5 WWE Finishers that lost its effect
A unique finisher is the first thing that a professional wrestler or a WWE Superstar needs to have to distinguish himself. Despite how much Kevin Owens tries, the Stunner would always be considered as Stone Cold Steve Austin's finishing move. While an iconic move like the Stone Cold Stunner ensured that Austin never had to consider adding another finisher to his move-set, that has not been the case with various other WWE Superstars.
Owens' pop-up powerbomb no longer gets the great reaction that it once did. Or, take Chris Jericho's Lionsault as another example. Y2J used his Walls of Jericho submission alongside the Lionsault as his primary finishers during his WCW and early WWE days. However, the deficiency of not having a pinfall inducing finisher led Jericho to brainstorm another move.
While the Lionsault was an effective move during his initial days, soon it was overtaken by the Breakdown - an uglier original version of the Skull Crushing Finale.
This Breakdown was soon phased out and in 2005, Jericho introduced the running enzuigiri. It never got over as a finisher and during his second run in the company, Y2J finally found a solution in the Codebreaker. The Judas Effect has now been added as another finisher, with the Lionsault being used rarely. If it does get used, it is usually as a transitional move.
This has downgraded the prestige of the once unique move. So, let's have a look at five five WWE finishers that have been pushed down the pecking order by Superstars in favour of more suitable alternatives?
#5 Angle Slam - Kurt Angle
Kurt Angle might just be the best athlete to ever step foot inside a pro-wrestling ring and his wrestling repertoire screamed of his amateur roots. Fans rightly consider the Ankle Lock to be Angle's finishing move, with the hold earning him numerous high-profile victories over the likes of Steve Austin, The Rock, John Cena and even Hulk Hogan.
However, up until Wrestlemania 20 in 2004, Angle's Angle Slam held equal footing with the Ankle Lock as his finishing move. In fact, Angle beat Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship at Vengeance 2003 with the Angle Slam. The move was so protected that it was rare for his opponents to kick out of the Angle Slam under normal circumstances.
That changed when Angle made his in-ring return following neck surgery to battle Eddie Guerrero. Guerrero would start the trend of Angle's opponents routinely kicking out of the Angle Slam. Angle would proceed to beat Guerrero multiple times using the Ankle Lock. All of his future high-profile wins, including one over Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania 21, would be courtesy of the Ankle Lock.
The Angle Slam would be devalued as a move with Angle executing it as a transitional move than as a finisher. Even the top rope Angle Slam that would end matches for Angle pre-2004 would be relegated to a 2-count maneuver.
The trend would remain the same even when Angle left WWE to join TNA; Abyss kicked out of the Angle Slam in Angle's debut TV match, before submitting to the Ankle Lock. It later came to be considered an honour for up-and-coming wrestlers to lose to Angle via the Ankle Lock whereas the Angle Slam never regained its lost status.