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Pod Warriors 9: Best Finishers Ever
4 Plays2 years ago
The Pod Warriors break down the best finishing moves ever, show some love to the best tag team finishers, and even pick the worst finishing move in wrestling history!
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Transcript
Introduction to Pod Warriors
00:00:16
Speaker
We are back with the newest edition of the Pod Warriors. Me and Jordan's special spinoff of the Chick Foley show where we go deep on whatever topic just happens to be crossing our mind. Tonight we're going to be doing the best finishers in professional wrestling history. Jordan, what's going on, man?
00:00:35
Speaker
Man, I am very excited to do this one. It feels like we haven't done one of these in a while. We did the summer slam recap for pod warriors last time, but me and you just haven't chopped one up for a while. Oh, we did Hasbro.
Reflections on Podcasting
00:00:48
Speaker
I forgot about that one. Yeah, we did do like an almost three hour long Hasbro episode.
00:00:52
Speaker
it was so long and so exhausting that I think we both kind of wouldn't know a little PTSD like mini coma afterwards man because that was a uh I mean we literally went figure for figure through that whole freaking line yeah I listened back to that over the weekend after we did it and I was like Jesus I feel like I blacked out while we were doing this
00:01:10
Speaker
I did. I used to go back and listen to all the podcasts when I, uh, when I first started doing it, but I stopped maybe like eight or nine episodes into it. Cause I would just, it would drive me nuts. If I would hear like a little like hitch or something or like a little stutter as, as I was talking, like it would drive me crazy all week. So I just, I just blocked it out, man. You still listen to most of our pods after we record them. Not all of them. Um,
00:01:35
Speaker
Especially if I know like I had, like you just said a fucked up moment. I'm like, I don't want to listen back to that. Like there was one, I don't remember if it was a podwares or a chick fully show, but I had like one moment where I swear I like stroked out and I was like stuttering. I'm like, I'm not listening back to that.
00:01:52
Speaker
I had a strokeout moment one time too, man. This was a while ago, dude, to let you know how self-conscious we can be even if we sound confident on the mic. It was just a random episode and we got to the listener mail and Alex Eubank had asked some kind of question like, if you could take an old gimmick and put it with a modern day wrestler now and
00:02:14
Speaker
whatever the way I don't know if it was the way it was worded or like the way sheena was reading it dude like my brain just could not fucking process what he was asking and I was just like I don't really know how to answer this question Alex was giving me shit about it the next week in the in the Facebook group hey man you can't be asking us some long drawn-out questions by that time we're usually an hour and a half in four or five beers in like dude we can't be getting all these like
00:02:38
Speaker
hypothetical questions about, hey, what would you do if this wrestler was booked 45 years ago? Like, dude, we don't fucking know. We don't know if they were booked 45 minutes ago.
Plugging Social Media and Merch
00:02:49
Speaker
Oh yeah, we want to remind you guys to follow my wife Sheena the star this whole thing at chick Foley on Instagram, and you can go to chick Foley calm to find all things that we're doing. We got a shop over on spring with a ton of great merch and get links to the podcast and most importantly, you can get access to our Patreon exclusive Facebook group. It's a ton of fun in there. So definitely check it out.
What Makes a Great Wrestling Finisher?
00:03:12
Speaker
we want to remind you guys as always use code chick Foley to save 10% at ringside collectible so tonight we are going to be going over the best finishers in wrestling history we're going to do our top five favorite singles finishers our top three favorite tag team finishers and then
00:03:30
Speaker
We're gonna do some other fun stuff too, you know, we're gonna talk about like the worst finishers ever. A couple who did it better. We're just gonna keep it moving and just talk, you know, the finishing move is such a key part of wrestling and we figured it'd be a great topic to tackle here on the pod warriors. So Jordan, I'll ask you man, what makes a great finisher?
Evolution of Wrestling Finishers
00:03:51
Speaker
Yeah, so I used to think it was just all about it. It has to be some elaborate finish. Like when I was a kid, I loved the elaborate finish. And in the 80s, early 90s, they were all about the elaborate finishers. Now, you got the RKO and stuff and they can just snap it off in two seconds and the match is over.
00:04:12
Speaker
I think you got to combine how long the setup is because if it's too long of a setup, I mean, it kind of loses its luster to me. Like even Drew McIntyre, since he started doing the three, two, one thing for the clay more, it's kind of lost its luster for me. I'd rather just see him do it out of nowhere. Like the camera just comes back up and he's doing a clay more. Like I don't need the three, two, one count.
00:04:33
Speaker
Um, but it's got to look devastating to me too. Like I'm not, I'm not going to sit here and act like somebody is just doing a power slam is what should end a match. You know, like a body slams, not ending a match in 2022. Right. So as the years have gone on, my, uh, my, um, belief in what actually can be a finisher has really gotten kayfabe.
00:04:58
Speaker
Yeah, I feel you on that when I was the same as a kid, the more like crazy the finishers was, they, they would really kind of stick in my mind. But as I've become a more, you know, cultured wrestling fan now, I look for a lot of the same things you did. I do like the, the kind of out of nowhere finishing moves, but I like a little bit of pageantry with it also, even though nowadays, if you got an elaborate setup, when you do your whole warm up stick, it almost never hits. You know what I mean? Like,
00:05:23
Speaker
I don't think I've ever seen Randy Orton hit the RKO when he does his whole like pound the mat stuff. It almost always gets countered. And there's a few other similar examples like that. For me, I was looking for something that looks devastating, like you said. But I also, keeping it kayfabe, it had to be something that I've seen work in the biggest moments. Like, you know, WrestleMania main events, World Championship wins. I need to know that this thing can get the job done when the stakes are the highest. So that was kind of my methodology.
00:05:51
Speaker
looking at this thing. You ready to get into
Nostalgia and Sound Effects in Podcasts
00:05:54
Speaker
our countdown? Yeah, let's do it. All right, so we are going to start with Jordan's number five pick. I went with the... Oh, I got you some sound effects going, man. Oh, Jesus. Yeah. Cool. The leader of the new generation. Diesel. I'm going to let that run for a second.
Favorite Tag Team Finishers
00:06:25
Speaker
All right. And the reason I want to let that run for a second, something that kind of just dawned on me as I was putting the show together today. Tell me that song doesn't sound exactly like. The theme from Rose. It does. I never noticed that. This beat drops, man.
00:06:52
Speaker
Wow. Tell me, you can see Kevin walking down to the ring, hair blowing, looking like a million bucks, dragging the winged and go world championship behind him while the Arnold's are passing the mesh potatoes around the table.
00:07:08
Speaker
That's great. It does sound exactly like it. This is the kind of insight you're only going to get on the pod warriors folks. But, but yeah, as I was, when I was stitching that together today, I was like, whatever I heard that before. And I was like, Oh yeah, Roseanne, were you a Roseanne fan back in the day, Jordan? I mean, my family definitely watched it. It wasn't my favorite thing, but it was definitely on every Friday night.
The Impact of Powerbomb Finishers
00:07:28
Speaker
We watched it. The one thing that sticks out to me about Roseanne when I go back now, most of the sitcoms in the eighties and nineties, they always portrayed the families like super like glistening and everything was great. You know, beautiful house. I really feel like it was like Roseanne and married with children that gave the actual realistic look at like that, the lower middle-class lifestyle, you know? Yeah. Married with children definitely brought you back down to earth. Like the dad was a shoe salesman.
00:07:53
Speaker
former football glory. Like this is really hitting home now. Looking back now though, it's like, dude, how did these folks on a single income where the dad just worked at the freaking shoe store for that big two-story house in Chicago suburbs? I don't know. It was probably like $20,000 back then. I wasn't buying houses in the late eighties Seth.
00:08:14
Speaker
Alright, let's get back to wrestling and get out of the 80s sitcom world. Tell us why you picked Diesel's Jackknife for your number five finisher. Yeah, so I loved this move when I was a kid. This is always a move that
00:08:29
Speaker
Keeping it is real like when I was a kid and we play outside in the snow This is always a move out hit on my friends when we're in the snow I just feel like his jackknife his powerbomb is just so much more Devastating like he gives so much more force to it and he just drops you out of the sky Basically like he ain't following you to the ground You're just getting straight up dropped like whenever he would powerbomb like when the cruiser waits like Ray or something Like they're just straight up getting dropped off his seven foot shoulders right to the ground. So I
00:08:59
Speaker
I always just felt like his was more devastating because it always felt like it packed more of a punch to me than just your normal everyday powerbomb.
