8 Wrestling Finishing Moves You Could Do With One Hand
Punches, pokes, and chops - oh my! These finishers are simple but surprisingly deadly.
Over the decades there have been all sorts of different types of finishing moves.
There was a time when a roll-up or scoop slam would be a standard finishing move for a wrestling match. Nowadays, we expect each wrestler to have a unique, supercool manoeuvre that they use to vanquish their opponents.
They come in all shapes and forms, from bone-crunching slams and powerbombs to death defying moonsaults and intricate submission holds. They are devastating, spectacular, climactic and triumphant, and can only be performed by the most elite of athletes.
Others, however, are far simpler. And could be performed by anyone with one hand tied behind your back.
Yes, these are eight finishers that can be performed literally single-handedly. Now this list isn’t simply an index of every wrestler whose finisher is a variation on a punch (of which there are many!): there are crippling claws and lethal chops to contend with too. Many of these finishers have received flack for being a bit lame which is understandable, but performed by the right character with the right amount of pomp and pageantry, sometimes one hand is all it takes to bring down a mighty foe.
8. Fingerpoke Of Doom - Hulk Hogan
This is first entry is a bit of a cheat because, as we all know, Hulk Hogan’s finisher was a rubbish leg drop, not a rubbish fingerpoke - apart from on this one occasion on WCW’s Monday Nitro in 1999.
Yes it’s the dumbest moment in WCW’s long, dumb history, but in case you hadn’t heard about it, it was when Hogan beat Kevin Nash to become WCW Champion live in front of thousands with a single poke to the chest. Nash sold the poke like he’d been tasered and Hogan pinned him to win, before Nash got back up and had a good old chuckle with Hogan about it.
On the same night as this gubbins, Mankind was winning the WWF Championship from The Rock on Raw in a thrilling main event contest, thus signalling the turning of the Monday Night Wars tide from WCW to WWF.
Like I say, despite only making this single appearance, it managed to make a mockery out of the entire concept of finishing moves, so deserves a mention in this list.