10 Best Finishers In Wrestling Today
1. Kenny Omega: One-Winged Angel
Arguably the greatest wrestling finisher of all time, much less today, all criteria considered.
The set-up is deliberately convoluted. It isn't a move that can be struck from the fabled nowhere; Omega must strategically, systematically incapacitate his opponents with a violent neck-focused assault before even attempting it. It requires him to expose his head to his opponent in the first phase, and surrendering that body part, in this pervasive age of Strong Style, is foolish.
The One-Winged Angel demands an arduous tactical approach, which informs the awesome build of Omega's trademark epic, but it's not without purpose. The move is also the most effective weapon of mass destruction in the game. This is a rule, and there is a rule-proving exception: only one person has escaped it in Kota Ibushi.
Once Omega has weakened his opponent, to a point at which he can elevate them to his shoulders, there remains scope for escape. Legacy rival Okada used his defensive nous and agility to slip out of it; come August 31, 2019, Jon Moxley might rain down elbows on Omega's head to counter it.
But, once there's no coming back, there's no coming back: Omega drills them to the canvas in such a violent, fluid motion that it looks like a neck-breaker - but he's a master. Ultimately, it's a flat-back bump not without risk, but the mythology behind the finisher frames it as something more dangerous than even the lunatic finishers of 1990s AJPW.