00:09:07
Speaker
Yeah, I was, again, I was doing some YouTube research this afternoon and that is, you nailed it, man. That was the one thing he did different. He didn't do like the bend over to slam all the way down. He would typically stay standing up and just basically throw them down with his arms. That's what said the jackknife, just slightly different from some of the other big power bombs out there. Who, do you got anybody else whose power bomb you were a big fan of? So currently KOs, pop up power bomb is probably my current favorite for power bomb.
00:09:35
Speaker
I was a big fan of the Batista Bomb, the Liger Bomb. I mean, you can't really go wrong with the Power Bomb, man. It's such an iconic move. It's awesome, and yeah, I've always loved the Power Bomb.
00:09:48
Speaker
Yeah, I was always a big fan of Vader's as a kid because he was so big this grizzly bear and anything Vader did always looked like it would hurt like hell. So he's probably my next favorite behind, behind Kevin Nash, but we said we was going to keep it, you know, keep it kayfabe.
Memorable Finishers from Big Wrestlers
00:10:02
Speaker
You got to remember Kevin Nash used this move to win two big world championships. He powerbombed Bob Backlund to win the WWF championship in 1994 and about eight seconds.
00:10:11
Speaker
And he also ended Goldberg streak as Kevin Nash. They were still calling it the Jackknife. Um, you know, that was one of the biggest streaks in wrestling history. Aside from maybe undertakers, WrestleMania streak, I think Goldberg's was it. And the Jackknife power bomb was the move that finally ended it after getting hit by a cattle prod by Scott Hall. But we won't talk about that, right? All right. We're going to stick with the new generation for my number five pick.
00:10:42
Speaker
Goodness, 568 pounds of this mammoth athlete.
00:11:01
Speaker
Yeah, I had to go with the two time WWF champ that dearly departed Yoko Zuna's bonsai drop. Jordan, were you surprised to see this one pop up on my list? I was a little surprised when I saw this. So I'm really curious to hear your explanation of this one because this was the only one that I was like, all right, I can't wait to hear tell this one.
00:11:21
Speaker
So my other four were real kind of shoe ins. The next four I had on the list were like locks. Those popped to mind immediately and I was really searching for number five. There were a few modern day moves that popped in my head but...
00:11:34
Speaker
one thing really starting around like 2000, 2001, 2002 finishers started to get a lot more watered down. Like in the big matches, typically you'd see people kicking out, uh, two or three of them sometimes. And, um, that used to be something that was really reserved for like a WrestleMania main event, or at least a WrestleMania match seeing someone kick out of a finisher.
00:11:53
Speaker
So I was thinking like, you know, 1999 and before. And then I was like, what was always one that looked like just devastating? I don't think I ever saw anybody kick out of the bonsai drop, man. So bonsai drop was my pick. If you go on YouTube, just look up like some bonsai drop compilations. You see some of these jobbers that Yoko didn't give a shit about.
Brock Lesnar's F5 Evaluation
00:12:12
Speaker
He straight up flattens them. Like, I'm sure some of these guys have like organs rearranged from getting hit by this move. This dude is 500, 600 pounds climbing up on the second rope and just dropping down as first right on their chest.
00:12:23
Speaker
You know, as far as shoot goes, there's not a lot of moves I can think of that would be more devastating than that one. So that was kind of my thoughts on putting Yoko on the list. I mean, it's definitely a good choice. I always appreciate a good big guy move. And yeah, you're right. I don't ever remember anyone kicking out of this.
00:12:42
Speaker
Do you have any other great big man finishers that kind of stick in your mind, Jordan? So there's two that really stick to me. So the Vader bomb is one, which I still, to this day, have no idea how he did that. He got some serious air on that thing. Yeah, he was never cheated out of one to one of those. He always got up and over. I mean, it was always incredible. And then I love the Bam Bam Bigelow diving head, but that just always hits for me.
00:13:10
Speaker
Yeah, Bam Bam and Vader were real innovators being guys that size. Both those guys had solid moonsaults too. The other big guy finisher that stuck out to me always was earthquakes, earthquake splash, which was kind of like a running bonsai drop on the ground. But I just remember when earthquake flattened Hulk on The Brother Love Show back in 1990. I thought Hulk was dead. I thought he was done for. And then he sits on the snake years later. Yeah, really, really great.
00:13:35
Speaker
Yeah, he took took Hogan out and then he killed Damien and then made quake burgers out of out of poor Damien. So yeah, that dastardly earthquake had a, you know, that was a hell of a move that he had there. And it was always a good setup jumping around the ring, you know, the shake and the Richter scale. That's one of the setups I didn't mind. But the only thing that like, now you think back to it, like him jumping around the ring, how the hell the guy just never roll out of the ring when he started doing that, like dead giveaway, it's coming.
00:14:03
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, that's pretty, there's a lot of things like that. Like that's what I was said about Seth Rollins dude. Like if you're fighting Seth Rollins, just never allow yourself to be in a position where you're like on all fours or like bent over and that's, you can avoid the curb stop dude. Like just, yeah, pause phrasing.
00:14:19
Speaker
But seriously, man, like there's literally a limited amount of freaking, you know, ways you could position yourself where he could hit his finisher on you, man. So just avoid those and you'd be safe, but we're not going to introduce logic to a, a logical situation. Jordan, you ready to talk about your number four pick?
00:14:47
Speaker
I don't know if you meant to do it, but you almost perfectly timed up the pop of that beer can with with Brock's music right there. Couldn't work any better. Tell us why Brock Lesnar's F5 is your number four move. So I was not thinking the way you are, but I'm glad I put this as my number four now because
00:15:07
Speaker
this move ended the greatest streak in wrestling history, right? Like good point. I mean, seriously, like if you want to talk about a big time move that had a big time moment, this is it. Like the dude has been in so many WrestleMania main events with this moves. Granted, he hasn't won them all, but I mean, we obviously know Brock has been there for a ton of big matches. And like I said, he ended the streak with this. I love this move. I just,
00:15:34
Speaker
and he can do it to everybody i think that was the most impressive thing is the first time you saw him put big show in it it was like what the hell is he doing man there's no way he's going to get him up for this now granted it didn't look as impressive as when he throws ray mysterious off the top of his shoulders but it's still pretty damn cool um the other thing about this move is depending on what kind of mood he's in you don't know how you're going to land you can land on your side your back your head your face like
00:15:58
Speaker
That's the thing. If you go back and watch him, nobody's ever landing the same in each one of his matches. Like everybody always lands different. So I love this move. So I guess that brings me to my big hang up with the F5. Like you're right, sometimes you have some wonky landings, but for the most part, they spin around and hit a pancake down like on their belly and chest. Like explain to me, like, why does this move hurt?
00:16:22
Speaker
I mean, dude, a big tree fall hard, man. 300 pounds getting thrown up in there and falling on the ground. It ain't going to feel good, dude. And like Ray Mysterio is getting thrown way higher than anyone else. So I don't know, man, falling on your face in a wrestling mat can't feel good.
00:16:38
Speaker
Again, we're gonna introduce logic into this set. Let's relax a little here. Fair enough. And I will say that it does, it is a great looking move, man. Just the spinning F5, you know, for the, the tornado or whatever, it is a very cool visual. So I will, I guess I'll allow it, man. My, it rolls right into my pick for my number four finisher.
Tombstone Piledriver's Legacy
00:17:04
Speaker
the man who took probably the most famous F5 ever, the undertaker's tombstone. I remember seeing this move when taker first debuted back in 1990. And it was just insane. The, the, the level of impact this thing had because
00:17:21
Speaker
If it was a big star taker would show a little bit of TLC kind of the same, like you said, with Brock Lesnar, depending on who it was, they got a different version. Go back and watch some of these jobbers, man. Undertaker was given this, uh, this tombstone to on the way up. He was straight up planting these motherfuckers on top of their head.
