My top 10 American mainstream wrestling finishers

[André Toulon]

There's some craaaaazy shit in Japan that just won't fit here so just going with the ones even pedestrian fans know.

10. Guerrero frog splash

9. Lesnar's F-5 when it's sold right.

8. Undertaker, tombstone

7. Austin Stunner

6. Yokozuna, Banzai drop....it stupid now, but as a teenage weeb who loves everything Japanese, he was a fave. Too bad he wasn't even Japanese.

5. RKO....sigh...outta nowhere 😒

4. Rey 619...killer move. 🥺

3. Rock Bottom

2. Shawn Michaels Sweet Chin Music

1. Bro....the spear/jackhammer combo with the profuse slobbering...I loved Goldberg

It's obvious I stopped watching wrestling in the early 2000s

[mthor]

You mean Okada and that stupid rainmaker?

Tito Santana and the figure 4 leg lock.

[-Kudasai-]

9 minutes ago, mthor said:

You mean Okada and that stupid rainmaker?

Tito Santana and the figure 4 leg lock.

I believe Santana's finisher was the flying forearm

[André Toulon]

Ok, see I wasn't trying to go back this far but wrestling was different then and finishers sucked, it was more what you did in match and Ric Frizzle was my guy back then.

[-Kudasai-]

I'll do tag team finishers

10. The Battering Ram (The Bushwackers)

9. The Sidewinder (The Smoking Guns)

8. The Snapshot (MNM)

7. Total Elimination (The Eliminators)

6. The Hart Attack (The Hart Foundation)

5. Grand Amplitude (American Alpha)

4. The Shatter Machine (FTR)

3. The Doomsday Device (Legion of Doom)

2. 3D (Dudley Boyz)

1. The Power Plex (Power and Glory)

 

[mthor]

2 hours ago, -Kudasai- said:

I believe Santana's finisher was the flying forearm

Maybe, but I don't remember that - what I remember is watching him slap that figure 4 on.

[-Kudasai-]

1 minute ago, mthor said:

Maybe, but I don't remember that - what I remember is watching him slap that figure 4 on.

He did use the figure 4 but from I remember it during his feud with Greg Valentine which was his finisher. The announcers said it was to send a message to Greg Valentine who just beat Santana for the Intercontinental title

[Seight]

I see no issue with this list, but I always loved how RVD's 5-Star Frog Splash looked like it had enough force to hurt both his opponents AND him:

[GuyBeardmane]

That was always my least favorite part of the five star frog splash.  I liked how RVD decided to hit it straight in one of his last WWE appearances, bouncing off dude and standing up to do the thumb point, then remembering it was a match and going back for the pin.

[GuyBeardmane]

Also, although it was short-lived, Big Show's Cobra Clutch Back Breaker was the shit.

 

[Still Me]

I pick up on WWE every now and again. Last time I was actively watching was I think when the rock was still doing it. I had such the hots for one named Muhammad Hassan…don’t know what happened to him tbh

Edited December 30, 2023 by Still Me

[André Toulon]

Oh shit, I forgot all about lex and the torture rack...that shit looked like it hurt.

And while I'm at it...Mankind and Socko, while entertaining, is when I came to terms with some of this being suspicious.

[Seight]

10 hours ago, Still Me said:

I pick up on WWE every now and again. Last time I was actively watching was I think when the rock was still doing it. I had such the hots for one named Muhammad Hassan…don’t know what happened to him tbh

I think he's a principal now.

Unless you mean "What happened to the character Muhammad Hassan?" in which case I am not willing to unpack the psychic damage I'll do to myself trying to explain that storyline against The Undertaker.

[André Toulon]

You know, I do miss how much I loved wrestling....i mean, I even watched GLOW religiously...

Wrestling was a huge part of my childhood

*Watches old glow clips*

Yeah,  this brings back so many memories...I forgot all about this Russian chick and her little skits....I wonder how women's wrestling is faring these days....

🥺

🤬

[Gemini]

Not a bad list. I have my own. (Some we agree on; some you've left off.)

1. Sting's "Scorpion Death Lock" - Always been a huge fan of submission finishers. This is my favorite. (Some know it as "the Sharpshooter" when Bret Hart popularized it when he started wrestling solo in the WWE during the mid-90s.)
2. Stone Cold Steve Austin's "Stone Cold Stunner" - Probably the best non-submission finisher I've ever seen. It's a variant of a neckbreaker and/or cutter. (Take your pick. lol) SCSA adds a kick to it to lower his opponent's head and he grabs it as he turns around and falls on his butt. 
3. The Undertaker's "Tombstone Piledriver" - It's just a cool move. (Not a fan of having your nose by your opponent's butt. I mean what if they let out a massive fart just before you drop to your knees?)
4. Ric Flair's "Figure 4 Leg Lock" - Classic submission finisher that can only be done right by the Nature Boy himself. (Oh, and his daughter Charlotte Flair.)
5. Jake "The Snake" Roberts' "DDT" - Easily one of the greatest finishers I've ever seen. The first time I saw this, I was either six or seven years old. Many have performed this move, but The Snake is the only one that has perfected it.
6. CM Punk's "Anaconda Vise" - Hey, it's a chokehold submission finisher! I've had this as a finisher on several WWE games because it's one of the few chokeholds that's legal. Not only that, but you get to look like a madman while applying it! lol
7. Triple H's "Pedigree" - Needless to say, when Hunter Hearst Helmsley kicked you in the gut, pulled your head between his legs, and hooked both of your arms before dropping down to send you face first into the canvas, you knew the end was nigh.
8. Macho Man Randy Savage's "Flying Elbow" - We don't always think of the late, great Randy Savage as a high-flyer, but his finisher had him leaping from the top rope (well, turnbuckle since it was at a corner, really) only to crash down with his elbow on his opponent's heart in the middle of the ring for that 3-count. One of the few moves I could do as a kid and actually get away with. lol
9. CM Punk's "GTS (Go To Sleep)" - This probably should've been a top-five finisher, but it works best when your opponent isn't tall like Kane or the Undertaker. lol Still, it's a hell of a move. You get put in a Fireman's Carry and eventually get dropped onto (most llikely) Punk's left knee. A visually great move when done right.
10. Chokeslam (by either Paul Wight, formerly known as the Big Show, Kane, or the Undertaker) - I thought about having this higher, but when there's so many great ones to choose from, this had to be moved down to 10. Still, I couldn't leave it out of my Top 10 mainly because of how high you can get lifted up off the canvas. (Yes, I know the guy getting chokeslammed helps by jumping at the same time the dude on offense moves his arm up to chokeslam him, but still...) It's simple. Guy grabs you by the throat (usually with his right hand), moves your right arm over, and lifts you high in the air only for you to come crashing down onto the canvas. Visually, it's a phenomenal move when performed right. Plus, the harder-looking the landing, the better.

Honorable mention: DDP's Diamond Cutter, Davey Boy Smith's Running Powerslam, Kevin Nash's Jackknife Powerbomb, Brock Lesnar's F5, HBK's Superkick (later dubbed Sweet Chin Music), Edge's Spear, and Sid Vicious' Powerbomb.

Edited January 26 by Gemini
I realized you didn't include submission finishers so my bad. lol