5 WWE Superstars who changed their finishers

For a WWE Superstar, a finisher is a critical part of their character. If they are to be taken seriously, they need a convincing finisher as part of their repertoire. Superstars can often get by in the ring on their finisher if it’s a good one. For someone like Baron Corbin, his character may not be always liked by fans, but his finisher and his signature move – the End of Days and Deep Six respectively – are respected by the WWE Universe.

Other Superstars, who may have had convincing and enjoyable characters, were often hurt by inconsistent finishers or finishers that looked weak. Sometimes, WWE Superstars are forced to change their finishers for whatever reason. It can either help or hurt their character.

Here are five WWE Superstars who changed their finishers:

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#5 Superstars who changed their WWE finishers: Seth Rollins

When Seth Rollins first started competing as a singles wrestler, he used the Curb Stomp for his finisher. It proved effective as he ran to his prone opponent and stomped their head into the mat, finishing them completely.

The move looked brutal and was extremely effective.

Rollins made it his own and, as a part of his heel character, it was a feared move that very few superstars kicked out of. However, WWE decided that he would not be using the move again because of the disturbing connotations of the Curb Stomp name, as well as children being able to do it at home and hurting their friends.

Instead, Seth Rollins had to adopt a new move. Since he was associated with Triple H, Rollins adopted the Pedigree. After defeating him to end their feud, he stopped using it as well and instead used the Ripcord Knee. Despite all the attempts to make them believable, they were not too successful. Rollins was in the best form of his life at the time, but it didn’t matter in regards to his finisher.

In the end, WWE allowed him to start using the old finisher again but this time, they just called it The Stomp.

#4 Superstars who changed their WWE finishers: The Rock

The Rock’s early years in WWE is the perfect illustration of the saying, “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” When he first arrived in the company, The Rock had a weird haircut and his babyface gimmick didn’t go over well with fans. Chants of “Die Rocky Die” were not uncommon.

During this time, he used to use a shoulder breaker as his finishing move.

Shoulder breakers are no longer considered a major move, barring when a superstar is targeting their opponent’s injury.

Thankfully, WWE changed how they booked The Rock. They turned him heel and gave him the mic, allowing him to do his own thing.

The Rock took full advantage and used that heel turn to become the huge star that he is known for being today. One of the things that changed along with that was his finishing move. He introduced the Rock Bottom and The People’s Elbow. He initially used The People's Elbow to make The Undertaker laugh and break character on TV. However, it took off and it became one of the most fun and popular moves in WWE.

He also used the Rock Bottom as a finisher move a lot of the time and it was far better than the Shoulder Breaker. The change from his old finisher was critical for his character.

#3 Superstars who changed their WWE finishers: Bret Hart

Bret Hart is famous for his technical wrestling style in WWE and as one of the forerunners of smaller wrestlers who were proficient inside the squared circle.

For a large part of his career, Bret Hart was a tag team wrestler and not a singles competitor. His finisher was a tag team finisher instead of something he could do alone. Hart Attack, a clothesline spinebuster, was an excellent tag team finisher, but he couldn’t deliver it alone.

So, instead he tried out some other moves that he could use as his finisher. He finally tried out the Scorpion Deathlock. The move was made famous by Riki Choshu in Japan and Sting famously used it in the United States as well, in WCW.

Hart adopted it and made it his own. He named the move The Sharpshooter and instantly it shot up in popularity in WWE.

He went on to use it to win the WWE Intercontinental title from Mr. Perfect. He made it very popular and since then it has been used by various members of the Hart Family and a number of other superstars, including The Rock and Cesaro.

#2 Superstars who changed their WWE finishers: Randy Orton

Randy Orton was a very different superstar when he first arrived in WWE. He had a lot to prove given that he was a third-generation wrestler. He was cocky and as a young superstar was still rather inexperienced in the ring.

Over the years, he would grow with his experience and become one of the most consistent wrestlers in the ring with his unique style. However, when he first began, he started with a finisher that would have never seen him become the star he is today.

He used the O-Zone as a finisher. The move was awkward and didn’t look convincing. He threw his leg over his opponent’s head and twisted to land a weird neckbreaker, but it simply looked as if he was cushioning his opponent’s fall.

Instead, when he introduced the RKO, it was an immediate hit. The move could be hit from almost any position and he made it famous by doing exactly that. He connected with superstars in mid-air and made it one of the most effective and famous finishers of all time.

Even now, the move has a lot of significance in pop culture and has been kept relevant. It remains one of the most protected WWE finishers as well.

#1 Superstars who changed their WWE finishers: Shawn Michaels

Shawn Michaels delivery of the Sweet Chin Music was one of the most iconic finishers in WWE. He tuned up the band in the corner to hit his opponent with a move that very few wrestlers kicked out of. However, he didn’t always have to do that, as it could also be hit out of nowhere, making for some rather memorable moments when he connected with an opponent in mid-air.

His use of that move on Shelton Benjamin was one of the moments that went down in history as one of WWE’s most historic. Benjamin jumped into the ring from outside with a springboard attack and Michaels caught him in the middle of his attack.

There was a time when Sweet Chin Music was a transition move. He used it to set up his next move – the Teardrop Suplex. However, knocking a person down just to have to pick them up for a suplex was cumbersome and Michaels made the best possible decision to make the Sweet Chin Music his finisher.

He started to use it as his finisher from his time as one-half of The Rockers, so many people may not even know that he had an alternate finisher at one point in his career.