A professional wrestler is known for many things in & outside the ring, and one of the major attributes among those is his finishing maneuver. A superstar will look to make his finishing move look more impactful than the other moves he performs inside the ring, and it is still the reason the fans remember the legendary superstars.
The finishing moves of superstars like Stone Cold Steve Austin and the Undertaker are one of the main reasons why their legacies will live on forever. When a professional wrestler learns a new move, he should also learn how to escape or endure it. While many superstars have succeeded in doing that, here are ten instances when they got victimized with their own finishing moves.
10 10. Roman Reigns Succumbs To The Spear
Roman Reigns has defeated many superstars with his dominating finisher the Spear. While many superstars in the past have used the finisher before, Roman Reigns' Spear has a separate fanbase. He should have a fair idea on the amount of damage the move can inflict on its recipients, and he experienced it personally at the hands of one Mr. Bobby Lashley.
The two superstars locked horns at Extreme Rules 2018, and it was a test to prove which superstar's Spear inflicts the most damage. The former 4-time TNA champion overcame the Big Dog's challenge after nailing him with a Spear out of nowhere to pick up the win. Unfortunately for Lashley, the victory against Reigns remains his most significant win till date since his return as he fell down the card shortly after the match.
9 9. Bret Hart Makes Bob Backlund Say "I Quit" With The Chicken Wing
The first-ever “I Quit” match in the WWE took place at WrestleMania 11 between Bret Hart & Bob Backlund with Rowdy Roddy Piper as the special guest referee. It was one of the last matches Backlund competed in the WWE and let’s say that it didn’t go very well for the second longest-reigning WWE Champion in history.
Backlund tried to lock Bret Hart in his signature Crossface Chicken Wing submission, but the Canadian superstar reversed it and performed the same hold on Backlund to win the match. Backlund never said the words “I Quit” but made an unintelligible sound into the microphone and the referee Roddy Piper determined that he had submitted.
8 8. A Colossal Battle Of The Chokeslams
When we talk about the Chokeslam, the first two names that come to our mind are Kane & The Big Show. Both superstars have used the move to defeat the best wrestlers in the industry, including each other.
Big Show & Kane locked horns on the January 28, 2002 episode of Raw in a one-on-one match and both superstars looked to prove who had the most devastating Chokeslam. Big Show was the first to perform the move during the bout, but it was not enough to keep the Big Red Machine down for the pinfall. Kane proved that his version of the Chokeslam was better after nailing the world's largest athlete with the move to pick up the win.
7 7. Kurt Angle Taps Out To His Ankle Lock
Kurt Angle is arguably the toughest opponent Brock Lesnar has faced in his career. Their feud over the WWE Championship remains one of the greatest rivalries in the company till date. While Angle has made Lesnar tap out to his Ankle Lock on multiple occasions, he got a taste of his own medicine during the WWE Championship Iron Man match on the September 18, 2003 episode of SmackDown.
Lesnar defeated Angle with a final score of five to four where Lesnar got one fall by making the Olympic Gold Medalist tap out to the Ankle Lock. However, it wasn’t the only time Angle had tapped out to the Ankle Lock as Drew McIntyre made him submit to the move on the November 6, 2018, episode of Raw.
6 6. Hell In A Cell Spells Doom For The Undertaker
The Undertaker took on Shawn Michaels in the first-ever Hell in a Cell match at Badd Blood: In Your House on October 1997. The Undertaker looked to secure the win against HBK but instead witnessed the horrific sight of his demonic brother Kane tearing the cell door to enter the ring.
The Undertaker got startled at Kane's pyro, and the Big Red Machine nailed the Deadman with the Tombstone Piledriver announcing his arrival at the expense of his brother. HBK took advantage of Kane's attack and pinned the Undertaker to win the match.
5 5. The Montreal Screwjob
When we speak about stolen finishers, the conversation begins with the Montreal Screwjob. The infamous incident remains the most controversial moment in professional wrestling history, and no one can deny that fact.
Vince McMahon was worried about the fact that Bret Hart could leave for WCW while still being the WWF Champion. He insisted Hart to drop the title to Michaels at Survivor Series 1997, but the Canadian legend denied to job to HBK. Hart accepted to a disqualification finish to the match and offered to surrender or lose the title at a later date.
But Vince McMahon reconsidered the decision and went on with the Screwjob and had Michaels lock-in the Sharpshooter on Bret Hart and when Hart was reaching out to grab HBK's leg to break the hold, referee Earl Hebner called for the bell claiming that Hart had submitted to his own finishing move.
4 4. Seth Rollins RKO's Randy Orton
The RKO is one of the most iconic finishers in WWE history. Randy Orton has undergone many changes from being the Legend Killer to becoming the Viper, but the one thing that has remained common despite the changes is the RKO.
The three most destructive letters in sports entertainment came back to haunt the Viper during his WWE Championship steel cage match against Seth Rollins at Extreme Rules 2015. While everything looked in favor of Randy Orton to win the WWE Championship from Rollins, the Architect nailed Orton with an RKO out of nowhere. That was enough to keep Orton down until Rollins could escape the cage to win the match.
3 3. Yokozuna Lands a Leg Drop On Hulk Hogan
After his infamous victory over Yokozuna at WrestleMania 9 winning his 5th WWF Championship, Hulk Hogan defended his newly won title against the former champion at the first annual King of the Ring PPV on June 1993.
The match saw Yokozuna kick out of Hogan's running leg drop and at the final moments Hogan got blinded by a fireball shot by Harvey Wippleman disguised as a Japanese photographer. Yokozuna took advantage of a blinded Hulk Hogan and nailed him with his own finishing move the running leg drop to win back the WWF Championship.
2 2. The Undisputed Rock Bottom
Chris Jericho was becoming a major force in the Invasion storyline when he chose to stay on team WWF against the Alliance. However, there was a rift between him & his fellow WWF member the Rock. Jericho won the WCW Championship from the Rock at No Mercy 2001 but lost it back on the November 5, 2001 episode of Raw.
In what was arguably the best moment in Chris Jericho's pro-wrestling career, he became the first-ever undisputed WWF Champion when he defeated the Rock & Stone Cold Steve Austin in the same night at Vengeance, 2001. During his match against the Rock for the WCW Championship, Jericho took advantage of a distraction by Vince McMahon, he low-blowed the Rock and nailed him with the Rock Bottom to win the match.
1 1. The Birth Of The King Slayer
Seth Rollins started a feud with his former mentor Triple H in January 2017 after the latter cost him the Universal Championship during a fatal four-way match for the title on the August 29, 2016 episode of Raw.
Seth Rollins adopted Triple H's pedigree as his new finishing move after Vince McMahon banned him from using the Curb Stomp. When their match was made official for WrestleMania 33, the fans were excited to see which pedigree would prevail over the other.
After kicking out from Triple H's pedigree, Rollins nailed his version of the move on the King of Kings to pick up the win. The victory earned him the moniker as the King Slayer as he outplayed the Game with the move that he made famous.