10 Unlikely Origins Of Wrestling Finishers

3. Drew McIntyre Invents The Claymore By Accident

John Laurinaitis Randy Orton RKO
WWE.com

The Claymore Kick is the most over finisher in WWE.

Rarely kicked out of - it is established as all-the-way-over, since Goldberg threw up his shoulder to much shock at the Royal Rumble - it looks and more importantly feels killer. A shredded warrior hoss lunging into a kick with velocity, after its finality was established with a cute 3-2-1 call-and-response, a great-looking finish has been built and preserved in an era in which near-fall excess has crept into every company - great, good and atrocious. Since WWE so often falls into the latter category, it's to their immense credit that Drew McIntyre has been promoted as brilliantly as he has.

And it all started when McIntyre Shockmastered a big boot by falling on his f*cking a*se.

As revealed on the 3MB Table For Three episode, McIntyre modified a big boot in fear of tearing his skin-tight leather pants and exposing his a*se to the world. Restricted in his movement, he had to fly into the move. It got a reaction - the audience interpreted it as a deliberate high spot variation on the the classic big lad staple - and so he kept doing it.

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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!