Throughout WWE’s 50+ year history, the WWE Universe has witnessed some truly awful, and sometimes illogical, finishing moves. In the past, larger than life superstars have used regular leg drops, splashes and clotheslines as finishers, which has helped them defeat their opponents.
Clearly, times have changed and we are starting to see more and more impressive, high-impact finishing maneuvers. This list is dedicated to those finishing moves that make wrestling fans shake their heads in disapproval.
Of course, everybody has their own preference and/or opinion about which finishers are cool and uncool, but this list takes a look at the least impressive and unrealistic finishing moves performed by superstars on WWE TV today.
7. PERFECT PLEX: CURTIS AXEL
Cena kicks out!
The great Mr. Perfect used the Perfect Plex to dismantle and defeat his opponents and the way he executed the move was, well, perfect. Axel has done a good job picking up the finisher from his father and he continues to perform the move better and better each and every time we see it. However, my problem isn’t the way Axel is performing the Perfect Plex, the problem is the move itself.
Goldberg switched up a standard Suplex and turned it into the Jackhammer, a powerful finisher that looked painful to the audience because it looked like he put all of his muscle behind it. However, the Perfect Plex is nothing more than a standard Fisherman’s Suplex. I understand that the wrestler performing the move has leverage and hooks his opponent’s leg, but there is just something about it that doesn’t impress me, and I’m not a harsh judge. No Simon Cowell or Piers Morgan over here. The Perfect Plex doesn’t have that high-impact, holy shit explosive force to it and I’m still not sold on the maneuver being a top notch finisher.
6. ZIG-ZAG: DOLPH ZIGGLER
Big Show kicks out! (Couldn’t find the video of Cena kicking out)
Dolph Ziggler is great. He is arguably the greatest athlete on the current WWE roster and his career can be defined as an endless rollercoaster ride. Ziggler is damn impressive in that ring, but his finishing move is not. Just imagine anybody else on the WWE roster using the Zig-Zag as a finisher. Better yet, think of Daniel Bryan hitting the Zig-Zag on Kofi Kingston…not so impressive, right?
Because of his leaping ability and wrestling style, upon first glance, the Zig-Zag doesn’t look too bad. But, that’s because Ziggler is performing it. If you really watch the move, all Ziggler is doing is jumping high in the air, grabbing his opponent’s shoulders and/or neck and then slamming them down onto the mat. Performing the Zig-Zag off the top turnbuckle would be awesome and devastating, but considering the length of the fall is how tall Ziggler’s opponent is, sometimes, the move just doesn’t look all that painful.
Don’t get me wrong, any maneuver that injures an opponent’s head is impactful, but from what I’ve seen, it’s too obvious that the “bad guys” are landing on their backs, which makes the move less impressive. I would love to see Ziggler use the Zig-Zag as a signature move and replace it with the Fame Asser.
5. WORLD’S STRONGEST SLAM: MARK HENRY
Couldn’t find the video of Cena kicking out
You would think that the World’s Strongest Slam would be showcased in the “Most Devastating Finishing Moves” list, but the way Henry executes the maneuver is underwhelming. You have a man that can pull two semi-trucks on his back, and his finisher is one of the simplest and unoriginal moves in wrestling – a Falling Power Slam. Henry performs a mightily impressive Running Power Slam from time to time and even that maneuver looks more devastating than the World’s Strongest Slam.
Maybe I’m in the minority, but I’m just not a big fan of this finisher. Mark Henry is dubbed as the World’s Strongest Man and realistically, any power move that he hits on his opponents would probably kill them. However, we’re talking about professional wrestling here. The World’s Strongest Slam makes the list for unoriginality and the way the slam is performed. I’d like to see him put in a lot more force when executing this move, but who knows; maybe he lays off on the power (a bit too much) in order to prevent crushing his opponents.
4. WMD: BIG SHOW
Sheamus kicks out!
Big Show’s WMD is a regular punch to the face – something that we see in e every single match. However, this particular punch looks devastating because Big Show cocks his hand back, screams out loud, cries and drools a little bit before laying the smack down. The reason why I find this move unimpressive is because it looks uninspiring. If wrestling was “real”, every punch Big Show throws would knock his opponents out cold. Show will be throwing punches throughout the entire match that barely affects his opponents, only to hit virtually the same punch and pick up a victory. Big Show’s WMD is not very impressive.
