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A Superstar's finishing move is one of the most important aspects of their character. It is the ultimate weapon which is used by a wrestler to beat their opponent. Once a WWE Superstar performs his finisher, it is almost guaranteed that their opponent won't be getting up before the three-count.
Over the years, we have seen countless destructive finishers being executed by various WWE Superstars. The Rock Bottom, The Stunner, and The Tombstone Piledriver are only a few iconic finishing maneuvers that were massively over with the WWE Universe.
However, there have also been numerous wrestling finishers that do not seem to be believable at all. These moves don't look authentic, which exposes the scripted nature of the sport.
Some of these finishers have been replaced over time, while some remained in the arsenal of various WWE Superstars throughout their careers.
In this article, let's take a look at five such lacklustre wrestling moves that didn't deserve to be a recognised as a finishing maneuver.
#5 Bayley to Belly - WWE SmackDown's Bayley
Bayley made her WWE debut during the 2016 Battleground PPV, where she teamed up with Sasha Banks to battle the team of Charlotte and Dana Brooke. She debuted on the red brand the next night and quickly became one of the most important female Superstars on the main roster.
Her "Hugger" gimmick was extremely popular among the WWE Universe, with some even referring to her as the female version of John Cena. However, the only problem with her character representation was her ineffective finisher.
Bayley used to have a simple Belly to Belly maneuver as her finisher. It is just a simple turnaround Bodyslam, which is no longer trustful for getting a three-count.
While her fellow female competitors like Sasha Banks, Charlotte Flair, and Becky Lynch had amazing finishing moves, Bayley's lame finisher used to overshadow her incredible in-ring ability.
However, Bayley's heel turn in 2019 changed her entire character. She now no longer uses "Bayley to Belly" as her finisher and has replaced it with a new one named "The Rose Plant". It is a modified version of the Headlock Driver and has helped her in laying down various Superstars over her heel run so far.
#4 Rear View - WWE RAW's Naomi
Naomi is one of the most exceptional female WWE Superstars to ever step foot in the ring. Her in-ring athleticism seems to be unmatched, as she performs many unusual and strange-looking wrestling moves, which leave the fans awestruck.
However, despite being so amazing in the ring, Naomi has often been overlooked due to her extremely pale finisher. Her finisher is called "The Rear View", which is one of the most ridiculous looking finishing moves of all time.
The move requires Naomi to jump into her opponent's path with some momentum and crash her hip into the their face. The move might look effective in grounding an opponent, but it was absolutely goofy for Naomi to pin a Superstar with such a weak move.
However, Naomi did change the move in 2016, when she became the WWE Smackdown Women's Champion. She selected the Anaconda Vice as her new finisher, before finally sticking up to a top rope-assisted Moonsault.
#3 Wasteland - Former WWE star Wade Barrett
Wade Barrett's WWE career saw many ups and downs. He stormed onto the main roster by destroying WWE's biggest babyface at the time in John Cena. Barrett led the infamous WWE faction The Nexus, one of the most dominant WWE stables of all time. Although he was never successful in winning a World title, Barrett continued to be a top Superstar in WWE.
He contended for various WWE titles and captured the Intercontinental Championship five times in his career. He also became King of the Ring in 2015, before being released by the company. For a Superstar who had such an eventful career, it was inadmissible that Barrett used to have a finisher like Wasteland.
Wasteland was a basic Fireman's carry slam. Unlike John Cena's AA, Barrett forwardly slammed his opponent onto the mat. The move looked decent, but only produced a limited impact. It was a good setup move, but was nowhere near impactful enough to be called a finisher.
The move didn't do any justice to a total package Superstar like Wade Barrett. He initially replaced the finisher with a Sidewalk Slam, before finally adopting the "Bull Hammer". The move was quite popular with the fans and remained in Barrett's arsenal until his departure from WWE.
#2 The Worm - Former WWE star Scotty 2 Hotty
Scotty 2 Hotty is one of the most entertaining characters WWE has ever produced. Briefly remembered for his alignment with Rikishi and Brian Christopher, Scotty was one of the most beloved lower mid-card Superstars of the Ruthless Aggression Era.
Scotty was part of memorable tag-team "Too Cool", along with Brian (a.k.a. Grandmaster Sexay). He won several tag titles and also captured the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship once in his career. However, the thing for which Scotty has always been remembered the most is his outlandish finisher, The Worm.
The move was just a basic chop on a grounded opponent. However, Scotty made the move unique by hopping and jumping around the ring like a worm, before finally landing the chop on his opponent's chest. The move seemed to cause no damage to the opponent, which made it hard to imagine as someone's finisher.
The move might look like one of the worst ways to end a match, which is technically correct. However, it matched well with Scotty 2 Hotty's comedic WWE gimmick. The crowd absolutely loved the maneuver, which is enough to make it one of the most hilarious, yet successful, WWE finishing moves of all time.
#1 The Lightning Fist - WWE legend John Cena
When talking about the most polarising figures of wrestling, we will always find John Cena's name near the top of that list. The WWE Universe has praised Cena's in-ring ability throughout his WWE career.
Despite having some high-quality encounters with the likes of Edge, Randy Orton, and AJ Styles, Cena has often been criticized by the fans for having a limited move set.
There came a time when almost every WWE Superstar started kicking out of Cena's lethal finisher, The Attitude Adjustment. No Mercy 2017 quickly springs to the mind, where Cena failed to put Roman Reigns down, even after using four destructive AAs.
Even Cena realized the feebleness of the move, and announced the arrival of the brand new "Sixth Move of Doom". The strange name was a way to mock the fans who complained about his limited number of wrestling moves.
John Cena returned at a WWE Live Event in Shanghai and teamed up with Bobby Lashley and Finn Balor to battle Jinder Mahal, Baron Corbin, and Elias. After getting the tag from Lashley, Cena entered the ring and applied his Five Moves of Doom on Elias. After delivering the AA, Cena put his hands together in an X shaped position, seemingly channeling some superpowers.
However, what followed the powerful summoning was one of the worst wrestling moves of all time. Cena approached Elias with a strong force, before delivering a soft punch to his face. Cena then covered Elias and hilariously got the three count.
Fans couldn't believe what they saw, and it was clear that Cena had trolled everybody. It was later revealed that the move had Chinese roots, as Cena was working with international star Jackie Chan at the time.
Cena used the move once more time at Super Showdown 2018, where he laid down The Drifter once again. The move received huge criticism from the WWE Universe, who were very unhappy with the silliness of the maneuver. It was widely labelled "the worst wrestling finisher of all time."
