15 Greatest Match Finishes In Modern Wrestling History

5. Jon Moxley Vs. Mr. Brodie Lee - AEW Double Or Nothing 2020

Brodie Lee
Lee South/AEW

The WrestleMania 13 finish was almost too good. Bret Hart and Steve Austin perfected the innovation.

You have to earn that finish. Nothing more than the fight of a pro wrestler's life will allow it to resonate. When you watch Steve Austin locked in the Sharpshooter, even in 2025, you believe it to be real. The spell he cast was phenomenal. The anguish on his blood-drenched face is too palpable for it not to feel like pro wrestling is real in the moment. Nostalgia is an illusion a lot of the time. Wrestling didn't look more realistic when you were little. That finish actually does. 

Jon Moxley and Mr. Brodie Lee subverted that finish magnificently at Double Or Nothing 2020. They had the ingenious idea to fuse two classic '90s finishes together, to the effect that one informed the other: after a stiff and dangerous bomb-exchange of a match, Moxley, à la ECW Heat Wave '98, spiked Lee through the ramp with the Paradigm Shift. This looked disgusting because the point of impact was so well-obscured. All you could see of the wreckage was the thick wooden frames holding what was left of the set-up together. 

Brodie seemed done for, particularly this was a terrifying special variation of a heavily protected finish - but in a great twist, he wasn't. He surfaced, dazed but not down, in a tremendous jump scare. Mox didn't express shock nor panic. He didn't sell the scene for dramatic effect because it was too important to destroy this monster for good.

Mox instead violently and rapidly assaulted Brodie because that is exponentially more effective than acting.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!