Post by Zombified Jeremy on Jul 26, 2006 18:53:56 GMT -5
The Importance Of The Finishing Move
By Jeremy Kershaw
When you look at the biography of any wrestler, there are a few key things that people are interested in.
There is the height, weight, age/date of birth, titles won, and real name if a stage name was used. There is also the finishing move.
This is the move that they use to finish off the opponent and get the pinfall or submission to secure victory. They almost always have a name associated with the wrestler’s persona, and become a calling card of the wrestler.
Think of a famous wrestler and you almost instantly think of the move they did. With Hogan, the leg drop comes to mind. Ric Flair used the figure four leg lock. Austin has the stunner. The Rock has the People’s Elbow. Jerry Lawler used the pile driver and won dozens of championships. The list goes on,
All of these men are famous wrestlers who worked on a move and used it to solidify their impact in the business.
However, the success of the move is dependent on a few key things to be just right.
You need charisma, mic skills, in-ring talent, and the right looks to suit the character.
The finishing move uses all of these aspects. You need talent to do the move, charisma to make it look right and move needs to suit your character. Talking about the move has also proven effective in order to engrain it in people’s heads.
If you are skilled in the ring, but have a move that is not convincing enough to put someone away, it will look bad on your ability. If the move doesn’t suit the character, it will not become popular. If you are bad in the ring, you will look like a joke to the fans.
Originality is important too. Your move has to be unique enough to make you stand out. If you just use modified DDT, than you won’t get very far in the business. Using a move someone else made popular is not good either. Most jobbers never get to develop a good finishing move. That is why Scotty 2 Hotty will never be anything more than a jobber with his worm finisher..
Now let’s take a look at how finishing moves are being used today by some popular wrestlers and put them up to these standards.
John Cena is the WWE champion. His character dresses the right way, talks the right way, and is believable. In terms of wrestling ability, he is no Chris Benoit, but he is more of a brawler type wrestler. His finishing move is the FU, a Death Valley Driver that has been watered down. Normally you drop the opponent on their head, but the WWE doesn’t like that, so it is just a body slam. That will likely hold him back. It is unoriginal.
Batista is the World Heavyweight champion. He is 6’5” 318 and devoid of body fat. He is a menacing yet restrained presence, and has a good personality and sense of humor. He doesn’t use many technical moves and relies on his strength to destroy his opponent. He is average on the mic, but his physique speaks in volumes. He uses the Batista Bomb, a brutal sit-down power bomb, to destroy his foe. It is in no way watered down, and that makes him convincing. He makes an old move come alive.
John Bradshaw Layfield, or JBL, is the former WWE champion. He thinks of himself as a wrestling “god” and is rich and snobby. He is not a good wrestler at all, and usually uses basic moves to get by. He had mic skills, but he is so hated that it is pointless for him to do anything but be a heel and insult people. His look does not suit his style, as he is very refined (unless he is being a dirty player) but is a brute at heart. He uses a big clothesline to stop his opponents. You got it, a basic move with a bit more force. It is appalling to see him try to “wrestle” his opponents. His move is just the tip of what is wrong with that situation.
Triple H is the former World Heavyweight Champion multiple times (not by popular demand) and is the constant number one contender for the title. He is good on the mic at making people hate him even more each day. His character is good for his snobby heel status, and he looks the part as well. He happens to be a well trained wrestler who has let power get to his head. He uses the Pedigree as his finisher. It is a standing head scissors with the arms held up, where HHH drops down to his knees and executes a face buster onto the mat. It is a good move done by an unlikable man. The name suits the move. It is effective for his success.
Overall, the finishing move is very important to these wrestlers, to varying degrees of success.
These men became popular because they had all of the elements of a good wrestler. The finishing moves they used made them famous (although JBL should change his move to reflect his character).
That is why I think the finishing move is one of the most important elements of a wrestler’s success.
By Jeremy Kershaw
When you look at the biography of any wrestler, there are a few key things that people are interested in.
There is the height, weight, age/date of birth, titles won, and real name if a stage name was used. There is also the finishing move.
This is the move that they use to finish off the opponent and get the pinfall or submission to secure victory. They almost always have a name associated with the wrestler’s persona, and become a calling card of the wrestler.
Think of a famous wrestler and you almost instantly think of the move they did. With Hogan, the leg drop comes to mind. Ric Flair used the figure four leg lock. Austin has the stunner. The Rock has the People’s Elbow. Jerry Lawler used the pile driver and won dozens of championships. The list goes on,
All of these men are famous wrestlers who worked on a move and used it to solidify their impact in the business.
However, the success of the move is dependent on a few key things to be just right.
You need charisma, mic skills, in-ring talent, and the right looks to suit the character.
The finishing move uses all of these aspects. You need talent to do the move, charisma to make it look right and move needs to suit your character. Talking about the move has also proven effective in order to engrain it in people’s heads.
If you are skilled in the ring, but have a move that is not convincing enough to put someone away, it will look bad on your ability. If the move doesn’t suit the character, it will not become popular. If you are bad in the ring, you will look like a joke to the fans.
Originality is important too. Your move has to be unique enough to make you stand out. If you just use modified DDT, than you won’t get very far in the business. Using a move someone else made popular is not good either. Most jobbers never get to develop a good finishing move. That is why Scotty 2 Hotty will never be anything more than a jobber with his worm finisher..
Now let’s take a look at how finishing moves are being used today by some popular wrestlers and put them up to these standards.
John Cena is the WWE champion. His character dresses the right way, talks the right way, and is believable. In terms of wrestling ability, he is no Chris Benoit, but he is more of a brawler type wrestler. His finishing move is the FU, a Death Valley Driver that has been watered down. Normally you drop the opponent on their head, but the WWE doesn’t like that, so it is just a body slam. That will likely hold him back. It is unoriginal.
Batista is the World Heavyweight champion. He is 6’5” 318 and devoid of body fat. He is a menacing yet restrained presence, and has a good personality and sense of humor. He doesn’t use many technical moves and relies on his strength to destroy his opponent. He is average on the mic, but his physique speaks in volumes. He uses the Batista Bomb, a brutal sit-down power bomb, to destroy his foe. It is in no way watered down, and that makes him convincing. He makes an old move come alive.
John Bradshaw Layfield, or JBL, is the former WWE champion. He thinks of himself as a wrestling “god” and is rich and snobby. He is not a good wrestler at all, and usually uses basic moves to get by. He had mic skills, but he is so hated that it is pointless for him to do anything but be a heel and insult people. His look does not suit his style, as he is very refined (unless he is being a dirty player) but is a brute at heart. He uses a big clothesline to stop his opponents. You got it, a basic move with a bit more force. It is appalling to see him try to “wrestle” his opponents. His move is just the tip of what is wrong with that situation.
Triple H is the former World Heavyweight Champion multiple times (not by popular demand) and is the constant number one contender for the title. He is good on the mic at making people hate him even more each day. His character is good for his snobby heel status, and he looks the part as well. He happens to be a well trained wrestler who has let power get to his head. He uses the Pedigree as his finisher. It is a standing head scissors with the arms held up, where HHH drops down to his knees and executes a face buster onto the mat. It is a good move done by an unlikable man. The name suits the move. It is effective for his success.
Overall, the finishing move is very important to these wrestlers, to varying degrees of success.
These men became popular because they had all of the elements of a good wrestler. The finishing moves they used made them famous (although JBL should change his move to reflect his character).
That is why I think the finishing move is one of the most important elements of a wrestler’s success.
