10 Wrestlers With Better Signatures Than Finishers
In which some light sacrilege happens.
If there's one advantage to the toxic discourse that the creation of something good has formed (!), it's that AEW's mere existence at the forefront means other draining, ignorant, bad-faith dialogues have faded into view.
Mercifully, even the mutants who exist to make life that bit more annoying have limited energy with which to do that. They tire themselves out, bless 'em, and suck their thumbs in their 2006 DX jammies.
Since there are far more significant concerns to deal with now - such as Kenny Omega giving three minutes to an enhancement talent on a skeleton crew-helmed Dynamite - the "Finishers are dead" discourse no longer poisons wrestling media.
Finishers are great now; they are just protected with more nuance than they were in years gone by. Chris Jericho's Judas Effect and Kenny Omega's One-Winged Angel are 100% effective death blows. Cody is selective enough with his Cross Rhodes to an extent that fans still bite on it, which is very much the point. Keith Lee's Big Bang Catastrophe is the assured end of a match. Jon Moxley just needs to elevate the Paradigm Shift a few more gruesome degrees to get it done by the finish against stronger opponents.
But there are some that need replacing...
10. The Fiend
The finisher:
The Mandible Claw took on a lift of its own after an incredibly optimistic angle in which it was passed down from Mick Foley to the Fiend last year. Now that the Fiend has met the inevitable fate that greets every Bray Wyatt persona, it reeks of diminishment; the Fiend was meant to be WWE's New Nightmare of the 21st century, but exists now to remind you of a better and more terrifying performer of 20th century fame. It's pastiche. Sister Abigail is a wicked finish, and generally accepted as one that will convincingly end a match, but as if to prove that his genuine creativity lends itself to the wrong medium...
The better signature:
The Fiend used an in-character and unique move, the only new thing about what is a patched-up act, on his reintroduction at SummerSlam last year. It made no sense in its placement, and won't make much more as a finish, but it looked cool and disassociated fans from the old, stigmatised Wyatt. The neck snap with which he dropped Finn Bálor drew shocked gasps - it was, for all intents and purposes, an internal decapitation - but it wasn't the finish, somehow. It's pure schlock, but it's different schlock.