WWE's 10 Most Powerful and Painful Current Finishers

Drake Oz@drakeozbrSenior Writer IIFebruary 12, 2013

WWE's 10 Most Powerful and Painful Current Finishers

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    Not every WWE superstar is going to use a devastating finisher.

    Some, like Santino Marella, have finishers that are used purely for comedic purposes. Others, like Rey Mysterio, do flashy finishing moves that don't look very impactful.

    But there are stars who become well known for utilizing finishers that look incredibly painful and/or powerful.

    A finishing move that looks like it could legitimately hurt somebody is what sets some guys apart from the rest of the pack, and often, it's that finishing maneuver that can take a guy to the top of the WWE.

    Then again, Randy Orton's RKO may get the biggest pop of any current finisher in the WWE, but is it really powerful? Is it even painful? 

    No, but these are.

    Here are my rankings of the WWE's 10 most powerful and/or painful current finishers.

    NOTE: There will be no submissions or holds on this list. Moves only. Also, some moves on this list may be classified as "powerful," some as "painful" and others as both.

10. Kick Variations (Multiple)

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    Plenty of WWE superstars use some sort of kick as their finishers, and when executed properly, these moves can be pretty harmless.

    But take a look at some of the WWE's top kick-based finishers, and you'll see that they can often be pretty powerful and or/painful.

    Just a few months back, Kofi Kingston damn near knocked The Miz unconscious with a nasty Trouble in Paradise that was downright scary to watch. Meanwhile, Sheamus regularly destroys his opponents with the ever-so-powerful Brogue Kick.

    There's also a move like Dolph Ziggler's superkick, which is more for show than anything else, but can result in someone needing to have his teeth replaced if the kick is just an inch or two off target.

    It's all about perception in the WWE, and Kingston's Trouble in Paradise, Ziggler's superkick and Sheamus' Brogue Kick all look more painful than they actually are.

    That being said, The Miz will tell you that the Trouble in Paradise is no joke, and I'm sure someone out there has a story or two about having their face kicked in by an errant Brogue Kick.

9. Chokeslam (Kane/Big Show/Undertaker)

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    The chokeslam has been and continues to be used by so many wrestlers that it's lost a lot of its luster, but it's still one of the most powerful finishers around.

    While the guy who's taking the chokeslam does most of the work, consider that the one who's delivering it is often hoisting his opponent several feet off the ground.

    When a superstar like Big Show or Kane grabs his opponent by the throat, picks him and slams him to the mat, it's not like it's a small bump that you might take when you get body slammed. 

    It's a much bigger bump in which the guy receiving the move gets more much height, and as a result, there's much more force behind the move than you might think.

    Just imagine being held up by your throat by a guy who hovers around seven feet tall and then having that guy slam you to the mat. Even though he's trying to protect you while doing it, you can't fight gravity.

    Kane, Big Show and Undertaker have delivered a number of these devastating chokeslams for more than a decade now, and even to this day, they still don't look like they feel very good.

8. Triple Powerbomb (The Shield)

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    There aren't many standard wrestling moves that are less fun to take than a powerbomb, in which you're essentially putting your life in the hands of your opponent(s).

    We've seen a boatload of different powerbomb variations throughout the years, most recently by The Shield, which has used a triple (or aided) powerbomb to put away several of the WWE's biggest names since its debut last November.

    The Shield's triple powerbomb has been one of the things that's gotten the group over, mainly because many of those powerbombs have sent their targets through tables.

    Still, the regular ol' triple powerbomb is a devastating move, one that, like the chokeslam, forces the guy who's on the receiving end of it to take a sizable bump on the not-so-soft ring padding.

    The triple powerbomb has been used as a way to show unity among The Shield's three members, and it's quickly becoming one of the more memorable finishers in the entire WWE.

    With three guys delivering the triple powerbomb, that's, in theory, three times the impact, which makes it a bit more painful that it might be otherwise.

7. World's Strongest Slam (Mark Henry)

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    They don't call Mark Henry "The World's Strongest Man" for no reason.

    While he may not really be the strongest man in the world anymore, he probably still is the strongest man in all of professional wrestling.

    Don't believe me? Just watch how easily he hits giant superstars with his World's Strongest Slam finisher.

    Last week on SmackDown, we saw Henry pick up the 400-plus pound Great Khali like it was nothing and seamlessly slam him to the canvas, a feat we've seen him do in the past.

    Henry has hit some of the WWE's biggest behemoths, including Khali, Big Show and Kane, with his destructive finisher, and it's just as impressive now as it was several years ago.

    The WWE has never really seen a guy who can match the pure strength and power of Henry, who turned a simple move like a falling powerslam into an unforgettable one just because of how he executes it.

6. Attitude Adjustment (John Cena)

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    I hate the Attitude Adjustment. Absolutely hate it.

    But that's mainly because it simply doesn't look like it has that much of an impact when John Cena's not doing it to the right guy.

    On the flip side, the AA is one of the most impressive moves in WWE history when it's done to someone who weighs 350 to 400 pounds or more.

    While no one is going to be very impressed when Cena hits an AA on someone like Dolph Ziggler or The Miz, it's hard not to be amazed when he does it to someone like Big Daddy V, The Great Khali or Big Show.

