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WWE Superstars spend years in training to perfect every move they perform in the ring. This allows them to perform these moves with precision as safely as possible. While regular moves can be performed without too much danger, it’s the finishers that are usually the flashiest moves that require immense practice to be performed safely.
While Superstars such as Baron Corbin and Riddle have pretty unique finishers, many others use finishers that have been picked up from other wrestlers.
Shawn Michaels made the Superkick famous as 'Sweet Chin Music’, but we see several Superstars use the Superkick generously during matches as regular moves. On the other hand, several current and former Superstars have called out other Superstars for stealing their finishers in the ring.
This has caused some quarrels between the men and women backstage, and some wrestlers have been forced to change their finishing moves as a result.
In this article, we will look at 5 WWE Superstars who were unhappy about their finishing moves being stolen by other Superstars.
#5 Billy Kidman tried to stop Paul London from performing The Shooting Star Press finisher in WWE
Paul London was seen as an athletic high-flyer in WWE. London formed a good tag team with Brian Kendrick in the mid-2000s and the two Superstars went on to win the Tag Team Championships twice in WWE.
Kendrick, however, wasn’t the only Superstar whom London tagged with. Before Kendrick, London was in a tag team with Billy Kidman. The two Superstars went on to win the WWE Tag Team Championships once together.
During an episode of The Pancakes and Powerslams Show, London recalled the time when he was teaming up with Kendrick and performing the Shooting Star Press. He revealed that Kidman, who also used to perform the move, was unhappy at watching London perform the Shooting Star Press and confronted him.
"I remember we were working I think Matt [Hardy] and Shannon [Moore] in New York, and I decided that we could start doing something where Brian [Kendrick] is on all fours, and I run, jump off his back, and do a Shooting Star [Press] off his back. So I started doing that in the matches, and it was getting really good reactions, how we were using them. And I remember [Billy] Kidman coming up to me, and he said, 'Hey man! You're gonna steal my move every night?! You're gonna keep stealing my move every night?!' I just looked at him and said, 'Do you do a running Shooting Star off the back?' He goes, 'uh... well no, but...' I go, 'Well... yeah.'”
Thankfully, London made his stance clear and sent Kidman away. The WWE Superstar continued to work for the company until 2008 following which he was released from his contract.
AJ Styles has also recently revealed that Kidman denied him from using the Shooting Star Press when the two Superstars were competing in WCW.
#4 Chris Jericho called out a former WWE tag team for stealing his finisher
Chris Jericho has used The Codebreaker for several years as a finisher now, inside and outside WWE. Jericho has been in the wrestling industry for almost three decades and he has perfected almost every wrestling move that he uses in the ring.
Jericho became a huge name in WWE before he went on to other promotions and finally landed in All Elite Wrestling (AEW). However, when Jericho was on hiatus in 2014, The Revival started performing the Flapjack-Codebreaker variation.
When Jericho returned to WWE, The Revival continued to use the finisher and this did not sit well with the former WWE Champion. Dash Wilder from The Revival tweeted a GIF showing the team performing the move known as The Shatter Machine, and Jericho took a shot at the Superstar.
He called The Revival ‘Indie Guys’ who disrespected him. Dash then responded by apologizing to the Japanese wrestler Marufuji who was the pioneer of the Codebreaker.
During an episode of Talk Is Jericho earlier this year, Jericho sat down with The Revival and the trio recalled their Twitter feud.
They seem to have put the war of words behind them and are on pretty good terms, as all three wrestlers are now signed with AEW.
#3 Kurt Angle was unhappy with some WWE Superstars using his finishers
Kurt Angle is known as one of the most technical WWE Superstars of all time. The man who retired at WrestleMania 35 gave fans several top matches to remember him. Angle’s impressive skill-set and his finishing moves, the Angle Slam and the Ankle Lock, helped him win several titles inside and outside WWE.
However, after he left WWE for some time, he noticed that Randy Orton started using the Angle Slam on his opponents. On the other hand, Jack Swagger started using the Ankle Lock, and Angle was not too pleased about the Superstars’ actions. He went as far as to call Swagger and Orton disrespectful and claimed that the Superstars had no respect for him.
“When Jack Swagger copies my ankle lock and Randy Orton does my Angle Slam, it’s disrespectful. I didn’t come up with the Ankle Lock, Ken Shamrock came up with the Ankle Lock but I waited until he retired to do the Ankle Lock. That company has no respect for me.”
Angle wasn’t on very good terms with WWE at the time since he was not working with them and went on to make the comments. However, he later joined WWE again and seems to be okay with some current Superstars, such as Apollo Crews and Chad Gable, using some of his moves.
#2 John Cena doesn't like WWE Superstars using a finisher similar to his own
The Attitude Adjustment has become one of the most iconic moves in WWE. Perfected by John Cena in the early 2000s, the not-so-flashy move helped the Superstar reach new heights in WWE.
Cena uses the move to this day and has impressed us by taking men like Mark Henry, The Big Show, and The Great Khali down with the Attitude Adjustment. However, The Leader of the Cenation isn’t too big on allowing other Superstars to use similar moves in WWE.
On an episode of Sean Ross Sapp's Q&A show on Fightful Select, Sean spoke about an awkward interraction between John Cena and Tyler Reks. Cena wasn’t too happy with Reks using a finisher similar to the AA and asked him to not use it again in WWE.
“Tyler Reks told me a story one time about how he went through the curtain after doing his inverted death valley driver (the burning hammer) and John Cena didn't go off on him but as like, 'What is that? That's too similar to my move. Don't do it again.'And I have actually heard that about multiple people as it pertains to John Cena and their finishing move that if it looked similar to his, then he was like don't do it.”
While Reks believed that Cena might be joking at first, he got a reality check soon after when he used the move again and Cena once again caught up with him backstage.
“I come backstage happy after a good match with Eddie [Primo] all excited and John grabs me in front of everyone and says, ‘What do you think you're doing? I thought I told you to get a new finisher.’”
“He started yelling at me asking who gave me permission to use that. He belittled me, called me an idiot, and asked me if I enjoyed working here. I told him of course I do. He told me, ‘Find another finisher or you're fired.’”
The move has helped Cena win 16 World Championships, and it makes sense that the legendary Superstar wants to protect the AA as much as possible. However, we’ve seen many Superstars use the Death Valley Driver and the Inverted Death Valley Driver generously since Cena has taken a step back from the ring.
#1 Goldberg isn't happy with Roman Reigns using The Spear in WWE
Goldberg is one of the most iconic wrestlers of all time. While the WWE Superstar may not be remembered for his technical prowess, he will forever be remembered as one of the most intimidating performers in history. The man with the iconic WCW winning streak has a lethal move-set which comprises of The Spear.
While we’ve seen many current and former Superstars, including Edge and Rhyno, use The Spear generously, one man who’s made it popular among the current generation is Roman Reigns. The two men were scheduled to compete at WrestleMania 36 for the Universal Championship, but Reigns had to pull out of the match due to the COVID pandemic.
Goldberg was not too happy with his opponent pulling out of the match, and appeared on WWE’s The Bump to target The Tribal Chief:
"He backed out on me at WrestleMania. He stole my move, god knows how long ago. And he continues to perform it at sub-par level. Let's be perfectly honest, I'm the dude who delivers the spear and I don't think that he understands what it's like until I deliver one to him. So Roman, it's coming and I'm coming for you. I may be old, I may be gray, but I'm still Goldberg."
Not only did Goldberg tease a match between himself and Reigns in the near future, but he also mocked The Big Dog for stealing and using his move at a sub-par level.
Will we watch these two WWE Superstars trade a few Spears at WrestleMania 37?
