5 worst names for finishers in wrestling history

The year was 1996 and a young Texan named Steve Austin knew that he needed to change his pro wrestling persona to survive in the WWF. Austin had been packaged on TV as 'The Ringmaster' with Ted DiBiase as his manager. But after a year of lackluster returns, DiBiase left the company to jump ship to WCW and Austin decided to drop the 'Ringmaster' gimmick.

He couldn't go with his real life name of 'Steve Williams' as there was an even more famous 'Steve Williams' already present in pro wrestling circles. He wanted to portray himself as a vicious heel - cold as ice. He sought help from the WWF creative team to come up with a new on-screen name. The suggestions he got were baffling.

'Chilly McFreeze', 'Otto Von Ruthless', 'Ice Dagger' and 'Fang McFrost' were some of the options, presumably to go with the 'cold as ice' description. Poor Austin had no choice but to reject it all. He simply went back to being just 'Steve Austin', but decided to add a nickname to it at the inadvertent suggestion of his wife and 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin was born to change the course of wrestling history.

How different would professional wrestling would be today if Fang McFrost was the one chosen to main event Wrestlemania for all those years? Having such ridiculous names is nothing new in wrestling and time and again, we have seen Superstars being forced to walk around with something so silly that it makes it difficult to take them seriously.

Former WWE writer buries Judgment Day HERE

Hardcore Holly's suplex finisher in the late 1990's was unbelievably called the 'Hollycaust' on TV. The less said about Balls Mahoney's 'Ball Breaker' finisher, the better. Perry Saturn's neckbreaker-perfectplex finisher was somehow named 'The Moss Covered Three Handled Family Gradunza' by the WWE creative.

This list takes a look at 5 ridiculous names given to pro-wrestling finishing moves over the years.

#5. Brian Kendrick - Sliced Bread #2

Brian Kendrick is a former WWE Cruiserweight Champion

This entry might be on the fence for a few wrestling fans who would argue that Brian Kendrick named his finisher as 'Sliced Bread #2' to hilariously play in to the old saying - 'The greatest thing since sliced bread'. While his headlock turned rope assisted reverse RKO is definitely a great way to end a match, the name doesn't really sound that imposing.

The audience dismissed it as some sort of an inside joke and compared to heavy duty names like the Chokeslam and the Power Bomb, the slice of bread wasn't really going to be something that the commentators could even play in to.

It didn't work when Kendrick was the Cruiserweight champion a few years ago and more attention was paid to Kendrick's submission finisher - 'The Captain's Hook'. It definitely didn't aid Kendrick's trainee Eva Marie's WWE career either when she started using it. Changing the name of his finisher would not have really pushed Kendrick to the main event scene, but 'Sliced Bread #2' doesn't exactly scream World Champion either.

#4. Eat Defeat/Eat Da Feet - Gail Kim

At least 'Sliced Bread #2' was aesthetically pleasing - Gail Kim's 'Eat da feet' sounded silly and corny to deliver a double whammy to TNA's best ever female wrestler.

The move looked awkward upon execution, with Gail Kim holding on to an opponent's arm, before dropping to the mat with her leg outstretched so that it would land on the opponent's jaw. The finisher was named 'Eat defeat' - to rhyme with and occasionally replace with 'Eat da feet' - it seemed to be a pro-wrestling writer's attempt at poor comedy, but a main event caliber talent like Kim shouldn't have been burdened with it.

Thankfully, Kim had other finishers that she could sink her teeth in to - like the imposing 'Christo ' submission and the 'Happy Ending'. Despite using 'Eat da feet' throughout her career, Kim did win a total of eight Women's titles in the WWE and TNA, becoming a TNA Hall of Famer in 2016.

In addition to Kim, AEW superstar Chuck Taylor and NXT superstar Mia Yim have used the same move - even though they renamed it effectively to 'Sole Food' and 'Seoul Food' respectively.

#3. Swing Thing - Johnny Swinger

Johnny Swinger is now back in Impact Wrestling

A journeyman wrestler who has had three separate stints in WCW, two stints in WWE and TNA and another one in ECW, Johnny Swinger never really came close to the main event scene in any of those companies. Having friends in TNA management has led to Swinger getting another run there presently albeit in a comedy avatar - 14 years past his initial run with Simon Diamond as a tag team champion.

While he is still in great shape at 45 years old, Swinger's old finisher name might be the prime example for how unimaginative a person can get. Swinger's finishing move was a cobra clutch leg sweep - something that Ted DiBiase Jr also used in the WWE in the 2010's. While it is a middle of the road finisher, it was certainly downgraded by giving the name 'The Swing Thing'.

It is hard to fathom how Swinger could have won matches with the devastating 'Swing Thing' finisher. He later used the 'Swinger Neck breaker' as an alternative finishing move.

#2. Cross-face Chicken Wing - Bob Backlund

Anyone who isn't familiar with pro-wrestling before the 2000s would have no idea of how big a deal Bob Backlund was. A superstar in the early years of the WWF, Backlund held the WWF Heavyweight title for a long time in the late 70s to the early 80s.

His reign was even before Hulkamania, and he returned to the WWF a decade later, playing an out-of-touch old generation character. This stint also resulted in a WWE Championship, beating Bret Hart for the belt in a submission match in 1994. By the end of the 90s, Backlund would move in to mid-card and lower card status before resurfacing in TNA and WWE in the next two decades for comedic appearances.

Backlund would use his variation of the rear naked choke to punish lower card opponents in such stints, and upon hearing the commentators say 'the cross-face chicken wing is locked in', younger viewers could be excused for thinking that it was a move that Backlund invented late in his career to go with his new persona. But in reality, he used the once devastating move to remain champion for over 2000 days in the 80's.

The ridiculous name might not have held Backlund back during his heyday, but it is logical to believe that Backlund succeeded despite that name, not because of it.

#1. Underwear Swipe - Phantasio

It is hard to imagine that one Harry Del Rios needed something other than his birth name to be considered as serious threat in professional wrestling. But poor Del Rios was laden with a number of unfortunate gimmicks through out his career, not least being named as 'Shock' while forming a tag team with 'Awe', to form - yes, Shock & Awe.

Del Rios made his name in Memphis Wrestling, where he wrestled under the gimmick of a magician turned wrestler. Going by the awful name of 'Spellbinder', Del Rios still caught the attention of Jerry Lawler who recommended him to the WWE.

Del Rios made his WWE debut under the magician gimmick, but with the name changed to 'Phantasio'. While he never impressed in the ring with his wrestling or magical skills, his finisher left a lasting impression. It involved Phantasio sneaking up on his adversary and magically pulling out their boxers to roll-up his way to victory. This move was deemed necessary to have a name and the best WWE could come up with was 'The Underwear Swipe'.

Imagine Phantasio countering Chilly McFreeze's Stone Cold Stunner in the main event of Wrestlemania with an Underwear Swipe to win the World Title! The magician wrestled a single televised appearance on RAW, his wrestling career vanishing into thin air soon after.

Edited by Nishant Jayaram