by: The Miz

Whose offence, try as they might, just doesn't really look like it hurts? The Miz is awesome in virtually every respect other than that rather crucial area. While athletic and clever, and capable of structuring a match very well, he never did command a main event aura because, reductively, he is so clearly more of a sports entertainer than a pro wrestler.

Adopting Charlie Haas' Haas Of Pain is a simple and direct route to credibility in that it requires relatively little of the man applying the hold to put it over as something visually sadistic. It is the recipient who must sell its gruesome effects by contorting their necks into an unnatural position, incurring searing spinal and abdomen pain, and the numbing effects of pretzel legs. The move, as sold by Miz's elite-level facial expressions, may yet convince those hold-outs that he is actually incapable of inflicting pain.

Since Miz failed to learn how to apply the Figure Four Leglock before using it on national television, perhaps he is best-served road-testing it on the house show circuit.

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!