Use Signatures!

[Radio GaGa]

I was watching Smackdown when it hit me - Why don't they use Signatures to win too? It's boring when you know how the match is going to end. And I'm not talking about the Five Knuckle Shuffle or the Boom Drop... But The Irish Curse Backbraker, Sidewalk Slam, Spear, JoMos backflippy thing are all moves who could end PPV matches and even more SMACK DOWN and RAW matches.

I want to hear your thoughts on signatures...+-

with doing this, you would also add more flash to the finisher... Have them win BIG matches with moves like this, maybe even after the finisher.... It's just some signatures are more powerful than the others. Let Kofi, Cena, Rey etc. have their finishers.

R-Truth's Axe kick would be a good ending as well... I think Booker finished some of his matches with just a powerful kick and not his finisher...

 

[ThatGuy99]

I agree with your thoughts on this. It would be nice to see them in different ways at least every now and then; that way, when those moves are performed and are kicked out of, it shows the "determination" of the opposing superstar.

 

[Mindshatter]

A sidewalk slam ending a match? Really? Really? Really?

It can work with some signatures, such as the Irish Curse, but with many of them it doesn't seem that realistic at all.

 

[SickJames]

I agree and it becomes too predictable using finishers all the time. Variety should have them be realistic, that each match shouldnt end with finishers and because wrestling is about unrealism at times it makes sense too. Let a guy win not just with roll ups and school boys or backslide pins and bridges, which are what they are there for, but regular moves as well as signature moves!

I'd love to see Cody Rhodes hit a Northern Lights Suplex Pin to win a match on Smackdown! it happens to be a favorite regular move of mine, or have Barrett beat a smaller guy after a Fallaway Slam, love that one too.

Why not have regular moves shock us with endings. When you see a finisher you get excited before the win, but if they did more varietal endings the exciting part is it really could end anytime anyway and you wouldnt wanna take your eyes off the screen or match live, that much more!

There needs to be more use of signature and trademark moves though specifically because that's what they're there for, to use as a prelude or as back up for a finisher as well.

I'm sick of it somehow being "less effective" because they arent his main finishers anymore, they are like finishers still I guess yeah they are but even still why is it they are only used as shock value kick out bits in Mania matches now

Now I could understand him not winning via Old School, my bad now THAT's a signature move, but even some older finishers arent being used properly like with Taker, even Jericho, when was the last time someone tapped to The Walls of Jericho?

And lastly, that's another thing, despite Daniel Bryan, in general, realistically, there arent enough tap outs, submission endings

But why not use them because they are special moves too, to end a bout. When's the last time Undertaker won via a ChokeSlam or Last Ride?

It needs to happen.

 

[ECWDanSelby]

This is a great idea, and very, very logical.

It's much better to have some lower carders jobbing to trademarks as oppose to Kurt Angle PPV syndrome, where we have multiple kickouts from finishers every fricken PPV.

Selby

 

[Teddy Irving]

Sheamus' Brouge kick was a signature for quite a while now it has become his finisher. That's the thing you have to realise when a signature move gets over more than the finisher it becomes the finisher.
When JoMo first won with the running knee I thought it was a great ending unexpected and realistic but then the next few matchs all ended the same way.
It would be great to see match's ended by moves that aren't the finisher but unless it's a small package or other pin like that i don't see it happening without said move becoming a finisher

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

This is a great idea, and very, very logical.

It's much better to have some lower carders jobbing to trademarks as oppose to Kurt Angle PPV syndrome, where we have multiple kickouts from finishers every fricken PPV.

Selby

lol last week on iMPACT Anderson kicked out of what looked like a top rope angle slam. Angle is such a shell of his former self it's kinda sad.

As for the topic. It's hard. It's a storytelling device. The reason you saw more guys winning on sigs back in the day is because there were more jobbers. Nobody wants to look weaker and who on the roster would you really beat with a sig? I mean, on the first Raw HBK beat Max Moon with a high angle backdrop but times were different. Shit back then you had jobber matches at WRESTLEMANIA. Now you don't ever see that unless it's like a monster destroying someone like Henry did on Smackdown.

In today's wrestling guys in on finishers and flash pins. It does make other spots more predictable, so I think when you compromise you should be careful.

First off, you can only do this on Raws. Second you can only do this when the difference in opponents kayfabe ability is a "rung" apart. As in, main eventers can do it to mid carders. Mid carders can do it to curtain jerkers. Also the guy doing it should be bigger than the other guy.

I think Cena's leg drop off the top would qualify as a move to finish guys like Otunga.

