In the theatrics of a wrestling match, every superstar needs a devastating finisher to put their opponents away. The Sharpshooter, The Tombstone, The Stunner; the list goes on and on. It’s an essential part of putting on a match. Wrestlers need to have good entrances to get the crowd on their feet and a good ending move that looks believable and gets the crowd back on their feet. Fans always remember great matches and great wrestlers, and their finishers are part of what makes any wrestler memorable.
Sometimes though, a finisher can look silly, nowhere near as devastating, or just plain weak. It’s just underneath guys either, even some of the top guys and girls have finishers that look like a fly would kick out let alone a fellow competitor. Here are The 5 Most Vicious Finishing Moves in WWE Today (& 5 That Just Look Weak).
10 Vicious - Curb Stomp
A good finishing maneuver is one that could be done on any opponent. It doesn’t get much easier to pull off on an enemy that Seth Rollins’ Curb Stomp. Besides it looking cool, if we’re supposed to suspend reality a little bit when we’re watching wrestling it’s easy to understand just how much your face getting smashed into the mat can hurt.
It’s also why the move got banned for a while (supposedly, Vince didn’t want to hear about some kid trying it on their friend). Not only does it look cool, but you can counter it in really cool ways too (re: RKO “outta nowhere!”).
9 Weak - The Rear View
Certainly, a lot of people wouldn’t mind getting hit with Naomi’s finisher, The Rear View. All kidding aside, it’s a silly looking move and how it’s been seldom countered is lot more ridiculous.
Naomi sends her opponent into the ropes, spins herself around and leaps into the air so her foes can get slammed into her derrière. In terms of believability, any opponent should be able to snatch her out of the air and slam her to the mat as a nasty counter.
8 Vicious - Helluva Kick
Critique The Critic Of The Critics all you want to, but a big running kick to the face in the turnbuckle is devastating no matter whose delivering it.
Sami Zayn developed a pretty decent following on the Indies and in NXT and on the main roster, he’s showing what he can do as a smarmy heel following Kevin Owens around. Whether he’s a heel or a babyface, The Helluva Kick is aptly named.
7 Weak - The Women’s Right / The Lightning Fist
Maybe in another time when wrestling rules were followed more closely, and the superstars actually didn’t always punch their opponents, a closed fist could be used as a suitable finisher. But that’s not in this time. Unless you’re The Big Show, a punch to the face shouldn’t necessarily be treated as a finisher.
Yet Lacey Evans and John Cena both use one as their big nasty finishing move. Cena even “charges” his Lightning Fist for even greater effect. If anyone’s ever been actually decked in the face, the move makes sense. But in wrestling were a punch doesn’t do much to an enemy, the move shouldn’t be used to end a match.
6 Vicious - RKO
Not only has the RKO been one of the most devastating moves of the past decade, but it’s been one of the most scintillating moves of the past thirty years! What began as a variation of Johnny Ace’s Ace Crusher morphed into the Stunner and the Diamond Cutter. From the Diamond Cutter came the RKO.
Randy Orton has found all kinds of inventive ways to truly make sure the move can be nailed from “outta nowhere,” and has made the move even more legendary than the predecessors.
5 Weak - The Bayley To Belly
It’s a belly-to-belly suplex. It didn’t look good when Shane Douglas did it and it doesn’t look good when Bayley does it. As far as character development goes, the Bayley-To-Belly Suplex is perfect for the leader of Hug Nation.
But it’s not even the most devastating suplex that’s out there. Nor is it the best move in the current Smackdown Women’s champ’s arsenal. The girl can pull off a reverse hurricanrana from the top, why is wasting her time with a hug suplex?
4 Vicious - The InSane Elbow
One of the brightest spots currently gestating on the main roster is the Pirate Princess, Kairi Sane. The former NXT Women’s Champion is currently on Smackdown Live as one half of the Kabuki Warriors with Asuka. As far as finishers go, the InSane Elbow is exactly what it is - it’s insane!
She doesn’t quite eat the distance that the Macho Man or his imitators would get. But that what makes her big elbow unique. She just plunges all 115 lbs of almost straight down into her opponent. For someone who delivers all sorts of forearm smashes in her matches, it’s a logical and majestic finisher.
3 Weak - Skull-Crushing Finale
In order to put an end to his opponents, the Miz has to more or less drive his own face into the mat alongside whoever he’s fighting, that’s a head-scratching finale, not a Skull-Crushing Finale.
Now that the fans are behind him, hopefully, he comes up with not only a more crowd-pleasing finisher but one that’s easier to apply to an opponent and one that looks far more debilitating.
2 Vicious - The 630 Senton
The One And Only Ricochet is currently enjoying a run as US Champion. Some of what he can do in the ring are just moves that no one else can do. That’s not hyperbole either, that’s a fact.
His finishing move is the definition of the term “high risk.” A beautiful 630-degree flip right using his opponent as a crash pad. If he lands safely, it’s an easy “W” for the aerial artist. If he misses it, the current US Champion won’t be US Champion for much longer.
1 Weak - The Big Ending
Big E is one of the biggest powerhouses in the business today. The guy could do just about anything he wants strength wise. But instead for a finishing move he chooses to use one of the weakest looking moves in the business today - The Big Ending.
Big E simply hoists his opponent up as if he’s going to deliver a scintillating power slam. But instead, he comes down on his own backside keeping his opponent in the air. They might get a little shocked from the jolt of Big E hitting the mat, but not enough to eat the 1-2-3.