The non-finisher finish, ...and your favourite examples Options

[Mad Dog]

Does Harley Race winning the title off of Terry Funk with the Indian Deathlock count? He used the move as a signature hold but I don't recall him winning many matches with the move.

[khawk20]

Flair's title wins tended to involve non-finishers, too. Was there ever a less-protected hold than his figure-four leglock? He hardly ever beat anybody important with that move.

Regaining the title from Dusty Rhodes with the Figure four stands out as one. I think he submitted Funk with it in their Clash I quit match, too.

..if there are only those two that I can think of, your point is indeed a good one.

[artDDP]

I really think a lot of those changes are the result of increased marketing. If a wrestler has a t-shirt that has their finisher on it, or there are video games or posters where they're doing it, they probably consider it part of the wrestler's personal brand and feel the need to have them to do it every match. I think I've said before that the idea of every wrestler having to have a finisher has always felt too comic book-like for my tastes. I prefer wrestlers who have 3-4 signature spots that are over and can end a match.

The inside cradle is a great move we don't see enough of anymore. I personally like flash pins, especially in really competitive matches where the idea is to put someone over, but not so decisively that you've closed the door to rematches. The more things a wrestler can do that people buy as a finish, the better, as wrestling where the audience only pops for entrance music and finisher attempts always makes me sad.

I agree with you on both points.

I always liked when a match ends without the established finishing move because the modern fan just waits for the big spot or interference. If it happened more often--and not just with those horrible fluke roll-ups--then fans wold pay more attention to the in-ring product.

As for the topic itself, I'm drawing a blank lol.

[Strummer]

I think Bret constantly winning matches with roll ups hurt his credibility at least slightly. I mean I went to house show summer of 95 and he beat Jean Pierre Laffite with a roll up! At a freaking house show. He really needed a non-submission finisher

[Dylan Waco]

I think Bret constantly winning matches with roll ups hurt his credibility at least slightly. I mean I went to house show summer of 95 and he beat Jean Pierre Laffite with a roll up! At a freaking house show. He really needed a non-submission finisher

This is sort of what I was getting at.

Artistically most of those Bret finishes were really good if not great.

Professionally? I'm not so sure. Seemed awful fluky for your champ/lead face to constantly be winning in a less than clear cut fashion against such a huge variety of people.

[Mr Wrestling X]

Double post

[Mr Wrestling X]

I seem to remember Bret occasionally ending a match with his driving elbow from the turnbuckle or using a piledriver, although I think the piledriver was actually used more often prior to him adopting the sharpshooter as his signature move. I think that NintendoLogic is spot on with the assertation that Vince didn't want his top guys all tapping out to Bret, because simply put it's much more credibility breaking for a guy to tap out than it is to take a pinfall loss. However, that idea isn't always true, in some cases the tap out finish can be a logical scenario when a wrestler is unable to use his non-submission finisher against the likes of Big Show, Mark Henry or The Great Khali because they aren't strong enough to safely execute it (as an example, CM Punk has not performed the GTS on anyone larger than Kane and he even struggles lifting Kane off the ground) thereby necessitating that the big guy will dominate and the smaller guy will lock in their submission for the victory.

There are only two wrestlers I can think of that have possibly never tapped out in an official match:

- The Undertaker: not sure about his pre-deadman days, but Taker has never lost via legitimate submission to anybody, Kurt Angle's triangle choke on an episode of Smackdown in 2002 was the closest anyone has came (Taker tapped whilst Angle still had the hold applied just after Taker got the three count)

- The Ultimate Warrior

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

Bret was a wrestler though. A technician. It never felt like a fluke win to me. Just Bret outwrestling the guy.

[Al]

Indeed. Wrestling a chess match and he trapped the other person. Or vice versa.