10 Outstanding Wrestling Matches That Ended Without Finishers
Endings with a twist that weren't twist endings.
There's an art to any great finish, but it takes an artist to manage it without their finisher.
A less common phenomenon now (particularly in the tightly-branded WWE product of present day), awesome matches previously never needed the awesome sight of a wrestler landing their biggest move for the biggest possible pop. Yes, Hulk Hogan dropped just as many legs as Steve Austin did fools with the Stone Cold Stunner, but there was an era where a quality match allowed for a conclusion without the most obvious climax.
At some point, sequences of moves became integral parts of the package above the basic psychology of a match - if the audience didn't get them, it was as if they'd not been given the full value of their ticket. Ultimately, an over-reliance them as marketing tools in the Attitude Era resulted in an over-use ever since.
Earnest efforts are made - particularly on Wednesday nights - to turn the clock back, with the likes of Timothy Thatcher and Hangman Page using their differing styles and arsenals to beat guys with the reminder that winning is the primary point, not how you get it done. What's worth remembering is not just how these finishes looked, but how they sounded.
Every match in the below list ends with the crowd roaring their approval over the final bell. WWE - either side of the global b*stard - could do with that more than a catchy name for the latest take on a safely delivered suplex...
10. Bret Hart Vs Owen Hart (WWE WrestleMania X)
Bret Hart never even wanted to fight his brother, let alone make him scream for mercy in the Sharpshooter. Brilliantly, Owen was more than happy to wrench back with 'The Hitman's trademark hold during their epic WrestleMania X opener, but he'd unleash something else to score the victory.
Slapping it on to show he could as much as to try and win the match, 'The Rocket' couldn't seal the deal with the hold, providing what most presumed was hard evidence that he had no chance of toppling his sibling on the company's 'Grandest Stage'. It all played a part in the masterful subversion of expectations in the end.
Owen had proven himself almost as technically proficient as the 'Excellence Of Execution' as the pair raced to an exhausting conclusion laden with telling errors being made in the rush to victory. Bret stumbled first, going desperate with the victory roll that had won him the King Of The Ring. Owen put his weight atop it for the win, taking with it the confidence that he could do it again over their summer series.