Every wrestler has a finisher, some wrestlers have two or three. Some wrestlers use the same finisher as others. Despite that, every version of a finisher is special and unique to an individual. There's so many but you can't have all of them as your favorites. Here's a list of some of my favorites.
5. Ron Simmons - Spinebuster: A lot of people use the spinebuster. Not always as a finisher. Ron Simmons made it his finish through his entire career. A lot of people, myself included, talk about Arn Anderson's spinebuster but Ron's deserves love too. His was just vicious to the point where it looked like was trying to throw you through the mat. Over the years it evolved, from one hand to two as he got older and he could hit it from a lot of different positions in and out of the ring. He was also able to lift just about anyone if they didn't jump in time. The finish was always different, he might hook the leg, just taunt or my favorite was in big matches he would just collapse backwards. His version of the Spinebuster even got borrowed by David Otunga for a while who used it as his finisher.
4. Okada - Rainmaker: I was once told you run into a clothesline, but a lariat runs into you. Okada has the nicest lariat I've ever seen. His dropkick and tombstone piledriver aren't bad either. But, the way he hits the rainmaker is stunning. The setup is always the same but once he gets you, game over.
3. Arn Anderson - Spinebuster: Arn doesn't look like he should be that smooth, but he is so smooth. His spinebuster looks to be a single fluid motion. My favorite is when he would slide into the ring, like a snake, hit the spinebuster and roll out. It only took seconds, but they were glorious. Every now and then they'll bring Arn in just to hit the spinebuster on someone, and no matter how old he gets, it still looks crisp.
2. Bobby Lashley - Dominator: Right now WWE has given Bobby a few different finishers, but my favorite will always be the first. The Dominator. I'm not even sure what this move really would be called. Maybe an inverted shoulder powerslam or something. Anyway, it's just nasty and has a taunt built right into it. I've loved that move since I was a kid and it always finds it's way into my moveset when i'm playing one of the WWE video games.
1. Billy Kidman - Shooting Star Press: These days everyone does a shooting star press. It doesn't matter if you're Matt Sydal or Brian Cage. But, growing up there wasn't always a bunch of high fliers. Billy Kidman was one of those guys who didn't fly across the sky all the time, but for the Shooting Star Press he did. His was so great because it was almost as if he would hang in the air, a full rotation every time, it was great to watch.
Honorable Mention: The Spear - I like The Spear, but it seems like everyone and their mom does it now. Not all of them are good either. I love Edge and like Goldberg but their spears are trash. Roman has been improving but sometimes it looks like a big shoulder tackle. Now, two great spears are Moose and Bobby Lashley. Lashley looks like he just runs through you, as if you're more ghost than man. Moose usually hits a flip off his so it makes you look strong for taking but also shows how much momentum there was. Everyone else isn't memorable.
You can download a free copy of my book Phantasmagorical. Also check out some of my work for BlerdsOnline.com or hear me on the Powerbomb Jutsu podcast.
Follow @OriginalKingD
