Are Finishing Moves Losing Their Magic?

Katherine
Aug 16
3 min read

For decades, finishing moves have been the lifeblood of professional wrestling. The “Stone Cold Stunner,” the “Tombstone Piledriver,” the “Sweet Chin Music” – these weren’t just maneuvers, they were exclamation points. When executed, fans knew the end was near. A finisher symbolized a wrestler’s ultimate weapon, the move that only the most resilient opponents could survive. But in modern wrestling, especially in WWE, AEW, and NJPW, there’s a growing debate: are finishing moves losing their magic because of too many kick-outs?

The Golden Era of Finishers

Think back to the late 80s and 90s. Hulk Hogan dropped the leg, the referee counted to three, and the crowd erupted. The Undertaker planted someone with a Tombstone – lights out. Even Bret Hart’s Sharpshooter rarely required more than one attempt to seal the deal. The drama came not from multiple kick-outs but from the anticipation of whether the wrestler could hit their finisher in the first place. Once it landed, it meant something.

The Modern Era and Kick-Out Culture

Fast-forward to today. In WWE main events, a single finisher is rarely enough. Roman Reigns’ “Spear,” Seth Rollins’ “Curb Stomp,” or even Brock Lesnar’s devastating “F-5” often require three, four, sometimes even six repetitions before an opponent stays down. AEW’s Kenny Omega has delivered the “One-Winged Angel” to opponents multiple times in one match. NJPW’s Kazuchika Okada has turned the “Rainmaker” clothesline into a marathon weapon, sometimes hitting it repeatedly to secure victory finally.

This kick-out culture is designed to create drama, but the side effect is dangerous: the finisher no longer feels “final”.

Examples of Overuse

Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar (WrestleMania 34 & SummerSlam 2022): The matches were dominated by a cycle of Spears and F-5s. Both men survived multiple finishers, and instead of being shocked, fans were left desensitized.
Kenny Omega vs. Kazuchika Okada (NJPW 2017 trilogy): While classics in their own right, these matches pushed the trend of multiple Rainmakers and near-falls to the extreme, setting a template for future wrestlers who thought quantity equaled drama.
Seth Rollins: His Curb Stomp once felt like an instant kill shot. Now, it sometimes takes three or four to finally get a win in big matches, which waters down the move’s mystique.

What This Does to the Audience

Instead of gasping in disbelief at a single kick-out, fans are beginning to expect it. The first finisher often gets shrugged off as “just part of the sequence.” That removes the unpredictability of the outcome. When fans know it’ll take five F-5s or three superkicks, the suspense shifts from “can he survive?” to “how many will it take?”

For casual fans, this can be exhausting. For diehards, it risks making matches formulaic. A finisher should be a storytelling climax – not a repetitive hurdle.

How to Fix It

Protect Finishers Again: Wrestlers should win most matches with one finisher. Save the kick-outs for once-in-a-blue-moon main events.
Introduce Secondary Finishers: Just as Shawn Michaels occasionally used the elbow drop before Sweet Chin Music, or Randy Orton uses the draping DDT before the RKO, having multiple tools keeps things fresh.
Surprise Finishes: A sudden finisher out of nowhere – like RKO’s famous “outta nowhere” – can get the biggest reaction because fans aren’t prepared for it.
Differentiate Stakes: In TV matches, a single finisher should end it. In big PPV bouts, maybe a rare kick-out adds to the drama – but it should feel rare.

Final Bell

Finishing moves aren’t “finished” yet, but they are in danger of losing their impact. Wrestling thrives on suspension of disbelief, and when a supposed ultimate move becomes just another spot in a match, the storytelling suffers. To restore their power, promotions and wrestlers must treat finishers as sacred weapons again, not just disposable tools in a long sequence of near-falls.

After all, the crowd should believe a match could end at any moment – and nothing does that better than a finisher that actually finishes.