10 WWE Superstars Who Gambled On A Brand New Finisher

5. Dean Ambrose

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WWE.com

During his 2019 New Japan Pro Wrestling run, Jon Moxley donated his old Dirty Deeds finisher to the cause as a way to exorcise one of his final WWE demons.

His first match was, fortuitously enough, a United States Championship match with popular babyface Juice Robinson. The pair went to war, immediately establishing 'Mox' as a revived killer on the hunt as well as refining the reputation Robinson had carefully curated since leaving NXT several years earlier.

As the match reached its climax, Robinson kicked out of the old Dean Ambrose finisher, forcing Moxley to spike him with a devastating elevated version he'd renamed the Death Rider. It wasn't the first time he'd had to give it a rethink.

The original Dirty Deeds actually had more danger attached to it than the double-armed version the 'Lunatic Fringe' settled on. Driving somebody face first into the mat, the move was something of a reverse DDT before a change was requested from on high.

In hindsight, it was probably the right call - Ambrose looked sharp hitting the move quickly in comparison to his cumbersome killer of old, and his reframing of it in 2019 highlights an acute understanding of how to take something tired and shake it back to life.

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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