Paid Members tiger_rick Posted March 31, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted March 31, 2020 Watching SummerSlam 1993. That Bret/Lawler finish is still genius. Bret wins decisively but they eventually reverse the decision when he won't let go of the sharpshooter which allows Lawler to claim a victory in the dirtiest manner without Bret looking anything but great. A superb decision. On the Bret "in the SummerSlam" theme, the finish to Bret/Taker in 1997 has to be up there with the best ones they've ever done. It seemed like they'd backed themselves into a corner with the stipulation but they booked around it beautifully with Bret gobbing at HBK and then Shawn smashing Taker with the chair and having to count the pin. It's brilliant. Can think of more but will save them. What are the best (or your favourite) finishes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WyattSheepMask Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 (edited) Definitely with you on that Summerslam 97 finish, just a shame that it transitioned Taker and Michaels into a new feud and cemented Michaels’ turn, but Bret didn’t have something as hot to go into. Can’t remember which PPV it’s from, might be one of the Battlegrounds, but the finish to Wade Barrett v Miz v Curtis Axel is great. Its from that period where Ric Flair had taken Miz under his wing and he was using the Figure Four as a finisher. Miz is the defending IC champion and he he slaps the submission on Barrett in the centre of the ring, so he’s got nowhere to go and on the verge of giving up. Axel slips into the ring and holds Barrett down for the pin. By the time Miz can do anything to prevent it, the match is over and Curtis Axel leaves with the belt Edited March 31, 2020 by WyattSheepMask Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members LaGoosh Posted March 31, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted March 31, 2020 My favourite is from Jushin Lyger vs Great Sasuke (no idea what show). Lyger spends the entire match battering him and just being a complete arrogant prick. Sasuke hits a few comeback moves, goes for a springboard but slips on the rope and stumbles to the mat. The Japanese fans burst out laughing at the blown spot, Lyger literally points and laughs and starts mock clapping him. Then Sasuke out of nowhere hits him with a hurricanrana into a pin, 123, and he's got the surprise win! The fans go BANANA. Lyger doesn't even know what happened and is in complete shock. The blown springboard is so well done even now I'm not 100% convinced it wasn't a work. Brilliant match with a genius surprise ending. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WyattSheepMask Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 2 minutes ago, LaGoosh said: My favourite is from Jushin Lyger vs Great Sasuke (no idea what show). Lyger spends the entire match battering him and just being a complete arrogant prick. Sasuke hits a few comeback moves, goes for a springboard but slips on the rope and stumbles to the mat. The Japanese fans burst out laughing at the blown spot, Lyger literally points and laughs and starts mock clapping him. Then Sasuke out of nowhere hits him with a hurricanrana into a pin, 123, and he's got the surprise win! The fans go BANANA. Lyger doesn't even know what happened and is in complete shock. The blown springboard is so well done even now I'm not 100% convinced it wasn't a work. Brilliant match with a genius surprise ending. Semi Final from the inaugural Super J Cup wasn’t it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperBacon Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 7 hours ago, tiger_rick said: On the Bret "in the SummerSlam" theme, the finish to Bret/Taker in 1997 has to be up there with the best ones they've ever done. It seemed like they'd backed themselves into a corner with the stipulation but they booked around it beautifully with Bret gobbing at HBK and then Shawn smashing Taker with the chair and having to count the pin. It's brilliant. Can think of more but will save them. What are the best (or your favourite) finishes? 100% agree with this, I think it might be my favourite finish of all time. Not only is it great booking, it's executed to perfection as well. I know we're talking professionals who probably rehearsed this a number of times, and it's just where they're standing etc, but everyone nails it. Shawns look to Bret before he counts the 3...FUCK YES!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted March 31, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted March 31, 2020 Bret’s aim with the spit is sniper-like as well. No wonder he was called the Hitman. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Fatty Facesitter Posted March 31, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted March 31, 2020 You could fill the thread with so many of Eddie's antics from 2003 onwards. A babyface winning via heel tactics, and yet somehow it worked brilliantly.  Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JakeRobertsParoleOfficer Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 Always loved the Bulldog vs Bret finish at SS AND Owens over Bret at WM. Both come out of nowhere and not telegraphed a mile off. Another guilty pleasure of mine is Warrior Vs Savage at WM7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members PunkStep Posted March 31, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted March 31, 2020 14 minutes ago, JakeRobertsParoleOfficer said: Always loved the Bulldog vs Bret finish at SS AND Owens over Bret at WM. I liked the Owen/Bret finish because at the time it looked like he got lucky, which is what you wanted from a clean finish with Bret going for the big one later. Disagree with the Bret/Bulldog finish, though. Even as a kid I wondered why Bulldog got a lucky win rather than using his big running powerslam. To protect Bret of course, who would then be catapulted into the WWF title picture straight after, but would it have mattered? