Finishers that do..and ones that dont

[RatedRockstar]

Sorry if this has been posted recently, but on the good and bad set ups for finishers thread it got me thinking, what finishers do you like with a person and which ones dont you like. Now i dont mean oh that looks cool i like it, i mean does it go well with the superstar for example.
One i like:
-Edge's spear, the way he sets up for it shows the darker side of edge that we see when he plays mind games with an opponent (like kidnapping his dad) and it makes you go ohh shit here we go, then the connection at full speed makes it look like he could split the opponent in half, he also can hit it out of nowhere and itll still look good, which makes it like "oh edge waited for that hesitation to hit the spear, he is the ultimate opportunist" so basically this move makes him look opportunistic or crazy and full of adrenaline like he'll take out anything that stands in his way which fits edge perfectly.
One i hate:
-Miz's skull crushing finale, idk it doesnt work for him he stalks his opponent before hand and then does an unflashy move, im not a miz hater, but he is a guy who wants to be flashy and in your face so i think the reality check fit him more cuz he actually hit them in the face, he didnt hide behind them and trip them to fall forward like he does now, i just think he should do something thats more, cocky, flashy, and bam! in your face like his persona is.

So, what do you guys think?
Name some you like with guys (or girls) and ones you hate

 

[PedigreeTHE619Chokeslam]

Like you said, i love edges setup for the spear. I just love the way he gets into the corner and does his thing.

I hate Ortons. He just looks like a idiotic child poundung his fists on the mat, its just stupid.

 

[hatehabsforever]

I like the finishers which seem to come out of nowhere and therefore appear to be a little bit more realistic. Conversely, I tend to hate the finishers with the long, drawn out hooplah which may be great for getting the crowd wound up, but to me seem stupid.

For example, I hate the 5 knuckle shuffle (and I'm not even a Cena hater), the People's Elbow, "Ballin!" things like that. By the time the finisher is applied, the guy would be recovered.

I like the more sudden but effective finishers: Sweet Chin Music, the RKO/Stone Cold Stunner, hell even the Skull Crushing Finale.

I know we are supposed to escape from reality and enjoy the kayfabe nature of wrestling, but I still prefer it when there is a shred of reality still attached to it.

 

[MoizH28]

I like the ones that look like the legitimately hurt. Such as the Worlds Strongest Slam by henry or the Burning hammer by Tyler Reks.

I dislike Wasteland by Barrett I was hoping he would have a finisher that looked stronger but maybe it will grow on because I didnt like the AA at first either.

Honorable Mentions- I LOVED the Hass of Pain which was very simalar to the El paso Lasso Eddie applied. I also liked the Stretch Muffler (was menttioned by this name some smackdown video game) I believed it was called which was used by Brock Lesner and it was like a torture rack to the back of the leg.

 

[viper687]

I too am a fan of the quicker finishers, the one that catch an opponent off guard and give a match that "wow" factor. Or the moves that show off a superstars athletic ability
I Like: The Stunner, RKO, Sweet Chin Music, Rock Bottom, Air Bourne, 450 Splash, Starship Pain

The ones I don't like are the ones that don't seem to fit the character that a particular superstar is trying to portray.
-Skull Crushing Finale for example

 

[karaki123321]

I love impactful moves that look like they hurt and flash moves
like swgger bomb, futureshock, drew mcintyre ddt, 450, shooting star, sheamus brogue kick, spear

I hate moves that dont look like they hurt
FU, Lie detector, 619

 

[fenfool]

Some I like: I like the RKO because it can hit very suddenly, but I hate the setup where "he's hearing those voices!", and he does that head bobbing thing...basically, he does it better as a heel than as a face playing it up. Matt Morgan's Cryonic Kick looks legit like it will take someone's head off. The Olympic/Angle Slam looks like an impressive effort to perform, and a good amount of impact on the opponent.

