In professional wrestling, finishing moves have been used for decades to bring a match to a conclusive end. They're an integral part of every wrestling match and the biggest weapon in a wrestler's arsenal. When a wrestler hits their opponent with their finisher, it usually signals the end of the match. Many finishers have become so popular that they're performed by countless wrestlers across various promotions.
That's because a lot of wrestlers try to follow in the footsteps of their favorite stars or they do it as a way to pay homage to them. Some finishing moves, however, have lost their spark due to being performed constantly by different people. Some of these finishers even ended up as regular moves. Here are the ten most commonly used finishers in wrestling.
10 The Spear
The spear was popularized by Bill Goldberg in WCW and Edge in WWE. Although Goldberg used it as a signature move, he made it look devastating and impactful. Today, the move is used as a finisher in WWE by Roman Reigns, Bobby Lashley, and Edge. Former Raw Women's Champion Charlotte Flair also performs the move during her matches.
Other WWE stars who used the spear in the past include The Big Show, Batista, and Rhyno. While most of these wrestlers made the move look painful when they did it, Edge was criticized for his execution of the spear. It looked like he was doing a running hug rather than a takedown tackle.
9 Chokeslam
The chokeslam is a move that has been performed by hundreds of wrestlers throughout the history of the wrestling business. The move is commonly used by larger wrestlers who are capable of lifting their opponents and slamming them down in a convincing fashion. The most notable superstars to perform the move as a finisher include Kane, Big Show, and The Undertaker.
The Great Khali also performed a move that was similar to the chokeslam called the Khali Bomb. The Hurricane also used the chokeslam despite not being a big man. Today, Braun Strowman and King Corbin use the move as a signature in WWE. Bobby Lashley and Lar Sullivan also used a move that is identical to the chokeslam.
8 Codebreaker
The codebreaker is a move that was made famous by former AEW Champion Chris Jericho. He uses it alongside his other finishers - the Walls of Jericho and Judas Effect. In WWE, Ricochet uses the codebreaker as his finisher, which he dubs The Recoil. Multi-time WWE Women's Champion Asuka uses the codebreaker as a signature move.
In AEW, FTR uses the Shatter Machine as their finisher, which consists of one of them lifting up a wrestler allowing the other one to execute them with a codebreaker. The codebreaker is also performed in other wrestling companies and independent promotions.
7 Canadian Destroyer
The Canadian Destroyer is mostly performed by wrestlers in AEW such as The Young Bucks, Dustin Rhodes, Pentagon Jr., and Rey Fenix. One of the most popular Canadian Destroyers was when Pentagon Jr. did the move on Matt Jackson from the ladder through the table in the ring at AEW All Out in 2019.
In WWE, Rey Mysterio scarcely performs the move while former NXT Champion Adam Cole uses it as his finisher in the black and gold brand which he calls the Panama Sunrise.
6 Sharpshooter
The sharpshooter is one of the most iconic moves in wrestling history. The move is synonymous with WWE Hall of Famer Bret "The Hitman" Hart, though it was also performed by his relatives. Other top stars who utilized the sharpshooter include The Rock and Sting, which the latter names the Scorpion Deathlock.
Two wrestlers currently use the sharpshooter as a finisher in WWE. The first one is Natalya and the second one is Cesaro. He began performing the move after forming a tag team with Tyson Kidd.
5 DDT
The DDT was innovated by WWE Hall of Famer Jake "The Snake" Roberts. Although it is mostly used as a common move in modern wrestling, there are several wrestlers who still perform the DDT, or a variation of the DDT, as their finisher.
Tommy Dreamer still uses it to gain the victory in his matches and so does Johnny Gargano. WWE Superstar Bobby Roode uses a DDT as his finisher as well while AEW's Jon Moxley does a variation of it which he calls the Paradigm Shift, previously known as Dirty Deeds. Sting uses the inverted DDT as his finisher called the Scorpion Deathdrop.
4 Running Kick
Wrestlers usually perform a kick on an incoming opponent or they create momentum by running and landing their boot in their opponent's face. Several superstars perform a running kick as a finisher in WWE.
The Scottish Warrior Drew McIntyre calls his version the Claymore Kick, Sami Zayn calls his one the Helluva Kick, and Sheamus calls his finisher the Brogue Kick, which is a bicycle kick. Although they all look different, they still have the same objective, and they all end matches, in most cases.
3 The Splash
The frog splash or top rope splash is one of the most used finishers in wrestling today. Wrestlers such as Jimmy Snuka, Eddie Guerrero, and Rob Van Dam are some of the most popular names to have performed a splash as their finisher. WWE star Rey Mysterio also uses it as a finisher after delivering the 619.
Montez Ford and Jimmy and Jey Uso also use it as their finishers while Mustafa Ali, Ricochet, and Pac perform modified versions of the splash. Other highflyers such as Seth Rollins and Kevin Owens use the splash as a signature.
2 Powerbomb
The powerbomb was made popular in WCW by Kevin Nash and in WWE by Batista (arguably). Although Razor Ramon did the Razor's Edge long before Batista joined WWE, The Animal still made it special. The Undertaker used an elevated powerbomb as his finishing move called the Last Ride.
Former Universal Champion Kevin Owens currently performs the pop-up powerbomb as his finisher, although he mainly uses the stunner. Seth Rollins performs a variation of the powerbomb called the buckle bomb while Sami Zayn does a spin-out powerbomb called the Blue Thunder Bomb.
1 The Superkick
Last, but not least, the superkick - one of the most overused special moves in today's wrestling. Shawn Michaels' Sweet Chin Music usually ended a match, and he only needed to do it once during a match. Today, however, the superkick is used as a setup for another move or simply as a plain move.
Tag teams such as The Young Bucks and The Usos are known for spamming lots of superkicks during their matches, although they never win it. There are currently three wrestlers who use the superkick as a finisher in WWE. Their names are Carmella, Dolph Ziggler, and Tamina Snuka.