Most Dangerous WWE Finishers

The key to a great wrestling match is to appear like you are devastating your opponent while not actually injuring your co-worker. Yet, all moves present danger to a professional and any move could lead to potential harm. WWE works on creating a safe show for all of its talent. Still, as in any profession, talent will always push the limits, and always want to demonstrate the greatest potential match. The ending of a match is crucial to its success. The best matches in WWE end after a wrestler hits their finishing move(s). With that presentation, WWE superstars will at times attempt some very high-end dangerous moves. At times, a finisher delivered wrong can lead to serious injury.

WWE has even outlawed finishers that seem to be too dangerous for their talent. These moves can go wrong with the slightest miscalculation. The danger is why WWE always advertises “don’t try this at home”. Even highly trained athletes can find themselves in danger. Therefore, the casual WWE fan should avoid trying these dangerous finishers at all costs.

UPDATE: 2024/05/07 14:30 EST BY BENJAMIN VIEIRA

A great finishing move can be a true thing of beauty in professional wrestling. Oftentimes, it symbolizes that the end of the match is coming, and that fans are about to witness such a tremendous move that will lock in the win for them. However, not all finishers are as safe as others. While they may look impressive, the slightest inaccuracy in a move can cause terrible damage to the person at the receiving end. They can lead to significant injury, or even the end of a career for someone. But, that is where trust comes in between two wrestlers to do the move safely and to make sure that no one gets hurt. Still, anything can happen when it comes to doing some of these dangerous moves in the ring.

13 The Sol Snatcher Is Used By An NXT Star

Sol Ruca Has Made The Move Famous

• Ruca has been signed to NXT since 2022.
• She is a former gymnast.
• It is based on the Shaposhnikova.

The Sol Snatcher is one of the most awe-inspiring moves in WWE today. The finisher is used by NXT talent Sol Ruca. The Sol Snatcher is a front flipping ace cutter that can only be performed by the most athletic professional wrestlers. The former competitive gymnast, Ruca’s athleticism allows her to perform the move. The move puts Ruca in more danger than her opponents. Ruca compares the move to the gymnastic skill Shaposhnikova, and before being injured was helping Ruca rise up the NXT ladder.

12 The Swanton Bomb Is Awe-Inspiring

Jeff Hardy Made The Move Famous

• Many professional wrestlers have adopted the Swanton Bomb.
• Jeff Hardy has used it as his finisher for decades.
• SmackDown’s Tiffany Stratton has also bee utilizing the move.

Jeff Hardy’s Swanton Bomb is a thing of beauty. Hardy has used the move to captivate audiences and win matches for the majority of his career. Yet, the move is dangerous for both Hardy and his opponents. Hardy made it a habit of Swantoning in the most risky spots imaginable.

In today’s WWE, Tiffany Stratton uses the Swanton as a set-up to her finisher. Stratton’s version is just as dangerous and just as death-defying as Hardy’s. The splash into a flip aerial assault is one of the most dangerous moves in WWE history.

11 The Jackknife Powerbomb Won Kevin Nash A WWE Title

It Is A Twist On A Powerbomb

• Kevin Nash put his own twist on the classic powerbomb.
• He lets go of his opponents midair.
• Bret Hart called it “brutal.”

Kevin Nash used the Jackknife Powerbomb throughout his WWE career. When Nash won the WWE World Championship in a squash match against Bob Backlund. After the match, Backlund proclaimed he would never take the dangerous move again, because Nash let go of his opponents midair and allowed them to drop straight to the mat. Nash’s carefree drop on the Powerbomb labeled it as dangerous in the ring. Bret Hart even described the bump of the move as brutal in his autobiography Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling.

That label did not limit Nash in becoming a two-time WWE Hall of Famer.

10 The Stomp Was Banned For A While

It Was Introduced In 1999

• Seth Rollins is the most popular user of The Stomp.
• It is a vicious looking move.
• The move has also been used by Chelsea Green, Super Dragon, and Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D.

Seth Rollins is the master of The Stomp finisher in WWE. The move was introduced to the wrestling world in 1999 by British wrestler Jame Harrison. The Stomp is delivered by Rollins stomping a kneeling opponent’s face to the mat with his foot.

