Are Finishers Losing Their Awe?

In the past, finishers were clear endings to matches. It was very rare for anyone to kick out of a finisher. How many times did someone kick out of Hogan’s leg drop? Almost never. How often did someone kick out of the Stone Cold stunner? Again, almost never. The times people did kick out were usually saved for Wrestlemania or to go with gimmicks such as the Undertaker being impervious to pain. This was acceptable. It makes sense for the two biggest stars to kick out on the biggest stage of them all when everything is on the line. It makes sense for a dead person to get up every now and then.

What doesn’t make sense is random superstars to kick out of finishers on Raw or on small PPV’s. Take the Dolph Ziggler vs. Mark Henry match last Raw. Dolph hit the zig-zag yet sure enough, Henry kicks out. Last PPV, while I don’t have the exact numbers, almost EVERY match had someone kick out of a finisher. It’s as if it is the hip thing to do nowadays. It devalues finishers and makes it less awe inspiring when someone does escape a pin following one.

The first HBK vs. Undertaker match at Wrestlemania was a prime example of how kicking out of finishers should be used. Taker hit HBK with a tombstone. HBK barely kicks out and is laying almost comatose on the mat for a long while. Taker has a look of disbelief. It makes sense, hardly anyone kicks out of a finisher, much less a tombstone. Same deal when HBK hit taker with sweet chin music. He’s shocked and taker stays down a while. The whole crowd is left wondering what it is going to take to end this epic match. When it ends, fans are happy. It took a lot to end it but the win for the Undertaker was well earned and was an amazing match.

Imagine if on a weekly basis a mid-card wrestler kicks out the tombstone. That Wrestlemania moment wouldn’t have been as special or had seemed as epic. It would just be another oh well moment. To keep the epic feel, all finishers need to remain finishers. Not just a few peoples…EVERYONE’S. It doesn’t matter if it is the Zig-Zag, the pedigree, sweet chin music, they need to keep people down 99% of the time.

WWE, please keep finishers specials. No more kick outs on Raw and only one every 2-3 PPV’s. Keep them special so when they happen fans think, “Oh my god, how did he do that?”