10 Transitional Wrestling Moves That Should Be Finishers

1. DDT

Ziggler DDT Neille
WWE

What else could be number one, but one of the greatest finishers of all-time?

Perfected by Jake The Snake, and later Arn Anderson, the DDT is the biggest offender of transition moves that should be finishers.

Maybe the most vocal supporter of the DDT being 'wasted' as a transitional move is Stone Cold Steve Austin. Austin has spoken at length on his podcast and in various interviews about how the DDT should be the end of the match, and he's absolutely right.

The premise of the move is to, from a front facelock, drive the opponent's head straight down into the ground. Think about that for a second.

Generally speaking, a blow to the head is much more debilitating than any impact to the torso, legs or arms. When it's being driven down to the mat (or worse, floor) with such force, the impact should be incredibly painful and certainly should be enough for a three count.

Just ask Ricky Steamboat how effective the move is, since he took a real DDT on the floor thanks to a Jake Roberts slip-up and was legitimately knocked out.

When spiking someone's head into the ground is not enough to win a match, the integrity of the entire show is compromised.

Contributor
Contributor

A former stuntman for Paramount Pictures, Matt enjoys sports, water skiing, driving fast, the beach, professional wrestling, technology, and scotch. At the same time, whenever possible. Having attended many famous (and infamous) shows including WrestleMania XV, In Your House: Mind Games, and the 1995 King of the Ring, Matt has been a lifelong professional sports and wrestling fan. Matt's been mentioned in numerous wrestling podcasts including the Steve Austin Show: Unleashed, Talk Is Jericho, and Something To Wrestle With Bruce Prichard. As a former countywide performer, Matt has been referred to as Mr. 300 for his amazing accomplishments in the world of amateur bowling. He is also the only man on record to have pitched back-to-back no hitters in the Veterans Stadium Wiffle Ball League of 2003.