Not my favorites: I like Starship Pain, BUT it kind of takes too long to set up, and doesn't work for me if he's in the main event mix. It seems to get to that level, you really need something that can just come from out of nowhere. In the same way, I never liked Rey's 619. It takes such a specific setup, and yet he manages to get his opponents to fall in just the right way every match...yet you almost never see anyone in any other match landing & staying in that setup. Jeff Hardy's Swanton...it seriously looks like he is one misjudgment away from being paralyzed for life. I have no idea how he's made it this far. Jeff Jarrett's "Stroke"/Miz's Skull Crushing Finale look like they could make a nice move, but not a finisher. AJ's Styles Clash...looks cool, but you see too easily how his legs take 100% of the impact. The saving grace is that being able to roll it into a pin just looks very cool. Heath Slater's finisher looks awful. David Otunga's isn't much better.

 

[CasualWatcher]

One thing I'm pretty sure of, is some guys need to change their finishers.

For example, I've always said JoMo's Starship Pain is a REALLY lame finisher. And what could go best for him? Superkick, for sure. Didn't they even say his was the "Nitro Blast"? And we all saw how HBK did a "handing down the sword" of sorts, taking a superkick from him, and he did it (OK, as a spoof, since he added the "band tuning" to it) on Trips in RAW #800 too... The Flash Kick and that running knee work well, so the superkick would simply be perfect. Especially because he can really pull it out of nowhere, but it's exploding as hell, pretty much like him.

As mentioned, Miz could drop the SCF for the Reality Check, or at least a frontal variation of the SCF... How about something like the Mic Check?

Del Río probably needs an "impact" finisher, too. Same with DBD, seeing his style, he'd need something besides the Labelle Lock.

And of course, minor guys with crappy finishers. Starting with Nexus, all of them have horrible finishers, except Gabriel and gingerhead... Crappy uranage, crappy senton, and a twisting neckbreaker when he should have a Perfect Plex, dammit. Or the already mentioned Lie Detector/spinning Bookend, for example.

Oh, and hopefully, I don't even need to comment on the Cobra.

 

[TheOrtonRevolution]

I like the ones that look like the legitimately hurt. Such as the Worlds Strongest Slam by henry or the Burning hammer by Tyler Reks.

I dislike Wasteland by Barrett I was hoping he would have a finisher that looked stronger but maybe it will grow on because I didnt like the AA at first either.

Honorable Mentions- I LOVED the Hass of Pain which was very simalar to the El paso Lasso Eddie applied. I also liked the Stretch Muffler (was menttioned by this name some smackdown video game) I believed it was called which was used by Brock Lesner and it was like a torture rack to the back of the leg.

The Stretch Muffler was named "Brock Lock" by Brock Lesnar.

Anyway, I honestly have to say I like flashy finishers. Starship Pain for example. The only thing I have to be critical about is how long it takes.
For some odd reason, I started doing fake Stunners/RKO's on my brother ( As in make the motion on him, but not dropping him an inch). It just seems cool to me. Also, submission moves are always my favorite such as Walls of Jericho, Liontamer, Figure Four, Texas Cloverleaf.

Finishers I don't like are ones that are WAYYYYY to simple. Like Alberto Del Rio's cross armbreaker, dropkicks, elbow drops, etc.

 

[Havik917]

I hate the Skull Crushing Finale. It just looks so terrible. I also don't like Husky Harris' senton, it looks weak.

Like someone said, I like moves that can happen out of nowhere like the RKO, Stunner, Sweet Chin Music or the Rock Bottom. I also like Reks' finisher, looks brutal.

 

[Cats Pajamas]

The Labelle Lock is the reason I finally decided to give Daniel Bryan a chance, I think as far as submission signatures go that's one of the finer ones. With Del Rio, however, I'd agree that the arm bar, even with the little diddy he throws in there, is a pretty uninspired finish to a match (MMA career or not, its boring).

That's the same issue I take with the Skull Crushing Finale. There isn't anything original about it. And that's a dumb name for a finisher.

