Missed the rest? Catch up before reading the rest:
10. Shawn Michaels' Sweet Chin Music
While many have used a superkick as a finish, none have ever done it as well as Shawn Michaels. That is no surprise because no one has ever been a better professional wrestler than Shawn Michaels. The move is not only very believable (I mean, it's just a straight kick to the face) but it also can come out of nowhere. There are very few moves that are believable finishers, that do not require some time to set the move up first. With Sweet Chin Music, you almost never saw it coming.
9. Taz's Tazmission (Katahajime)
The final submission hold on this list may surprise a few but I strongly believe it belongs here. One thing to keep in mind about Taz is that he is very short for a wrestler, standing at only five foot nine. With a small size, there are not many holds that are effective to use and hard to escape but Taz found the perfect one. The tazmission is nothing more than a choke. The way he locks it in makes it virtually impossible to escape. The hold traps an opponent's arm by leaving it raised in the air in a way that does not allow it to be used for leverage to break the hold, then uses the same arm that is trapping the opponent to force their head down onto the other arm that is lodged on the opponent's throat. The hold is not a show, it is a legitimate, bad-ass way to knock someone out it real life. The size of opponent does not seem to matter much either, as Bam-Bam Bigelow found it easier to break the ring than the hold.
8. Homicide's Cop Killer/Gringo Killer
Homicides Gringo Killer/Cop Killer is one of the scariest moves I have ever seen performed. No matter how many times I see the move used, it never ceases to amaze me that the performer being hit with it is able to get up afterwards. It is risky not only because the opponents arms are trapped so that they cannot brace for the landing but also that they are being held in a position where Homicide himself has little he can do to control it. Most piledriver-type maneuvers involve the executor using their legs as a buffer between the opponents head and the mat to minimize impact. With the Gringo Killer, there is no such option.
7. Samoa Joe's Muscle Buster
The thing I love most about the muscle buster is the uniqueness of the setup. It is very rare to ever see an opponent so tightly balled up like Samoa Joe does to hit a big impact move, usually it is done for a submission or is roll-up or pinning maneuver of some sort. Joe uses this technique to maximize the impact to a given area, leaving an opponent in a position where their shoulders are completely exposed and have to take the full brunt of the impact. Joe also does a great job of using this move to embody his whole character, that of a big bad-ass dude who flies around the ring like some of the smaller guys. Batista at one point tried to incorporate the muscle buster into his arsenal but it didn't get over. The reason that Joe's works so well is that, unlike most big men, he doesn't try to make it a simple power move. The easy way to deliver would be to just drop back and drive them to the mat. Joe runs with the opponent and leaps up to add extra height to the impact.
6. KENTA's Go To Sleep
This is a move most people know now because CM Punk has been using it for a few years. As great as CM Punk is, he will readily admit he is an "old school guy" and that he draws a lot of his moves by taking them from older wrestlers and channeling the feel of 80's wrestling. That is all well and good but occasionally you have to rip off a new school guy to find a great finish, especially when the Anaconda Vice is getting you no where on WWE television. If you are looking for a fresh, devastating finisher, it is hard to find a simpler way to do it than the Go To Sleep. The concept is simple, lift your adversary onto your shoulders, drop him forward and throw your knee into his face when he is coming down. In a sport with as many horribly thrown fake punches and missed big boots as professional wrestling tends to offer, the Go To Sleep has offered up a strike that is truly to be feared and is easy to buy as a move that could knock an opponent out.
5. Stone Cold Steve Austin's Stone Cold Stunner
This is the move that is number one on the WWE DVD and if you are looking exclusively at the WWE, I think that is a fair choice. While it is far from the most traumatizing move you'll see on the list, there has never been one that is more fun to watch. This is another move that benefits from it's unpredictability because Austin could hit it anytime, anywhere, and on anyone. The move is legendary because of how many times you expected to see it. It doesn't matter what the situation was, Austin was so unpredictable he would hit it on anyone just because, and since the move can be hit with as little impact as needed, he can safely hit anybody with it.
Stacy Keibler doesn't like the beer I've shared with her.
Stunner.
Donald Trump is helping me celebrate.
Stunner.
There are about 30 people around me in a Pier 6 brawl.
Stunner. Stunner. Stunner. Stunner. Stunner. Stunner. Stunner. Stunner. Stunner. Stunner. Stunner. Stunner. Stunner. Stunner. Stunner. Stunner. Stunner. Stunner. Stunner. Stunner. Stunner. Stunner. Stunner. Stunner.
I have a tag team partner.
Stunner.
It just never got old.
4. Kenta Kobashi's Burning Hammer
And now we have reached the lists top "scary" move. It has been about 15 years since I stumbled across the existence of this move. When creating my own wrestler in WWF No Mercy for the Nintendo 64, I ran across a frightening move I had never seen before called the burning hammer. I figured it must be a move some programmer simply made up for the game as it looked far too dangerous for anyone to ever use in real life. About five years later, I saw my first Kobashi match, and I'll be damned if the move ain't real. Not only real but frequently used. Kobashi has been using the thing to win matches for about 20 years now and for the life of me, I still don't get how he doesn't break the other guys neck when he uses it.
3. Brock Lesnar's F-5
No matter how many times I see the F-5, it never ceases to amaze me how easy Brock Lesnar makes this move look. The move itself just serves to show just how monstrously strong Brock really is. The move starts out like many others: in a fireman carry. It doesn't end in any type of body slam or drop, rather Brock then spins his opponent out of this position and lands them flat on their face. There have been wrestlers that have shown great feats of strength lifting wrestler into similar position, however when the move itself is executed by most professionals, it looks like shit when used on a bigger man. Just watch John Cena hit an AA on Mark Henry and tel me he doesn't just drop him while moving around him because he can't dead lift enough to get him over. When Brock does it on a big man through, it looks just as good as on the smaller guys. Watch the above video and just see how great it looks on giants and midgets alike. The most impressive thing is that he essentially does it with one arm. Once in the carry, Brock has to use one arm to lift the opponent off his shoulder AND then push with enough force to spiral them to the other side of his body. The F-5 has been used by a few others on the indies but no one else compares, as it takes a once in a lifetime specimen like Lesnar to really make the move look incredible.
2. Undertaker's Tombstone Piledriver
Most of the finishing moves that big name wrestlers use have the exact opposite effect as the Tombstone, they seem less effective with time. It is commonplace in the world of wrestling today to see a wrestler debut, rattle off a winning streak with an established finisher, and then as they move up the card, please start kicking out. The Tombstone, however, has gotten better with age.
As the long career of the Undertaker has gone on, he has incorporated several different finishing moves: a chokeslam, The Last Ride, and The Hell's Gate. As the years have past, these were the finishers commonly used, and really the only ones that anyone kicks out of. Additionally, it has become significantly less frequent that anyone uses a piledriver of any kind on WWE television. The Tombstone in 2013 is not just a move, it's a special event. A wrestler can kick out of a Tombstone, still lose the match, and make a career out of it. For my money there is no move in WWE history that outdoes the Tombstone Piledriver.
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