10 Worst Finishers in WWE Today



Do you ever watch WWE, or any wrestling promotion for that matter, and have an otherwise good, great, brilliant match ruined for you by an absolutely rubbish finisher?

If you said no, you're lying and I'm telling your mum. WWE especially is inundated with atrocious finishing maneuvers. Some are so convoluted in their setup they remove the suspension of disbelief. Some look utterly painless, or even painful to the wrestler delivering the move. Others are just so dull, uninspired and often flat-out stolen from elsewhere, they send you to sleep.




me watching Dolph Ziggler's Superkick.


Even in modern-era WWE, where the vast majority of the competitors on show are genuinely good-to-world class athletes, the amount of superstars with sub-par finishers is a lot higher than it should be. This is the list of shame. This is the 10 worst finishers in WWE in 2018.



10. Brogue Kick



Sheamus has turned out pretty great since joining up with Cesaro to form The Bar. Are they officially called The Bar? Their attire says so, their catchphrase says so, their Titantron says so. So why do WWE insist on announcing them as "Sheamus and Cesaro"? It drives me round the twist. Have a word.

I'm getting sidetracked. Even before The Bar, Sheamus was a good, solid brawler of a wrestler. He had a bit of history of being a rumoured unsafe worker, but has improved as time has passed. One thing that hasn't improved about his in-ring work in a long time, though, is his finisher. The Brogue Kick is fine, as a transition move. It looks relatively painful and can come from Outta Nowhere (copyright Randall Keith). It's just... SO uninspiring. It's a Big Boot. That's it. Just a Big Boot with a bit of a jump chucked in for good measure. Whoop de doo. Almost every wrestler over six foot two uses a Big Boot; half of them look lazy as all hell, but they still use it. Sheamus using it as a finisher makes him look weak and boring. Change it up, FELLA.




9. Running Powerslam


I bloody love Braun Strowman. Who doesn't? Vince McMahon apparently, but aside from the most powerful person in all of professional Sports Entertainment, everyone seems to love Braun. He's a relative newcomer to the sport but has already carved himself a nice niche as Raw's real resident wrecking ball. Try saying that after six pints of lager (and a packet of crisps, please).

The one thing that seems to make it painfully obvious that Strowman is still fairly new to all of this, is his finisher. The Running Powerslam is incredibly basic. It's the sort of move amateur wrestlers do on their mates in the garage. I get that he was green when he started out but bloody hell he's a good worker now, he needs something with a bit more... anything. Powerslams just aren't believable finishers any more. To make matters even worse, half the time he doesn't even run, he just kind of turns 90 degrees to one side. Having someone Braun's size slamming you (heh) would be painful, sure, but as a finisher? Not buying it. He needs a new finisher almost as much as he needs Brock Lesnar to retire.




8. Big Ending



Big E is a potential Wrestlemania main event level talent. There, I said it. He's brilliant in the ring, he's one of the most naturally charismatic people WWE have had in years, he's superb on the microphone and he makes up for his (relatively) short frame by being absolutely bloody massive. I don't even think he'd need to leave The New Day, they could chase tag titles AND the WWE Championship. They could Freebird the WWE Title. Book it. Immediately.

Actually, don't book it quite immediately, there's a problem. Big E's finisher is absolute mince. The Big Ending (brilliant name, keep the name by all means) sees Big E take his opponent up over one shoulder, then jump up and fall backward, with the opponent falling front first. That's all well and good, but the way E delivers the move makes it look more painful for him than for his opponent because he's taking their entire body weight falling down onto his shoulder. It bugs me every time he wrestles, and it's a crying shame. I honestly believe Big E is one better finishing move away from World Superstar level.




7. Zig Zag



Dolph Ziggler, a man who I can literally never type the name of without my phone autocorrecting him to Dolphin because his ring name is awful, has been a full-time member of the WWE roster since about 6 months before the dinosaurs were wiped out. There's a good reason for that; the man is a bloody good wrestler. He's versatile, talented, can be an effective face or heel, and takes bumps like a man with a deathwish.

There are two problems with Dolph Ziggler. One is that piss poor name, which the poor sod is now stuck with for the rest of his career. The other is his finisher, of which Ziggler has had a few and they've all sucked. He's had the Famouser (also known as the Fame Asser, variation depending on whether or not you're an ass man), which is far too convoluted for my liking; someone being bent over 90 degrees with no reason is daft. Then he's had the Superkick, which is a brilliant finishing move if you're Shawn Michaels. Dolph Ziggler is not Shawn Michaels, and yet his straight up stealing of Sweet Chin Music, tuning up the band and all, tries to claim otherwise. Not having it.

His main finisher throughout the years, though, has been the Zig Zag, and it's rubbish. It's another that can come Outta Nowhere (copyright Randall Keith), but it simply doesn't look painful enough. The opponent just lands on their back and takes a head bump half broken up by Ziggler's arm. It's really poor. Also, the Zig Zag is a proper, proper terrible name.




6. Khallas



Hey everyone! Remember when Jinder Mahal was WWE Champion? It was a time of real prosperity, complete with astonishingly good title matches, progressive storylines, and fan goodwill. Or, if you didn't spend 2017 in the Upside Down, 95% of fans hated it because it was full of the most boring title matches in recent memory and had Jinder being openly racist towards Shinsuke Nakamura. It was terrible, and let us all take a moment to thank our Lord and saviour AJ Styles for ending Mahal's reign.

