10 Wrestling Finishers Whose Names Got Changed Later On

The history of pro wrestling is full of famous finishing maneuvers, from Macho Man Randy Savage’s Flying Elbow to Stone Cold Steve Austin’s Stunner to Kenny Omega’s One-Winged Angel. But the names of these maneuvers — even for some of the biggest stars in wrestling — aren’t always set in stone.

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Over the years, a number of wrestlers in WWE and beyond have seen their signature finishing moves undergo renames for one reason or another. Sometimes it’s due to a change in presentation or due to one promotion having the name trademarked, while other times it’s actually at a wrestler’s own request.

10 Blackout a.k.a. Curb Stomp a.k.a. Stomp

Since Seth Rollins first began appearing on WWE television way back in his NXT days, he utilized a vicious maneuver where he’d stomp his opponent on the back of the head, sending his face straight into the mat. Initially called The Blackout, upon arriving on the main roster, the move got renamed to The Curb Stomp. After disappearing from his repertoire in favor of The Pedigree — a hand-me-down from Triple H — The Curb Stomp returned in 2018 with its name changed to simply The Stomp.

9 STFU a.k.a. STF

For years, fans have seen John Cena pull out a go-to submission maneuver in the form of the Stepover Toehold Facelock, or STF — especially if said opponent was too heavy for Cena to believably pick up. Innovated by Lou Thesz, it’s not an uncommon submission, but these days it’s most commonly associated with Cena. However, while used by Cena, the STF had a much more provocative name in the STFU, a play of the old acronym for “shut the [expletive] up.” Once WWE went PG, however, the move reverted to its classic, general name of STF.

8 F.U. a.k.a. Attitude Adjustment

John Cena actually had two signature finishers that had to be renamed once WWE pivoted to PG television content in 2008. In addition to the STFU or STF, Cena also utilized a fireman’s carry slam called the F.U., once again using an abbreviation with a suggested expletive.

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In this case, the F.U. had to be renamed entirely, becoming instead the Attitude Adjustment. Amusingly, his other signature with a naughty name, the Five Knuckle Shuffle, has kept its suggestive name to this day.

7 Chingona Bomb a.k.a. Texana Bomb

During her days as Raquel Gonzales on NXT, this second-generation star’s one-handed powerbomb finisher was called the Chingona Bomb, and looked very impressive thanks to Gonzales’ size and strength. Upon moving on to the main roster, she got renamed Raquel Rodriguez, with her finishing maneuver soon getting renamed as well. Because Chingona — which translates to “badass” — is a derivative to the Spanish equivalent of the F-word, the finisher was redubbed the Texana Bomb as a shoutout to Rodriguez's home state.

6 Impaler a.k.a. Unprettier a.k.a. Killswitch

As part of The Brood in Attitude Era WWE, Christian (Cage)’s finishing move had the appropriately macabre moniker of The Impaler. However, someone soon heard Christian, Edge, and The Hardy Boyz joking about how it made opponents “feel so damn unpretty,” playing off the old TLC song. Eventually the right person overheard the jokes and Unprettier became the official name. However, after Christian returned to WWE from Impact Wrestling, he wanted the move to have a name that made it sound more dangerous.

5 The Reckoning a.k.a. Hit The Lights

These days, Damien Priest is the muscle of the Judgment Day faction, but he used to be a singles star with a heavy metal rockstar gimmick. His finisher, a Cross Rhodes-esque spinning neckbreaker, was known as The Reckoning during his time in NXT. Upon moving to the main roster, however, the finisher was given a new name: Hit The Lights. While it sounds less bombastic and threatening than The Reckoning, it still stayed true to Priest’s character, as it was a reference to the Metallica song of the same name.

4 Shatter Machine a.k.a. Goodnight Express a.k.a. Big Rig

During their time in WWE, FTR — known back then as The Revival — put away opponents with a double-team finisher called The Shatter Machine, which involved an opponent being tossed up by one partner while the other caught the poor guy in a double-knee facebreaker.

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Since leaving WWE, however, the move has undergone two name changes. At first, it was called Goodnight Express, a clever reference to the legendary tag team Midnight Express. However, after the death of Brodie Lee, FTR renamed it Big Rig, which was Lee’s nickname on the indies.

3 Bow Down To The Queen a.k.a. Natural Selection

In addition to the bridging figure four leglock — known as the Figure Eight — Charlotte Flair also has a non-submission finisher in Natural Selection, a flipping headlock driver. Flair’s pretty much had both maneuvers in her moveset her entire career, but back in her NXT days the latter had a different name. Instead of Natural Selection, it had the much longer and unwieldy name of Bow Down To The Queen. While the reference to Flair being pro wrestling royalty is appreciated, it was always strange that it was never shortened to simply Bow Down.

2 Boma-Ye a.k.a. Kinshasa

In 1974, the city of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was host to The Rumble In The Jungle, the historic boxing event where George Foreman fought Muhammad Al, and fans present for the bout famously chanted “Ali, boma ye,” — Bantu for “Ali, kill him.” The iconic phrase became the inspiration for Shinsuke Nakamura’s finishing maneuver, the Shining Wizard-like knee strike known as Boma-Ye. However, upon leaving New Japan Pro-Wrestling for WWE in 2016, the move name was tweaked to Kinshasa, thankfully preserving the reference.

1 LeBell Lock a.k.a. YES! Lock a.k.a. LeBell Lock

Submission specialist Bryan Danielson (or Daniel Bryan) utilizes a crossface maneuver on the mat commonly known as the LeBell Lock — named for Gene LeBell, legendary wrestler, stuntman, and a pioneer in mixed martial arts. However, once Danielson’s YES! gimmick took off in WWE, the move got renamed into the YES! Lock. The name reverted into its original name once Bryan turned heel in WWE, and since jumping ship to AEW it’s continued to be known as the LeBell Lock.