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My best finisher?


Carbomb

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The discussion about Rey Mysterio got me wondering about wrestlers who've changed up their finishers a lot over the years. Rey's had the West Coast Pop, Dropping The Dime, the Seated Senton, the splash, and he even upgraded the 619 from a finisher set-up to a full finish at one point. For me personally, the Dropping The Dime springboard legdrop looked best, but the West Coast Pop, whilst not looking massively painful or finishy, was rather spectacular.

Another one that comes to mind is the Big Show. He's had the Showstopper/chokeslam, the Final Cut (basically the Eye Of The Hurricane but with a faffy bodyslam set-up), the Alley-Oop, the Hog Lock, and the WMD. Can't speak for anyone else, but I think he should've just stuck with the chokeslam; it looks best on huge guys, and other than Khali, whose double-handed chokeslam looks great, they don't come much bigger than the Big Show. I sort of simultaneously love and hate the WMD - it makes absolute sense, a punch from a guy that size would kill, but I also hate it because I just end up thinking "well, he could do that any time, and instantly - why does he need a whole match to build up to it, and why does he need that set-up time?"

Edge was another. The Downward Spiral, then the Impaler/Edgecution, the Edgecator, then the Running Hug Of Doom. Odd that the shittest one became his established finish, when you take into account that there were several people doing vastly superior spears at the time - Rhyno's, Goldberg's, and Batista's versions all looked like they hurt much worse. For me, the Edgecution was a great finish, and I never understood why he seemed to be so determined to ditch everything in favour of the spear, which really didn't look good at all. I know finishers are all about how they're protected and sold for, but there's got to be some meeting halfway, no? They should look good too.

William Regal comes to mind, too. The Regal Stretch is certainly his definitive finish (although I understand he was asked to drop it because Cena was using the STF, which I don't get seeing as they don't look that much the same, and there'd been plenty of instances in the past of wrestlers in the same promotion using similar-but-different, or identical finishers), but he also used the Union Jack neckbreaker (the one where he wrapped the opponent's arm round his own neck), the double-arm powerbomb, the Power Of The Punch, and the knee trembler. Knee trembler looks great, but not so much a finish, and the double-arm powerbomb also looked great, but not the kind of finish someone like Regal would have - seems more a power move, rather than a technical/brawler one. For me, the Union Jack was brill, and I wish he'd continued using it.

 

Anybody else come to mind?

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53 minutes ago, Onyx2 said:

Going from a Million Dollar Dream to the Stunner was probably one of the best things Stone Cold ever did for his character. His spine, not so much.

Didn't Michael Hayes suggest it? Or am I making that up?

Kane's chokeslam always looked the tits (probably my favourite) and the way he sparingly used the tombstone made it feel like a big match when he hit it.

Love how AJ Styles has four finshers he's won matches with that are all over in their own right. Styles Clash, Springboard 450, Calf Crusher, Phenomenal forearm. Going back in time even the Spiral Tap (as much as I don't like the move) was over.

Then there's guys who could never get it right.

John Morrison: Various generic moves and then StarShip Pain which he never seemed to bloody land correctly and had a stupid name.

Shelton Benjamin - T-bone Suplex  was naff. Pay Dirt was Naff.

R Truth - Axe kick (shite) Front Suplex (shite) That weird spinning elbow thing he did for a bit (shite)

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1 minute ago, Wrasslin said:

Kane's chokeslam always looked the tits (probably my favourite) and the way he sparingly used the tombstone made it feel like a big match when he hit it.

Actually, that brings to mind the Undertaker. He had a fair few - Tombstone, Chokeslam, Last Ride, Hell's Gate, Taking Care Of Business. Obviously the Tombstone was his best, but I have to say I really like the Last Ride, and hope that someone else uses it again soon. The Hell's Gate is a great finish, but it really isn't a 'Taker finish. If he absolutely had to have a submission, the TCB is way better - looks like the kind of sub a guy that big would use.

1 minute ago, Wrasslin said:

John Morrison: Various generic moves and then StarShip Pain which he never seemed to bloody land correctly and had a stupid name.

I always preferred his Moonlight Drive (the flipping neckbreaker thing). Looked very cool, and kind of fitted the psychedelic gimmick as well.

1 minute ago, Wrasslin said:

R Truth - Axe kick (shite) Front Suplex (shite) That weird spinning elbow thing he did for a bit (shite)

He also had Pay Dirt - seems at one point they were giving it to as many black wrestlers as they could, 'cause I remember MVP using it too.

And if you go back far enough, as K-Kwik and (I think) as K-Krush/Ron "The Truth" Killings, he also had the Hat Rack Crack.

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11 minutes ago, Wrasslin said:

Didn't Michael Hayes suggest it? Or am I making that up?

Kane's chokeslam always looked the tits (probably my favourite) and the way he sparingly used the tombstone made it feel like a big match when he hit it.

Love how AJ Styles has four finshers he's won matches with that are all over in their own right. Styles Clash, Springboard 450, Calf Crusher, Phenomenal forearm. Going back in time even the Spiral Tap (as much as I don't like the move) was over.

Then there's guys who could never get it right.

John Morrison: Various generic moves and then StarShip Pain which he never seemed to bloody land correctly and had a stupid name.

Shelton Benjamin - T-bone Suplex  was naff. Pay Dirt was Naff.

R Truth - Axe kick (shite) Front Suplex (shite) That weird spinning elbow thing he did for a bit (shite)

Yeah, he and Jimmy Garvin were using the 911, which is basically the Ace Crusher, in '94 in WCW, the GWF and the AWF.

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5 minutes ago, The King of Old School said:

Remind me, which one was this? Was it that variation of a dragon sleeper that he sometimes used?

Yeah, the standing dragon sleeper. IIRC he originally busted that out for submission matches, but then I remember seeing him finish the Big Show with it too.

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I liked Hogan's evolution from winning big matches with a clothesline, to a leg drop, to a poke in the chest. That's a commitment to your craft that's rarely seen these days.

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Big Show's chokeslam where he drops to one knee is still the best version of a chokeslam I've seen. Every other finisher he had was shite, not including the Alleyoop which is so stupid it worked.

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58 minutes ago, Carbomb said:

Obviously the Tombstone was his best, but I have to say I really like the Last Ride, and hope that someone else uses it again soon. The Hell's Gate is a great finish, but it really isn't a 'Taker finish. If he absolutely had to have a submission, the TCB is way better - looks like the kind of sub a guy that big would use.

Aye. The Last Ride passed the playground test. Everyone was trying it when a Royal Rumble broke out.

Wasn't a big fan of Hell's Gate because of how sloppy it could be. I mean, I hate to be that type of MMA fan, but when it wasn't tight it always took me out of the moment. 'Taker got it over, though.

I hated Booker T's finishers. The Book End cheapened him in WCW, seeing as it was a shit Rock Bottom. His Scissor Kick always looked daft because he'd take forever prancing around after hitting the knee set-up, so his opponent would have to sell their gut for ages - I like to think Triple H taking so long to cover him was his way of getting those hours back.

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