Another thing I've noticed is that while nobody wins with sig moves anymore, a lot of guys have multiple finishers. Which is something you didn't have back in the day. I don't mind having multiple finishers, but I think guys should have one kill move like Kobashi's burning hammer. A move he doesn't usually bust out unless he really needs to and really hates the guy and NOBODY ever kicks out of it (or shouldn't).

 

[Miz_Mark]

lol last week on iMPACT Anderson kicked out of what looked like a top rope angle slam.

It was not a top rope Angle Slam, it was a tope rope belly to back suplex. Taz made the same mistake you did, but Taz is an idiot.


On topic, I agree it would be nice to see more variety in finishes, and if signature moves at least occasionally ended a match, it would seem markedly less ridiculous when the announcers are surprised that someone kicks out of one of them.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

It was not a top rope Angle Slam, it was a tope rope belly to back suplex. Taz made the same mistake you did, but Taz is an idiot.

On topic, I agree it would be nice to see more variety in finishes, and if signature moves at least occasionally ended a match, it would seem markedly less ridiculous when the announcers are surprised that someone kicks out of one of them.

It doesn't matter. He hooked the one leg like he does for an angle slam and it looked enough like an angle slam that it could have been seen as an angle slam. Not only that but logically, he had him hooked for an angle slam (one leg) so why did he do a back suplex? Ring psychology ("he wants to win")fail. If Taz thought it was the angle slam, imagine how many people at home and live thought it was. It's why you DON'T do a bunch of moves similar to your finish. It makes your finish look weak. People are all over angle's dick coz they buy him as this technical wizard but he really fuckin sucks at structuring a match, he doesn't sell well unless his neck is bugging him, and he doesn't have a single legitimate finish that you buy the first time around.

Also back to the subject. I basically agree. I hate it when guys kill their finish. WWE is better about it than most companies, because they have agents and people like that to make sure of it. I don't even know how many "finishers" some Japanese or indy guys have. They have to continually invent new ones so people buy the finish.

 

[I_Am_Electro_Boy]

I don't know whether I agree or not. To me when a guy wins by his signature it either makes the signature look good or the other guy look week (which is never good for the company) and to me it's normally the other guy looking weak more than the signature looking good. But it does depend on the signature itself, Sheamus' Irish Curse would make the signature look good and not the other guy look bad. But that is one of few signatures that wouldn't make the other guy look weak. So overall it depends entirely on the signature itself and how it is preformed as to whether or not a signature should win a match.

 

[DD7]

I agree, it gets boring just with the same finisher everytime. Mabye alternate every match. The one move im tired of is the 619, its so bad it doesnt even look like it hurts. It's just, pathetic really.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

I agree, it gets boring just with the same finisher everytime. Mabye alternate every match. The one move im tired of is the 619, its so bad it doesnt even look like it hurts. It's just, pathetic really.

Are you suggesting that because you personally don't like a move that Rey stops using it? I mean, it's a move that gets a pop as soon as someone is set up for it. Not only that but there are a multitude of counters to it. It's a good move. The People's Elbow looked like shit but it was massively over.

I kinda agree with the guy who said sig moves typically make the other guy look weak.

The main complaint is that you don't buy a pin until you've seen a finisher. However, you also see wins on flash roll ups. If there's one thing Daniel Bryan did better (at least in ROH) than anyone else was build the climax. You don't just hit a finish then kickout. You counter the finish into other finish attempts and/or roll ups.

So one guy goes for his finish, it's countered into a signature move. That might be bought by the crowd because they just got all hot and bothered by the finish attempt. Later that guy goes for his finish, the other guy counters it into a flash roll up, which is reversed into another pin. Then he goes for his finish, but it's countered by the other guy into his submission finish, the guy reaches the ropes.

Shit like that. You can have a lot of great falsies without actually kicking out of a finish.

 

[Dayve Trayn]

Too right, stop ending all matches the same. It doesn't even REALLY have to be a signature move, just have a match end after a well timed and well executed double arm DDT. Or have Mysterio win with a top rope Frankensteiner rather than his extra lame 619, where by he doesn't even use the top rope to senton his opponent, he uses the top turnbuckle to splash them... What is that actually about? o.o

 

[Sub-Xero]

Has anyone else noticed that JoMo goes for the Moonlight Drive EVERY match, and has it countered? That was a pretty good finisher, impactful, asthetically pleasing. Also, the Flying Chuck and Beautiful Disaster are two subtlely different kicks that both look like they could end a match. Sehamus's Irish Curse and Miz's Reality Check are two former finishers that have been relegated to signature status, despite looking rather devastating.

