6 Wrestling Finishers That Have Never Been Kicked Out Of

The Big Ending (...is not on this list)

Razor's Edge
WWE.com

The fact that All Elite Wrestling is still relatively boxfresh in 2019 helps a list like this, but it speaks to just how rare the protected finisher is in general nowadays that most of the roster can't contribute their killer blows to the collection.

An online trawl on this very subject will produce Baron Corbin's name time and time again thanks to the success he's found with the End Of Days, but herein lies the problem with the finisher in modern wrestling - it's more about the hot finishing sequence than the hot finish. In Corbin's case, he's not really capable of either. The Lone Wolf may well have kept the backwards-falling face-slam free of fatalistic over-exposure via kickouts, but his matches are as crushingly ubiquitous as they are dull so that doesn't really matter anyway.

Conversely, Kenny Omega's One Winged Angel was preserved magnificently by New Japan Pro Wrestling, but even it boasts one thanks to Kota Ibushi's survival of it back in their DDT days. Even when things are protected in the present, it doesn't mean they've got a perfect past.

We always say this at WhatCulture.com, but please, really do leave your suggestions in the comments below of any others that could or should be here. The wrestlers and writers that have worked so hard to protect them deserve plaudits for finding such rarified air.

6. The Judas Effect

Razors Edge finisher
AEW

Now a title-winning move rather than just a preposterous character decision gone rogue, Chris Jericho's sensational deployment of his deadly spinning back elbow against Hangman Page during AEW's All Out main event positioned it as genuinely lethal whilst doing the same for his standing as the company's inaugural Champion.

Against Kenny Omega at Double Or Nothing, its potency was unknown - Jericho's all-over-the-map promo style in the last two years had worked against his attempts to elevate it before the contest. Was he being sarcastic, sardonic or actually serious about the ludicrous idea of such a move doing damage? Unknown, until he pulled the trigger.

Clumsily striking the 'Best Bout Machine' with what could have been the worst new finisher of the year, his follow-up against Page cemented it as the move to look out for amidst The Young Bucks half-killing themselves flying through tables and other wrestlers half his age doing twice the theoretical damage.

There's much to love about Jericho's latter years, but this latest gambit is one of his most admirable. Nobody should be kicking out of this for years.

In this post: 
Scott Hall
 
First Posted On: 
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