10 WWE Stars Who Botched Their Own Finisher

Of all the moves in a WWE star’s arsenal, their finisher is undoubtedly the most important. 

It’s the thing that fans associate them with and the thing they look forward to seeing above all others. It also actually ends matches, which is certainly important. 

Even though our favourite sports entertainers may perform their finishing move hundreds, if not thousands, of times over the course of their careers, practice evidently does not always make perfect. 

These are 10 WWE Stars Who Botched Their Own Finisher. 

10. Billy Kidman

Though he may have popularised the Shooting Star Press in the United States – a move invented by Japan’s Jushin Liger – Billy Kidman’s version of the forwards backflip was haphazard at the best of times. 

He could nail the move beautifully when he wanted to, but Kidman had more than a few mishaps while attempting the dangerous top rope finisher. 

Some of these were funny like the time he somehow ended up caught up on the top rope in WCW, but other times it was genuinely scary, such as when he KO’d Chavo Guerrero on SmackDown. 

Months before the Chavito incident, Jamie Noble and Nunzio bore the full wrath of Billy’s Shooting Star Press botch. This was a variation of the move delivered on the Grandest Stage, during the Cruiserweight Title Open at WrestleMania XX. 

With the kayfabe cousins standing at ringside, Kidman climbed to the middle of the top rope and threw himself with reckless abandon towards them. 

Reckless being the key word here, as he under-rotated and ended up cracking his human crash pads with a headbutt to the chest and knee to the head. 

9. Triple H

There were issues between Triple H and Goldberg well before the former WCW World Heavyweight Champion signed with WWE in 2003. 

A public war of words – not to mention a public confrontation at a licensing event – meant that the two men weren’t on the best of terms when they were booked in a feud over The Game’s World Heavyweight Title that Summer. 

There was a palpable sense of tension to their segments and matches, such as the three-on-one beatdown Evolution administered to Da’ Man on the September 8 episode of Raw.

Goldberg was attempting to fend off his foe, as well as Ric Flair and Randy Orton, when Hunter cracked him with a full-force chair shot to the dome. 

Perhaps the bloody Goldberg got his bell rung, which would explain why he so badly bungled a Pedigree a couple of minutes later.

It was supposed to be the exclamation point on a heavy-duty angle, but Goldberg got his timing wrong and jumped for the move too early. 

The Cerebral Assassin was then forced to pick him up and repeat the move, which also didn’t look good. 

8. Ryback

Ryback had to be very strong in WWE, especially with his finisher, Shellshocked, which saw him hoist a guy up onto his shoulders and then run forwards before dropping them down to the mat.

That requires serious strength and power and Ryback’s countless hours in the gym helped him complete the move on very large men like Mark Henry, The Great Khali and Big Show. 

One giant that he had an issue with, however, was Tensai. Ryback was in the middle of his monster push when he met the former A-Train on the October 1, 2012, episode of Raw looking to extend his winning streak with his calling card. 

Unfortunately, he had trouble getting Tensai up. Not once, not twice, but thrice, before giving up the ghost and just dumping him down. 

It was bad (the commentators tried to claim that Tensai had the move ‘scouted’), with Ryback opting instead to finish the match with another big clothesline, appearing to shout ‘stupid’ before shooting his opponent off the ropes.

They managed to get it right in subsequent matches, but this was rough.

7. Jack Swagger

For most of his WWE career (and after), Jack Swagger used the Ankle Lock as his primary finishing move. 

The All-American American put the hurt on many with that submission hold, but it wasn’t his weapon of choice to begin with. 

The move that Swagger initially used - including to successfully cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase on Chris Jericho – was the Gutwrench Powerbomb, something he’d retain in his moveset for times the tap-out wasn’t on the cards.

It was a devastating move that looked visually very impressive, apart from when he tried it on Alex Riley, anyway. 

On the August 15, 2011, episode of Raw, Swagger hooked A-Ry around the waist and tried to pick him up for it. And then he tried it again. And then again. 

The third time was the charm as the former World Heavyweight Champion managed to muscle him up, but something was noticeably off with the timing here and it made for an awkward eight seconds or so.

6. Goldberg

The supposed dream match between The Undertaker and Goldberg from Super ShowDown 2019 was a complete and utter disaster and both men came seriously close to paralysis (or worse) when taking the other man’s finisher. 

It all started to go wrong when Goldberg missed a Spear and collided with the ring post, concussing and busting himself open in the process. 

‘Taker then hit him with a Tombstone piledriver that saw Golderg’s head actually hit the mat, which can’t have helped his incapacitated condition.

When it came time to hit The Deadman with a Jackhammer, he wasn’t all there and, in an utterly terrifying moment, dropped ‘Taker on his head and neck with something more akin to a brainbuster. 

