The 10 worst finishers in Pro Wrestling.

So one of the most important parts of any Wrestler is his finishing maneuver...this is his big move, the move designed to get the fans out of their seats in excitement. In many respects this can be the most important move the wrestler has.

So you would assume of course, that all of these moves would be fantastic.....you would assume wrong. These are 10 of the worst finishing maneuvers in the industry.

They are considered the worst because they either dont believably look like they would keep the other guy down long enough to be pinned, are overly complicated, or are common moves in the arsenal of ever wrestler.  

It is worth noting though that 8 of these 10 moves were used by WWE Hall of Famers or future Hall of Famers as their main finisher during the most popular part of their career. (and that a 9th was used by a future hall of famer, but he changed to a better finisher before be coming popular).

However in all of those cases I truly believe that in all of those cases those Hall of Famers succeeded in their careers in spit of their finisher and not because of it.....or because in a few cases the hall of famer in question had a different more exciting finisher they also used at the same period. So here we go, the top 10 worst finishers in Wrestling.

#10 Claw Hold/Iron Claw/Mandible Claw/Brain Claw/Armpit Claw/Ect.

Believe it or not, thats a wrestling finisher maneuver. Apparently holding the other dudes head like that and squeezing is supposes to hurt so much he blacks out and you win.  And the move has a ton of varrients, shoulder, stomach, armpit or even:

Mandible Claw

But the move always has the same problem.....depending on where its applied it might be more annoying but come on, no way is it debilitating....with one exception

Yes, that is a claw hold being applied exactly where you think it is.

In that one instance, a submission victory seems plausible. But thats literally it for this entire family of finishers. And Im also pretty sure that variant of the move isnt legal in a normal match.

#9 Warrior Splash

You know what the number one sign this is a weak finisher is? the fact it needs another move before it to make it believable as a finish.  Now I get the press slam....that part is actually cool and shows of Warriors power. But the splash?

Not so much. I mean wow you jumped on a guy from a couple feet up. Hurts, but lets be honest, not as much as the drop they just took from the Press Slam.

Now to be fair to the Splash, it can be one hell of a finish....with the right wrestler:

This one is gonna hurt....

But thats the thing. Most of the guys who make effective use of a Splash Finisher weight well north of 350lbs,...the idea is their weight is crushing enough to do the damage. Or if a lighter guy wants to do it (IE Rey Mysterio, Eddie Guerrero, Rob Van Dam) they come off the ropes to drop from a higher distance to increase the impact.

Warrior only weighted 280.....which isnt that heavy for a professional Wrestler, and did the splash at a basic run, which in his case hurt the moves credibility.

So yea, the splash is a decent finish....but in this case its the move/wrestler combination that got it here.

#8 Killswitch/Unprettier/Impailer

So good finishers are usually dynamic. They can be hit easily at any time from a number of positions. And then you have this thing. In order to hit it you have to be directly behind your opponent, then twist him around by the arms in a way that looks impossible if he was even remotely trying to resist you, then drop him on his face.

Now unlike most of the other moves on this list, this looks like it would really hurt. But the amount of maneuvering needed to pull it off  makes it easy to see coming and as a result not that thrilling to fans and also needs an entire spot built around it so everyone is positioned just right to hit it

#7 Clothesline from hell/Discus Clothesline/Lariat

Yea see heres the thing, the announcer is right....that is actually the BEST clothesline from hell ever, and that is entirely due to the guy getting hit going above and beyond with his acting to make it look like it hurt.

But it shouldnt.....at least not any more than every other clothesline ever. Like the one that literally every single wrestler will use in almost every match....and not as a finishing maneuver either.

And thats the real problem with these moves. Everyone uses them and using them as regular moves all throughout matches. So they dont look special, and there is nothing about them that makes them stand out.

The "generic move" thing can apply to powebombs and DDT's, but 1) at least those look like they actually hurt a lot generally, and there are enough ways to make specific unique variants of those moves that they look special and unique to the person doing them. Thats just not the case with these moves, cause other than the Discus version, there really is no way to mix them up.

And even the discus version looks stupid

that spin does not look like it makes the move hit any harder.

#6 The Peoples Elbow/Five Knuckle Shuffle

You know what else are pretty basic moves every wrestler uses? Elbow and fist drops.

And while I realize these two moves are the finishers of two of the most popular wrestlers of all time, some one really needs to tell this guys the theatrics dont actually make the move hurt any more then they normally do.

Also by the way, count the time needed to execute the moves

Yea, it takes more than 3 seconds to do each move......meaning you could have already gotten the 3 count by now and the match could have been over and youd already have won. These moves are simply pointless.

And lets not even start on the physics of the 5 Knuckle Shuffle....you know the part where getting punched in the face seems to knock the guy ON to his feet?

Also as a side note, I would have included the worm for the same reasons, however Scotty 2 Hotty was never intended to be a serious wrestler and was always more the comic relief guy, so having a theatrical and weak finisher is actually ok in that case.

#5 Brain Chop

So let me get this straight, I'm going to hit you in the hardest part of your head with the side of my hand, and thats going to knock you down and out?

Yea not so much. This is another move that barely looks like it hurts and while I believe it might knock someone off their feet....keeping them down for 3 seconds after words? yea no.

#4 619/Tiger Feint Kick

Ok so I gotta be honest, the 619 is actually a pretty sweet and unique looking finisher and it looks like it would hurt a lot.

But the problem again is the positioning. In order to hit it you have to contrive a spot in which the opponent winds up hanging over the middle rope....then stays there long enough for Rey to get to the ropes to kick him in the face.

Basically it takes way too long to pull off and looks way to contrived on set up

And to be fair the same can be said for current WWE champion Roman Reign's Drive By

but at least thats not a finisher, so he doesnt actually use it or need to try it every single match, which helps redeem it. 

#3 Hogan Leg Drop

Another major WWE superstar with a shit finish...this seems to be a pattern.

Even by the standards of its time this was a shit finish as lots and lots of people did it. and over time its gotten even worse with things like top rope and middle rope leg drops flip leg drops, leg drops to standing opponents, leg drops to the back of the head ect.

\

And the fact that basically only like 2 people ever kicked out of that thing is even more insulting to the fans intelligence.   

#2 Bionic Elbow/Bull Hammer

You know whats ever worse than a Leg Drop, an Elbow Drop a Fist Drop or a Claw?  How about this

Its literally an elbow strike the head, sometimes with some dancing before hand. Thing is, elbow strikes are one of the most basic and common wrestling moves, right up there with say a kick.  Consider the suspension of disbelief required here, guy bops you on the head with an elbow, and it keeps you down long enough to get pinned......given that it barely looks like it hurts thats a bridge too far.

And the worst part is, its still in use today:

Ok so that one at least looks like it hurts a bit more, given the fact the guy gets pulled into the hit, but come on, in a world in which people can get put through a table and not stay down for 3 seconds, that shouldnt be able to.

#1 Overdrive

So what can top an elbow strike as a horrible finisher? try this:

The theory here a near as I can tell is that if I contort my body to the point I am awkwardly balancing with one leg on the back of your head, then fall face first on to the mat and ram my own knee into the ground......somehow you stay down for 3 seconds. I assume out of pity.

Seriously, this is the only finisher I've ever seen where it looks like the guy giving the move should be more hurt than the guy taking it.

That and the complicated set up needed to drape your leg on the dudes head make it basically the worst finisher of all time.