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members gmoney Posted March 31, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted March 31, 2020 Hart vs Piper at Wrestlemania 8 is another excellent out of nowhere, unexpected finish. Bret was pretty great at them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WyattSheepMask Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 (edited) 45 minutes ago, PunkStep said: I liked the Owen/Bret finish because at the time it looked like he got lucky, which is what you wanted from a clean finish with Bret going for the big one later. Disagree with the Bret/Bulldog finish, though. Even as a kid I wondered why Bulldog got a lucky win rather than using his big running powerslam. To protect Bret of course, who would then be catapulted into the WWF title picture straight after, but would it have mattered? Seemed lucky to us fans and Vince put it across as such, but in actuality it shows off how well Owen knows Bret’s moves. It’s the finish that beat Bam Bam Bigelow at the previous years KOTR, but Owen has been wrestling Bret since they were kids so knew the counter to it. Edited March 31, 2020 by WyattSheepMask Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JakeRobertsParoleOfficer Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 Spot on, as soon as Bret was up there I remembered the KOTR against Bigelow and thought "it's over" so was shocked when Owen countered it for the surprise win! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Tommy! Posted March 31, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted March 31, 2020 2 hours ago, JakeRobertsParoleOfficer said: Owens over Bret at WM What makes that even better is that little moment at the close of the show as bret is held aloft when Owen walks out, shakes his head and mouths what about me. The fact Owen outsmarted / out wrestled bret to win and still plays second fiddle at the end of the night (especially in the face of bret winning because yokozuna is a clumsy oaf) makes an amazing foundation for the pair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeronimoJacksBeard Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 (edited) 2 hours ago, PunkStep said: I liked the Owen/Bret finish because at the time it looked like he got lucky, which is what you wanted from a clean finish with Bret going for the big one later. Disagree with the Bret/Bulldog finish, though. Even as a kid I wondered why Bulldog got a lucky win rather than using his big running powerslam. To protect Bret of course, who would then be catapulted into the WWF title picture straight after, but would it have mattered? Interesting that your take on both of those is that they are lucky victories. I think that's perhaps the conditioning of the past 20+ years of finisher heavy wrestling. If your're treating a wrestling match as a sporting contest where the goal is to pin your opponents shoulders to the mat for 3 seconds, neither Owen or Bulldog were lucky, they out-countered Bret with difficult to escape pinning moves. You could say they got lucky in that it's unlike Bret, the excellence of execution, a technical master to give his opponents any kind of opening and that either match could have gone the other way on any other day, but that's the story, few would know Bret and his ways better than these two.I  felt they were both perfect finishes that had everyone looking good coming out of it. But i do love a finish like that where it's different to your standard finishing move fare. Bret was the king of those kind of finishes (and finishes in general for me). The aforementioned Piper WM8, also loved how all 3 of his KOTR '93 victories were with pinfall counters, but different ones! Also his playing possum small package finish on Diesel. Even when it did come to his actual finisher though, he was a master there too with finding different, creative ways into the sharpshooter. Saw the thread title and came in to mention the SummerSlam '97 main event finish. Probably my favourite ever finish for the reasons already mentioned. A finish that actually pays off the story leading into the match, the whole match leads up to and creates further story developments coming out of it.  In a similar vein - big fan of the storyline heavy finish of Austin vs Kane, First Blood at KOTR '98. Another one that seemed like they'd booked themselves into a corner with all the added stips, but turned out to be a creative finish that made total sense with where they were going leading into SummerSlam. Everyone is thinking how can Kane bleed, when he's covered head to toe in attire, yet also how can Austin win and Kane set himself on fire!? And would they put the belt on Kane over Austin? There's hints and questions simmering as to whether Undertaker is in-cahoots with Kane. For the first time it's made to look as though he could well be, with more questions on that front coming out of the finish. Mankind has run-in to help Kane - noteworthy in itself that somehow the mad bastard is back out there for this spot after what he's just been through, something not often mentioned when talking about that night. Undertaker hates Mankind and obviously isn't pleased he didn't manage to kill him earlier, so comes out to finish him off. He's been half helping Austin/on his side over the past previous months, but there's brewing tensions there and Austin doesn't ever want help from anyone. Kane beat Undertaker for the title shot and that's where the in-cahoots murmurs soon started after. Austin and Undertaker seem to have common enemies, Austin doesn't trust anybody, but can he trust Undertaker? Or is Vince fueling these in-cahoots talks to fuck with them. Mankind comes out, Undertaker follows. Mankind is centre of the ring and Austin comes in with a chair to take care of him, at the very same time Undertaker comes in the other side of him with a chair of his own. They both swing for Mankind at the same time, Mankind ducks and Undertakers chair connects with Austins which then connects with his face and busts him wide, WIDE open as Austin has a hell of a blade job. Hebner sees the blood and calls it, Kane is your new champ and Austin is pissed, knowing he didn't lose fairly and that Undertaker cost him. Presented and all played well enough to not be completely clear if it was meant to be accidental or if it was Takers intention all along. The timing of everyone involved being spot on. Edited March 31, 2020 by GeronimoJacksBeard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members PunkStep Posted March 31, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted March 31, 2020 2 minutes ago, GeronimoJacksBeard said: Interesting that your take on both of those is that they are lucky victories. I was going by my thoughts at the time as a 9-10 year old. Even then if there was a clean finish, most of the time it was via a finishing move. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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