00:17:36
Speaker
so it's funny you bring that up because yeah in the 90s this move i mean you knew when you got tombstone match was over as you said after 2002 there was really no move that they protected i mean people kicked out of the tombstone hell didn't shawn kick out of three of them at wrestlemania like
00:17:54
Speaker
Yeah, they didn't protect these moves anymore. This is my only problem with this move and this was an honorable mention for me after about 2005 when they kind of banned pile drivers He started holding them up really high and if they did a bad angle like I mean it literally did nothing like the move literally did nothing so yeah, it kind of hurt it the longer it went on I felt like
00:18:18
Speaker
The other thing is Kane started using it also. I feel like that kind of took away just because it wasn't as unique as it used to be when Undertaker was doing it. Now you had two guys that were megastars that were both using this same move. I feel like, granted he did go with a different gimmick when he was biker taker, but I feel like that's why he started doing the last ride for whatever that was, a three-year run, because they really were not doing pile drivers at that point.
00:18:45
Speaker
I just felt like they wanted to give it a different aesthetic and then he went back to it after he was done with biker take so I mean I still love the move in the 90s it looked badass it just got watered down in the 2000s
00:18:57
Speaker
Last ride was a good finisher. Also, man, any any at Hell's Gate that he was using for a while that submission. So Undertaker has always been pretty blessed with a solid finish. But but yeah, tombstones number four for me, he used it to beat Hulk Hogan with the assistance of a steel chair at Survivor Series 91 for the world title. And he used it to beat Psycho Sid for the world championship at WrestleMania 13. So it has brought him some gold over the years as well.
00:19:23
Speaker
Let's get into our number three favorite tag team finisher of all time and we'll start with Jordans. How great would it be if they could bring this music over to AEW? Oh god, I love this theme. I thought this was so awesome.
00:19:43
Speaker
I do, I do like the music though too. It's grown on me a lot. Yeah, I like it. It's got like some serious like midnight express vibes. I feel like it'd be great if they could like have both, you know what I mean? Like sometimes use the midnight express like retro type theme. And then sometimes, you know, if they're going out for a fight, use the old, uh, the Southern pride song. But Jordan, tell us why the, uh, the shatter machine slash the big rig is your number three favorite tag team finisher. So
00:20:10
Speaker
you know like they say like you remember you where you were when you saw certain things like i remember where i was watching this when i first saw them do this move like dude the shatter machine is just such a cool finisher and speaking of a finisher that's lights out
00:20:26
Speaker
I mean, people don't kick out of this this it's over when they hit this like, this isn't like we need to run this back three times like when they hit shatter machine you know it's lights out so yeah I just I love this move I'm a big tag team wrestling fan and I felt like these guys just
00:20:43
Speaker
I didn't, I didn't love them, um, on their main roster running WWE. So, I mean, I liked them a lot now with another FTR. It's just, I don't know, man, with the tag team in this move, I just, I love this move. So.
00:20:57
Speaker
Yeah, their main roster run was really in the dark ages for tag team wrestling in WWE, which is a shame because did like these guys are the biggest reason why we need to revisit that greatest tag teams ever series episodes that we did early last year, which you guys can find in the archives if you want to go listen, because I think we had them. I want to say they were like low twenties, like high teens, but they're probably like up top five, top six all time at this point with the run that they've been on in the last year and change.
00:21:24
Speaker
Yeah, I mean you could debate where they're at, but you're right. They are definitely in the top five to me at this point.
00:21:33
Speaker
So they did change the name to honor Brody Lee after he passed away and they start calling it the Big Rig.
Heart Attack: A Classic Tag Team Finisher
00:21:38
Speaker
Which name do you prefer for this move, Jordan? The Shadow Machine or the Big Rig? Because that's something we didn't mention, man. A nice name that really sounds cool and sums up what you're doing. That goes a long way to making a great finisher also. I think both of these names are great. I think Big Rig is great because of what they're doing, their honor and their friend. But, dude, Shadow Machine is such a badass name for a finisher.
00:21:58
Speaker
Yeah, definitely. Speaking of great names for finishers, my number three is the Heart Attack. That's H-A-R-T by the Heart Foundation. Bret Hart and Jim Nighthart. I don't think this would really be a finisher nowadays just because it is kind of low key with some of the crazy stuff we've seen from teams like the Young Bucks and the Usos.
00:22:18
Speaker
But this move freaking rocked back in the day, man. They, if you just hear the description, you know, Jim Nighthart picks him up in the spine buster position and Brett hits a running clothesline and doesn't sound the greatest. But Brett, this is when he was still at his like peak athleticism. He got some serious speed, man. Like he was sprinting on those ropes and would just damn near take somebody's head off the way he hit that clothesline. And it just had a really, really cool look, man. What's your thoughts on the heart attack? I love this venture. Like you said, nowadays it probably wouldn't work because it just
00:22:48
Speaker
I mean it is what it is but in the 90s yeah man it didn't get any better than this.
00:22:53
Speaker
Yeah, I, uh, if you get any opportunity or board on a Friday, Saturday night and just looking to wind down after some drinking and firing up peacock, look up some old heart foundation matches, man. These guys did not have a bad match. It's a reason why they are up at the top of almost any greatest tag team ever list. Cause they just perfectly complimented each other. And it really had some revolutionary offense for what they were doing back in the day. Those guys in the, uh, the British Bulldogs, any match you can find to those two, it's going to be great. Let's have our beverage break.
00:23:34
Speaker
Such a great song. Kanye's first one hitting it big. We're slowly but surely working our way all the way through college dropout, man. We're gonna get there. We just gotta keep running off these episodes. I know we promised people that we're gonna get these out more and more, but we are. We're working on it. Just life is busy.
00:23:51
Speaker
Hell yeah. Once it gets cold, the kids got less extra curriculars going on, man. We'll be in a lot better shape, dude. What are you drinking tonight, man? So I am drinking a beer called Cubby Gummy. It's from Noon Whistle Brewing Company. It's in Lombard, Illinois, right outside Chicago. So I got this last time I went to Chicago. It's a Northeast IPA. Very good. Double hopped. It's very good.
00:24:18
Speaker
Nice. You got a cooler behind you with variety packs set up, or you just pounding these all night? Just got four of these.
00:24:24
Speaker
Nice dude, I got a little variety pack going. So I'll give you guys a running commentary. Right now I'm doing the good old fashioned Bud Light, which I almost never drink, but my dad likes Bud Light and he was here about a week and a half ago and stocked up on some. So I'm kind of just working my way through what was left over after he rolled out. I don't hate Bud Light. Like I would drink it. I'm not somebody that's like, Oh, Bud Light sucks. But if I would rather, if I'm drinking like a macro brew, you know, as opposed to a micro brew, I'm going, I'm going Miller white or Bushlight before I reach for the bud.
00:24:52
Speaker
Yeah, Bud Light used to be like my favorite beer and I don't know what happened but I started getting into Busch Light more and Miller Light and yeah man I just I don't do Bud Light very often anymore unless I have to at like a concert or something. Dude, I don't know if like if this is accurate or if my pallet's just way out of tune to me, Bud Light's too sweet man.
00:25:12
Speaker
I get like a little hint of sweetness off Bud Light that I don't get off of really any other like any of the other like just loggers like you know Miller White or Bush and that's why I take this. I will take Bud over Coors Light because to me Coors Light is like beer flavored water man. Like I feel like I'm not even drinking beer when I drink Coors. It is water. I mean it's 100% water. It's great if it's like really hot outside and you're at a concert because I mean you're washing down some water while you're sweating it all out.
00:25:37
Speaker
Yeah, we got to pay $9 for it. So it's not that great. All right, here is Jordan's number three pick.
RKO and Diamond Cutter Compared
00:25:57
Speaker
man after all these years that still hits Jordan tell us why the RKO is your number three favorite finisher so I talked about not liking the long setups and like Seth said anytime Randy Orton has like a long setup he never hits RKO he's going to that place Maggle
00:26:15
Speaker
The RKO is always supposed to be like instant like you're cooked like you just come out of nowhere. So I love this move. Obviously DDP created the move when he did the diamond cutter. He obviously took a little bit longer to set it up than Orton does. I mean Orton literally just snaps it off in two seconds. DDP had to throw up the diamond. He had to do all that shit and then throw up the diamond cutter but
00:26:39
Speaker
Yeah, man, this move is just awesome. It doesn't look like the most devastating move ever always, but still pretty badass. Yeah, DDP, he would hit it out of nowhere, but he's talked about it on his podcast. He was really inspired by Jake's DDT, so you would still get that like half second of setup where he'd get him in like the kind of reverse face lock down on his shoulder and you'd see it coming for that split second before he'd hit it, you know, whereas, yeah, Randy Orton just snaps that thing off, man.
