Finishing moves are supposed to look devastating, as these are ultimately the moves that end an encounter. Things like the Tombstone Piledriver or the Pedigree have become iconic because of how great they looked. However, with so many wrestlers competing, there are always going to be a few poor ones slipping through the cracks.
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Most of the time, audiences hate an awful finisher, and they don't tend to react to them. However, occasionally some bad ones still end up getting over with the fans. This is normally down to the performer themselves, with the effort they put into making it feel important, even if it looks bad.
10 The Worm
The Worm is one of the worst finishing moves in the history of professional wrestling. However, it is also one of the most popular. Scotty 2 Hotty put everything into this, and even though the move itself never looked devastating, it was all the theatrics, and the build-up that got people into this one.
Audiences loved the dance that he would do before hitting the move. And even though it was ridiculous to believe his opponent would stay prone for that length of time, it gave the fans something to cheer and enjoy beforehand.
9 The Cobra
The idea of a wrestler putting on a sock that looked like a Cobra to then jab someone in the face with is ridiculous. Not to mention the fact that Santino Marella couldn't control the Cobra, as he would act like it had more power and control than he did.
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Even though it was an awful finisher, the WWE Universe loved it. This move was incredibly popular with fans, as younger audiences loved the theatrics behind it, while adults were also able to see the comedy that Santino put into it all.
8 Mandible Claw (Socko Version)
The original Mandible Claw was something that Mick Foley made to look quite sadistic, but even then it wasn't one of the greatest finishing moves. However, when he added Mr. Socko to the equation, it made the entire thing feel even more comedic and goofy.
The finisher at its core was him putting a smelly sock into someone's mouth. On paper, that doesn't sound like a good move, but because Foley was so popular it always ended up getting a great reaction. Mr. Socko was beloved because everyone treated it as something serious.
7 Leg Drop
Hulk Hogan is one of the biggest names in the history of the wrestling business, but he had one of the worst finishing moves. A Leg Drop is something that nobody would buy into as a finisher now, especially when it is just being done from a standing position.
However, because the Hulkster was positioned as the top star in the company at the time, audiences had no choice but to react in a big way. The fans were conditioned at the time that this was a huge move, therefore they responded accordingly.
6 People's Elbow
In quite a similar fashion to Hulk Hogan's finisher, The Rock using a standing elbow drop as a finisher was very lame in reality. However, because he was one of the top stars in the company who injected plenty of energy and charisma into the move, fans ended up thinking it was amazing.
It was the slow look to the audience, the ripping off of the elbow pad, and the pace that he'd hit the ropes with that helped to make this one feel like something special.
5 Wasteland
Wade Barrett was a talented wrestler, but his finisher was terrible. Wasteland never looked impressive, as he simply got his opponents up to his shoulders before simply slamming them down. It looked like it should have just been part of his arsenal, not a complete finisher.
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However, even though his finisher didn't look all that convincing, the fans always reacted to the move as if it was a big deal. That's why he was able to continue using it as something that could defeat his opponents.
4 Scissor Kick
Both Booker T and Alicia Fox ended up using the Scissor Kick over the years, and it was not a good finisher. The big problem with this move was that it had a wrestler bent over in the middle of the ring for far too long. It wasn't a natural position for them to be in, which is why it didn't work.
However, even though they always made the move look like it had an impact, the waiting around made it a poor one in reality. But fans always cared about it, and that's ultimately all that matters in a finisher.
3 Playmaker
A finishing move is supposed to look like it would hurt the person it is being delivered to. However, when it came to MVP's Playmaker finisher, that was never the case. The impact just didn't seem to be there with this one, which is why it was so bad.
However, the fact he got a reaction from it every single time is why MVP continued to use it throughout his entire career, including to this day. It wasn't a good one, but the response from the crowd is all that truly matters.
2 Khali Chop
Because The Great Khali was so big, anything he ended up doing in the ring would look devastating in the eyes of fans. Therefore him hitting a simple chop to the head of his opponent was able to be taken seriously as a finishing move. With any other wrestler, this would be seen as lame.
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However, because Khali towered over all his opponents and the likes of The Undertaker sold it big time for him, fans suddenly reacted like it was a huge deal whenever he would throw the Chop out.
1 WMD
Big Show is another wrestler who got away with a bad finishing move simply down to his size. The WMD was just a knockout punch to the face that would end matches whenever he hit it. Because wrestlers sold it massively, this ended up being something that fans thought was devastating.
However, wrestlers throw punches regularly, so all it did was make everything else look a lot faker than it should have done. Big Show had a solid finisher in the Chokeslam, yet he switched it up, and to his credit fans reacted.
