I will be the first to admit as young boy/ teenager I found professional wrestling extremely entertaining. In my opinion the 80’s and 90’s, were the peak of the sport (well entertainment). Just thinking about it brings back so many memories with my childhood friends going around wanting to be just like the Four Horseman.
Yes Ric Flair WWWWOOOOOOO was and still remains one of my idols, he could get in the ring with broom stick and make it look real. Professional wrestling was so ingrained into my group of friends that one of my closest childhood friends Todd went off to become one. To this day I remain jealous that.
Enough about me, let’s get to what brings the fans to their feet, the near death experience of the Professional wrestling finishing move. Now some, even though they were popular were just stupidly horrible. The biggest stand outs were the Hulk Hogan’s leg drop and The Rock’s Peoples Elbow, how in the name of Gordon Solie did they ever become a popular move?
So with no further ado or gilding of the lily here is my top 10 finishing moves… ooooohhhhhh yeah
10. The Camel Clutch: well beyond its horrific racial innuendo, this finishing move brought many chiropractors business. If you ever had this put on you in a backyard match you know how painful it can be. Here is a head nod to The Iron Shiek
9. The Ankle Lock: yes it seems basic but that’s the beauty of it! Real shoot fighters like Kurt Angle and Ken Shamrock used this because it works in real life and on stage. If you have a nephew that’s getting out of hand at a family party just slap this little move on him, I promise he will start minding his p’s and q’s real quick
8. The Boston Crab/Liontamer: Here is another one that will make you tapout in real life as well as the in make believe world of the male soap opera of professional wrestling. The Boston Crab has been used by many but it was Chris Jericho that brought the Liontamer it the our households on a weekly basis.
7. The Spine Buster: Yes as previously mentioned I am a Four Horseman fan, Arn Anderson in my opinion is one of the best tacticians to enter the squared circle, his finishing move of the Spine Buster has been often imitated but never duplicated
6. The Frog Splash: I know it has a funny name but this finishing move is equally as lethal for the person doing it as the person being landed on. I swear on a Monday night Nitro I saw Eddie Guerrero (R.I.P.) impale a testicle when landing this on Rey Mysterio Jr.
5. The Choke Slam: This can only be used by the strongest of big men. When used properly there is no coming back from the grave… see what I did there?
4. DDT: Here we go Jake the Snake Roberts was the first person I seen do this to anyone. This move when done correctly looks devastating, when done incorrectly it can cripple your opponent. This is one move you really should leave to the professionals.
3. The Sleeper Hold: I don’t know what was better with this hold, the over dramatic counts to 3 while putting them to sleep, or the innovative way to wake up your opponent after doing so. Anytime I think of this hold what comes to mind for me is Rowdy Roddy Piper chewing his bubblegum.
2. The Figure Four Leg Lock: Ric Flair baby WWWWWWWoooooooooo high flyin’ limousine ridin’ kiss stealin’ jet flyin’ son of gun WWWWWWWWoooooooooooo, I know, I’m even surprised that this move isn’t number one for me. I have watched this move end the night for many wrestlers including Harley Race, Dusty Rhoads, Sting, Magnum T.A., Barry Windham, Jerry the King Lawler you name them and Ric Flair put them down. Hell, he still has 11 more Championships than Ton Brady.
1. The Power Bomb: This move all by its self is enough to end any man. This move has had many names and version but they end the same. The Last Ride, The Jackknife, The Batista Bomb it can be done by multiple people at once in tag team competition but when I think of the Power Bomb it’s the Undertaker and his record of WrestleMania victories that always comes to mind.
Over the years there have been many Wrestler’s with countless finishing moves. Even though it didn’t make my list, if I am ever messing with the kids and want to pullout an old time finisher I default to “The Claw” no this isn’t a Toy Story reference but a throwback to a childhood wrestling favorite James “Baron” von Raschke of the AWA.
I hope you enjoyed this list, if you have any additional items please put them in the comments. If you have your own list share them with us, these list are meant to generate conversation and not be the end all to the topic.
