One thing that can make or break aWWESuperstar is afinisher. A wrestler could have the full package - the look, the aura, the in-ring skill,the best promo skills, etc. - but a good finisher that leaves an impression in the minds of audiences makes all the difference for a wrestler’s career. It could be a flashy one, but for a finisher to truly leave an impression, it needs to be brutal andlook as dangerous as possible.
Obviously, a finisher should not be as dangerous as to actually injure an opponent (this is sports entertainment at the end of the day, the goal is for wrestlers to entertain, not legitimately hurt each other), but it helps to look as brutal as some of the examples on this list.
10Spear
Bill Goldberg Credited With Inventing it
While wrestlers in previous decades like Hacksaw Jim Duggan would do similar moves that would be referred to as a Shoulder Tackle, Bill Goldberg is widely credited as inventing the Spear. At the very least, he gave the move its name and popularized it as a finisher, especially for former football players, for whom the move seems most devastating.The Spear is essentially a football tackle, with one person driving their entire essence into their opponent at full force.
It’s hard not to see a good Spear and not think that someone has truly been broken in half, or at the very least cracked their rib cage open. The likes of Rhyno, Bobby Lashley, Roman Reigns, Bron Breakker, and of course, its innovator, Bill Goldberg, make the move a brutal sight.
9F5
Brock Lesnar Credited With Inventing It
Brock Lesnar can be described as a whirlwind of a wildebeest, so it makes sense for his finisher to bea spinning cyclone of a maneuver. He lifts his opponent on his shoulders in a fireman’s carry position and spins them around long enough to the point his opponent is probably dizzy before they even hit the ground flat face first once he drops them.
During an episode of WWE Confidential, Brock recallswatching videos of Japanese wrestling and taking inspiration from different maneuvers, combining them to create something unique. John Laurinitis would then see Brock practice something similar to what would become his F5, and urged him to combine it with another move for a"spinning DDT"type move. In Brock’s words,“I came up with it by just kind of messing about one day in the ring.”
8The Last Ride
The Undertaker Credited With Inventing It
While there are several variations of the powerbomb, the original was invented by Lou Thesz. The set-up is simple: position the opponent between the legs and then lift them above one’s shoulders before slamming them back-first onto the ground. It’s simple, but utterly effective in looking brutal. It’s no wonder why there have been so many variations of the powerbomb after the fact.
Masato Tanaka would invent the Dangan Bomb (a falling powerbomb), Mitsuharu Misawa would create the double underhook powerbomb (or Tiger Driver) as well as the kneeling underhook powerbomb, andThe Undertaker would popularize the elevated powerbomb. What makes The Last Ride so devastating is that one lifts their opponent another height in the air while already in mid-air, adding to the impact once slammed. Taker is 6'10, so that’s a massive extra height to fall down from.
7Sharpshooter
Riki Choshu Credited With Inventing It
Much like the DDT, another move that started off as a finisher before being normalized as a regular maneuver, it’s easy to take for granted the power of the Sharpshooter today. However,when it was first introduced, it was treated as the most painful submission that anyone could be in. In fact, as far as wrestling moves go, it actually might be the most painful position someone could be in, as some wrestlers have professed how much this move legitimately hurts.
It shouldn’t be surprising just how much a move like this actually hurts when one considers the strain put on the legs and knees of an opponent while sitting on their back. A moment likeStone Cold Steve Austinpassing out from the excruciating pain of being in the Sharpshooter contributed to selling this to audiences as a dangerous maneuver, and Bret Hart making it his signature finish was the cherry on top.
6Hell’s Gate
On the January 25th, 2008 episode of Friday Night SmackDown, The Undertaker was seen going one-on-one with Big Daddy V, as they’ve done many times over the decades under the latter’s many past pseudonyms (i.e. Mabel, Viscera). However, this match would end very differently than past encounters, as The Deadman would lock in a submission never before seen.
Undertaker was notoriously a submission and MMA enthusiast, often using the triangle chokehold, but this was different. He locked Big Daddy V inan MMA-inspired gogoplata, a triangle choke with his ankle underneath the opponent’s chin. Taker kept the submission on until blood poured from his opponent’s mouth. It was outright terrifying to witness and continued to be a horrifying sight whenever Taker used it moving forward. It’s a move that hinted at the dangers that could happen in a WWE ring.