00:27:07
Speaker
So are you, I take it that you're RKO over the diamond cutter. I am RKO over the diamond cutter. But I mean, we wouldn't have the RKO if it wasn't for the diamond cutter. So we have to give DDP his flowers. Yeah, same. And Randy Orton is such a just freak athlete, man. Like, you know, DDP, sometimes he would get a little bit of air on it, but for the most part, you know, the most he would ever do, it looked like maybe he was hitting a sort of bulldog. Randy Orton gets some serious air off his RKO sometimes. Oh, yeah. Yeah.
00:27:34
Speaker
Some of the ones he snapped off, which I'm sure you're going to ask me about, but yeah, dude, he's done some pretty awesome RKO's. Which is, what is your favorite RKO ever? I mean, dude, we were there live, so it's pretty tough to beat the Seth Rollins one. That one was freaking amazing. Close second would be Evan Bourne when he was doing the shooting star press and he got caught in it.
00:27:57
Speaker
The one on set was my favorite because that was just so perfectly executed, man. Like it really was like the absolute greatest counter to the curb stomp ever. Seth got some crazy air when he jumped off Randy's back and Randy just hit it perfect. It's pretty wild. Cause they talked about it on a lot of the behind the scenes documentaries that they practiced at a handful of times and they could never quite nail it to the point to where Randy Orton actually didn't want to do it. Cause he likes to bat a thousand, you know, he likes to be perfect in his matches.
00:28:26
Speaker
But Seth talked him into taking a risk and they hit it in the ring better than, better than ever. That was my number one until TLC 2000. It was TLC 2000 when the Fiend got set on fire, dude. And we saw the flaming RKL. That one was just insane to me, even though it was in the, you know, the, the Thunderdome, that kind of like weird era.
00:28:49
Speaker
I just love that visual of the fiend first off being completely engulfed in flames and then taking an RKO. So that's my all time favorite. First of all, you definitely just fucked up because you said TLC 2000, which that is incorrect. How about 2020 a jackass 2000 was 22 years ago. You know what I meant, man. You know what I meant, dude.
00:29:11
Speaker
I was like, bro, no, I was like 2,000. I was like, Randy Orton did a. Every year it was, there was a bunch of twos and a bunch of zeros in the year, man. Nobody cares about the specifics. But yeah, the Flaming Fiend one, that one was my favorite. My son just loved watching that match for the longest time. He'd always want to see the Firefly Inferno match is what he'd call that one. I bet he did love it. I'm wondering why.
00:29:37
Speaker
Yeah, we always like seeing Bray Wyatt lose around here. Jordan's just such a Bray Wyatt diehard. Shut up. Move to your next one. All right, my number three.
Evolution of Sweet Chin Music
00:29:57
Speaker
How awkward is it nowadays when Sean still comes out to the sexy boy theme? It's not good. They need to come up with an old man Sean theme like I'm just an old man. Old man.
00:30:10
Speaker
Dude, you know what I think they need to do, man? It would still work. Just take the lyrics out of it, dude. Just give us the instrumental version. You know what I mean? We don't need to be hearing sexy boy when 65-year-old Shawn Michaels walks to the ring. He's talking about, I think I'm cute. I know I'm sexy, and he looks like Choi from Grand Theft Auto 5, dude. I am very proud of you that you got your favorite wrestler in here, though.
00:30:34
Speaker
Oh, don't even, don't get me started. I will say I have my, as I've been going back over the last few years and rewatching, you know, the, the nineties WWF, I have grown in my appreciation for Sean Michaels, dude. I, uh,
00:30:48
Speaker
Even though he was a royal cunt to Bret Hart and costs so much shit, you know, led to the Montreal. The crazy thing about the Montreal screw job, man, Vince went through all that trouble and had so much heartburn about, you know, who to pick between Brett and Sean. And Sean was gone four months later, man. Yeah. It's just not a good look as the years go on. It wasn't a good look when it happened. It's getting worse as the years go by.
00:31:11
Speaker
Yeah, the whole situation was was bad all the way around but strictly off in ring and entertainment value Shawn Michaels is definitely one of a kind. He's, he's, you know, he's climbing up my ranks all time favorites man as the years go by and I'm forgiven a little bit of the, the sins of those days but we're here to talk about his finisher.
00:31:31
Speaker
sweet chin music it's kind of funny because he used this move in the rockers and even at the start of his solo run this was like a setup move like if you watch some of the early heel Shawn Michaels matches from from 1992 you would see this just busted off in the middle of the match is just kind of one of his big moves but not as finisher he was using this teardrop back suplex and it wasn't until 1993 that he really switched to the super kick which would later be known as sweet chin music as his finisher but I love this one
00:31:58
Speaker
Um, he, he really kind of stopped over the years doing the big elaborate set up, but when he was first coming up, getting his big baby face push, he would do the whole stomp in the corner, you know, tuning up the band. And I thought that was really cool. You know, he, he did the whole set up to get, uh, to beat Brett at WrestleMania 12 and overtime when that goddamn gorilla monsoon screwed Brett and made the Ironman match go to overtime. But, uh,
00:32:21
Speaker
And he could also hit it out of nowhere you know which that really became a thing more during his second run when he came back after 2002 they really kind of hyped up that he could get sweet chin music anytime anywhere, and had some pretty spectacular results on that one, just YouTube. Sean Michael Shelton Benjamin sweet chin music for a pretty epic one.
00:32:39
Speaker
But, uh, but yeah, I love this move. He used it to beat Brett at WrestleMania 10. He used it to beat Sid at the 1997 Royal Rumble, and he used it to beat Triple H at elimination chamber 2002 to win world championships in those matches. So, um, another cool chin, probably my favorite sweet chin music. We've talked about this a few times on the pod in your house. Good friends, better enemies from
00:33:02
Speaker
April 1996 right there in Jordan's hometown, Omaha, Nebraska. He's fighting Diesel in the main event, his first defense of the World Championship. And as he's tuning up the band, there's a huge group of kids in the stands that are stomping right along with him. And it's just one of those moments when you see the whole audience behind a baby face is when wrestling is at its best. So I know I went on and on and on about a guy that I supposedly fucking hate, but I really think Sweet Chin music's a great finisher. And that's why it's number three for me. Jordan, what's your thoughts on Sweet Chin?
00:33:31
Speaker
I love this move. The only thing that I don't like about this move is how common it is now. It's not even a setup move. Now it's just a fucking normal move. Just a move. I hate that, dude. It's such a badass move, and now everyone does it, so it doesn't even look cool anymore. It's so dumb now. But yeah, in the 90s, this was awesome.
00:33:52
Speaker
Yeah, I don't know if it's just the nostalgia glasses or what it still seems like Sean's hit harder than anybody's that does it today. I don't know if it was something he was doing or the way guys were selling back then. But yeah, it just seemed like Sean just connected with a lot more impact, man. Who do you think has the best super kick out of any of today's wrestlers?
00:34:15
Speaker
I mean, the Bucks do a pretty damn good super kick. I'm not going to bullshit like everybody wants to rip on them, but their super kick is pretty badass. Yeah, they got a good one. I like Dolph's dude. I feel like Dolph can put some stank on that thing, man. He gets some serious thigh slap going like that when he hit on Goldberg at a SummerSlam 2019. That was a big one. He's had some pretty solid super kicks over the years too, man. And he's, you know, he really is kind of like a hybrid of like Billy Gunn, Mr. Perfect and HBK all rolled up into one. Throw some stank on it. That's for sure.
00:34:47
Speaker
All right, let's get into our number two tag team finisher. We had the same one.
00:35:04
Speaker
swaggy, get the tape. Hell yeah, man. That was a sound effects. He's Slater going through the table with the 3d back on the Dudley boys last round of WWE. We both had, we actually had the same number two and number one for the tag team fix, which lets you know how iconic these moves are. The 3d put away so many people for the championship, but so many people do the table. It looks cool.
00:35:27
Speaker
you know, they can do it to pretty much anybody. I just think it's a really great tag team finisher.
The 3D: Versatile Tag Team Finisher
00:35:33
Speaker
It's in the same vein as like the shadow machine where one partner is lifting and then kind of dropping them into a move from the second one. So it's basically like a, like a flapjack into like a RKO slash diamond cutter type situation. Is that, is that how you describe it? Exactly how I describe it. That was so beautifully described by you.