 

[DD7]

Are you suggesting that because you personally don't like a move that Rey stops using it? I mean, it's a move that gets a pop as soon as someone is set up for it. Not only that but there are a multitude of counters to it. It's a good move. The People's Elbow looked like shit but it was massively over.

Not really, I was saying that its a load of shit how Rey can use such a bad move to take out people like Big show and other people it makes them look weak, it would be better if he tried something different

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

Not really, I was saying that its a load of shit how Rey can use such a bad move to take out people like Big show and other people it makes them look weak, it would be better if he tried something different

Well it's not like he's beating people with the 619, it's usually a set up move for a top rope/springboard move. I don't care how big Big Show is, both feet to the face twirling around would hurt if you ever did it in real life.

If anything the most contrived part of the 619 is the set up. Somehow Rey is the only guy that guys land like that on the ropes for.

 

[shitsngiggles]

Depends on the wrestler in question and the move itself.

Cena for example, the five knuckle shuffle is the biggest POS I have ever seen, along with the 619 nobody ever makes the "set-up" look realistic enough for it.

On the other hand, things like chokeslams, Orton's DDT through the ropes, Big kicks etc all look like they could end a match.

In fact when people get up from the Orton DDT it makes the product look pathetic and false (which it is, but it is still entertaining)

I'd love to see Orton DDT Rhodes, DiBiase or whover after he gets thrown out the ring, on his way back in Orton grabs him and sets him up then bang! hard DDT into the mat for the finish.

Or something like Cena Vs Whoever, they get up to the top rope, maybe a bit of a fist fight, Cena knocks them off and on the way back to their feet he launches off into the leg drop for the win.

It is getting to the point where what I would probably Hulk or Rock syndrome is setting in. Where they have to do the same boring sequence to win a match after being dominated for a long period.

The only thing keeping me watching is the storylines, they are still pretty good. The wrestling is getting poor though.

Edit: just wanted to add something....

I don't like Ziggles but his finisher I think is weaker than 95% of the other moves he does. He seems to put a lot of power into all his moves and they look really strong, then the finisher just looks weak.

Big Show with his knock out punch just makes me think "why didn't you do that about 10 minutes ago"

Alberto Del Rio tends to look like he has killed his opponent at some times then he has to finish with a arm bar.

I could probably go on but I will stop there.

 

[kaneso14]

I agree with those that say signatures shouldn't really end a match, unless it is against someone much lower down the card. They are good for coming up with a near fall and adding drama to a match. Have you seen how Orton always goes for a cover after his second rope DDT but I really can't remember the last time he ended a match with it. I think that Christian's spear is slowly becoming more of a signature than a finisher. The last few times he has used it his opponent (usually Orton) has kicked out, although I think he did pin lesser opponents with it a few times. However, it was rare to see someone kick out of Edge's spear unless it was against a main event level opponent and even then it was very rare.

I think it's great to see some guys adding another finisher to their arsenal. We saw Edge use the Killswitch on occasion when he needed to find that something extra to finish off his opponent. He also had the Edgeuction to make his opponents submit which really added some variety. The Undertaker has 4 potential finishers at his disposal. Orton has his RKO and punt kick, which IMO is one of the most devastating finishers going at the moment.

 

[The Future Rises]

Well they should do that if they were going against jobbers in a match that would make them look good. They can actually make the move look credible by ending a match without hurting the credibility of their opponents. I mean it happens sometimes like JoMo once beat Ziggler with his springboard spin kick and Sheamus with his running head kick. But I'm not a big fan of someone who's a midcarder - main eventer losing after being hit with a signature move. I think it just makes them look weak. I mean if it was after a distraction like the Ziggler/JoMo match I listed above that's fine I don't think it hurts anyone's credibility. But in the Sheamus/JoMo PPV match Sheamus really got buried with that finish. And it took months to start coming back from that burial.

 

[Radio GaGa]

and adding drama to a match.

Yes, they are as well as they should, but they don't add drama to the match, if we know that there won't be succesfull pin. Some guys don't even go for a cover after their signature... I'd really like to see Bryan and ADR use more different submissions that look like they're going to end the match, not just locking it in and then Cole says: "Del Rio is in complete control, Can [insert name here] make his way back into the match? We'll find out when RAW returns. And after the commercial you see the opponent bashing out of the hold, unless it's the LeBell lock or the armbar...

Heels could easily end matches with signatures and then hit finishers after the match, maybe hit 2-3 different signatures or from different angles... Creative, Get Creative!