10 Wrestlers With Better Signatures Than Finishers
7. Andrade
The finish:
The Hammerlock DDT is great, and it buries another tired narrative: the deadly spike of the DDT, provided a variation is delivered and protected well enough, remains an effective destructive weapon. Andrade's variation is that: he sets up a near-inescapable position and drills his opponents to the canvas with a thud so sickening in its velocity and angle that it allows for that oh-f*ck pause. Andrade appears to compress the spine so dangerously that it feels, every time, like the move has gone awry. It is a great, great finish, but Andrade is a great, great performer. He has something even more stunning in his locker.
The better signature:
Andrade has used the better signature as his kill-shot at times, but, through WWE's incessant f*ck finish mandate, he hasn't firmly established it. His spinning back elbow is a masterpiece of timing and precision. It's a fabled, out-of-nowhere finish to which there is no defence nor coming back. The feint kick deceives the opponent. They can't register what is coming next. What comes next is a lethal strike informed by Andrade's outstanding footwork and explosive stopping power. It is concussive trauma delivered at warp speed.