00:35:49
Speaker
though i was trying to get my william regal on i love it the one thing i love about this move is like dude they always did this with a table for the most part which just made it so much more badass when they would do it it always just made me laugh like not even like a no dq match and they just let the devilies bring a table into three days somebody it's like how is this legal
00:36:10
Speaker
Yeah, it was just the thing, man. It's also been nice seeing that Uso is bring it back as the, as the one D here in the last few months and they've still protected it, man. Nobody has kicked out of that since that Uso started doing it. It's a great finisher. I mean, for a tag team finisher, it's quick. I mean, and again, you can do this one out of nowhere.
00:36:28
Speaker
Yeah, great finisher. Tons of gold. Dudley boy salute to you guys. Moving into number two for the singles. Jordan, tell us why you have Bret Hart's sharpshooter as your number two. Alright, so another behind the curtain shocking thing. So Seth sent me his top five and I was like,
00:36:48
Speaker
Wait a minute, you have sweet chin music but not the sharpshooter? What the fuck man, are you turning heel or something today? I love the sharpshooter. When it's done right, it looks so, I mean, it's just gotta be excruciating being in this move and Bret Hart does it right. I mean, the one problem with this move is so many people try to do it and it's done so bad that it takes away from the glory that it once had.
00:37:14
Speaker
It does suck watching people do it. They don't know how to do it. But dude, when Brett locked this in, you weren't getting out of it generally. I mean, unless you were right next to the ropes, you generally weren't getting out of it. And I mean, Brett did it who is the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be. So what more of a description do I need to give for this?
00:37:34
Speaker
Yeah, beautiful man, beautiful. You're actually bringing a tear to my eye right now. You're in the love for the sharpshooter. To me, you're right, man. People have done it, but Brett's was just the best. Some people try to... So some people get lazy with it and they like sit down on their ass as they do it. Or some people try to do too much and bend all the way back like, dude, you got to do like Brett did and just kind of pop a squat and then just pull back on their legs, man. He talks about it in his book that
00:37:58
Speaker
he used that finisher because he knew like that pose of him holding him in the mood would just be iconic and that was true man like it just it looked perfect man and you could it was a cool move because you could see you know Brett's face was right there on the camera so he could sell how hard he was locking it in the opponents can still sell it really well like
00:38:14
Speaker
It was just a great submission finisher. I docked it just because out of Brett's five WWE championship wins, he only used it for the first one. Uh, first two intercontinental championship wins. He, he only won it. He only used it for the first one. So, and that's kind of common with submission finishers, man. It's they've gotten, they've used it a little bit more over the last, you know, 10 to 15 years, but for the longest time, you really wouldn't see a big match in an affinity in a submission just because it wasn't, it's just not as dramatic as getting a three count. Right.
00:38:44
Speaker
Yeah, and I see what you're saying with that. It's just, I don't know, man. There's just something about like when someone puts on a nice looking submission hold that's like, dude, how can anyone say that this is not like the most painful thing that's going on in this match?
Debating Submission Moves
00:38:59
Speaker
Like there's sometimes it's kind of hard for me to suspend disbelief because it's like, all right, this dude was just in the sharpshooter for five minutes. So he gets out of that somehow and he can wrestle another 20 minutes. Like, what are we doing here?
00:39:11
Speaker
Yeah, you know, that was my big problem with the finish to WrestleMania 12. If we can bring that up twice in one podcast, you got me started, though, dude, if they were going to fucking do overtime, it should have been announced from the start and it should have carried over. There shouldn't have been any fucking stoppage. You just should have went immediately into sudden death because, dude, Bret Hart had Shawn Michaels dead to rights locked in in the center of the ring. HBK wasn't going nowhere. He was either going to submit or he was going to pass out and Brett would have kept the championship. But they made Brett let go of the hold and then restart the match.
00:39:41
Speaker
Like what the hell, you'd make it make sense. There's no way to make it make sense. It was just, this was the crappiest way they could do this. And I've still never understood that ending to this day. Like you just said, Brett had him beat and they made him break out the hole. Like it's the dumbest thing ever. Yeah, I don't know. That'd be like an NBA game going into overtime. They're like, all right, you got to sit your three best players now.
00:40:07
Speaker
Yeah. That match has grown on me over the years, man. As a kid, I didn't like it. I think that was more of an emotional response because Brett lost. And then as the years go by, I was like, ah, it's kind of boring. Now that I'm older, I really kind of like it because they do keep it going for an hour. I think being an Ironman match is actually what fucking hurts it. I think if it was just a regular match and they had to go for an hour, it'd be a little bit better.
00:40:31
Speaker
You know, you kind of got the feeling once you got the 10 minutes and it was zero, zero, that it was either going to be a tie or like one dude was going to get like a buzzer beater finish or something. You know, I don't know. What's your thoughts on the the WrestleMania 12 Iron Man match, which, you know, probably the most famous Iron Man match ever. First of all, I hate Iron Man matches. So let's get that out of the way right now. I think that's the dumbest match that you can do.
00:40:50
Speaker
Like, dude, you can wrestle an hour in that not be an Iron Man match. We don't need a stipulation on it. Um, so I've just never been a fan of those. I'm with you. I do like that match. I think it's a tad overrated just cause of, I just don't like the stipulation of the match. Both those guys are great. It's just not my type of match.
00:41:08
Speaker
Yeah, I think they did a good I think they learned a lot of lessons from doing that one because pretty much every Iron Man match since then they've used like the the survivor series kayfabe logic where if it's like a survivor series elimination match, everybody only starts off with like 75% XP. You'd see moves that would almost never be a finish start to get finishes, you know, like that one that set then Dolph had back in 2018. I think that was like four to three was the final score and that was a 30 minute Iron Man match, you know, yeah,
00:41:36
Speaker
And I think that's the problem is like, did you want to see action in these matches? So when you're at a 1-1 tie after an hour, it's like, Jesus Christ, come on, guys.
00:41:45
Speaker
Yeah. Um, let's get back to the
Iron Man Matches and Stipulations
00:41:48
Speaker
matter of hand. I know people, I think for the most part, our audience loves it when we go on these transgressions on, you know, the fucking, the Roseanne theme song and the WrestleMania 12 finish revisited. Let's get back to it though. Uh, who did this move better? Sting or Bret Hart? I mean, it's, it's definitely Bret Hart. I love Sting, but it's definitely Bret Hart.
00:42:07
Speaker
Yeah, Stings was pretty good, but he still, it wasn't as good as Brett's man. And the thing is, I feel like Sting, he had that whole second act of his career where the Scorpion death drop was also the finisher. And I like that a lot better than the Scorpion death lock for Sting. Agreed.
00:42:22
Speaker
What are some of your other favorite submission finishes? I love the figure four. I think that's a great finish and it's iconic. And he definitely has beaten a lot of people with that finisher. So those two are the biggest for me. I like the STF when people do it right. I think that's a cool finisher for a submission, but it's down to the figure four and sharp shooter for me.
00:42:45
Speaker
You know, I got a controversial pick, man. I kind of like the figure eight better than the figure four, man. I always thought that was so cool that Charlotte's got this kind of super figure four that she could bust out from time to time to get the dub. I don't think that's controversial at all, honestly. She just took something her dad did and made it even better.
00:43:03
Speaker
Yeah, very cool move. Dude, when is Charlotte coming back also? This is September 14th as we record this. It's been a long time. She's been gone. I don't know, but they fucking need her to come back because that women's division is not it right now. They definitely need her to come back.
00:43:20
Speaker
Yeah, another favorite finisher of mine, not necessarily for in the ring on TV stuff, the camel clutch, man. You talked about moves being the most painful. That was one move that when me and my little brother would wrestle as kids, the camel clutch was always banned because that move hurt so fucking bad, dude, sitting on your back just pulling your chin.
