WWE Wrestlers Whose Careers Would've Been Greatly Altered Without Their Finisher

Some wrestlers' careers are so tied to their finishers that it's difficult to imagine them using any other move to defeat their opponents.  The move is as vital as their nickname or catchphrases. 

If Hulk Hogan had utilized an elbow drop or a splash other than his Atomic Leg Drop, his career arc would hardly be affected.  The men on this list are a different story.

They would not have had quite the effect on wrestling history without their trademark maneuver. 

Like Wonder Woman without her lasso, Thor without his hammer, these wrestlers just wouldn't be the same without their ultimate weapon. 

Edge-Spear

Take away Edge's spear and you gut his career of a litany of great moments.

He wouldn't have speared Undertaker through the Hell in a Cell wall.  He would have never seen him pop Rey Mysterio with a mid-air version of the move.  And the famed TLC match at WrestleMania 17 would be robbed of its most memorable moment.

Though bigger men like Batista and Goldberg make the spear look more powerful, it was the perfect finishing move for Edge. 

Edge like the move itself was always impactful, exhilarating and unpredictable. 

Spearless, he might not have made the same impression he made in those TLC matches.  Would WWE have thought him main event worthy?

Edge is so talented and so charismatic that he would have certainly still been world champ several times over. 

But without that ultimate match capper, without his running his fingers through his hair routine, the wild ride Edge took us one wouldn't have been half as fun. 

Shawn Michaels-Sweet Chin Music

Fans have Chris Adams to thank for bringing the superkick to wrestling. 

So many of Shawn's great matches featured near misses with Sweet Chin Music and some great echoing impacts on his opponents' chins. 

Remove Sweet Chin Music from his WrestleMania classics with the Undertaker, from his Iron Man Match with Bret Hart and replace it with any other finishing move.  Only disappointment can come from such a change.

There isn't a more exciting finisher than that lightning quick superkick.  Had Michaels chosen to go with a lariat or a moonsault, every match of his would suffer.

It'd also affect the wrestling landscape as a whole.

In tribute to Michaels, numerous wrestlers have adopted the superkick.  Shelton Benjamin didn't start using it because of Chris Adams.  Michaels turned it into the coolest move on the planet. 

Steve Austin-Stunner

Coming from WCW, Steve Austin shaved his head, grew a goatee, threw out his generic robes for a leather vest and made wrestling history.

The Stunner is a vital part of that package.

As "Stunning" Steve Austin he utilized a flapjack that dropped his opponent neck first on the ropes.  It's a decent move, but it wouldn't have looked nearly as cool dropping Vince McMahon or whoever got on Austin's way with a flapjack. 

Stone Cold's Stunner could come out of anywhere and attack suddenly like a rattlesnake. 

The move was a big part of his appeal.  The kick to the gut, the snap of the neck, the flash of the middle fingers all added to his character and made every match and incident more entertaining. 

Had he kept the move he used as the Ringmaster, the Cobra Clutch, perhaps he wouldn't have caught on so well.  The Cobra Clutch is something fans had already seen.  And aside from fans of Mickey Whipwreck, no one had seen the Stunner before in the way that they'd never seen a wrestler like Austin before. 

Bret Hart-Sharpshooter

Before Pat Patterson suggested using the Scorpion Death Lock as a finisher, Bret Hart ended matches with a spike piledriver. 

While a fine move, the piledriver was not nearly as fitting.  In the Sharpshooter his opponents legs were crossed painfully looking a lot like a set of crosshairs. 

Dubbing the move the "Sharpshooter," Bret Hart went on to make the move famous.  Would Chris Benoit, the Rock or his brother Owen have adopted the move had it not been for the Hitman?

Imagine an alternate ending of the Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart submissions match at WrestleMania 13.  One of the best endings to a match saw a bloody Austin refusing to quit, passing out and Bret refusing to let go of the hold. 

A figure four or a cloverleaf wouldn't have been as perfect. 

The Montreal Screwjob would have certainly gone down differently as well.  The Hitman was told that Shawn Michaels would put on the Sharpshooter and then Bret would reverse it.  We of course know what really happened.

The Sharpshooter was an integral part of Bret's move set.  He so often wore down an opponent's legs in anticipation of clamping it on.  The figure four would have reminded too many people of Ric Flair.

Bret made the Sharpshooter his own.  He and the hold are fused together.  Removing it from his career is unimaginable. 

Chris Benoit- Flying Headbutt

Harley Race says that he regrets inventing the move.  He had no idea that stress and damage it causes on the head and neck. 

That repeated impact of Benoit finishing move, of head and head collision nearly every night contributed to his tragic fate.

Had Benoit replaced the diving headbutt with something else his mind may not have been in such a broken down state at the end of his life.  Drugs surely played their part but there's no denying the unforgiving nature of his finishing move. 

Could we have seen several more years of classic matches?  Could just a different finishing move have dramatically shifted the macabre path his life ultimately took?

Dynamite Kid's spinal problems are also partially a result of the damaging effects of the flying headbutt.  He like Benoit might have had a longer career and been more healthy had they chosen a figure four or powerbomb to finish their matches.  

Jake Roberts-DDT

Had Jake the Snake not planted his foes' heads into the canvas with the DDT the wrestling world would not look the same.

Roberts discovered the move by accident and began using it to put an exclamation point on his matches. 

Had Roberts not brought it to life, Tommy Dreamer and Mick Foley, among others would have had to search for a new finisher. 

Ricky Steamboat wouldn't have missed time in '86 due to a concussion. 

The DDT was a dramatic ending to many matches.  Had Roberts stuck with another less explosive finisher he may not be quite as fondly remembered.   

Jimmy Snuka-Superfly Splash

As talented as he was, Superfly wouldn't be half as famous without the Superfly Splash.

Taking away his finisher removes the most famous moment from his career.  Had Snuka punctuated his 1983 cage match against Don Muraco with any other move who knows how much less he'd be talked about or shown on video clips today.

It was that particular delivery of the splash that cemented some young fans' desires to become future wrestlers; Mick Foley, Tommy Dreamer and Bubba Ray Dudley. 

Nothing captured the essence of the Superfly nickname and concept like the high-flying splash.  Snuka's career without it is hard to imagine.