5 interesting origin stories of WWE finishers

Finishing moves are crucial in the world of WWE. Each WWE superstar employs a limited number of special moves to attempt to end matches via pinfall or submission.

Despite the company's attempts at solidifying the roll-up of death to be the most successful finisher in the history of the industry, a varied range of moves have been used as finishers.

Even the most basic of moves such as a punch can be used as a finishing move if built properly. The Big Show famously used the KO Punch for much of his WWE career. Many wrestling maneuvers have interesting origin stories that may surprise even the most hardcore of fans. Some of these moves are currently being used by members of the WWE roster as their finishers.

Here is a list of five finishers used by WWE superstars with interesting origin stories.

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#5 RKO (WWE Raw Tag Team Champion Randy Orton)

The RKO has become a truly iconic move in WWE. Orton has uncovered the art of delivering the move out of nowhere and the surprised fans cheer "The Viper" even when the execution and impact of the moves look unsatisfactory at times.

Randy Orton originally used a finisher named "Overdrive" before moving to the more exciting finisher popularized by Diamond Dallas Page. However, the former WCW World Heavyweight Champion is not the innovator of the Diamond Cutter.

While popularized in the US by DDP and Randy Orton, the move was actually created by Johnny Ace, who is more famous as the man proclaiming people power, John Laurinaitis. Ace was a minor legend in Japan, well-known for his often masterful tag team matches. It was there that he first invented the finisher, which was then named the 'Ace Crusher'.

Moreover, it was Laurinaitis himself who recommended the move to Orton as "Overdrive" was damaging the latter's already weak shoulder.

#4 Claymore Kick (Former WWE Champion Drew McIntyre)

Former WWE champ Drew McIntyre used a single-legged dropkick called Claymore to end most of his matches. While it has helped The Scottish Terminator win important matches, it was actually created owing to an accident.

McIntyre wore tight leather pants during his in-ring performance as part of 3MB. He tried to hit a Big Boot, but the pants proved to be an obstacle, and he inadvertently executed a Big Boot / Dropkick hybrid.

McIntyre worked on the accidental invention and gradually turned it into a crucial part of his arsenal.

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#3 The People's Elbow (Former WWE Champion The Rock)

The Rock's primary WWE finisher, the Rock Bottom, is a perfect match-ender. It's simple, impactful and photogenic. However, The Rock also occasionally used a comic move named the People's Elbow to massive pop from the audience.

The People's Elbow sees the Hollywood star run around the ring, rope to rope, before coming back to the grounded opponent and hitting them with a overly theatrical elbow drop.

The ridiculous move was indeed created for a laugh. The Rock wanted to make The Undertaker laugh and break character by using the absurd move with a long and contrived set-up. Upon experiencing the jubilant reaction of the audience, The Rock smartly incorporated the People's Elbow into his moveset.

#2 Shooting Star Press (Former WWE Tag Team Champion Evan Bourne)

Matt Sydal currently plies his trade in AEW, but his run as Evan Bourne in WWE is remembered to this day as a minor success. He wasn't pushed as a main event superstar, but certainly had his moments, most of them facilitated by his excellent finisher.

The amazing high-flying move was invented by WWE Hall of Famer Jushin Thunder Liger. The inspiration behind the creation was the popular manga "Fist of the North Star."

Basically, Liger saw a comic book maneuver and tried to include it in his real-life moveset. The eye-catching move became successful and is used by most high-flyers today.

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#1 Twisted Bliss (Former WWE Raw Women's Champion Alexa Bliss)

Alexa Bliss' initial usage of the then-Sparkle Splash was especially painful for Angelo Dawkins. Lance Storm, a trainer at the WWE Performance Center at that point, wanted to be the first receiver of Bliss's finisher, but the role was later assigned to the member of the Street Profits.

Angelo Dawkins had to lay down at different points in the ring and received unending Sparkle Splashes from the rookie. According to Bliss, "poor" Dawkins took twenty to thirty Sparkle Splashes on a single day.