5 WWE Superstars who improved after changing their finishing move

A finishing move, just like a theme song, can define a WWE Superstar. We've seen diversity in finishing moves over the years, while we've also seen certain Superstars pay tribute to legends of the past and use their finishers.

This list features five big names that managed to take it to the next level in WWE after they changed their finisher:

#5. Daniel Bryan - WWE run reached the next level after introducing the running knee

Daniel Bryan's Championship-winning move.

Daniel Bryan's run in WWE between 2013 and 2014 will go down as one of the greatest in the 21st century. While CM Punk was the last name to pick up a lot of momentum in the PG Era in 2011, Daniel Bryan's surge in popularity was on a whole other level.

Daniel Bryan was already a World Heavyweight Champion by late 2011/early 2012. But his 18-second loss of the title to Sheamus at WrestleMania 28 saw a sudden spark.

Most WWE fans were unhappy about how the company treated one of the best wrestlers in the world. His storyline with Kane as "Team Hell No" in 2012 turned out to be an unexpected hit. And it helped spring him to real Singles stardom in WWE by 2013.

John Cena was the WWE Champion after WrestleMania 29 in 2013, and he chose Daniel Bryan as his opponent for SummerSlam that year. Daniel Bryan was already the hottest star in WWE by that point in 2013. But after that, he became the most important Superstar in the company.

He debuted the running knee at SummerSlam 2013, using it to defeat John Cena clean and claim his first WWE Championship. Although he lost it minutes later to Randy Orton in his Money in the Bank cash-in, the running knee would go on to become his signature move.

After SummerSlam, his stock would grow higher than ever, culminating in him headlining WrestleMania 30 and getting his long-overdue coronation.

#4. Triple H - WWE gave him a different finisher before he changed to the pedigree

The pedigree is one of the most iconic finishers in WWE history.

It's hard to imagine Triple H using any other finishing move in WWE than the pedigree. It's a move that he has used for so long that it has become among the most iconic finishers in WWE history. It helped Triple H become one of the most successful Superstars.

He used the pedigree when he wrestled in WCW, but he was given a different finisher when he moved to WWE in 1995.

Triple H was using a version of the Diamond Cutter, and Diamond Dallas Page revealed that he asked the future World Champion to stop using that move as a favor to him.

Luckily, Triple H wasn't that fond of the finisher WWE gave him, to begin with, and he happily changed it back to the pedigree:

“When I first came to WWE, they actually gave me a slightly dIifferent finisher, a version of the RKO. I wasn’t enamoured with it and I went back to the Pedigree because it was what I had been using prior to that and I really liked it.”

Although it took time for him to reach the next level, reverting to the pedigree was perhaps the first step. The rest, as they say, is history.

#3. 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin - Stunned his way into WWE megastardom

The Stone Cold Stunner on Triple H and Shane McMahon.

There are few WWE Superstars, if any, who are bigger than 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin. Looking back at it, his run on top only lasted for a few years, starting in 1998 and ending in 2003.

This doesn't even include the injury spell that saw him miss WrestleMania in 2000 and when he walked out of WWE after he was asked to put Brock Lesnar over on free TV.

Steve Austin debuted in WWE in early 1996 and became Ted DiBiase's Million Dollar Champion. Austin admittedly disliked his first gimmick in WWE, and his original finisher was DiBiase's "Million Dollar Dream."

Once Austin went solo, he adopted the stunner as his finisher, and he would reach unseen levels of popularity in WWE. It would go on to become one of the most iconic finishing moves in WWE history. Many of the industry's biggest names have been hit by the move - including Linda McMahon.

#2. Chris Jericho - Had the greatest run of his WWE career in 2008

Chris Jericho hitting The Codebreaker on Ryback.

Few Superstars in wrestling or WWE history define "reinvention" better than Chris Jericho. He had a good first run with WWE and ended up taking a two-year hiatus.

When he returned to WWE in 2007, it was a prelude to what would become the greatest year of his entire career. He returned in November 2007, and during his first match back, he debuted a new finisher called The Codebreaker.

Before that, he had used the lionsault and even the Walls of Jericho. But the Codebreaker was marked by his big shift in character. In 2008, he eventually became embroiled with Shawn Michaels, leading to one of the greatest heel turns in WWE this century.

It built up and ended up becoming his most acclaimed character - even though his run didn't last too long looking back at it. Either way, the improvement in Chris Jericho in 2008 saw him capture the World Heavyweight Championship.

#1. Seth Rollins - WWE finally allowed him to revert to The Stomp

When it comes to finishing moves in WWE, there needs to be legitimacy in how it looks. There have been several finishers over the years in WWE criticized for not looking damaging enough. But the curb stomp didn't belong to that list.

Seth Rollins' finisher was a popular one, but in 2015, he was told to suddenly abandon the curb stomp. It had a lot to do with WWE's PG ratings and overall safety, even though Seth Rollins had perfected the move.

For two years, Seth Rollins would use his mentor Triple H's finishing move - The Pedigree. He aptly used it until he faced Triple H at WrestleMania 33 - defeating the legend with his own move.

Soon after that, Seth Rollins would debut the Ripcord Knee, but it wasn't as popular. It was only in early 2018 that Seth Rollins got to re-introduce the curb stomp, with WWE simply referring to it as "The Stomp."

It was a prelude to his epic gauntlet match performance on RAW a month later - and that run led to him having an incredible 2019.

He won the Royal Rumble in 2019 and became a two-time Universal Champion that same year.