    Cena has done this so many times throughout his career that we've kind of gotten used to it, but just because he's done it dozens of times doesn't really change anything.

    Consider that Cena is single-handedly hoisting a 400- or 500-pound man up on his shoulders and then almost effortlessly slamming him to the mat. That's amazing any which way you slice it.

    Cena is freakishly strong, and there is no better example of his nearly unparalleled strength than when he hits the AA on a guy who weight twice as much as he does.

5. Shell Shocked (Ryback)

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    Not unlike John Cena's AA, the effectiveness of Ryback's finishing maneuver depends largely upon who he's hitting it on.

    When Ryback has hit the Shell Shocked on someone like CM Punk, it hasn't been much to write home about.

    On the other hand, anytime Ryback has Shell Shocked two guys at once or Shell Shocked a 350-pound beast like Tensai, it's been quite the sight to see.

    While Ryback's finisher itself doesn't look all that devastating, he does have to hold his opponent in a very awkward position before he hits it, and he uses pure power when he does so.

    Try picking up a 200-pound person in that manner, and see how awkward it feels. Then, imagine trying to pick up a 350-pound guy or two 180-pound guys at once and do the same thing.

    Even more awkward, right?

    Although the impact from Shell Shocked doesn't look as great as WWE officials probably think it does, the act of executing the move is a fantastic display of incredible strength and power.

4. Knockout Punch (Big Show)

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    So, pro wrestling is "fake," right?

    Well, here's a challenge to anyone who thinks it's fake rather than scripted: Watch The Big Show hit someone with a Knockout Punch, and then tell me how you feel.

    For years up until Big Show started using the KO punch, I always wondered why hardly anyone ever really used a punch as a finisher. Then, I thought about how hard it would be to make it look "real" without killing the guy who takes it.

    Now, I have no idea just how light (or not-so-light) Big Show is with his KO punch, but you can see and, more importantly, hear that he's laying a pretty good licking on his opponent.

    The Big Show's KO Punch, when executed properly, looks absolutely vicious, and it's safe to say that it's one of those moves that probably doesn't feel very good to take.

    Forget the chokeslam or the powerbomb. Using the KO Punch as a finisher is the best choice that Big Show could have made.

    I literally cringe when I see him use it, which is something I can't say about very many other finishers. 

3. Go To Sleep (CM Punk)

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    CM Punk's GTS is one of the best displays of both power and pain that you'll see in the WWE today.

    It's a move that starts with brute strength as Punk lifts his opponent onto his shoulders, an act that's all the more remarkable when he does it to a guy that's 100 pounds or more heavier than him.

    There's the strength part.

    Then, Punk pushes his opponent off his shoulders and sends him to a face-first meeting with his knee, an act that looks like it could literally knock out his opponent if he chose to do so.

    That's the pain part.

    While, like with any move, the idea is for him to make it look like he's annihilating his opponent with his knee strike, even the great Punk is not immune to legitimately destroying someone every once in a while.

    Just ask Snitsky, whose face was rearranged courtesy of a GTS several years back.

2. F-5 (Brock Lesnar)

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    Brock Lesnar is the biggest beast in the WWE today, so it should come as no surprise that he has one of the most awe-inspiring finishers in all of pro wrestling.

    The technical term for Lesnar's finishing maneuver is a spin-out fireman's carry facebuster, but it's become known as the F-5 in the WWE. 

    The F-5 is arguably the most barbaric display of power, strength and athleticism all combined into one that the WWE has ever seen. The incredible jerking motion that it creates, coupled with the ease with which Lesnar executes it, makes it an absolutely unforgettable finish.

    Lesnar has hit the F-5 on many of the biggest names in the business, but no bigger (pun intended) guy than Big Show.

    Who cares about Mark Henry hitting the World's Strongest Slam on The Great Khali or John Cena hitting the AA on Big Daddy V when Lesnar can hit the F-5 on Big Show and make it look like a walk in the park?

    Seriously, it's almost baffling to see how easy Lesnar can make phenomenal acts of strengths look so simple. If he F-5'd a car one day, I'm not sure that I'd be very surprised.

1. The Neutralizer (Antonio Cesaro)

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    A year ago, Antonio Cesaro wasn't even on the WWE's main roster, but today, he's become one of the biggest attractions in the company.

    That's because he always pulls some sort of amazing move out of nowhere during his matches. And if it's not an amazing European uppercut, it's usually an unbelievable Neutralizer.

    Cesaro has showed that he might be, as Michael Cole calls him, "pound-for-pound, the strongest superstar in the WWE" with his incredible finisher.

    If he's not catching Kofi Kingston mid-air and then annihilating him with it, he's picking up the nearly 400-pound Brodus Clay or the 400-plus pound Great Khali with ease and then doing the same.

    Say what you want about The Neutralizer and its effectiveness (or lack thereof), the move is basically a showcase of Cesaro's astonishing strength, which looks like it comes without any effort whatsoever.

    Cesaro is viewed by many as a future World champion and main-eventer, and you better believe that, if he ever makes it there, The Neutralizer will be a big reason why.
