6 Wrestling Finishers That Were Discovered By Accident

by Jamie Kennedy

1. The People's Elbow (The Rock)

The Rock Billy Gunn
WWE.com

Like all good finishing moves, The Rock's ridiculous People's Elbow was created only to try and make The Undertaker break character and giggle in front of a live crowd so used to seeing him act seriously. Even though Rocky's attempt to corpse the corpse didn't work, it inadvertently launched one of the Attitude Era's most memorable spots.

Triple H told BBC's Radio 1 last year that everything, from the slow removal of one elbow pad and the frantic hand gesturing to the criss-cross running and over-the-top impact, was part of the hijinks Rock would get up to on house shows. To everyone's immense surprise, the fans went bananas and accepted it.

The Rock never looked back.

Any non-wrestling fans flicking through channels who witnessed it would have viewed the move as silly. They were right, it was, and still is, but it remains an iconic visual to see Rock standing over a prone opponent ready to drop a rudimentary elbow across their chest. What a happy accident.

What other finishing moves do you know of that were created by accident? Let us know down in the comments section below!

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.