The finishing move is a staple in wrestling, and for the most part, they're the most impressive-looking move or the move that looks like it does the most damage in the guy or gal's arsenal. Emphasis on "the most part". There are some wrestlers whose finishers plain stink and others whose finishers aren't bad but don't look crisp enough to be finishers. This week's six pack looks at a half-dozen who could use a new way to end their victories. Yeah, the most obvious answer isn't on here, Jericho going back to the old way he did the Walls of Jericho, but that's probably not up to him anyway, and he actually does it the old, better way sometimes too, like against JTG a few weeks ago. Here are six others whose all-the-time finishers need some pimping.
1. MVP
The Offending Finisher - The Playmaker
What part of that move looks like it hurts? Maybe if the back of the victim's neck slips off MVP's calf and hits the canvas, it looks kinda effective (but not effective enough to put someone down), but most of the time, the head rests on the back MVP's leg and really, the only painful part is the close proximity to Porter's sweaty ass. The shame part is he has a much better, much stiffer looking move in his arsenal that would be a much more effective finisher, the corner yakuza kick, or even his old Drive-By, which was a shining yakuza kick. And yes, if jokes about implied prison rape are TV-PG material, then so is a move name comparing it to a drive-by shooting.
2. AJ Styles
The Offending Finisher - Styles Clash
The Styles Clash is not a bad looking move at all. I think it's a great set-up move, and actually as a move that can finish a match but doesn't all the time, it's effective. If wrestling were set up in a more "realistic" manner, I'd have no problem with it, but since wrestling is built more for show with certain moves popping the masses, that's where the problem comes in. The Styles Clash comparatively speaking doesn't look like a move that should mean death upon impact. It looks like a move that can sting but be shaken off by the time he rolls the victim around for the pin attempt. The problem is the Pele Kick isn't much better in terms of credibility. While it's a sweet looking move, it needs to be hit just right to look like it's going to knock the other guy out. A lot of times, it isn't. So, instead of those options, go with the sure crowd-pleaser, something off the top rope, like the Spiral Tap.
3. Kofi Kingston
The Offending Finisher - Trouble in Paradise
Much like the Pele, the TiP needs to be hit just right to look like it's believably KTFOing its target, and a lot of times, it misses its mark in that department. Here's the funny thing though; Kofi has a move in his arsenal that does the trick way more believably - The SOS, otherwise known as the Ranhei in the indies. This move combines classic head damage with flippy, crowd-popping motion that would make it instantly over and credible looking each time. TiP isn't bad, but it's far from the best option he has at his disposal.
4. Edge
The Offending Finisher - The Spear
When Goldberg did the spear, when Batista or Big Show do the spear, it looked legitimately fuck-up-your-day-tastic, the point where you probably felt your bowels rattle a bit just watching it. Wanna know why? They're all big dudes who can realistically put alot a lot of belief into a spear without exerting a lot of effort. Edge, even with his roids, is still kind of a beanpole. When he spears someone, it looks like he's giving them a running hug. Seriously, it's one of the few things I hate about his character. Instead, why disengage from something that worked? He's always done an implant DDT, and it's an infinitely better looking move, especially compared to his locomotive charge of totally heterosexual-looking affection.
5. Carlito
The Offending Finisher - Backstabber
I like the lungblower/backcracker as a set up move fine enough, but as a finisher? At least Jericho's Codebreaker, which is the mirror of the Backstabber only to the front, has the credibility factor of double knees to the face. I've always felt that a back is more a target for submission finishers, that backbreakers and stuff were better used as set-ups on guys with good mid and lower body submission holds. As a finisher, this leaves me wanting. If you FF to #2 on this countdown, you'll see a much more suitable replacement if you want to keep an impact finisher, but in the grain of what I said earlier, maybe Carlito could work well with a Steiner Recliner-styled camel clutch following up the Backstabber.
6. Sara del Rey
The Offending Finisher - Royal Butterfly (wait for it at 1:33)
It's a fancy butterfly suplex, one that's unique to her and a cool looking move, but at the end of the day, it's a fucking butterfly suplex. This is the move that has been marginalized and trivialized in wrestling to the point where it was considered a weak grapple-worthy hold in the THQ/Aki wrestling games (Revenge/No Mercy). She would be far better served if she held onto the butterfly lock and kept it as a submission hold after impact, make the suplexing action more a means to get a tapout rather than the submission wrenching getting extra wear towards a pinfall. Even if you wanted to do an impact finisher, she does a pretty nice powerbomb.
