10 Wrestling Moves That Have Been Completely Ruined
What were now finishers have been reduced to nothing more than transitional moves.
To say wrestling is far different from what it was a few decades ago would be an understatement, specifically in terms of what we see in the ring.
With there being so much wrestling nowadays and almost all of it being so easily accessible by fans, it's difficult for competitors to innovate and break away from the rest of the pack. The modern wrestling style has also evolved with the times, rendering moves that were once utilized as finishers completely irrelevant.
Of course, a major part of the problem is how finishers are kicked out of so often nowadays. In certain situations, it can add to the excitement and suspense of a match. More often than not, however, that approach waters the moves down and causes them to not be taken seriously by fans.
The Fiend enduring nearly a dozen Curb Stomps from Seth Rollins last October at Hell and Cell and powering out of every one of them was egregious enough, but at least Rollins continues to use the Stomp to put his opponents down for the count. The same can not be said for finishers of the past that have since been reduced to transitional moves.
At the rapid rate the modern-day wrestling style is changing, the following 10 moves are doomed to forever be kicked out of at one, despite previously being regarded as match-end maneuvers years ago.
10. Swanton
Jeff Hardy popularized the Swanton Bomb during The Hardy Boyz' rise to superstardom in the late '90s, leaping off everything from turnbuckle posts to the top of entranceways. The high-risk move led him and his brother Matt to many tag team championships, so fans knew it was game over whenever he hit it.
The Charismatic Enigma started using the move at a time when aerial maneuvers weren't nearly as popular as they are today, which helped him stand out as a daredevil during the Attitude Era. It didn't look impactful every time due to him grazing his opponent with it instead of landing on them at full force, but it always made for a spectacular sight.
In 2020, the Swanton doesn't feel remotely special other than when Hardy performs it.
Nick Jackson, who bares a lot of similarities to Hardy as far as his in-ring work goes, hits the move on a regular basis but rarely uses it as a finisher. It's impressive whenever Kevin Owens does it as well, but it's never for anything more than a close two count.
A simple high-angle senton bomb isn't enough to wow audiences anymore.
Of course, it's far from the only high-flying move that has been ruined in recent years.