Which Finisher Has Been Nerfed The Worst?

[Spidey Revivey]

Nerfed: to make less powerful.

The good old days of rasslin' is filled with these. Leg drops ending hotly contested matches, Bear hugs getting cheers, a kick to the face the by-all-end-all, and the list goes on and on. What was all she wrote one decade can easily be just a hindrance the next. It's progress and sometimes it sucks. So it got me thinking - what move kinda sucks these days with how weak it's become?

For me, nothing can touch how far the DDT has fallen. Nobody really expects this to end a match anymore, do they? Even though the opponent lands on their head, that thing we all need to survive, you just can't see it ending the fight. Call me pessimistic, but if a guy like Seth Rollins put Brock Lesnar down with one of those, I think the arena would deflate.

What do you guys think? Is the DDT the most nerfed finisher in wrestling? If not, what would you guys say is?

 

[Psykohurricane55]

No I don't think the ddt is the most nerfed finisher in wrestling because you still have some wrestlers using it as finisher like Alexa bliss, Dean Ambrose and Andrade cien almas. I feel the superkick or the sleeper have become the most nerfed finisher in wrestling. Everybody is doing those move as transitional move now and as far as the superkick is concern some overuse it to the point that the move as become a real joke.

 

[tdmoon]

Like the OP, the DDT and the bear hug were among the first moves to come to mind.

Bob Backlund used to finish matches with an atomic drop, even won the world title with it. It's more of a comedy spot than a finisher now.

 

[Bernkastel]

The answer would most certainly have to be the headlock. At one point, it was one of the most feared submission holds around. Made famous by the Strangler, who at his peak was the most popular and the recognizable wrestler in the world. There's not much video footage of Lewis still available, but from what I have seen, the psychology of the move was simple: Lewis would crush his opponents head and neck with his ironclad grip until they were incapacitated enough to be thrown to the mat and pinned. It was considered to be a big deal if the headlock was broken. My avatar is of Lewis applying a variation of the hold on Wayne Munn during a world title match.

From footage that I have seen, by the 50's and 60's, the headlock still had credibility as a submission hold, but by then it was already largely transitional. The difference between then and now, is that now the headlock has become the most basic of rest holds. It's not even made out to be a legitimate submission hold anymore.

 

[Goldie]

I think a lot of submission holds have been nerfed.
In the 80s a leglock from Ric Flair or Greg Valentine was a sure finisher..... as Flair wrestled later in his career, the leglock was used earlier in matches and guys usually escaped it!

This goes for Bret Harts sharpshooter in the early 90s. Bret finished everyone off with that hold.
I remember years later the Rock used the sharpshooter frequently and I never saw him get one submission out of it!
Submission holds are now more softening up holds rather than finishers.... or probably spots to allow the wrestlers to get their breath back!

 

[relentless1]

the leg drop.... man that used to be a devastator

in all seriousness though theres so many; bearhug, atomic drop, sleeper, power bomb, heart punch, lariat etc... the list goes on and on, sadly the sport has to evolve and so moves from yesteryear become plain moves after a while... soon even the dreaded Pedigree will be a washed up move... but fear not there is a cycle and some moves do come back around; just depend on the wrestler and if the can get it over or not

 

[pbancroft32]

it has to be all submissions there was a time if a submission specialist got there hold on you was done now you have more chance of CM punk returning than a tap out finish as someone who as a kid use to wrestle his friends i can tell you first hand many of them submission holds seriously hurt you put a figue four on properly its painful sharpshooter is aswell i had friends tap every time if i put them in the chickenwing and i was made to pass out from a sleeper but these guys now have a 250lb man do the same move they scream and fight in the move for 10 mins but seem to get out submissions have been killed unless you happen to be ric's daughter then no one can withstand the figure 8