10 Fascinating Facts About Famous Wrestling Finishers

4. How The Young Bucks Were Convinced Of The Meltzer Driver's Success

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The Young Bucks idly dreamt up a new finish as they overtook the independent scene as cocky meta provocateurs.

They wanted to lean heavily into their perception as outrageous spot monkeys with an apparent ability to co-opt the pro wrestling media. The new finish was an evolution of the Indytaker spike piledriver, and the Nick Jackson flip that powered the spike worked on two levels.

It was a genuinely impressive athletic feat, which Nick had to time perfectly, since he cold barely see where he was landing, and if it was unnecessary, that worked too. The Bucks actively wanted to piss off the people who thought that to generate buzz as agitators.

It was Nick's idea. Matt, hardly a purist, brushed the suggestion aside, balking at its ambition. Kazarian was interested in taking it, and volunteered to rehearse it ahead of night two of the 2014 PWG BOLA. When the Bucks nailed what became known as the Meltzer Driver first time, Ricochet, watching at ringside, yelled "Holy sh*t!"

The Bucks knew they'd created something iconic when an aerial artist of Ricochet's standing popped for it.

In an incidental note, the Indytaker was so named because that's what Chuck Taylor called Nick, a locker room leader of sorts who stood up to carny, withholding promoters.

 
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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!