30 Day Wrestling Challenge - Day 17 Favourite Finisher

May 5, 20206 min read

Every wrestler has a finisher and there are thousands to choose from - but which moves live long and cherished in the memory of the WSBF nerds?

Let's find out!

DANIEL WILDASH - THE STYLES CLASH

There are a lot of great and devastating finishing moves in wrestling. From the RKO to the Stunner, a lot of these moves have been performed in wrestling rings and, even though WWE advise us not to, on our siblings at home.

My absolute favourite of all time has to be the Styles Clash. Since my early days of watching wrestling I’ve always loved a move that legitimately looks like it does serious damage to people. For example, the Tombstone Piledriver. A move that literally slams your opponents head into the mat. Can I say I have taken a Tombstone? Yes. This may explain a few things.

The Styles clash involves turning your opponent upside down, a bit like the Tombstone, locking your legs in-between their arms and smashing their face into the mat. You try that on someone and you’ll probably break their neck (which is exactly what Styles did to Lionheart RIP back in 2014).

The Styles Clash was probably one of the most protected finisher across the 00’s and into the mid 10’s with Styles using it in promotions ranging from TNA, PWG, NJPW and ROH. It wasn’t until he got to WWE in 2016 that I personally felt the Styles Clash started to lose its sparkle.

Firstly this is down to WWE pushing the calf crusher as Styles dominant finisher (possibly due to how “unsafe” the Styles Clash is) and secondly, multiple wrestlers kicking out of it with ease which is a damn shame if you ask me.

I absolutely love this move and no matter what WWE do to tarnish it - I’ll still, in my best Joey Styles voice, scream OH MY GOD over it.

JCH - CLOSE YOUR EYES AND COUNT TO FUCK

In the modern era finishers have been diminished somewhat by the kick-out. My good friend RevPro Rob is someone who often gets taken out of matches by kick outs and I don’t 100% blame him, but I will say to him that Adam Cole just isn’t that good at the moves Bay-Bay.

I do like a submission and if I knew which of ZSJ’s finishers were which then he’s have a chance here. Michael Oku has done a fantastic job in making the half crab a great finish for himself. Arisa Hoshiki’s running knee strike or Brazilian kick and Aleister Black’s black Mass are the epitome of striking excellence.

For high flying moves you have Montez Ford and the best Frog Splash I’ve ever seen and Pac and the Black Arrow into the Brutalizer.

The RKO out of nowhere and the Pedigree are two excellent finishers from wrestlers I don’t care to mention by name. In the end though, when it comes to downright filth, a move that is ending the match, no matter what.

I would like to showcase a man who has been on the shelf for a little while. He may have fallen off people’s radar a bit, but is an excellent wrestler in both tag team and singles action.

He also calls his finisher - Close your eyes and count to fuck. A pull up piledriver that looks as violent as the name sounds.

Mark Davis - a worthy winner of best Finisher.

BRUM - CATTLE MUTILATION

I have a real penchant for submission finishers. I think they offer an added level drama that a pinfall-inducing finisher misses.

The success of a standard finisher is binary at the point of the 3rd slap of the ref's hand on the mat. Whilst a submission move can finish a match instantaneously, or go on for a while as the recipient struggles through the pain.

Another characteristic of a finisher that draws me to them is how primordial they are. Hitting a cool looking slam or suplex and having a third party count to 3 is something which exists only in wrestling. Putting someone in a painful or dangerous hold until they beg for mercy is much easier to relate to.

Finally, I find submissions to be the most aesthetically pleasing finishers. You have a great shot of person A wrenching on a body part as person B is contorted in pain and/or physical peril.

Though there is a simple poetry to some of the classic finishers, like the camel clutch or the sleeper, where the victim's face is presented to the camera as they struggle, I am naturally drawn to the more unorthodox holds.

My other favourite submission is Zack Sabre Jr's Orienteering With Napalm Death where he slowly and elaborately puts someone in an almost escapable position. But my all time favourite is "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson's Cattle Mutilation.

My favourite part of this move is the transitional bridge roll which completes the move. Austin Aries does something very similar with the Last Chancery which is another great finisher.

But I also love, in contrast to the aforementioned camel clutch and sleeper, how the recipient's face is obscured so (apart from their body signals) you're blind to their suffering making the result unknown until it happens. Danielson's face is also mostly obscured so you're unaware of how strained he is.

This is counterintuitive to how we are taught to understand wrestling. We want to see wrestler's faces to understand what they are going through. However, without this, we may lose some emotional resonance but we gain suspense. This is what makes this finisher beautiful.

In short, submission finishers are really cool & this is the best. It also has a sick name.

DOM VAN DAM - VAN TERMINATOR

On day 11 of our 30 day wrestling challenge, I spoke a little bit about the series of matches between Rob Van Dam and Jerry Lynn and particularly the first of this series that I saw, on a VHS, from Hardcore Heaven 2000.

What I failed to mention about the match was the finish, which saw RVD’s friend and cornerman Scotty Anton (Riggs) push Van Dam from the top rope to one of the most awkward landings you’ll ever see, on the side of the entrance ramp. Jerry Lynn capitalised and finally “won the big one” over Van Dam.

Over the next few weeks though as RVD returned to full health he promised revenge against his former best friend, Anton. He prophesied about a brand new finishing manoeuvre which would “terminate” Scotty once and for all.

When the 2 finally met at Heatwave 2000, the ECW fans were at a fever pitch, desperate to find out what new move their hero was going to unleash on his dastardly opponent. “Terminator! (Clap clap clap clap clap) Terminator!” The fans chanted after RVD had seemingly emptied his whole offensive arsenal.

Anton was finished, propped against the bottom turnbuckle, prone in the corner of the ring. The manager of champions, Bill Alfonso, positioned a chair right in front of the lifeless Anton.

“But what is the VanTerminator?” Asked Joey Styles on commentary as RVD, from the opposite apron of the ring, leaped to the top rope and spring-boarded all the way across the squared circle to drop kick the steel chair into the face of his nemesis.

The crash landing of Van Dam’s frame on the canvas was mirrored in ferocity, only by the crash of steel on skull. The crowd fell silent at the potential murder they had just witnessed. Time seemed to stand still for a moment until Don Callis (Cyrus), on commentary, exclaimed: “Good God.”

The VanTerminator is the perfect, special finisher. It added to a story because similar to the Burning Hammer for Kobashi; If RVD hit it, you knew this was either the end of a blood feud or a special victory.

It was the perfect juxtaposition between athleticism and brutality, beauty and horror, high flying and hardcore. Several have attempted to recreate the move, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery after all.

But no-one will ever quite recreate the atmosphere of that night in 2000 when the crowd felt they were truly witnessing something historic.

30 DAY CHALLENGE

DAY 1 - FAVOURITE MALE WRESTLER

DAY 2 - FAVOURITE FEMALE WRESTLER

DAY 3 - FAVOURITE MOMENT YOU'VE SEEN LIVE

DAY 4 - FAVOURITE TAG TEAM

DAY 5 - YOUR FIRST WRESTLING MEMORY

DAY 6 - FAVOURITE FACTION

DAY 7 - FAVOURITE PROMOTION

DAY 8 - FAVOURITE MANAGER

DAY 9 - FAVOURITE COMMENTARY TEAM

DAY 10 - FAVOURITE ENTRANCE THEME