10 WWE Finishers Leftover From Old Gimmicks

9. Bayley - Bayley To Belly

Bray Wyatt Fiend Sister Abigail
WWE.com

Bayley's 2019 heel turn came with a wholesale upgrade from a babyface gimmick WWE had horribly mishandled in the three years since she was called up.

When 'The Hugger' became 'The Role Model', she cut her hair, changed her gear, debuted a brand new theme and put a blade through the flailing bodies of the beloved Bayley Buddies. She also introduced a front-facing DDT to her arsenal, but it's yet to replace the impact of her original finisher.

The Bayley To Belly was rooted in the bones of the original version of her character. A dreamer with such a love for WWE and its Superstars that she'd rather hug her opponents than harm them, the suplex was a perfect union of both - the embrace quickly brought doom for her unsuspecting foes in a manner almost absolved her of the action.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett