10 Most Boring Finishers In AEW History
In a promotion that purportedly focuses on in-ring product like AEW, the finisher is the ultimate expression of one's character. It is the exclamation point that tells the viewers, "This is who I am."
Many finishers used in the company are very iconic and sometimes fitting for their characters. Think of Kenny Omega and his high-intensity V-Trigger or climactic One-Winged Angel, or Britt Baker and her devastating Lockjaw that harks back to her dental profession.
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However, just like everything else, not every finisher is held to the same standard. The following are so generic that fans wonder why their users did not seek something more captivating...
10 Toni Storm: Piledriver
The piledriver is one of the most devastating and most dangerous moves in wrestling. If done rightly, the selling of it can be top-notch, as it gives the impression that the receiver is being spiked head-first onto the mat.
That being said, Toni Storm's version is the blandest. She just lifts her opponent and falls to her backside - that is it. It looks flat, especially when compared to her past finishers - the Tiger Driver and that DDT move that she used in an NXT match...
9 Nyla Rose: Beast Bomb
The powerbomb is one of the most practical moves in combat. Someone is trying to armbar you? Lift them, them slam them back first onto the ground. That is why it is a favorite of hoss-type wrestlers.
But as a finisher? It has become somewhat bland (with only Rhea Ripley adding some variation via a pumphandle). Batista used the sitout version, and Nyla Rose later "inherited" it. It still looks as bland as the original, with possibly the only way it can be amplified being to do it from the tope rope.
8 Wardlow: Repeated Powerbombs
Speaking of powerbombs, moving to spamming them to end matches is emblematic of Wardlow's creative downfall.
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The man who had been touted as the next Batista by many formerly used Brock Lesnar's F5 - albeit renamed the F10. Sure, the bookers did not want comparisons to be made, but why did they settle for spamming a basic maneuver? If they want to showcase his power, surely they have better alternatives...
Or they can promote his senton to a finisher. Now even that can be more exciting, because 270-lb guys like him are not supposed to be able to fly high...
7 Aaron Solow: Cross-Armed Pedigree
To most wrestling fans, Aaron Solow is best known as Bayley's ex-fiance. But not many know that he is himself a wrestler.
His most significant work so far has been being a member of QT Marshall's Factory in 2021, and even then, it eventually amounted to nothing. And his work, both in the wrestling and character projection aspects, was not exactly up to snuff.
For instance, his finisher was one of the lamest. Basically it was Triple H's Pedigree, but with the opponent's arms crossed, and it did not suit his cruiserweight build.
6 Brian Pillman Jr.: Diving Clothesline
Brian Pillman Jr. is one of those people whom AEW let get away. The second-generation wrestler definitely knows how to wrestle, but all Tony Khan did was stick him in a vanilla tag team with Griff Garrison known as the Varsity Blondes.
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That being said, if Pillman wants to immediately stand out, he needs a new finisher, and fast. Unless one is either Jamie Hayter or Kazuchika Okada, a clothesline is too commonly used to be a finisher, and even turning it into an avalanche move is not going to help.
5 Griff Garrison: Rolling Elbow
Speaking of Griff Garrison, is there no wrestler as bland as him, if not more? He does not particularly stand out in any way, whether it be as an in-ring worker or as a character. At least Brian Pillman Jr. has some untapped charisma in him.
The first indicator of this? His first finisher - a rolling elbow. He does not look that intimidating, so why use a domineering move? He later switched to a more impactful pendulum facebuster, but even then, it still cannot distract from the lack of charisma he possesses.
4 Tay Melo: DDTay
The DDT can be either one of the most devastating moves in pro wrestling or one of the most boring. Alas, in the case of Tay Melo, it is the latter, especially when compared to her other finisher.
Basically, she just grabs the neck, folds one arm, then drops to her back. Said other finisher, the TayKO, is infinitely much better. It is basically a Gory hold flipped into a knee strike, befitting her martial arts background; and the downward trajectory of the opponent only amplifies it.
3 Fuego Del Sol: Tornado DDT
Sticking to DDTs, why is Fuego Del Sol using a transitional move as a finisher?
Luchadors often use the tornado DDT as either a transitional move or a counter to, say, powerslams or powerbombs. So when Fuego Del Sol pulled it off one at the end of his matches, there had to be confusion. "He is a high-flyer; should he not be showcasing it better?" He could have used a frog splash, a moonsault, a senton, a shooting star press - anything that would pump up a crowd.
2 Brandi Rhodes: A Shot Of Brandi
When Brandi Rhodes was on TV screens, everyone hated her for two key reasons: she was an alleged case of nepotism because of her marriage to Cody Rhodes, and she did not exactly have the best moveset.
Her finisher was as bland as her personality: a reverse STO. While easy to do for someone as limited in the ring as she was, it was also devoid of flair. Quite fortunately, AEW got the hint and kept her backstage as much as it could during Dynamite (and later Rampage and Collision) - then she herself decided she was done showing off in the ring.
1 The Bunny: Superkick
Superkicks are a dime a dozen in professional wrestling nowadays. Gone are the times when Shawn Michaels put his opponents down for the count with a Sweet Chin Music; now it is as common a move as the arm drag or clothesline.
But still, there are holdouts to this shift, like The Bunny (fka Allie and Cherry Bomb). Her 'Down the Rabbit Hole' is admittedly an awesome, if seldom seen finisher, but she also has occasionally pulled off the superkick. It would be good if she were a face... but she is a heel, and it is glaringly unfitting.
