Wrestling fans can be divided into two distinct groups. The first one is composed of fans that want to see scientific grappling, logical ring psychology, and dramatic near-falls, all of which make an excellent wrestling match. The second group is made up of those people that just want to see wrestling moves used because they look cool.
These groups tend to bleed into each other somewhat, but the latter appears to be the bigger one. A lot of fans like wrestling because they, as kids, practised wrestling moves on each other. These people were most likely to practice their favourite wrestlers’ finishers on each other because that was the most fun.
I mean, what kid would choose to emulate a complicated exchange of grappling holds over a Stone Cold Stunner?
All this is important because it helps us understand what today’s WWE fans are looking for. They want to see cool wrestling moves in a WWE ring more than they want to listen to weird promos and nonsensical storylines.
That’s what wrestling has always been: an outlandishly-choreographed fight in which two or more men/women find creative ways to make it look like they’re hurting each other.
Many of today’s WWE Superstars have boring or similar-looking finishers, which doesn’t help them enough in becoming more popular with the audience. If you look at the finishing moves of yore, they were simple, could be used against any opponent, and were part of a wrestler’s personality and character.
Today, the only WWE wrestler to have this kind of popular finisher is Randy Orton, and that’s thanks to VINE and other video manipulation tools used to superimpose him into random videos, often with hilarious results.
There are a lot of impressive wrestling moves out there, many of which aren’t seen in WWE for one reason or another. Fans are forced to see these cooler moves either on YouTube or in smaller promotions to see the kinds of crazy things non-WWE wrestlers can do.
Below, we’ll propose ten wrestling moves (most of which can be done safely) that should be seen in a WWE ring, and we’ll also propose the wrestler that should use it.
Honourable Mention: The Fisherman Powerbomb/Spinebuster
This is one of those great wrestling moves that doesn’t just look cool, but it’s also one of the best mixes of power and technique rolled into one. The user lifts their opponent up for a Fisherman Buster, but instead of falling backwards and dropping them on their heads, the victim is swung forward instead, landing on their back with ferocious impact.
This is a move that takes speed and a perfect flow to pull off perfectly, so it should be used by someone that has both of those assets. Seth Rollins fits that bill perfectly, as he has shown that he has enough strength to pull of power moves well, and he’s also one of the top technicians in WWE.
SmakcDown’s Lana uses a variation of this move as her new in-ring finisher, and thus far it has looked just as devastating in a WWE ring. This is an excellent decision by WWE’s bookers to elevate Lana quickly. Fans will want to see her use an unusual and otherwise awesome finishing move, which will help her become a bigger star quickly.
#10 The Burning Lariat
Proposed user: Nia Jax
This move is perfect for the dominant heel that is in control of the situation and is showing that off to the audience. What separates a Burning Lariat from a regular lariat is that it’s done from close range, instead of while running.
The move looks extremely vicious as the user holds their helpless opponent by the head/hair with one arm, signals with their lariat arm, and smashes their opponent with that strike from short-range with devastating force.
While this move would fit any power-based wrestler and more or less any heel, it’s ideal for Nia Jax because it would look most convincing coming from her. Instead of using a Samoan Drop as a finisher (which is a setup move used by Roman Reigns anyway), she can use this strike attack to steamroll her opponents and look much more dangerous in the process.
#9 The Stu Hart Special
Proposed User: Natalya/Mojo Rawley/Darren Young/any lower-carder WWE wants to keep long-term
What we have here is another perfect combination of strength, skill and speed. The Stu Hart Special is a move that, thus far, has been used by only one person: Teddy Hart. However, Hart has only used the move outside of WWE, so this impressive move hasn’t been seen by the extensive WWE Universe.
What we have here is a move that, at first, looks either like a Widow’s Peak or Crucifix Powerbomb. But instead of hitting those moves, the user flips his opponent forward, and they land in a Sitout Powerbomb position. Think of Super Dragon’s Barry White Driver, only with a safe landing on one’s back instead of on the head.