The Stomp leaves a vicious visual in the minds of the audience. The move was so dangerous WWE even banned it for a while before bringing it back. Rollins hitting The Stomp means lights out to his opponents.

9 The Punt Is Another Brutal Move By Randy Orton

It’s A Direct Kick To The Head

• WWE banned Orton from using the move for years.
• It has made rare appearances over the years.

Randy Orton’s RKO out of nowhere is one of the most devastating finishers in professional wrestling. Yet, when Orton wants to leave a lasting impression he uses the Punt as a finisher. The Punt is literally a kick to the head of a downed opponent. Randy Orton’s vicious punt has been felt by Shawn Michaels, Edge, Big Show, Vince McMahon, and many other top superstars.

The Punt was banned from WWE for several years due to the severity of the move. With so much of sports being concerned with concussions, a kick to the head seems very counterproductive.

8 The Pedigree Has Been Made Famous By Triple H

A Number Of Other Wrestlers Have Used It Over The Years

• It is one of the most famous finishers of all-time.
• The move has won Triple H numerous titles over the years.
• Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins have adopted the move.

Triple H has made the Pedigree one of the most famous and effective finishing maneuvers in professional wrestling. Essentially the Pedigree is a double under hook face buster. The actual move dates back to the early 1980s, well before Triple H would make the move famous. While the “Cerebral Assassin” has won many championships with the Pedigree, the move itself has evolved.

Originally, Triple H would hold the double under hook on throughout the entirety of the move. In recent times, the under hook is released before the facebuster is finished. The original version was most assuredly more dangerous, but no matter the version of the Pedigree, it packs a punch.

7 The Muscle Buster Ended A Career

It Is Utlized By Samoa Joe

• Samoa Joe has been using the muscle buster for years.
• Tyson Kidd had to retire from professional wrestling after he sustained a spinal cord injury from the move.
• Samoa Joe has continued to use the move in AEW.

Samoa Joe’s Muscle Buster is one of the most dangerous moves in professional wrestling. Joe’s Muscle Buster is a classic move in his arsenal. Taking the opponent and hooking their legs, lifting their opponent, and tucking their heads side by side. Joe then drops to the floor, crushing the opponent’s head against his shoulder once he crashes into the mat.

In a dark match, before Joe’s in-ring debut, he would hit the move on Tyson Kidd. After the crash to the mat, Joe got the 3-count. Unfortunately, for Tyson Kidd, he would suffer a spinal cord injury that ended his career.

6 The Styles Clash Leaves Little Room For Error

It Looks Painful

• The move is named for AJ Styles.
• Michelle McCool also used the move.
• Yoshi Tatsu broke his neck taking the move.

The Styles Clash is one of the most visually devastating moves in all of professional wrestling. Made famous by the move’s namesake, AJ Styles, Michelle McCool would be the first to deliver a Styles Clash in WWE. McCool’s version was titled Faithbreaker. The Styles Clash involved lifting your opponent upside down, trapping their arms with your legs and flat-lining them on the mat.

AJ Styles credits discovering the Styles Clash by watching his little brother botch a powerbomb on the trampoline. Styles has been performing a version of the clash since 1998. Wrestlers are taught on many moves to tuck their chin in, but that is a no-no with the Styles Clash. The move becomes much more dangerous if your chin is tucked. Styles is a true pro, so he almost always delivers the move safely, but it did break Yoshi Tatsu’s neck

5 The Moonsault Is A Great Looking Move

Countless People Use The Move

• The move was innovated in WWE by Lanny Poffo.
• The moonsault has been done on the ropes and standing.
• Hayabusa’s career ended due to a botched moonsault.

The Moonsault first appeared in WWE as a finisher with “Leaping’ Lanny Poffo as the gravity-defying “Leaping Backflip”. The move would grow in popularity and notoriety in the wrestling industry with the Great Muta. In modern WWE, Lita used a version of the Moonsault as an effective finisher. Essentially, the Moonsault is a backflip onto a standing or downed opponent.

