5 moves WWE Superstars retired as their finisher 

WWE Superstars employ a wide variety of moves to land on their opponents and weaken them. Some are traditional wrestling maneuvers, while others are more complex and used as big-impact moves.

The most impactful of the latter is called the finishing move, or simply the finisher. A wrestler's finisher is the best move in their arsenal, the one that is supposed to keep their opponent down for the count. Throughout WWE history, fans have associated wrestlers with their finishers. The Undertaker is synonymous with the Tombstone Piledriver, as is Goldberg with the Jackhammer.

However, there have been plenty of times when a superstar has either abandoned a finisher completely or resorted to not using it as a match-killer. This happens due to a variety of reasons, ranging from personal to mandated.

In that regard, here are five of many instances where WWE Superstars retired a move as their finisher.

#5. On our list of moves WWE Superstars retired as their finisher: The Last Ride (The Undertaker)

More often than not, The Last Ride was exactly that for 'Taker's opponents

When The Undertaker ran with the American Badass gimmick, he introduced a finisher called The Last Ride. It was a powerbomb with some extra lift that sent his unfortunate victim crashing to the ground.

Once Undertaker reverted to his old character, he restored the Tombstone Piledriver as his finisher. However, he kept using The Last Ride as a signature move alongside Old School, Snake Eyes and the ever-popular Chokeslam.

#4. Revolution Knee (Seth 'Freakin' Rollins)

Rollins' ripcord move didn't retain its finisher status for long

Seth 'Freakin' Rollins is probably the only wrestler who has had to retire a finisher thrice. First WWE banned him from using the popular Curbstomp due to the move's extremely dangerous nature. Then he shunned its replacement for the Revolution Knee, and then stopped using that in favor of, well, the Curbstomp.

It is the latter we will be talking about here. After defeating Triple H at WrestleMania 33, Rollins resorted to using the Revolution Knee as his match-ending move. However, the poor reception to the maneuver forced The Architect to revert to his old finisher, which he has kept till date.

#3. Muscle Buster (Samoa Joe)

The Muscle Buster was retired due to an unfortunate incident

While Samoa Joe may use the Muscle Buster in AEW, this list pertains to the superstars' tenures only in WWE.

Samoa Joe's Muscle Buster was his finisher during his NXT days. It was a critically-acclaimed move, but it didn't receive the green light when he made the jump to the main roster.

This was due to the maneuver injuring Tyson Kidd in June 2015. While wrestling him in a dark match, Joe hit the Muscle Buster to take the win. However, his opponent suffered a horrific neck injury that forced him to go for immediate surgery. He was forced to end his career due to the severity of the incident.

Upon arriving on the main roster, The Samoan Submission Machine lived up to his nickname and started employing a hold called the Coquina Clutch. The Muscle Buster all but disappeared from WWE given what happened to Kidd.

#2. Pop-Up Powerbomb (Kevin Owens)

Kevin Owens has been synonymous with cool powerbombs since his NXT days. His finisher for a long time was the Pop-Up Powerbomb, which involved him launching a running wrestler into the air and sending them to the ground in devastating fashion.

However, Owens recently relegated the maneuver to a Signature move. He replaced it with the iconic Stunner, which is the finisher he uses to date. In an interview with Sports Illustrated, KO revealed why he decided to adopt 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin's legendary finisher.

“I felt like everybody was doing powerbombs left and right, and I wanted to try something else. And one day it occurred to me that no one does the stunner as a finishing move, but to me, it’s always been the best move. So I just went to Steve [Austin] one day when he was here and I asked him, and he said, ‘I can’t believe nobody’s asked me this before, but of course you can use it. Do whatever you want with it.’ He gave me the approval and it’s working for me, so I have no intention of stopping and no intention of renaming it, either. It’s the stunner and it always will be the stunner.”

#1. Punt Kick (Randy Orton)

Randy Orton is perhaps the superstar most synonymous with his finisher. His RKO maneuver is even known to non-WWE fans, having made it into vines and the like.

However, many people forget that Orton used to employ another finisher alongside the RKO. This was his infamous punt kick, which he used to arguably more devastating effect. No one was safe when The Viper was in the mood to belt their heads.

The 14-time world champion was forced to retire the move in 2012 upon being told by WWE that it carried a high risk of causing concussions. He stuck to the RKO for the rest of his career bar a brief period in 2020, when he was on his run as the reborn Legend Killer persona.