00:43:42
Speaker
in your whole fucking spinal cord like that was the I don't think anything else was ever banned man we would do choke slams each other freaking razors edge everything man but the camel clutch that was like shit got real if somebody tried to put somebody else in the camel clutch camel clutch or the Steiner recliner can't be doing that yeah what's rusev's called what was his called back in the day god you would ask me that uh the accolade was that it yep that's it all right let's go to my number two pick
00:44:20
Speaker
Yeah, I get the racist piece of shit himself really we really could not have been more polar opposites on Our number two picks you have arguably the greatest Technical wrestler of all time with this like super technical submission finish and I have like the biggest showman ever We're just the simple running leg drop But this is another move that was just iconic man Hulk put away a lot of people
00:44:47
Speaker
One, four, one, five, we're all changing, actually six, because he came back and won the, won in 2002, won six.
Hulk Hogan's Leg Drop Debate
00:44:56
Speaker
WWF world championships with this move. Uh, I watched the video today again, while I was doing all my research for this, he talked about how he had never really used a leg drop before. And somebody gave him the idea to do it for a finish one time in Japan. This was shortly before he came and made his like main hokomania run in WWF. And it got a huge response from the crowd. Cause before that he was using a running ax handle. That was his big finish. Like just a, you know, basically a running two fisted strike.
00:45:22
Speaker
is what he would do. But he busted out the leg drop in Japan and it got a huge reaction. And he just had the idea to bring it to the States, man. It's just a crazy move. He talked about how that move was so strong in WWF and it was so protected back in the eighties when he was doing it.
00:45:40
Speaker
that anytime he hit it, it was just like lighting a powder keg. And you could hear the fans just exploding on it on the one, two, three count of the ref. And it made for so many memorable moments back there in the height of hokomania. So yeah, the leg drops it for me, man, Jordan, what's your take on this being so high up the list for me?
00:45:57
Speaker
I feel like we should just talk about how much of an incredible piece of shit Hulk Hogan is instead of talking about his finisher because I hate everything Hulk Hogan related. No, I guess just it has not worn on well. I mean, I get this being your top five. I don't get it being number two, but the significance of it, him winning belts with this move, I understand.
00:46:19
Speaker
I don't know, man. The fact that he won all these tiles with a leg drop is so weird to me. Dude, you say that, and if you would have told me this like five or six years ago, I'd agree with you. Go back and watch some of those leg drops though, dude. Homeboy got some serious air on that leg drop, man. It wasn't like a lazy leg drop. That dude jumped up. It's probably why his back is so fucked nowadays from dropping that leg all those years, man. I think it was a pretty nasty leg drop. So you're telling me that if I do a leg drop to you, you're not kicking out at three?
00:46:50
Speaker
I mean, it depends. Are you getting as much air as the holster did? I mean, God damn, dude, I'm a big ass dude. That take a lot of work for me to get that much air. I mean, I'm gonna get some air. You hit me with three big right hands and the big boot. It might be from that, man. It might be a boot to the chest, but it's still going to be a boot.
00:47:07
Speaker
Yeah, so that was my controversial pick. Like I said, I'm tying in kayfabe nostalgia and this still raw success. And I think it's something to be said for taking such a simple move and making it that memorable, you know, because like I said that way, there was no stronger move in the eighties and the holster leg drop. You're not wrong.
00:47:25
Speaker
All right, number one tag team finish. We both had the same
Celebrating the Doomsday Device
00:47:29
Speaker
one. You guys heard the music at the start of the show, the Doom's Day device by Legion of Doom, aka the Road Warriors, aka Hawk and Animals, where Animal would put them up on the shoulders and Hawk would come off with just a wicked top rope clothesline. They broke a few guys' necks over the years with this thing because
00:47:47
Speaker
The thing, not only was Hawk hitting him with the clothesline, Animal would usually give him a little boost underneath the hips, man. It's in those fuckers flying. I never saw anybody even, there wasn't even a hint of a kick out. Nobody kicked out at three. Nobody was, you're just dead after you took this move.
00:48:02
Speaker
Let's be honest, if in the back they told you, hey, the finish is a doomsday device, just imagine the thought of even kicking out of it. Those two dudes would have beat the living shit out of you if you were to try to kick out of that. Yeah, these guys were tough guys. I mean, are you going to tell those two guys that, hey, I think we should kick out at two tonight? That doesn't work for me, brother. Yeah, there's no kicking out at two. You're taking this.
00:48:27
Speaker
Like you said, though, dude, this is such a devastating finish. I mean, two monstrous dudes doing this move to just it made it look even more devastating. I mean, Hawk is not a small dude to be flying through the air. And this is doing a flying clothesline while you're up on somebody's shoulders, like just devastating move.
00:48:47
Speaker
I don't know, man, I don't know how anybody can't have this as their number one tag team finisher like of all time. I mean, I don't even know what would even compare to this to be completely honest with you.
00:48:59
Speaker
I mean, there's been people who have done some cool shit since then. Like, there was like the Steiner's top rope bulldog. There's been people who have done like doomsday device style moves. But it's just never been the same as the World Warriors doing it. They were always booked so strong that they seemed unbeatable anyways. And then they have this just incredible finishing move, man, that, yeah, you can't top this as a tag team finish. Just awesome. Yeah, I mean, this to me,
00:49:28
Speaker
I don't know if I'm spoiling anything. This is my favorite move ever. This isn't going to be my number one on the next thing, because we're just doing singles. But this is my favorite finisher ever. Yeah. Sharpshooter was mine. Like I said, I didn't even have it in your top five.
00:49:43
Speaker
Well, I was, I was doing best. I was doing my top five favorite. I was doing my top wood in my opinion, the top five best. And like I said, the sharpshooters didn't get it done when the stakes were the highest. Um, but yeah, this crazy move before we get into our, what we each agree was the best finisher ever. Let's do our worst picks. What was your worst finisher ever, Jordan?
00:50:04
Speaker
Man, this is tough for me because there's some really bad ones.
The Worst Finishers in Wrestling
00:50:08
Speaker
There were. I gave Seth two. I'll go with this one, The Worm. How on earth this was a finishing move is still beyond me to this day. What about this move even tells you that this is a finish? I mean, yeah, I got the crowd jacked, but besides that, what did this move do? He did a karate chop to your chest.
00:50:32
Speaker
whatever I guess I mean it's kayfabe so we'll go with it but this is a terrible move yeah agreed I mean it was it was a fun move but I don't know why it was ever used as a finish right yeah
00:50:44
Speaker
The, uh, I know mine is probably going to start from controversy, man. I'm one with the ultimate splash by the ultimate lawyer. I did. It's to me, it's the, it's like the yin to Hogan's leg drops yang, right? Like it was, it was the 80. So you didn't have to add some crazy, like, you know,
00:51:02
Speaker
flying freaking superplex german backdrop off the top rope or anything but i feel like like i said hogan's leg drop he got some serious air on it i feel like warrior splash was like the laziest move he could come up with man a dude was super strong like why wasn't he busting out like the jackhammer or something like that back in the day or maybe even like a running power slam i feel like that would have been better for the warrior i mean but he did a power slam and dropped him around their face right before this so
00:51:27
Speaker
Great set. So you're saying so in your mind it was a gorilla press splash combo was his finisher Yeah, I mean he always did it that way. I mean not always but the majority of time that's how he did it
00:51:39
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, they were definitely worst finishers. I guess for my worst, I was thinking like what was worst in the high profile, because he did pinhole Kogan with the ultimate splash at WrestleMania six. So we cannot discount that. But I don't know, man, looking back, I just feel like I feel like warrior had everything else. He had the charisma he had. I don't care what anybody says. I think warrior was a great promo. And obviously he had an incredible look and entrance. I just wish he would have had a really killer finisher to go along with it. Let's do some honorable mentions for mine. I got one that's kind of in the same vein as the worm.
00:52:09
Speaker
The people's elbow did which I love the people's elbow when it was a move that the rock kind of did just to be an Asshole like in the middle of the matches But at some point in time they switched it and the people's elbow started being a finishing move and I just never really got that man Like they never it didn't look any more devastating than a regular elbow drop It was always supposed to just be a taunt, but then suddenly they changed it and made that the finish man I mean, what's your thoughts on the people's elbow Jordan?
00:52:33
Speaker
I love the people's elbow. I absolutely hate it as a finish, so I'm 100% with you there. I thought that was the dumbest thing they ever did with the rock was make this as finish.
00:52:42
Speaker
Yeah, I think he actually ended seeing him punks like, you know, gear and change long title run with the freaking people's elbow. The thing is, dude, it's a really cool like taunting move to rub it in. And, you know, oh, I got you so hurt that I can do this whole elaborate set up just to drop an elbow. But he's got rock bottom, which rock bottom is a totally fine finisher, man. Like there's he should never be in in matches with the people's elbow. Agreed.