Mercifully, the two WWE Hall of Famers wrapped things up shortly thereafter, because if this had gone another five minutes we shudder to think what could have happened.

5. Randy Orton

Randy Orton’s incredible ability to hit the RKO from all angles and in any situation has made it beloved amongst fans and seeing it is a highlight of any WWE show. 

The Viper has done the move God knows how many times, but not every single one has gone according to plan. 

During a three-on-two handicap match on the January 26, 2004, episode of Raw, Orton went to hit the RKO on Chris Jericho from behind while Y2J had Batista locked in the Walls of Jericho. 

Regrettably, Jericho didn’t take the bump with him and Randy fell flat on his back. Nonetheless, he got right back up, ran the ropes and did it right the second time of asking. 

It was embarrassing but not catastrophic or anything. How about when the receiver goes down and Orton doesn’t, though? 

On the February 13, 2012, edition of WWE’s flagship show, Orton jumped up to hit the move on Big Show, who took a bump as Randy landed on his feet, presumably expecting The World’s Largest Athlete to push him off.

4. Batista

One of the funniest botches in WWE history happened at the end of the 2005 Royal Rumble match, when Batista lifted John Cena up for his signature Batista Bomb, only for him to lose his balance and send them both crashing backwards over the top rope.

It may be the most infamous instance of The Animal messing up his favoured match-ender, but it isn’t the only one. 

Take, for example, his meeting with World Heavyweight Champion King Booker from SummerSlam 2006. The two men had a real behind-the-scenes scuffle not long beforehand and never quite seemed to be on the same page when they squared off in the ring.

In a post-match scene (after the bout had ended in a disqualification), Batista struggled mightily to lift the champ up and only got him to chest height before dropping him like a sack of spuds.

Another example was his disappointing interbrand clash with Umaga from WrestleMania 24, when Drax the Destroyer just about completed what turned into a slight variation of the move on the Samoan Bulldozer. 

3. Rey Mysterio

One of the reasons Rey Mysterio became so popular so quickly when he finally arrived in WWE was due to the new finisher he brought with him. 

The 619 – a modified take on the tiger feint kick fakeout Rey had used in WCW – was a revelation, becoming something fans of the masked man looked forward to seeing every night. 

Mysterio made the 619 look easy, but even though it became routine, the WWE Hall of Famer did occasionally mess it up. Such as at a Texas house show in March of 2009 when, at the end of a main event tag match pitting Mysterio and Shawn Michaels against Chris Jericho and Kane, Rey went to hit a double 619 and simply fell through the ropes to the floor below. 

The improvised finish saw Michaels blast both foes with Sweet Chin Music, as Mysterio searched the ringside area for his dignity. 

A similar scene unfolded when Rey took on Seth Rollins in a No Holds Barred Match on the November 13, 2020, episode of SmackDown, though he got up and nailed it properly a second time. 

In a post-match promo, Mysterio suggested the late Eddie Guerrero may have played a trick on him by moving the rope from beyond.

2. CM Punk

When CM Punk first burst onto the WWE scene as a member of the rebooted ECW roster, he finished off his foes by making them tap out to the Anaconda Vice submission, a hold he’d borrowed from New Japan’s Hiroyoshi Tenzan. 

The Vice was over, but the Straight-Edge Superstar clearly needed something with more impact and so started using the Go To Sleep (or GTS), a move he’d borrowed from Pro Wrestling NOAH’s KENTA.

The GTS was a very good match-ender and Punk used it to win titles and end feuds. It looked great when he did it on smaller opponents who knew how to sell it well, but it could look clumsy when he used it on some of the big boys like Kane. 

On the May 28, 2010, episode of SmackDown, a masked Punk beat Kane in a World Heavyweight Title qualifying match with quite possibly the worst GTS of all time. The future Mayor of Knox County landed on his feet and simply fell on top of Punk. 

1. Rob Van Dam

The six men tasked with competing in the first-ever Elimination Chamber match in the main event of Survivor Series 2002 had no idea what they were getting into. 

The intimidating structure was a death trap, with hard steel chains, grates and plexiglass for the sextet to worry about. 

Everyone in the match took some punishment and walked out of the match worse for wear, but defending World Heavyweight Champion Triple H was lucky to walk out of the match at all. 

The Cerebral Assassin’s larynx was crushed and he was struggling for breath after being on the receiving end of Rob Van Dam’s bungled Five-Star Frog Splash. 

This wasn’t an ordinary Five-Star Frog Splash – this was delivered from the top of one of the Chamber’s holding pods. Without the room to stand up and with Triple H lying too close, RVD essentially just jumped/fell down and hoped for the best, his knee catching his opponent hard upon landing. 

Helmsley, to his credit, fought through the pain and finished the match before being taken to the hospital.