In WWE today, performers backflip off of everything, the ring apron, the announcer’s table, and the crowd barricade have all been used to launch into a dangerous Moonsault . Many performers in WWE today do Moonsault, but none do the move better than Charlotte Flair. Yet, the move is very dangerous. Fabled Japanese wrestler, Hayabusa would end his career by losing his footing while performing a Moonsault.

4 The Shooting Star Press Is A Big Risk Move

It Is A Modified Moonsault

• The move is primarily done by high-flyers.
• Brock Lesnar has attempted the move.
• Ricochet has the best shooting star press going today.

In many ways, the shooting star press is a Moonsault on steroids. The talent starts by jumping up in the air, pulling their knees to their chest, and then backflipping. Ricochet is currently the standard-bearer of the shooting star press in WWE. Not many moves in wrestling look as majestic as the shooting star press.

While visually stimulating, the shooting star press is utterly death-defying. The entire WWE universe witnessed Brock Lesnar attempt a shooting star at WrestleMania 19. Lesnar botched the shooting star and gave himself a concussion, but it could have been much, much worse.

3 The Rocker Dropper Got WWE In Big Trouble

It Paralyzed Someone In The Ring

• Marty Jannetty invoated the move.
• Charles Austin was seriously injured by it.
• WWE had to give him $27 million dollars in a lawsuit.

The Rocker Dropper is a wrist lock into a “famouser”. Marty Jannetty of the high-flying Rockers invented the Rocker Dropper as a finisher for their tag team. The Dropper would lead to a huge lawsuit against WWE in the 1990s. Charles Austin was an enhancement talent performing for WWE in 1990. Austin only had 6 months of experience when he would get hit with the Rocker Dropper. Austin would only be paid $150 for his one-night appearance in WWE.

When Jannetty hit the inexperienced Austin with the Rocker Dropper, he did not take the move appropriately and found himself paralyzed in the middle of the ring. The lawsuit put over the former jobber and awarded him nearly $27 million. The Rocker Dropper is dangerous inside and outside the ring.

2 The Doomsday Device Is One Of Wrestling’s Best Tag Team Finishers

It Has Been Modified Over The Years

• The Road Warriors made the move famous.
• They were known as stiff workers.
• Wrestlers now go down to the mat, instead of standing like in the past to protect the person recieving the move.

The legendary Road Warriors (Legion of Doom in WWE) used the absolutely devastating Doomsday Device to finish off their opponents. The tag team finisher would see Animal hoist the opponent on his shoulders in an electric chair position and Hawk would fly off the top rope delivering a stiff clothesline. The result would lead to opponents crashing to the mat off Animal’s shoulders. It was brutal.

The Road Warriors were always known for working stiff, but their finisher was dangerous. The visual of the Device absolutely pops off the screen both with the Road Warriors and now. In modern wrestling, the Doomsday Device is usually delivered with the standing wrestler going down to the mat with the hoisted opponent to add safety to the move.

1 The Piledriver Is Wrestling’s Most Dangerous Move

It Has Injured A Lot Of People

• The Undertaker used a modified version of the move for his “Tombstone Piledriver.”
• Owen Hart injured Steve Austin with the move.
• Masa Chono was injured by Austin with the move as well.

The Piledriver is one of the most dangerous moves in professional wrestling history. Jerry Lawler was the King of the Piledriver finisher in WWE. The King has delivered a Piledriver for a win in every decade since the 1970s. Superstars like Undertaker and Kane have also used a modified Piledriver as a finisher in their matches. The sit-down version has a very dangerous past in WWE. In the midst of Stone Cold Steve Austin’s rise to superstardom, he received a crippling Piledriver from Owen Hart.

SummerSlam ’97 would see Owen Hart botch a Pilderiver on Steve Austin that would bruise his spinal cord and leave him temporarily paralyzed. The Stone Cold era in WWE almost came to a premature stop. Austin managed a roll-up and secured the win while being in a lot of discomfort. Ironically enough, Austin performed the same move on Masa Chono years before, which led to Chono receiving a broken neck. The Piledriver is the most dangerous finisher in the history of WWE.