Most Underrated Finishers In Wrestling History

Much like any big play, TV show, or movie, wrestling also follows a storytelling structure. Finishing moves of course serve as a conclusion to the story; or at least that story’s chapter. Not every finishing move is a grandiose flashy manuever, either. Some are just sort of straight and to the point. But the in wild world of WWE, straight and to the point can sometimes translate to underrated.

Plenty of wrestlers have made a huge career for themselves. Sometimes part of their legacies are the finishers they used – The DDT, the Figure Four, or the Sharpshooter for example. But for everyone of those, there are moves that are missing that proverbial oomph. However, they are no less effective.

The Big Show’s WMD Punch

When The Giant Punches You, You Go Down

• Paul Wight was discovered at a charity basketball game hosted by Danny Bonaduce.
• Big Show is the only man to have held the WCW, WWE, and ECW world titles.
• His final world title match was against Drew McIntyre on Raw shortly after WrestleMania 36.

In all honesty, due to constant face-heel turns and overexposure, just about everything about The Big Show’s career is completely underrated. He might be the very best over seven footer in history. There was a point in his youth where was doing moves that men half his size wouldn’t be able to do. During his last few years in WWE, he began using a knockout punch as a finisher instead of the Chokeslam. Certainly, knocking an opponent out cold would be easier on the big man’s joints instead of hoisting them up. Not that a punch to the face from Show would be any less devastating.

Rey Mysterio’s West Coast Pop

Somersault Pinning Combination Outta Nowhere

• Trained by his uncle, the original Rey Misterio, Rey got his start as Colibri – The Hummingbird, at just 14 years old.
• He is currently the only wrestler to be inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame and still is an active performer.
• When Rey was first signed to WWE, it was at Vince McMahon’s insistence that he put the mask on.

No matter how many adjectives you use to describe Rey Mysterio and his permanent status as an underdog, no one can ever deny the legendary career he has had and continues to have. Over the years, he has switched up his finisher. During his WCW run, he’d use an off the top rope springboard Hurricanrana into a pinning combination. It didn’t even have a name. But when he got to the WWE, the move finally got its name – The West Coast Pop.

The Brothers Of Destruction’s Tombstone

Seldom Talked About As One Of The Best

• Although he rarely used it as The American Badass, The Undertaker used The Tombstone his entire WWE run.
• While not invented by him, Andre The Giant also used The Tombstone early in his career.
• The move is credited with being invented by legend Antonio Rocca.

While few wrestlers have ever kicked out of The Tombstone (Kane of The Undertaker’s), the move often gets overlooked.

When you look at the career of The Phenom, he remembered more for the macabre and wild storylines and gimmicks and less than his move sets. But the two masters of The Tombstone are both wildly stronger than they look (even for big men) and have been able to muscle up nearly every opponent they ever faced off with.

Ravishing Rick Rude’s Rude Awakening

A Hanging Neckbreaker Can Put Anyone Down

• Ravishing Rick Rude is part of the Minnesota crew of guys like Mr. Perfect, Smash, the LOD, Nikita Koloff, and even Eric Bischoff.
• Rick Rude has to retire due neck injuries and had one of the infamous Lords Of London policy.
• Thanks to the events of Montreal, Rude appeared on a pre-taped Raw, a live Nitro, and even a taped ECW show all in the span of a week.

Wrestling was known for years, decades even as “an upper body game,” but then Ravishing Rick Rude came around. While completely lean, the guy still had muscles in places most people didn’t even know they had places. Don’t let the physique fool you. Rude was double-tough in the ring when he wasn’t flirting with the lady fans. His finishing move, the Rude Awakening, was able to put down a lot of foes. While not recommended, just jerk your neck back real quick – that’s the kind of motion Rude’s hanging neckbreaker had – but with him yanking you down, which could easily cause permanent injury.

Brock Lesnar’s Brock Lock

Anything Brock Does Can “Uncle” A Man

• Brock Lesnar was first introduced to Vince McMahon by Jesse Ventura at SummerSlam 1999.
• JR agreed that WWE wouldn’t try to sign Lesnar until he finished college.
• The Beast is the only man to have held both the WWE and UFC world titles.