As for a move that really worked, the Walls of Jericho come to mind. I like it a helluva lot better than the Codebreaker.

 

[Calderownz]

As previously mentioned, I enjoy finishers that happen within an instant. Any type of build up, needs to negate the fact that you can see it coming.

When Edge goes for the spear, for example, the fact that you can see it coming is negated by the fact that he has just as good a chance of missing it as he does of hitting it. However, something like The Miz's Skull Crushing Finale or John Cena's Attitude Adjustment, it simply takes too much time. It leaves the match looking far too anti-climactic.

Also, a move has to look like it tops the rest of the moves you could perform in a match. That's also why Cena's finisher leaves something to be desired, in my opinion.

Alberto del Rio's flipping arm-bar is a quality move because it involves the ability to slightly slam his opponent then wrench on the limb.

The RKO is also a great move that looks just as powerful as anything else Randy does in the ring, if not more impressive. Comes out of nowhere and is also safe and HARD to mess up.

That's also something that needs to be there. You want the move to look dangerous, but you want it to be as safe as possible. You also don't want so much chance to ruin the finish of a match.

A move like Starship Pain looks like a botch waiting to happen. If Morrison doesn't get one leg up high enough, he just ruins what could have been a great match. I almost saw that happening in his championship match with The Miz on Raw.

To me, the best finishers are moves like the RKO, the Stunner, the Spear, Rock Bottom, Sweet Chin Music. High-flying moves like the Eddie Guerrero or RVD Frog Splash are slightly different in the sense that it adds it's own drama, so it's harder to judge it with the same criteria.

The same goes for finishing maneuvers of the submission variety. Different set of circumstances, for the most part.

 

[daddyJ_t]

so many good finishers over the years, but id have to go with shamrock and angles anglelock as the best. boom out of nowhere and bam that damn fast to apply and obviously very painful and dang near immpossible to escape after the grapevine has been added to the leg.

 

[RKOx7]

I love the RKO, only because I dont really connect the setup to the RKO with the RKO itself anymore. Whenever he sets up with the fist pounding, the RKO never ever connects... It only happens unexpectedly. I also love the spear... and the brogue kick. Melina's Sunset Split is also one of my favorites.

I extremely dislike the Skull Crushing Finale, its just a face buster lol... I can get the same effect by tripping someone and having them fall flat on their face.

 

[CasualWatcher]

Melina's Sunset Split is also one of my favorites.

Oh, yeah, Divas... Besides that one, Layla pulled off a quite cool Diamond Dust a couple months ago, iirc, Gail Kim's Eat Defeat, and McCool's rolling heel hook (and the Faithbreaker, even if it reminds me of the Styles Clash each time). All others look either weak (French Kiss, for example, and Beth's Glamslam nowadays looks like she's too careful while dropping the opponent) or lame (those legdrop faceplants most of them do, like Melina or K2). If Divas are meant to be all flashy and showy, why not give them flashy/showy finishers as well?

Oh, and not mentioning the Sharpshooter, cause that always works. And I still have to see Kaitlyn's Flatliner, but I'm not expecting anything too good anyway.



PS. speaking of submissions, why does Jericho do a normal Boston crab when applying the Walls of Jericho? To make it look less devastating or easier to pull out of? Why didn't he use the old school Walls more often to finish matches? In the last few years, I think I only recall seeing him use it once on DBD as "punishment" during the first NXT, and perhaps once more. And tbh, I wish we saw more unconventional submission moves, like modified holds and whatnot. The classic Walls is an example, another could be the underarm guillotine Guida used on UFC 125, or the Dragon Sleeper/Bite of the Dragon.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

I agree with most of the posters here, and prefer a finishing move that looks like it legitimately hurts, like most piledrivers/powerbombs/DDTs etc, or one that can be hit by surprises, like the RKO and Stunner.

A personal favourite of mine was the sit down piledriver that Rikishi used to use, that looked devastating.

