10 Ways To Successfully Build A WWE Babyface

3. Establish A Good Finisher

Pop quiz time again: name three current finishing moves that a wrestler has yet to kick out of? Like many other aspects of building a successful good guy, a good finisher is an absolute must. Before strong babyfaces were an endangered species, moves like the Tombstone, Sharpshooter, Jackknife powerbomb, Running Powerslam, Doomsday Device, and DDT were among the biggest part of wrestlers' identities. Today, there are few true finishes which when executed once actually end the match, and it's not coincidence that there are equally few babyfaces. The shame of it is that some of the moves performed today look ten times more vicious than anything from past generations. It would be easy to sell any number of moves as a finish, but WWE chooses not to protect these moves. Ever since WrestleMania XV, kicking out of an opponent's finish has become an unofficial staple in "WWE Main Event" style and it's long past time to re-establish the finishing move. It's a huge part of a character's integrity, but if the agents and/or talents themselves are constantly directing kickouts of finishers, they are killing themselves. For example, seeing Neville's amazing Red Arrow delivered every Monday night diminishes its special effect, and a kickout after two just about kills the move altogether and for what? A throwaway match between two mid-carders spinning their wheels that no one will remember in two weeks? To illustrate how times have changed, look at the main event of SummerSlam '97, the first and only time in the WWF that somebody had broken out of Bret Hart's Sharpshooter. In his book, Bret said he respected The Undertaker so much that he wanted to give him that spot, and it worked because it was such a rare occurrence. Even though The Undertaker lost the title to Bret that night, he accomplished something no one had EVER done throughout Bret's entire six year run as a singles competitor to that point. It can be argued that, due to the rarity, that moment was as big as the match's finish, but moments like that don't happen anymore. A legit finisher used to carry so much weight and really helped create babyface stars that not resurrecting that element of pro-wrestling would be a sin.