When a master of combat sports snatches you up, you should probably just tap before Brock Lesnar does irrevocable harm to you. While in his entire second run of his WWE career he had used the Kimura Lock, during his first run, Brock had perhaps an even more sadistic submission hold. He’d heave a man up by their leg, wrap it around his massive neck and shoulders and start to violently try to remove a man’s drumstick from his body.

Shane Helms’ Vertebreaker

One Of The Most Dangerous Moves Of All Time

• Shane Helms is long-time friends with The Hardy Boyz and was part of their Omega Federation.
• Due to how he handled himself in an altercation with Buff Bagwell, Helms earned the respect of the WWE locker room post-WCW buyout.
• Sugar Shane was David Arquette’s stunt double in Ready To Rumble.

Debuting during the latter days of WCW, Shane Helms, along with the rest of 3 Count did all they could to revitalize the cruiserweight division. Helms himself had a very devastating and dangerous (non-cruiserweight) finisher nevertheless.

Aptly called The Vertebreaker, Helms would hold opponents upside in a backslide type of position before dropping down, effectively on his opponents’ neck. In reality both the wrestler doing the move and taking it have no way to protect the neck and the move was banned by WWE.

Chris Jericho’s Codebreaker

A Double Knee To The Face Can Break More Than Codes

• Other than The Undertaker, Chris Jericho might be the wrestler who has switched things up the most during every return.
• Jericho’s “Honest Man” gimmick was inspired but Anton Chigurgh from No Country For Old Men.
• With the exception of TNA, Chris Jericho has worked for every major promotion of the fast four decades.

The Liontamer/Walls Of Jericho might still be Chris Jericho’s go to finisher even today, but that doesn’t stop The Ocho from trying to switch things up every couple of years. The Codereaker was Jericho’s first attempt at creating a high impact finisher to go along with the submission. The Codebreaker is a great hold because it’s one that Jericho can do on anyone and anyone can take. He’d run headlong leaping at an opponent before grabbing them with his hands and driving them into his knees.

JBL’s Clothesline From Hell

The Big Texan’s Home Run Swing

• JBL got his start training with Minnesota legend, Brad Rheinland in 1992.
• After years of using the big Texan type of gimmick, Bradshaw struck gold teaming up with Farooq and then later as big booming financial type of heel.
• JBL was inducted into the Hall Of Fame in 2020.

A lot of things had changed about Bradshaw/JBL over the years, but his giant swing to put opponents down hasn’t changed much at all. Adapted from one of his idols, Stan “The Lariat” Hansen, The Clothesline From Hell was exactly as painful as it sounds. Bradshaw would reel back and then swing for the fences. It is one of the best clotheslines in wrestling history.

Lex Luger’s Human Torture Rack

Made More Devastating By The Strength Of Lex Luger

• Lex Luger was trained by Hiro Matsuda.
• Luger is one of the few men who had won the WCW title but not the WWE title.
• The Torture Rack was adapted by Nikki Bella as The Rack Attack.

Lex Luger had an amazing appearance and the strength to match. There wasn’t a single person that he couldn’t muscle up across his traps for The Human Torture Rack. He was able to even get up The Giant for this big move.

When someone as strong as Luger starts violently trying to bend you in half in a way that you shouldn’t bend, you should probably tap out pretty quick.

Arn Anderson’s Spinebuster

The Snap And Torque Led The Enforcer’s Move To Glory

• Because of his constant association with Ric Flair, Double A often gets overlooked.
• Several versions of the Spinebuster have been used. Arn’s is generally thought of as the best.
• He was able to hit it famously on The Undertaker at WrestleMania 18 to a massive pop.

A man that looks like Arn Anderson (as in your favorite uncle) shouldn’t be able to deliver a move with the kind of velocity that he did the Spinebuster. Yet, that’s exactly what he did. Somehow, Arn was able to pop his hips and spin opponents around with the kind of torque and power to pretty much defeat anyone he was ever in the ring with.