10 Great WWE Finishers Used By Less-Than-Great Wrestlers
Sometimes a cherry on top can help to mask a particularly bland cake.
Finishing moves are the coolest, right? We all love the construction of a wrestling match, from the feeling-out process that begins proceedings through to the bad guy putting a beating onto the hero, before our hero makes his heroic comeback to the adoring cheers of the crowd. Truth be told, what we really love are finishing moves.
There's a reason there are countless videos on YouTube showcasing the best and worst finishing moves in wrestling. Heck, a good or bad finisher can be the kick over the hilltop an individual needs or the major obstacle stopping them from getting there. With iconic wrestlers come iconic finishers - Hello to you, the Stone Cold Stunner and Sweet Chin Music.
Every now and then, however, a less-than-stellar wrestler will come along with a finisher that blows everything else in their moveset out of the water. It can seem unnaturally impressive, in a way. Many individuals will spend an entire match utilising punches, kicks and rest holds, only to bust out a goddam rope-assisted stunner to finish off their opponent.
So here are 10 slightly less than wonderful wrestlers who had glorious finishing moves. There will be some disagreement over the wrestlers included for sure, but we can all agree that these 10 finishing moves were excellent.
If nothing else, at least I get to talk about The Ascension again...
10. Bad News Brown - Ghetto Blaster
The 1980s was not a time of great unique finishing moves. It was all slow submissions and simple impact moves, a product of a time where aesthetic was more important than actual wrestling ability.
Bad News Brown was a true anomaly at this time, in character presentation, booking and finishing moves.
Former Judo champion Brown was a bad guy tweener in a time of good vs. evil, but even his finishing move was something of a contradiction. Brown didn't exactly blow anyone between the ropes, working a slow, measured style that more often than not ended in double countouts and the like.
When he did pick up wins, he did so via a standing enzuigiri that was flashier than anything going at the time. Brown was a fabulous character that was pretty boring in the ring, but his finisher was exciting as heck for its day. Great name, too.