10 WWE Superstars Who Gambled On A Brand New Finisher

6. Chris Jericho

Undertaker Dragon Sleeper
WWE.com

The wrestling Madonna has adjusted just about everything from his offering during a celebrated decades-long career, but the move to using the Codebreaker following his 2007 return was one of his lowkey smartest moves.

Flitting between the Walls Of Jericho and Lionsault (and very briefly the Breakdown) during his original WWE run, 'Y2J' had stuck with the big hitters he'd used before signing with WWE as safe choices for match-enders. They were believable, generated reactions and were well tied to his character - but that only enhanced the power of his brand new strike the second he unleashed it.

Just months after Jericho started dropping his opponents hard on his knees, he dropped just about everything else about his old gimmick. A year after coming back from obscurity, every part of his personality had changed, but the Codebreaker remained.

The knees-to-face look was a marginal improvement on Carlito's backstabber, particularly if the opponent was able to sell it as if their face, neck and head had all been compacted by the sheer impact. Until unleashing his Judas Effect backfist for All Elite Wrestling, it remained his calling card.

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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