10 Wrestlers That Tried A New Finisher (& It Worked)

Finishing moves in WWE have always been very special. It distinguishes every superstar of having their own move set. However, in a lot of high profile matches, a finishing move could be tarnished due to their opponent kicking out of it on multiple occasions.

Nevertheless, a finishing manuever can get stale, and a superstar will need to change their finisher from time to time. There have been a select few, whose new finishing move has actually worked, and done better than their original. It came as a surprise but worked out pretty well.

10 Beth Phoenix - Glam Slam

WWE Hall of Famer, Beth Phoenix is one of the best female athletes in WWE history. The Glamazon's original finisher was a Fisherwoman suplex. It did bring her success as she won her first Women's Championship from Candice Michelle at No Mercy 2007 with that move.

However, Phoenix's Glam Slam was more effective, which fans will remember. She would lift the opponent with their arms hooked and would slam them face-first onto the mat. The Glam Slam looked even better when she would do it off the top rope, which she famously did on Eve Torres at the 2011 Survivor Series.

9 Edge - Spear

Edge's Spear won him a lot of World titles

The Rated-R Superstar Edge has had many high moments in his Hall of Fame career. The 11-time World Champion can credit the Spear for his success. Edge's Edgecution was an elevated DDT which was not a bad move at all but the Spear was miles better.

The only way was up for Edge once he introduced the Spear as his finisher. The Ultimate Opportunist has won countless World Championships with that move, which can be used on any opponent regardless of the size. Edge's variation of the Spear is going to the corner and running at full force at his opponent. The Master Manipulator's Spears off a ladder are a thing of beauty which he did to Jeff Hardy and John Cena at WrestleMania X-Seven and Unforgiven 2006 respectively.

8 Seth Rollins - Pedigree

Seth Rollins' Curb Stomp was very effective when he was a heel as he would stamp on his opponent's head. Unfortunately for The Architect, WWE decided to ban the move in 2016 as it was deemed too dangerous. Moreover, Rollins was a member of The Authority and was the reigning WWE Champion for eight months in 2015.

Rollins did not let that deter him as he utilized his leader Triple H's Pedigree as his new finisher. The Architect does not do the Pedigree as good as The Game but he defeated Triple H with his own move in their outstanding clash at WrestleMania 33.

7 Big Show - Knockout Punch

In 2008, Big Show returned to the WWE at No Way Out, leaner at 441 pounds which was the lightest he weighed in his WWE career at that point. However, the celebrations were short-lived as Floyd Mayweather Jr. legitimately broke The World's Largest Athlete's nose with a few punches.

Show was livid and rightfully so. Nonetheless, he adopted the Knockout Punch as his new finisher with his old faithful, the Chokeslam moving to one side. Show lost to the undefeated boxer in their highly anticipated clash at WrestleMania XXIV but he continued to have success with the Knockout Punch. Most notably, he "knocked out" The Undertaker with it at No Mercy and other opponents felt the wrath of Show's huge fist.

6 Victoria - Widow's Peak

Victoria defeated her rival Trish Stratus to win her first WWE Women's Championship at the 2002 Survivor Series. It was a crowning moment for Victoria but she had a tame suplex as her finisher. The following night on Raw, she debuted the Widow's Peak which was a reverse neck breaker with the opponent on her back and landing on the ground.

The psychotic heel successfully defended the Women's Championship against Stacy Keibler with the Widow's Peak. It was incredible that Victoria could perform the move on Keibler as she was so tall. Nevertheless, it demonstrated Victoria's strength and it looked devastating. She would go on to win her second Women's title in February 2004 by performing the finisher on Lita.

5 Kurt Angle - Ankle Lock

WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle had a sensational debut year in the WWE in 2000. Angle's Olympic Slam, later known as the Angle Slam was his go-to move. The Olympic Gold Medalist had a plethora of moves in his locker, which he could use to inflict pain on his opponents.

Angle's Ankle Lock was one of the best submission moves in history. The good thing about the Ankle Lock is that Angle could use the move on everyone, and they would feel the pain, which you could see etched on their face. The Olympic Gold Medalist made the Ankle Lock even better when his opponent would try to reach for the rope, he would pull them away into the middle of the ring and would lie down and lock it in even harder, forcing them to tap out.

4 Chris Jericho - Codebreaker

Chris Jericho has a habit of reinventing himself and he does a pretty good job of doing it. In November 2007, Y2J returned to the WWE after embarking on a two-year hiatus. Vignettes aired which a code needed to be broken and once he came back he sported a new haircut and a new finisher in tow.

Jericho's Codebreaker was effective as he would charge at his opponent and jump with his knees, hitting them square in the face. Y2J still had his Walls of Jericho as his finisher but he used the Codebreaker more often from 2007 onwards. He desperately needed a finisher where he could pin his opponent afterwards. Jericho did use the Lionsault, Enzuigiri and Breakdown in the past but they were not as good as the Codebreaker.

3 Michelle McCool - Faithbreaker

Michelle McCool was way ahead of her time in the 2000s and early 2010s but she certainly maximized her abilities. McCool was a face and she used the Wings of Love which was a double under hook sit out facebuster in 2008 as her finishing move.

However, once McCool turned heel, she ditched the Wings of Love for the Faithbreaker. McCool's finisher is identical to AJ Styles' Styles Clash, where the opponent is lifted with McCool's legs hooked, slamming the opponent face-first to the mat. The move definitely suited McCool when she was a heel, and it is one of the best women's finishers of all time.

2 Randy Orton - RKO

When Randy Orton made his main roster debut on Smackdown in 2002, his finishing move was the O-Zone. Which is basically MVP's Playmaker. The finisher is a good one but it was not going to make Orton a main event level talent with that move.

The Viper ditched it for the RKO which is similar to Diamond Dallas Page's Diamond Cutter. No disrespect to DDP but Orton made the move far more popular and did it a lot better. Furthermore, The Viper's RKO has put away the very best in the business with that move and plenty of championships have been won with it. The good thing about Orton's RKO is that he gets a reaction, whether he is a face or a heel, and he mostly does the RKO, "outta nowhere."

1 John Cena - STF

John Cena has transitioned from a full-time performer to a part-timer as he focuses on other projects outside of the WWE. Cena is a 16-time World Champion and it remains to be seen if he will win a record 17th World title. Nevertheless, his Attitude Adjustment has made him millions of dollars but he had another move added to his repertoire.

On the November 28th 2005 episode of Raw, Big Match John was put in a triple threat submissions only match. That was where Cena used the STF for the first time with Chris Masters as his first victim. It was refreshing to see Cena use the STF as in some ways it would become his primary finisher. He would use the Attitude Adjustment as the setup and would follow through with the STF.

NEXT: John Cena's 10 Best Feuds, Ranked