3 times WWE superstars stole another wrestler's finishing move

Tonight's WWE SmackDown ended up leaving the fans shocked to the core, as a returning Kevin Owens was named as the replacement for Kofi Kingston at Fastlane. Now, the Fastlane main event will be Bryan vs Owens for the WWE title.

Another surprise was in store for the fans at the end of the show, when Kevin Owens pinned Bryan after delivering a stunner on the planet's champion! The stunner, made popular by Stone Cold Steve Austin is one of the deadliest finishers in the WWE and it was certainly intriguing to see the returning Kevin Owens deliver it.

As much as this move shocked the fans, it's no secret that there have been many instances in the past when wrestlers have stolen someone else's finishing move. Let's take a look at three instances where Superstars have stolen another's finishing move.

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#3 Bret Hart's Sharpshooter

The Sharpshooter has been associated with Bret Hart since a long time

This move has always been associated with The Hitman, as the devastating submission finisher was Bret Hart's finishing move throughout his storied career.

As time passed, several wrestlers took the Sharpshooter and used it as their own finishing move. Out of all the wrestler's who used this move, The Rock and Sting stand out. Sting used the move for the entirety of his career, while The Rock used it as a substitute for his patented "People's Elbow" and "The Rock Bottom".

Sting and Rock have used the move regularly in their respective matches

It's worth noting that no one ever came close to popularize the move as much as Bret Hart. The visual of Hart locking the Sharpshooter on a bloody Steve Austin at WrestleMania has become an iconic moment and is regularly shown on WWE's highlight reel videos.

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#2 Ken Shamrock's Ankle Lock

Shamrock connecting his finisher on The Rock

WWE fans who were fortunate enough to witness the Attitude Era during the late 90s would remember that the Ankle Lock was a move that was regularly used by former UFC fighter, Ken Shamrock.

When Kurt Angle made his WWE debut, he came up with the Angle Slam, an Olympic wrestling move. Additionally, he blatantly took Shamrock's Ankle Lock and began using it as his own finishing move.

With the passage of time, newer fans forgot this crucial detail and began recognizing the move as being a Kurt Angle original. Kurt Angle utilized the move to gain victories against some of the greatest performers in WWE history, namely Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker.

#1 DDP's Diamond Cutter

The original RKO!

Diamond Dallas Page was one of the most popular wrestlers in WCW during the peak of The Attitude Era. One major reason for this popularity was his thunderous finishing move, known as "The Diamond Cutter". The move helped DDP win the WCW title on multiple occasions.

A year after WCW folded, Randy Orton debuted in the WWE in a surprise win against Hardcore Holly. He soon came up with his finishing move, called "The RKO".

One look at the move was enough for the fans to notice that this was nothing but The Diamond Cutter with a slight modification. Orton soon became a part of Triple H's Evolution faction and began using the move on a regular basis.

17 years later, The RKO is considered to be one of the greatest finishing moves in wrestling history, surpassing the original one in the process. The "RKO outta nowhere" meme videos have helped the move become a well-known term in mainstream media.