There are several options for this move. Natalya, being the only remaining active Hart Family member in WWE, could use this move do freshen things up with her character (especially since she’s no longer the most popular wrestler to use the Sharpshooter). The other option would be to bestow this move onto any lower-card wrestler WWE wants to keep around for long-term.
That’s because this move would definitely get a good reaction from the audience, and while that particular wrestler (whether it’s Mojo Rawley, Darren Young, or someone else) might not get a sustained long-term push, it would make sense for them to have a cool finisher if they’re going to simply be around for a long time and WWE would want them to have some degree of sustained fan interest.
#8 The Back Suplex Chokeslam
Proposed User: Jinder Mahal
This move gets chosen out of sheer uniqueness. Every big man ever uses a standard Chokeslam from the front, but not everyone can pull one off from a Back Suplex. Because it’s done from a different position, the user doesn’t have to be extra tall for the move to work.
Jinder Mahal would benefit the most from this move because his current finisher, a Cobra Clutch Slam, doesn’t look very good. He doesn’t get much height when he does it, so the impact looks minimal. He also doesn’t look like he’s lifting his opponent very much or even putting in much effort into extending his body when he falls. Think of this as the opposite of the Rock Bottom. Rocky would always look like he’s putting extra effort into making the distance from the standing position to the ground look like a big fall, while Jinder...does not.
Executing an entirely different move where half the elevation’s already taken care of seems like a win-win situation.
#7 The Wrist-Clutch Exploder Suplex
Proposed User: Dean Ambrose/Bayley
Another unusual move, the Wrist-Clutch Exploder is a combination of a suplex and a DDT. You take an ordinary-looking suplex, hook the wrestler’s arm with one hand, wrap your other arm around their collar, lift them up for a suplex lift, and drop them on their upper shoulders. It looks like a genuinely vicious move, but also one that requires a lot of set-up.
Whosoever uses this move can have several dramatic moments in their match, with the commentators screaming something like, ‘once he/she has those arms locked, it’s game over‘, signalling the move’s imminent use. That’s why the move brought so much success for its two most prominent users, NJPW’s Yuji Nagata, and AJPW/NOAH’s Jun Akiyama.
As for WWE, the two best options are Dean Ambrose (whose Dirty Deeds DDT is a boring finisher; after all, it’s just a DDT with arms hooked) or Bayley (who desperately needs a new finisher). Personally, I’d recommend Bayley use it because her character needs a change, and her Bayley-to-Belly finisher has, quite simply, too much hugging involved. She’s a wrestler, not a child.
#6 The Inverted (Ura) Go 2 Sleep
Proposed User: Hideo Itami
The GTS is a wildly popular and risky move. The poor soul taking it and the user both need to have perfect timing so that the victim doesn’t get their skull fractured by a knee hitting them in the face. Even though Hideo Itami created te move before CM Punk ever started using it regularly, the WWE fans think of Punk more than of Itami whenever the GTS is seen.
Thus, to kill two birds with one stone, I propose an alternative: have Itami hit the GTS from a backbreaker rack instead of a fireman’s carry, and have his knee hit the back of the head instead of the face. While it’s true that both versions carry an equal amount of danger to them (it’s a knee lift to the head, after all), at least Itami has a better chance of carving out his own identity in WWE using the latter than he does the original GTS, which might as well be renamed to ‘CM Punk’s finisher’.
#5 The UFO
Proposed User: Cesaro
Before coming to WWE, Claudio Castagnoli used to use this move regularly on the independent scene. It isn’t hard to see why’ this is a simple yet insanely entertaining move. It’s basically an inverted aeroplane spin, with the added feature of Cesaro letting go of his opponent once he has enough momentum going and they’re basically spinning around on top of Cesaro’s neck.
Cesaro hasn’t used this move in WWE presumably because of how much it must hurt his back to pull off. But one can be sure that if he were to ever pull this move off in a WWE ring, he’d get a bigger reaction than anything he has ever gotten before. It’s just that awesome of a move, and it’s perfect for a naturally strong man like him.
