There’s nothing quite as final in professional wrestling as the ‘finishing move’. It’s a wrestler’s signature move that is supposed to lay his opponent down for once and for all, and at the same time look devastating and impactful.
It gives each wrestler their own unique identity and a chance to create a lasting impression in the minds of fans, becoming as emblematic of pro wrestling as the entrance music.
While there have been many devastating finishing moves in the WWE’s history, some really famous ones are actually quite terrible. For every Stone Cold Stunner and Tombstone Piledriver, there’s a sleeper hold around the corner.
Let’s take a look at the 5 lamest finish moves in WWE history.
#5 Mr.Socko/The Mandible Claw
The mandible claw is just a really dumb finishing move. While the claw is applied, the person taking the move have their arms and legs free so what’s to stop them from fighting back? It just doesn’t make sense. Admittedly, having someone’s hand/sock covered hand in your mouth can be uncomfortable but for it to finish a match is just a joke.
The only reason Mick Foley managed to make it work with Socko was his charisma and ability to hold the crowd in the palm of his hand. It’s been a lame finishing move for everyone else who’s used it.
#4 The People’s Elbow
Before all you Rock fans bring out your pitchforks, let me make my case. Even though the People’s Elbow was a very protected finisher during the Attitude Era, it’s basically an elbow drop with The Rock’s charisma attached to it.
A move that originally started as a rib between the wrestlers’ backstage, over time the move has become hallowed in the annals of wrestling history thanks to The Rock.
But it when you think about it, only The Rock could have made an elbow drop prefaced by a load of shenanigans work as a finishing move.
#3 KO Punch
In an era in wrestling where wrestlers are already punching and striking each other in every match, strike finishers just make no sense. If the Big Show can knock out a person with his KO punch, why doesn’t he just use that move at the beginning of the match instead of throwing ‘normal punches’. At least, with the Samoan Spike, Umaga made it look brutal and props to him for that.
Even in an age where MMA is becoming increasingly more mainstream, strike finishers like the KO punch and Samoan Spike are really lame in the world of professional wrestling which is as much about showmanship as realism.
#2 The Legdrop
Hulk Hogan may be the most famous professional wrestler of all time, but his finishing move was one of the lamest of all time. The legdrop didn’t quite cut it back in the day and still is one of the worst finishers in wrestling and just showed the athletic limitations of Hogan for having to settle for such a basic move.
If Hulk had been the only person to use the legdrop then maybe it’d have been slightly different but all sorts of wrestlers have used it; it is a very common move in wrestling.
The move just doesn’t look devastating; especially over the last few years as wrestlers have grown more athletic and the style of wrestling has become faster and more technical.
#1 The OverDrive
The OverDrive is one of the most non-sensical finishers in wrestling. It has been used in the past by wrestlers like MVP, Carlito and Randy Orton at a time.
The OverDrive is a complicated looking and awkward move that looks like the giver gets hurt more than the person taking it. After all, the person giving the move smashes his own knee as hard as he can into the mat while the head of the person taking in is just cushion behind said knee.
The only danger the person taking the move is experiencing a little whiplash, but even that would be stretching it.
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