The Best Of The Rest 10.15.08: Volume 62 – Used To Perfection – Kicking Out Of Finishers

Hello all and welcome back to “The Best Of The Rest!” Hope all is well with everyone. Well last week we had the first edition of BOTR: The Essentials and moving on to the second column of the month we’ve got BOTR: Used To Perfection. Now if you missed my explanation of this column basically what I do here is talk about some important elements of pro wrestling and example of when they were… well see the title. For the initial edition I’m writing about something that was a big deal when I was younger and now is an everyday occurrence in the world of pro wrestling and that’s kicking out of finishers. It went from something that was shocking when it happened and now it’s surprising to not see it in the bigger matches. We’ll take a look at the importance of the finisher, why kicking out of it can be a big deal, and when it can be seen being used greatly. LET’S GET DOWN TO IT!!!

Ah, the finisher. Day one stuff in the world of wrestling. Something everyone has to have to be successful. At this stage in the game I think we’ve pretty much seen it all, so guys will often take a move we’ve seen in the past and put their own spin it. Randy Orton’s RKO or Alex Shelley’s ShellShock for instance. But everyone once in a while a guy like Petey Williams or AJ Styles will shows something new and provoke the thought “I guess there is some new shit out there.” So what makes a good finisher? Well it depends on what you want. If you like devastating, high impact, deal done stuff you’ve got greats like the fore mentioned Canadian Destroyer, Go 2 Sleep, The Cop Killa, and the Ki Krusher. If the technical, prettier moves are your fancy you’ve got the Styles Clash, the Olympic Slam, and the Pedigree among others. Or if you’re like me you like the versatile, out of no where finishers like the RKO, Sweet Chin Music, the DDT, The Rock Bottom. Whatever style it is or wherever it comes from is should be a plausible to the audience that this move could keep someone down. Not to rip on John Cena, but the FU doesn’t strike me as an extremely devastating move that should be able to keep people down, the Go 2 Sleep on the other hand does. Someone can sit at home, watch the move be executed, and firmly believe that that move can end a match. I personally still think the Ace Crusher (Diamond Cutter, RKO, whatever) is one of the best finishers ever. It can be executed anywhere, at anytime, and if done right it can believably put your opponent away. But I digress. Bottom line is a wrestler’s finisher should signal to the crowd that the end is at hand, and when the maneuver doesn’t bring the end the crowd should be surprised… very surprised.

What’s the importance of kicking out of someone finisher? When this trait is used properly it can really build the credibility of the match and the credibility of the wrestler kicking out in the fans eyes. If the finisher has been built properly and has put many, many opponents away and you’re the guy to kick out of it, it makes the audience say “Whoa this guy is above the rest.” I remember, at a young age, watching WrestleMania XIV and watching Kane kick out of a Tombstone from the UnderTaker. I couldn’t believe it, I was in shock. For my entire childhood the Tombstone put bitches away, there was no getting out of that fucker. But then comes along this monster Kane, he kicked out of it and gained my attention for sure. There is also the “tough” factor if you are able to kick out of a move that is down right devastating. It can build to how tough a wrestler is perceived, like when BJ Whitmer kicked out of a Cop Killa from Homicide it made the crowd gasp and think “Jesus Christ, that dude is tough.” These are the kind of factors that make matches truly memorable. (And if you haven’t seen the Homicide-BJ Whitmer match from ROH I highly recommend checking it out.)

Now those examples are fine and dandy, but the ultimate example of when kicking out of a finisher was used to perfection comes from WrestleMania XIX. As some of you long time readers may know, I hold the Austin-Rock match from this event in the highest regard. Now with that being said I do believe this match provides and excellent example of what I have been talking about. Now leading into this match the story was that Rock had to beat Austin at ‘Mania in order to get on with his life, Austin was a broken down vet at the end of his career but he wouldn’t go without a fight. Now this didn’t turn out to be the best encounter the two ever had, but it certainly was the most emotional. Typically over the years the Rock Bottom was a done deal affair, but occasionally someone would kick out, so when Austin kicked out of the first one it wasn’t too big of a shock. Match proceeds. Rock hits another Rock Bottom! The crowd, along with me, figured it was over. Austin kicked out! I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I was now at an age where I understood the characters and storytelling aspects of the match much better and I couldn’t believe how great they were making Austin look. The crowd also showed their surprise, Rock is stunned, and JR selling the shit of it didn’t hurt either. Rock stalks a lifeless Austin, delivers a 3rd Rock Bottom, and finally gets the three. The ending of this trilogy wouldn’t have been as impactful if it hadn’t been for Austin surviving the first two. In the end both looked great; The Rock finally got his win and Austin was solidified as one of the toughest men in the history of the E. And that my friend is an example of how kicking out of a finisher was used to perfection.

Well, that’s it for me this week. Next week the first edition of BOTR: The Forgotten Ones.

Remember feedback, as always is welcome at [email protected] or directly below. If I left out some of your favorite “kick out” moments, be sure to share them.

*This Week’s YouTube Sendoff*

What do you know? It still hasn’t gotten old.

See you next week. Until then, take care

-Alex