#4 The Emerald Flowsion
Proposed User: Samoa Joe
I’m a big fan of unique-looking moves, especially when they help a wrestler distinguish themselves from their peers. After all, how many random midcarders in WWE use some variation of a DDT or a neckbreaker as a finisher?
This move makes the list for three reasons. First, it while it does look unique and dangerous (which would fit any top heel in WWE), it’s actually safe and easy to pull off as long as you have enough upper body strength (which isn’t a problem for most WWE wrestlers, anyway).
Second, Samoa Joe needs a new finishing move, especially since his Muscle Buster is forbidden at this point, given what happened to Tyson Kidd. Joe can’t rely on the Coquina Clutch forever because it’ll be broken/someone will escape from it eventually, and it’ll lose its effectiveness. He also cannot rely on his STO slam as a finisher, because that’s too basic a move to be believable, no matter how much power he puts into it.
Third, Joe used to use this move years ago and called it the Island Driver. Since he has experience pulling this move of successfully and safely, it would make sense for him to do something he has done before, without worrying about using a new move that could go awry.
#3 Volcano Eruption
Proposed User: Roman Reigns
There is no video for this move anywhere, and the only GIF of it is on a Japanese wrestling website. I’ll do my best to explain this move, and why Roman Reigns should use it.
The user (in this case, the move’s inventor, Kensuke ‘Power Warrior’ Sasaki) stands behind his opponent, hooking their left arm in a half nelson with one arm and hooking his right arm between their legs around their stomach. Sasaki then lifts his opponent upwards (and they’re bent over in a Powerbomb position by this point), and he turns sideways, dropping his opponent with what’s basically a one-arm Powerbomb.
This move has control, technique, and tonnes of power on it. There’s also something special about seeing a wrestler smash their opponent down to the canvas with devastating force using only one arm. If WWE wants people to believe that Reigns is a good wrestler that can dominate people, he needs to stop using the most overused move ever in the Spear.
The Volcano Eruption.Half Nelson Driver is a much better option, and could actually lead to Reigns getting some genuine cheers out of people that like to see cool wrestling moves (of which the Spear is not).
#2 The Dominator
Proposed User: Big E/Jason Jordan
There’s a reason Bobby Lashley used this move for so many years without needing to change anything: it fit his style as a power-based wrestler perfectly. The Dominator, or reversed Powerbomb, looks vicious and probably hurts like hell because the victim is smashed face, chest and knees-first into the mat, all while the user stands tall afterwards.
If you ever look at artwork depicting famous battles or decisive victories, the winner is usually standing tall while their fallen opponents lie face-down in the dirt. The Dominator is the wrestling equivalent of that image.
The two top choices for this move are Big E and Jason Jordan. Jordan is an option because he’s that ideal power wrestler that could use a more effective singles finisher, especially in situations when he can’t rely on Chad Gable to set him up for their tag team finisher.
Big E, however, is the better option because his current finisher is one of the worst on the roster. Even when he does a combo move with Kofi Kingston, Big E’ Big Ending looks terrible, since it looks like his opponent falls onto him and he absorbs the majority of the impact himself.
#1 The Dragonrana
Proposed User: Kalisto
This is the cruiserweight move. This is the move that most fans think of when they think ‘highl-flying wrestling move’, and it’s a thing of beauty.
The Dragonrana combined a front flip with a Hurricanrana, creating one of the craziest ‘flippy’ moves in all of wrestling. It takes a considerable amount of skill and technique to pull off perfectly, so the person who does so can only be considered a true expert in pro-wrestling. Oh, and a ‘Phoenix’ version also exists.
This move would be perfect for Kalisto, whose Salida del Sol/standing Shiranui appears to have lost its lustre. While that move it still rather cool-looking, it lacks that extra ‘something’ that makes him look like a true cruiserweight athlete.
If he were to use a move that requires more speed, more skill, and perfect timing (and also has the added luxury of being downright awesome), there’s a good chance Kalisto’s popularity would soar.
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