[YOUTUBE]cNzTZCCpPq4[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Alastor]

Besides quickfire finishers that provides a surprise whenever it connects, I kind of like finishers that requires a little effort to set up, like powerbombs or pedigree. It gives a window of opportunity for the opponent to counter the move. I dislike the finishers that look ridiculous or defy logic in why anyone would use it.

Favourites: Sweet Chin Music, Last Ride, Chokeslam, RKO, F5

Dislike: 619, Starship Pain, Skull crushing finale, R-truth's finisher (forgot the name)

 

[Find'er Woo'er Ryder]

Like everyone else i love to see "suprise" finishers or moves that you can hit out of no where like the rko and sweet chin music.

I also powerbombs, and i dont know why but my favorite is a swing bottome. Its just awesome looking to me. Also love the canadian destroyer

I hate the lie detector, starship pain, styles clash, chokeslam, and skull crushing finale

 

[paledarkhorse]

How come not one person has mentioned CM punk's GTS or the british bulldog's running powerslam when i was a kid that always looked like it would hurt. I am also a fan of when Orton hits it out of nowhere especially when it was against I think Even bourne coming off the top rope and he hit it BAM that was awesome and made me scream holy shit at my tv. The five knuckle shuffle is just ******ed its like he couldnt think of anything original so he decided to steal the people elbow and mixed it with Road Dog's shake rattle and roll i know its not his finisher but still. Starship pain and the swanton really do like if not landed correctly could hurt the person doing it or the person their landing on pretty badly.

 

[nightshifty]

That Do: Shooting Star Press- Looks really awesome and you really need talent to pull off a move like that; 3D- You always knew it was gonna happen and it never got old especially when the Dudleys did it to someone through a table; Clothesline from Hell- This just looked like it hurt really bad. JBL was a big man and for him to run full speed at someone and knock the crap out of them, it had to hurt.
That Don't: The Worm- Do I really need to explain myself; Starship Pain- I like JoMo, but I mean half the time his body doesn't even connect; The Ultimate Warriors Splash- I mean this move wasn't not even convincing, and with the whole him running back in forth bouncing off the ropes before his pathetic splash. Running splashes work for super heavyweights and thats it.

 

[psg15]

I think Wasteland is weak, its look to fake to actually hurt someone and Del Rio cross arm-breaker, he misses the execution half time when he goes for it.

I like shooting star press and Edge spear.

 

[That Don Guy]

I'm surprised there is a thread about "worst finishers" and nobody mentions Hulk Hogan's leg drop - especially when it comes right after his boot to the face (where he just holds his foot up to the height of the opponent's head and the opponent runs into it off the ropes and is knocked unconscious). Even HBK couldn't escape it. (Of course, that was probably because of Hogan's real killer finisher - the dreaded Creative Control Clause.)

-- Don

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

The moves I love...
The RKO- It's the most simplistic move in wrestling, but Orton using it is SICK. He gives it personality and deadliness. It completely fits his character, and I love watching him hit it when you don't see it coming.

Shooting Star Press/450 Splah/Starship Pain- Evan Bourne is crazy in the ring, and the SSP just completes his arsenal. The same goes for Justin Gabriel and his 450 Splash. I love that because he could hit it as a heel or as a face and it would fit him perfectly. As a heel it's like the final guiottine coming down after a Nexus attack. John Morrison's Starship Pain is also a perfect move, as it fits his "par-core" style.

Sideslam- Mason Ryan's "rock bottom" like move he used in his debut last night was sick. The Nexus finishers are inexplicably LAME, and I'm glad they finally got a powerhouse with a move that looks like it could deal some damage.

GlamSlam- Beth Phoenix is the diva powerhouse of the WWE (until Awesome Kong gets there) and her move is brutal! It's not a girly kick or a rollup, and it's an inverted powerbomb and it could legitimately knock somebody the hell OUT.