00:53:05
Speaker
Do you have any more honorable mentions for worst ever, Jordan? I do indeed. The trip to the back cave, which was Bastian Booger's finisher, where he basically dropped down on your face and teabagged your face for a pin. Pretty awful. That's pretty awful.
00:53:21
Speaker
Dude, so I got to be honest, I know what finish you're talking about. That thing was horrible, dude. I never knew it was called Trip to the Batcave when we were texting today. And you texted me that because me and Jordan, you know, we text back and forth because we can kind of just at least get our thoughts together so we can kind of start like planning on some, you know, different stuff we want to talk about on the show. When you texted me that today, I thought you were just being sarcastic. And that was like an urban dictionary act that you sent me when you said
00:53:48
Speaker
The trip to the back gate was your least favorite finish. I don't think it had an actual name, but that's like what I've seen it called on the internet. So we'll just go with it. I don't think it had an actual name. Uh, another honorable mention, great colleagues chop that won a world title. Good God. Yeah, dude. You know what else was bad? Do you remember? I think it was also in 2018 when John Cena was using that thing. He called it the lightning punch.
00:54:13
Speaker
Oh, God. Yeah. You remember what I'm talking about where he was going the corner and do his thing and then just punch him like that was horrible, man. There. Yeah, there's been a lot of bad finishers over the years. I think the things that really make a bad finish to me is if it's something that you can only do to a few people, right? This needs to be something that you don't necessarily have to be able to do it to every single person, but you need to be able to use this against like 90 percent of the people you're going to be going against. Right. And then something else that requires just a really elaborate set up that like
00:54:42
Speaker
Almost makes you suspend your disbelief a little bit, you know, yeah agreed Alright, let's get into our shared number one favorite finisher or best finisher of all time
00:55:02
Speaker
I mean, I don't think there's ever really any doubt on what it was gonna be, man.
The Stone Cold Stunner's Iconic Status
00:55:06
Speaker
This thing, it was, it really, I think the promo in his interview skills and charisma was the most important part, but I think the stunner was number two for what took Austin to the top, man. It was just a great move. He could use it against anybody, and he did use it against everybody. I just love this move, and it was just like the perfect wrestling move, man. It's quick, but it's not so quick.
00:55:30
Speaker
that you don't have enough time to like react and get excited for it and pop for it man I just the stone cold stunner dude everybody knows what it is even to this day Jordan give us your thoughts on the stunner. So when we talked about doing this we kind of came up with a format I just wrote at the top of the page stunner I mean there was never even a debate on what was number one for this like like you said just an iconic finish.
00:55:54
Speaker
the best thing about it is when people would talk about stone cold hitting the kick a little low and kicking them in the nuts right before he hit the stunner. So it's like, man, that's a double finish. Like you just got kicked in the nuts and stunned. Yeah, the he's talked about the kick really adding a lot to it, man, because at first it was just coming out of out of nowhere and people didn't have a chance to get excited for it. Because if you watch like
00:56:18
Speaker
From he started using it right around king of the ring timeframe in 96 and even the one he does against Brett Hart at survivor series 96 There's no kick to the gut. He just does that in nowhere and People don't really got that chance to react. It was really that kick to the stomach man that made all the difference in the world Yeah, so it became a three-part move as it went on. It became a
00:56:38
Speaker
middle fingers to the face, then the kick to the gut, then the stunner. Like it was, I love this move. I just, like I said, there, there was nothing else that could have been number one for me. And it kind of sounds like you were the exact same as I was. So yeah. In-ring success. Iconic. There's a lot of iconic moments, like on just promos and stuff too. Like I still remember the first time he stunned Vince in 97 stun and Sergeant Slaughter, you know, he stunned China in February, 98 in your house, right? For WrestleMania. I just,
00:57:07
Speaker
You know, you just got to love it, man. You can't beat the stunner. No. You guys definitely comment. Let us know if you think we got it wrong. What was the best finisher ever? Jordan, you ready to do some listener mail? Yeah, let's do it. All right, starting off with Chris Foreman. This ties right in with number one. He says, who had the best stone cold stunner sell?
00:57:27
Speaker
Oh, it's the rock, 100%. Dude, the rock made selling the stunner like an art form. Like he would get stunned and then he would flip over, push himself up with his arms and almost go over the ropes. Like, dude, it was like an art form for the rock to do this. Yeah, he's definitely the best. I would give an honorable mention to Scott Hall. Scott Hall was pretty over the top with it too, but yeah, the rock definitely the most iconic. The rock, it's probably between like him and Vince McMahon for who took the most stunners over the years too, huh?
00:57:57
Speaker
Yeah, and it's probably pretty close, honestly. All right, Charles Johnson, we kind of touched on this one, but we can add to it. Charles, he says, what's the absolute dirt worst finisher you've ever seen? Do you still go with the trip to the bat cave for the worst, Jordan? Yeah, 100%. I'm going to go with Cena's lightning punch, man. That was the dumbest move I've ever seen, because he'd been hyping it up for a while on social media that he was going to bust out a new finisher, and that's what it was. So yeah, John Cena's lightning punch from circa 2018.
00:58:25
Speaker
Sam Bro says, explain why the pedigree is the greatest finisher of all time. Give us your thoughts on the pedigree, Jordan. Well, let's see here. We did. We both had five finishers and it didn't make it on here. No, it's a great finisher. I love that finisher actually, especially when it's done right. I mean, like by Seth Rollins.
Evaluating the Pedigree by Triple H
00:58:45
Speaker
I knew you were going to say that right as I said that. A minute the work came out of my mouth. I knew that was coming.
00:58:51
Speaker
He did a good pedigree, man. He did. I mean, I have nothing bad to say about the pedigree. It was an awesome move. Triple H knew how to do it. I mean, even going back to when he was a Greenwich snob, he still did it really well. So yeah, I got nothing wrong with pedigree.
00:59:05
Speaker
Yeah, pedigree is a great move, man. Go back and watch Money in the Bank 2016 when Seth counters Roman Reign Spear into the pedigree. Probably my all-time favorite one. But yeah, nothing bad about the pedigree, but it doesn't quite make the top 10. I think if we were doing top 20 finishers ever, pedigree would be on the list. What do you think, Jordan? Oh, yeah, 100%.
00:59:26
Speaker
Sam bro follows that up with, do you like longer set up finishers or quick out of nowhere finishers?
Preference for Finisher Styles
00:59:31
Speaker
So I like both. If I had to pick, I'll go with out of nowhere though, just cause it just gives you that exclamation point on the match. If we're talking eighties and nineties wrestling, long drawn out set up finishers. If we're talking now out of nowhere. All right. Jordan's Midwest partner in crime. Tony Barker says, what finisher would you utilize if you were a worker and what would you call it to suit your gimmick?
00:59:56
Speaker
I mean, I would use some form of a power bomb, I think, for my finish, as far as name. Oh, no.
01:00:05
Speaker
I can't think of a name like you do. That's really putting me on the spot. I don't know. I just, you're slacking man. So as a kid, you know, I've always been a Brett, the hit man heart fan, even before, even while him and Jim, the ambush still a tag team, I conveniently enough was playing, playing off the hit man name. My, my gimmick when I was a kid was Seth, the sniper Phelps, and my finisher was the sniper Plex, which was a perfect Plex off the top rope. So you basically combine a superplex,
01:00:30
Speaker
with the perfect plaques. So you already got them pinned whenever you hit the ground and make impact. So yeah, the sniper plaques, man, if any pro wrestlers are listening, feel free to steal that move. Cause I've still haven't seen anybody do that since then. I'm surprised we haven't seen anybody bust that out. Have you ever seen a top rope fishermen suplex?
01:00:46
Speaker
No, I can't say I have. It could work, right? I don't know why it wouldn't be able to work. I guess maybe you worry about bouncing out of the pinning combination, but I feel like you could make that work. I mean, do you really think you can get a 500 pound wrestler up in that, though? That's going to be the problem. Well, yeah, I mean, obviously, yeah, you're not going to do it to anybody, but if I'm I think I could do that to most people, though. Could you do it to me? No, well, if it was you, I would just bash you over the head with a fucking steel chair, man.
