Finishing moves have come a long way over the past few decades. Bruno Sammartino's bearhug, Ultimate Warrior's running splash and even Jake Roberts' DDT simply won't cut it anymore. These match ending moves have evolved to become flashier, look more devastating, and often require an incredible amount of strength and athleticism to pull off. It wasn't that long ago that you didn't even need a finishing move to get over. Now, it's imperative. They are an integral part of the current professional wrestling scene, just like theme music. But who has the best one? It's a tough call, but that's what we're here to find out. The finishing moves listed here are ranked on a variety of factors: How cool they look, how legitimately painful they appear to be, the surprise factor, the big situations which they've been used, and the crowd's reaction to them. For example: Hulk Hogan's Guillotine Legdrop may not have had a lot of flash, but the crowd went absolutely bonkers for it. Some wrestlers, like John Cena, occasionally defeat their opponents with more than one finisher, and those are listed here as well. Moves like Roman Reigns' Superman Punch, or Dolph Ziggler's Famouser rarely succeed in putting someone away for a three count, so they are not counted. There are also small number of wrestlers like Damien Sandow, and Enzo Amore who haven't settled on a definitive finisher so they have been left off. And besides, a few exceptions (such as extreme part-timers like The Rock and HHH), every single WWE male superstar, Diva, and NXT talent is ranked here. Now, it's time to finish this once and for all, and settle the score on who has the supreme finishing move among all finishers in WWE!
92. Naomi: The Rear View
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3TNODcw5Xs Yep, the dumbest finishing move in the entire WWE is Naomi's Rear View. After all, it comes down to somebody jumping into the air and you running into their butt and getting knocked out. It would be one thing if that butt belonged to Yokozuna or King Kong Bundy, but Naomi? The only points she gets for her back-sided match-ender is that it takes some coordination to pull off, as well as a little timing. Other than that? Yep. Just a butt to the face.
91. Hornswoggle: Tadpole Splash
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vjYJ4JhCVs It's been a long time since we've seen Hornswoggle use the Tadpole Splash to win a match, but that's because he's largely left off TV these days. It's doubtful that he's picked up a Jackknife Powerbomb as his finisher in his time off. Still, he has a surprisingly good win/loss record when he does compete, and somehow his opponents are unable to kick out of the vicious Tadpole Splash. Let's give Horny credit by jumping off the top rope, but the results are...well, a little underwhelming (no pun intended). For some reason, it just doesn't seem quite as painful as an aerial move performed by an RVD or Eddie Guerrero. It's basically a joke move that quit being funny years ago (if it was ever even funny in the first place).
90. The Big Show: WMD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmOkYLGxfqs The third dumbest, most ridiculous finishing move going in WWE today is a simple punch to the face. It doesn't matter that it belongs to The Big Show. It's still a punch. Why did he change finsihers in the first place? His chokeslam is a far more impressive visual, due to his size, yet he goes with a move that anyone on the roster can do at any time. Watch an old Big Show match, and the man threw dozens of face punches in every fight. Now, he has to rely on gut punches to save the W.M.D. for the finisher. It looks ridiculous, and defies any sort of logic. Why doesn't he just hit his opponent with a punch to the face all the time? He'd win every match in like five seconds!
89. King Barrett: The Royal Bullhammer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8QZKFNQRdo Much like The Big Show, this move stinks, because you could do it at virtually any time! Why bother with punches Barrett? Just throw elbows! The only way this move feels somewhat like a finisher is that he often "warms" up to it, letting you know it's coming. You have to wonder why his elbow smash is somehow more devastating than everyone else's on the roster. It's not like he's Lex Luger and has a steel plate in there! Another annoying aspect of the move (thought not exactly Barrett's fault) is JBL yelling "The Royal Bullhammer!" as if it's the greatest thing he'd ever seen. Barrett used to use The Wasteland, which wasn't amazing by any means, but was better than a simple elbow to the face.
88. Mojo Rawley: The Hyper Drive
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQu1HG03jg0 Mojo Rawley is an annoying wrestler with an equally annoying finishing move! Okay, so even if his constant spastic energy doesn't bug you, hopefully you still find The Hyper Drive pretty lame at the very least. For someone that looks pretty muscular, you'd think Rawley could do some sort of slam to beat his opponents. Instead, he jumps on your chest, like something your little nephew would do. Now, sure, in reality this large man landing on you would certainly hurt, but it's not like he's the size of Viscera or Bam Bam Bigelow where it would be impossible to kick out. Maybe he should spend some of that energy coming up with a new finisher.
As Rust Cohle from True Detective said "Life's barely long enough to get good at one thing. So be careful what you're good at."
Sadly, I can't solve a murder like Rust...or change a tire, or even tie a tie. But I do know all the lyrics to Hulk Hogan's "Real American" theme song and can easily name every Natural Born Thriller from the dying days of WCW. I was once ranked 21st in the United States in Tetris...on the Playstation 3 version...for about a week.
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