The moves I hate...
Wasteland- Wade Barrett is a monster of a man, but his finisher is just LAME.
World's Strongest Slam- Mark Henry, like Barrett is big. That's an understatement. But the slam just isn't exciting, and with a character as bland as Mark Henry, he really needs something to make me want to watch him.
Chokeslam- I'm going to get heat for this, as it's a classic. But the chokeslam could be SO easily maneuvered out of. And it only really works half the time, if the opponent is light enough to really get him up in the air.

 

[vermilion]

The moves I love...
The RKO- It's the most simplistic move in wrestling, but Orton using it is SICK. He gives it personality and deadliness. It completely fits his character, and I love watching him hit it when you don't see it coming.

Shooting Star Press/450 Splah/Starship Pain- Evan Bourne is crazy in the ring, and the SSP just completes his arsenal. The same goes for Justin Gabriel and his 450 Splash. I love that because he could hit it as a heel or as a face and it would fit him perfectly. As a heel it's like the final guiottine coming down after a Nexus attack. John Morrison's Starship Pain is also a perfect move, as it fits his "par-core" style.

Sideslam- Mason Ryan's "rock bottom" like move he used in his debut last night was sick. The Nexus finishers are inexplicably LAME, and I'm glad they finally got a powerhouse with a move that looks like it could deal some damage.

GlamSlam- Beth Phoenix is the diva powerhouse of the WWE (until Awesome Kong gets there) and her move is brutal! It's not a girly kick or a rollup, and it's an inverted powerbomb and it could legitimately knock somebody the hell OUT.

The moves I hate...
Wasteland- Wade Barrett is a monster of a man, but his finisher is just LAME.
World's Strongest Slam- Mark Henry, like Barrett is big. That's an understatement. But the slam just isn't exciting, and with a character as bland as Mark Henry, he really needs something to make me want to watch him.
Chokeslam- I'm going to get heat for this, as it's a classic. But the chokeslam could be SO easily maneuvered out of. And it only really works half the time, if the opponent is light enough to really get him up in the air.

I agree almost 100%. The Nexus finishers being lame is true. Husky is a badass, I love his look, decent in the ring but the running senton alone should not be his finisher. A good set up move but I'd make it a top rope senton or add a power finisher. I feel the exact same way about the moves you listed as bad (minus the chokeslam, it's whatever, just a bit overused). Wasteland is a fine move, but a bad finisher, same with Henry's slam.

I disagree with Starship Pain though. It looks very weak to me. It's a cool move, very athletic but he overshoots it by so much that it is hard to suspend belief that much. I don't mind his knee, but I think he needs to start hitting that from different places/situations. Perhaps one match it'll be a Shining Wizard, another it's springboard, etc.

 

[iamcountrymusic]

Cm Punks cobra clutch is a new favorite. Its something new and different.
I'm a big fan of moves that have an impact big enough to look like it would keep someone from getting up.
Swagger has a pretty powerful looking move. The Angle Slam. The killswitch looks like it could actually break your nose. Lethal combination. Billy Kidmans shooting star press amazed me as a kid.
Though I don't think Big Show's ko punch is all that great, its believeable that a fist the size of your face could knock you out.

But the ones I loathe are the ones that take more time to buildup than to actually do. 5 knuckle shuffle in particular. Plus the name sounds like he's going to give them a handjob.
Another example are when buildups should alert someone to a move coming, but don't (like HBK striking up the band).

Another bad: The moves that can only be pulled off at certain times, yet somehow the opportunity always comes up, such as the 619. Even as a kid it was hard to believe he was able to get every person he faced caught on the ropes.

Misc shitty moves: The backstabber, faith breaker, swanton bomb (it looks so routine now that you can tell he's going through the motions), bronco buster (if that counts), the hart attack, Wade Barret's. Trouble in paradise is just too generic.
Maryse's french kiss, Alicia Fox's scissor kick and any other divas move that looks like they learned it that afternoon. I know they probably did learn it day of but still.