Top Five Favorite Finishers from Singles Stars

B. Dangerous and Brian Damage

Piggybacking from last week’s top five on tag team finishers…this week’s top five will be favorite finishing maneuvers from singles wrestlers. What are your top five all time finishers in pro wrestling from an individual star?

B. Dangerous

Ah, yes. The great Finisher debate continues. This is something that, over the years, I’ve probably thought far too much about.

It would almost be easier to make a list of least favorite Finishers because of how gloriously pathetic some are. But, nonetheless… here’s my Top 5:

5- The Snare Trap (Jungle Boy)

It takes a lot for modern wrestling to really impress me, but with Jungle Boy’s work ethic, I feel like I’m seeing something special. Add in a very solid Finisher in the Snare Trap and he’s actually quite impressive.
The Snare Trap is essentially a variation of the STF, but unlike John Cena’s, it looks like it may hurt.

4- The Lariat (Stan Hansen)

Stan Hansen is built like a bull… a relatively blind one at that. When he charges his opponent with The Lariat it legitimately looks like it could leave them in traction. Just ask Bruno Sammartino about its effectiveness.

3- The Human Torture Rack (Lex Luger)

I’m a Lex Luger mark, I must admit. From the time he entered JCP, he was my favorite heel.

His Human Torture Rack always impressed me. It just looked like it was doing exactly what the name indicated and what is more villainous than to torture someone?

2- Piledriver (Jerry Lawler)

Maybe you know this or maybe you don’t… The Piledriver was legitimately banned in the state of Tennessee several decades ago. It was viewed as intent to harm.

As such, when Lawler would perform the move, it was considered dastardly as it was a criminal act. Clearly it was more of a “Blue Law” than an enforceable law, but it still made for great angles. This is also why, in the early days of the USWA, Lawler would end his matches in Texas with The Piledriver, but in Tennessee he’d use the Diving Fist Drop.

Lawler had some competition for best Piledriver in the business, but to me, along with the legality matter, his seemed the most dangerous.

1- Figure Four Leglock (Ric Flair)

Remember what I said about villains and torture? Here you go. A primary example. Not to mention that the Figure Four was a great heel move as you could allegedly intensify the hold with leverage from either grabbing the ropes or having your hands pulled by a manager or partner. The physics isn’t really there, but c’mon… it’s pro wrestling.

Honorable Mention:
Iron Claw (Von Erichs/Baron Von Raschke)
DDT (Jake Roberts)
The Heart Punch (Ox Baker)

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Brian

The Canadian Destroyer – Petey Williams

The Canadian Destroyer has been used a lot during a particular sequence in a match, but I loved the innovator of the move Petey Williams who did it as a finisher.

The DDT – Jake Roberts

I realize that nowadays, the maneuver has been overused and done not so much as a finisher, but as a part of a sequence of moves. Wrestlers usually now kick out of the DDT, but back when Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts did it…it was lights out…match over. Roberts version of the DDT might seem tame to how wrestlers do it now from the top rope or spinning in the air…but for my money, Jake’s DDT is still the very best.

The Emerald Flowsion – Mitsuharu Misawa

The late Mitsuharu Misawa’s finisher called the Emerald Flowsion looked impressive and devastating. Definitely up there with the all time finishing maneuvers.

The Perfect Plex – Curt Hennig

The Perfect Plex was just a basic fisherman’s suplex, but the way Curt Hennig performed it with such accuracy, precision and well…perfection…..made this a top finishing maneuver for me.

The Piledriver – Paul Orndorff

I will agree with B. Dangerous that the piledriver should be in any top five for finishing maneuvers just for it’s pure devastation and really because it isn’t used as much anymore. He used Jerry Lawler as his wrestler to use it. I, on the other hand, select Mr. Wonderful Paul Orndorff’s version. While extremely similar, I just thought Orndorff executed it a little bit better.