While his title run was boring enough for me to somehow be relieved a homophobic flat earther beat him, Jinder has improved a lot in the ring since his first WWE run, and now looks like an absolute beast. His new-era finishing maneuver, however, is lifted straight out of the 1980s, presumably along with the racist patter he flung Nakamura's way. The Khallas, simply put, is a slightly modified Full Nelson Slam. That's it. Tonnes of wrestlers do Full Nelson Slams and don't even try for a pinfall afterward, yet Mahal's is miraculously painful enough to win the company's biggest prize. Okay pals. The Khallas has looked painful enough to be a match-ender precisely once, and that was when it was botched upon delivery to one of the Singh Brothers. Terrible finisher.




5. Neutralizer



Oh, Cesaro. Truly one of WWE's biggest missed open goals. Take a world class wrestler, add a physique that's obscenely marketable, sprinkle in a healthy dash of complete fan adoration and what do you get? A midcarder for life because he's too Swiss and can't cut a promo. Nor can Brock Lesnar but that doesn't stop them from giving him the title every fu... No Leah, calm down, you're getting sidetracked again.

Cesaro is now the other half of The Bar/Sheamus & Cesaro with, well, Sheamus. I've always thought Cesaro works better as a face; aforementioned fan adoration, plus the always impressive Cesaro Swing is a guaranteed crowd pop. What isn't so impressive is his finisher, the Neutralizer. It's another move that just doesn't look painful enough. Cesaro picks his opponent up like he's going for a Styles Clash, but gets halfway, thinks sod it, and gently pops them down. Face first will never be a barrel of laughs, but it's uninspired and it's too weak a finisher for such an incredibly good athlete.

At least he cracks his neck first though. I'm sure that makes all the difference. In a move which doesn't use his neck. At all.


4. Bayley-to-Belly 



Remember when Bayley was good? Pepperidge Farm remembers. Bayley was one of the Four Horsewomen of NXT, and her energetic, lovable persona was guaranteed to make her the next female wrestling megastar. She was a lock to become the women's division equivalent to John Cena. And then LOL Vince McMahon happened. 

Nowadays Bayley spends her time either in a peculiar "is it romantic or do they hate each other what is going on?" angle with Sasha Banks, or fighting The Riott Squad over and over until the inevitable heat death of the universe. Every once in a while you'll get to see her finisher, the Bayley-to-Belly. You'd be forgiven for not knowing you'd seen her canon strongest move, though, because oh my god it's pathetic. She so very gently grabs her opponent from the front and spinning hugs her to the floor. Bayley weighs less than the kebab I had last night; she's one of the lightest competitors in the current women's division. It's not a believable finisher for her at all.

In all seriousness, it's a belly-to-belly suplex. Get it? Bayley-to-Belly?  Because Bayley sounds like belly? Do you get it? Do you get WWE's clever joke? Do you get it?

3. Skull Crushing Finale 



The Miz is one of the greatest WWE creations of recent times. He was a reality TV personality when he joined the company and didn't seem up to much. Years down the line, not only is he still here, but he's a former WWE Champion (and Grand Slam Champion), a former Money In the Bank holder, and an eight-time Intercontinental Champion. He's the best pure heel WWE have and his microphone skills are second to none. Miz is aaaaawwwweeesome. Sorry.

What isn't aaaaawwwweeesome (sorry again), though, is the full nelson facebuster known as the Skull Crushing Finale that Miz uses as a finishing move. It's not that it doesn't look painful; Miz is a big enough guy and breaking a quick downwards fall with your teeth doesn't sound too fun. My issue with the Skull Crushing Finale is that there are two fairly obvious ways to get out of it. One, just kick backwards. Two, that arm of yours Miz has hooked up next to his face? Your elbow is in his face. Elbow him. In his face. 

It's the old suspension of disbelief thing. The Skull Crushing Finale looks far too easy to counter, and it grates on me. Not having it.

2. Rear View  



Naomi deserves a lot more credit than I think she gets. She's a solid enough in-ring worker, she's good on the mic, her entrance is always entertaining and her Feel The Glow thing has really taken off. She gets glossed over when people talk about women's wrestling and I think that's a shame because I enjoy her matches almost every time.

Having said all of that. HAVING SAID all of that. Can someone please, please explain to me why, in the current year two thousand and eighteen, the Rear View is still a move that gets used? Here is how the Rear View works; Naomi sends her opponent against the ropes, turns around, then jumps up and her opponent runs face first into Naomi's arse. That's it. That's the move. She gets genuinely impressive height on a mid-air leg split, but that's still the move. Everything about the Rear View, from the name to the execution, feels like a Divas Era relic that somehow hangs around. As much as WWE try and call it a 'jumping hip attack', it's not, is it, the name of the move tells you how it's really... viewed. Yes, I know.

The move seems to be getting used less nowadays in favour of a submission finisher or a split legged moonsault, and I'm glad. Naomi deserves so much better.

1. Knockout Punch 



The Big Show has, like our good pal Dolphin Ziggler, been around since the dawn of time. Show is bloody enormous (you'd hope so given the name) and was pretty over in his heyday. 2018, somewhat unsurprisingly, is not his heyday, and in addition to absolutely nobody caring, he now seems slow and lumbering. He is, however, still gigantic, so that's something. 

The Big Show's finisher is the Knockout Punch. Somewhat predictably I guess, it's a punch that's hard enough to knock you out. Great. Good idea. So... why aren't all of the punches he throws done with the same power? It's ridiculous. That only one of Big Show's punches per match are hard enough to win is silly. I hate it. The move completely ends my suspension of disbelief every time. I'm getting annoyed just thinking about it. I'm going to stop writing before I Knockout Punch myself to sleep, but only after trying the same with 10 minutes of other punches that aren't hard enough even though I can do the Knockout one whenever I want. Daft.

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