01:01:14
Speaker
I wouldn't even bother. Jesus. All right. Well, moving on. All right. So, uh, Johnny JB says favorite October Fest beer. He says his is Sam Adams and if he drinks enough of them, it finishes him off.
01:01:31
Speaker
Oh, this is an easy one for me. Goose Island Oktoberfest is the king of Oktoberfest beers. Whenever I see this in the store, because it sells out really fast, I usually buy about, because it only comes in six packs, so you have to buy about ten of them to get you through September.
01:01:47
Speaker
Nice. I typically don't really like the Falsy beers. I'm not a big fan of pumpkin flavored beers and the cinnamon and spices and stuff. O'Connor Brewing in Norfolk does a good one every year called Children of the Gourd. It's got a really badass can. It's basically like a scarecrow with a Jack Leonard head.
01:02:06
Speaker
really cool looking and it was pretty decent but in general I'm not a fan of these beers. We'll make sure that Sheena checks in on the next pod because these are actually like her favorite style beers so I'm sure she's got some good recommendations. John Swallows says which world champion had the worst finisher?
Worst Finishers by World Champions
01:02:22
Speaker
I already gave my pick with the ultimate splash. Jordan which world champ had the worst finisher? The great Kali. I gave my answer to it too like that's fucking horrible that
01:02:31
Speaker
The chop to the head was absolutely miserable. And how he won a world title is beyond me. Zach Hertzler, AKA Zach Squirtzler, says, your favorite finisher scene at a live event. I'm going with Seth Rollins taking that RKO at WrestleMania 31. Oof. That one's really tough to beat, man. Favorite live event. God.
01:03:02
Speaker
I'm going to go with Mox hitting the death rider on... God, why can't I picture his name right now? Adahashi? Yep, at Forbidden Door.
01:03:13
Speaker
Sam bro says is the spear just way overdone now? So yeah right now in the WWE we have Roman edge and Ron breaker three high-profile guys using the spear as a finisher I Don't know. I mean it still works. It's still a great finisher, but I would say it is a little bit overdone I think you really only need one top guy using the spear at a time in any organization. What about what's your thoughts? I
01:03:38
Speaker
So here's my problem with the spear. I think two people mastered it. I mean, you can you can argue this if you want. The Goldberg spear is just so iconic from when he started. The other one, as hard as he could, he wasn't working. It was a shoot spear, man. You know who the other person that was doing a shoot spear, Rhino, that fucking just
01:04:00
Speaker
I was so afraid you were going to say edge and I was going to have to argue with you, man. Cause to me, edge of spear is like a running hug. Spear is fucking nasty, dude. Like dude, that's iffy to me, man, between Rhino and Goldberg for best spear ever. The Gore was awesome. Hold on. So while we're doing this, we're going to do this on the fly. Cause we're just going to get Seth's reaction to it. Google our YouTube Goldberg spear on Chavo Guerrero.
01:04:27
Speaker
Alright, let me pull this up real quick. Dude, Brawnbreaker's got a pretty nice spear too, man. Have you checked him out? I know you're not a huge NXT fan nowadays. Yeah, oh yeah. Alright, let's look up Goldberg, Chavo Guerrero. Oh my god. I don't know how Chavo's still alive, dude. Looks like straight out fucking bent him in half, man.
01:04:56
Speaker
Yeah that one is really bad.
01:04:58
Speaker
Yeah, Goldberg had some wicked spears back in the day. Like I said, he would just straight up knock the fuck out of people. Sambro also says, who had the best choke slam? I'm going with the giant, like in the early giant days, like 95, 96. He would lift them up so high and back in the early days of it, he would actually kind of like jump and like go down to his knees as he's like slamming them down and just really get some serious follow through on that thing. So I'm going with the giant. I'm going the exact same way. I feel like everybody's choke slam since that has been a disappointment.
01:05:29
Speaker
Yeah, dude, it was a great pro wrestling choke slam because he would lift them all the way up, he's so high, and he'd hold them up there for about three seconds, you know what I mean? Let the audience really register what's going on before bringing them crashing down. Let's go, another question from Zach Hertzler. Not a question about finishers, but do you have certain beers you keep on hand while watching wrestling or just drink whatever's in the fridge? Me, I keep a nice stock of different beers on hand for wrestling and everything in general, but at times I would drink a beer I've had saved for big events.
01:06:00
Speaker
I would never save anything just for wrestling as far as like my beer storage goes. Nowadays, I've talked about it last handful of podcasts. We're out in the sticks, so I don't have nearly the availability of craft beer that I used to have. So Miller Lite is really the only thing that I keep in constant stock. When I was in Virginia, I had Smart Mouth and O'Connor Brewing, which I was just so fond of that we're both within about 10 minutes of my house.
01:06:23
Speaker
And each of those had a couple of their like non, they're like standard beers that I really enjoyed and I would keep those in the fridge at all times. But nowadays pretty much just Miller Lite and a rotation of shit that I get just different stores. How about you, Jordan? What do you have that's like always in stock at your house? So I always have Bushlight in my fridge. Like there is, I mean, if there's not Bushlight in my fridge, there must be like a family emergency or something. Like something had to have gone wrong that week.
01:06:48
Speaker
But I try to make sure I at least have a four pack of broken skull at all times. If I don't, I'll just take a quick trip down to Kansas City and get some because that's the closest place for me. But yeah, and I always have IPAs in the fridge. We have a ton of really cool liquor stores and some cool breweries around here. So I've always got booze in the fridge. So if you're ever in Omaha, stop over in my house. We can have a couple of beers.
01:07:13
Speaker
Damn straight. David Brooks says, do you have beef with matches that take three or four wrestlers finishing move to get a debut? Yes. Yeah, I do, man. I think I should get more creative on laying out these matches. I only want to see finishers getting kicked out of either at WrestleMania or if not WrestleMania, it at least needs to be like the main event of a regular pay-per-view if a finisher is getting kicked out of.
01:07:34
Speaker
I'm going to take this one step further. I also have beef with wrestlers that have three or four different actual finishers. Like dude, one finisher is plenty. We don't need, we don't need you to do four different finishers and have to guess which one you're going to use for the finish of this match. Like I hate that shit.
01:07:50
Speaker
Alright, last question. TNT, one of our most loyal followers, Tyson El Travino. This one's going, I'm gonna have you address this one, Joy. It says, why is Kevin Nash Power Bomb called the Jackknife? And what makes it different from a regular Power Bomb? I think we already talked about why it's...
01:08:06
Speaker
why
Understanding the Jackknife and Power Bombs
01:08:07
Speaker
it's different. Why do you think they call it the jackknife? Is that just the, uh, the diesel reference? Yeah, it's just based off diesel. Um, but yeah, dude, this, this power bomb just completely different than all their power bombs. If you go back and watch his matches and actually watch the finishes, he throws a mean power bomb. I mean, it ain't like anybody else's.
01:08:24
Speaker
Dude, to me, the nastiest one he throws, it's two of them. Go back to Survivor Series 95 after Brett beats him to end his world title reign. He puts some stank on both of those power bombs that he throws, man. And Brett actually talked about it in his book that Brett kind of felt a certain type of way about it because he got slammed so hard after that match. He thought Kevin Nash put a little bit of extra on it. I mean, Kevin Nash was known to do some dickish things back in the day.
Listener Engagement and Promotions
01:08:55
Speaker
Alright, so this was a fun episode for us. Make sure you guys give us some feedback. Let us know what you want us to be talking about next. We got a few ideas in the hopper, but we are always open to your suggestions. We remind you guys use code chick Foley to save 10% at ringside collectibles. Jordan hit us with some closing thoughts for this week. So as always, we're going to talk where I'm going to say the same thing. We appreciate you guys listening. We love doing these. So we're going to keep doing them as long as you guys keep listening. So
01:09:21
Speaker
We always appreciate it.
Closing Thoughts on Taking Risks
01:09:23
Speaker
Uh, closing quote today. Why have you not broken from the pack? You're playing it safe. Safe ain't going to get you shit in this world. I've been fucking hoes and popping fillies, man. I feel just like a rock star.
01:09:52
Speaker
All my brothers got that gas and they always be smokin' like a rockstar Fuckin' with me, call up on the Uzi and show up, man, them the shot tops When my homies pull up on your block, they make that thing go grotta-ta-ta-ta