5Piledriver
Wild Bill Longson Credited With Inventing It
A wrestler places their opponent’s head between their legs practically in a powerbomb position, but rather than lift them over their shoulders, they turn them upside down before dropping them onto their head. What makes this move all the more devastating is knowinghow easily it can go wrong and legitimately hurt someone. If the opponent’s head isn’t properly secured in the position, then they run a risk of severely injuring himself. Stone Cold nearly becoming paralyzed from a sit-out-piledriver from Owen Hart is a prime example.
Surprisingly, the Tombstone Piledriver is among the safest ways to take the maneuver - the head generally never hits the mat, as the person doing the move typically lands on their knees on impact - but as a reverse piledriver, it still looks fatal. On the other hand, Kevin Owens' Package Piledriver feels and looks as dangerous as possible, which led to its ban in WWE.
4Clothesline From Hell
Popularized by John “Bradshaw” Layfield
While normal clotheslines, or similar but different lariat moves, can look devastating if performed correctly, this entry is specifically about the Clothesline from Hell popularized by JBL. Every time Bradshaw flung his arm in the air like a wrecking ball and collided with his opponent, it looked like he was trying to knock the poor guy’s head clean off. And often, it looked like he did.
The trick to making this move look as vicious as it does is two-fold dependent on the person taking it and the person receiving it, as is often the case with wrestling moves. JBL has to give it his all to look as if he wants to decapitate his opponent, and the opponent needs to ragdoll sell it like he just got hit by a freight train.
3The Curb Stomp
James Harrison Credited With Inventing It
Seth Rollins originally called it The Blackout back in his NXT days, but truthfully, the name Curb Stomp immediately showcases just how savage the move is. It’s a straight-up Curb Stomp, driving his foot straight onto the back of the opponent’s head and planting it into the mat.A curb stomp in real life is a literal form of assault and a criminal offense that has been known to lead to the death of its victims. This may explain whyformer WWE Chairman Vince McMahoncalled for the move to be banned for a few years.
The actual wrestling move, believe it or not, is one of the safer moves to take in WWE, as Rollins doesn’t put as much impact on the head as it looks. It’s up to the opponent’s selling to make the move look brutal, but Vince nonetheless cited concern for children trying to duplicate the move to justify banning it in 2015. After two years, the finisher has since been reinstated.
2Punt Kick
Randy Orton Credited With Inventing It
The Punt Kick helped showcase Randy Orton’s killer instinctand twisted mentality that he adopted in 2007 as he transitioned from The Legend Killer to The Viper. The move consists of kicking a kneeling or crawling opponent as hard as possible in the head, which happened whenever Randy would “go to that place” (as Michael Cole would call it), and show complete disregard for his opponent’s well-being.
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The Punt Kick was actually a pretty dangerous move as Randy admitted that it was to make it look “real” while keeping his opponents safe. In 2009,Randy performed the move on Vince McMahon, giving him a concussion, which led to the ban of the Punt Kick for more than a decade. When Randy came back from injury in 2020, he was able to persuade Vince that he was now able to perform the move safely under any condition, and the Viper is currently free to kick people in the head in WWE, but he’s still be using the move sporadically for greater effect.
1Styles Clash
AJ Styles Credited With Inventing It
Perhaps a surprising number one entry, but the mystic of the Styles Clash goes beyond how dangerous it looks. While a casual fan may see this as AJ gently brushing his opponents' bellies on the floor, true wrestling aficionados know that perhaps the biggest metric of how dangerous a move is is how easy it is for the opponent to protect themselves while taking it. The Styles Clash essentially locks all the appendages of the victim in place, leaving them no chance for protection.
Another famous aspect of this move is that it can lead to serious injury if AJ’s opponents are not careful. To take the Styles Clash safely, one must raise their chin and tuck their head back, which is the exact opposite of what wrestlers do with any other move - something that’s drilled into them since training. Yoshi Tatsu famously forgot this important detail, which led to a serious neck injury. Luckily, no one has ever been injured by the Styles Clash inWWE, but the move still looks as dangerous as ever.
