WCW wasn’t officially a promotion until 1988 when Ted Turner purchased the rights to Jim Crockett Promotions and the NWA. But one of the promotion’s series throughout the 80s was dubbed World Championship Wrestling. WCW has always had its roots ingrained in Crockett, Georgia Championship Wrestling, and the NWA.
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The superstars of the promotion’s heyday created a legacy that has influenced countless fans and other superstars for nearly three decades and 20 years since WCW closed up shop. Part of that legacy included some of the most memorable finishing moves in the business.
10 The Road Warriors - The Doomsday Device
The sight of the Road Warriors stomping to the ring in the 80s was the sight nightmares were made of. Two musclebound monsters with spiked football pads and face paint was bad enough. But then they’d bounce their opponents around for a few minutes before completely destroying them with the Doomsday Device for the finish - Animal would hoist a hapless sack on his shoulder just for Hawk to leap off the top rope and clothesline him right off Animal’s shoulders.
9 Tully Blanchard - Slingshot Suplex
As one of the original Four Horsemen, Tully Blanchard will be always be associated with greatness. For fans that are only familiar with his work as a manager in AEW for FTR, you owe it to yourselves to check Tully out in the ring.
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His finisher looked great and looked devastating for its time. Tully would get an opponent up for a Suplex and plant them over the top rope before sling-shotting them over for a nasty Suplex that would take him to the US Title.
8 The Rock 'N’ Roll Express - Double Dropkick
The Young Bucks have been showing the wrestling world how to get it done in the independent scene and now as an integral part of AEW. They’re also following in the footsteps of amazing “smaller tag teams” that came before them like The Hardys, The Rockers, and The Rock 'n' Roll Express. Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson were innovators for smaller teams in wrestling and perfected the heartthrobs-who-can-go style. They also innovated the Superkick Party in their own right with their finisher, The Double Dropkick.
7 Sting - The Scorpion Death Lock
While he had been working for a while, it was at the first-ever Clash Of Champions, where much of the wrestling world had been formally introduced to The Stinger. On that night, Sting and Ric Flair took each other to limit for the NWA World Title. The biggest name to ever come out of WCW began and spent his career utilizing the Scorpion Death Lock as his finisher. When he snapped it on you, it meant the end of the match and a victory for The Icon.
6 The Midnight Express - The Rocket Launcher
Unfortunately, The Midnight Express never made it to the WWE properly, leaving Stan Lane, Bobby Eaton, and Denis Condrey’s legacy as possibly the best tag team to never have gone to WWE.
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Similar to other great times like FTR and The Brain Busters, the Midnights were able to beat you in a variety of ways. But the finisher that the team was most associated with was The Rocket Launcher; Condrey or Lane would launch Beautiful Bobby off the top rope onto an opponent for the three count.
5 Mean Mark - Heart Punch
Not recognizing the potential of a big man like Mean Mark would be one of the many blunders Ole Anderson made as booker. While he was still nowhere near the level of greatness The Undertaker would achieve, he still cut an imposing visage.
The future Phenom followed in the footsteps of old school superstars like Ox Baker and Stan Stasiak and utilized the dreaded Heart Punch as a finishing move. While it actually didn’t, Baker thought he once inadvertently killed a man using it - a perfect finishing move for a man with the reputation of Mean Mark Callous.
4 Dusty Rhodes - The Bionic Elbow
Legends don’t get any more legendary than "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes. No matter what was thrown at the Dream or how he looked among the massive, cut physiques, his charisma made him a cut above the rest.
With the juke and jiving Dusty would do in the ring, it was all a prelude to the devastating Bionic Elbow that he would drive right over the bridge of an opponent’s nose to end the match.
3 Lex Luger - The Human Torture Rack
When your finisher is dubbed The Human Torture Rack, it better be a devastating move that terrifies opponents. "The Total Package" Lex Luger was known for his amazing physique and this big submission finisher.
There wasn’t a single person that Luger couldn’t hoist up (including The Giant years later) and just bounce their ribs across his massive traps, stretching out nearly half of their body in the process until they scream "Uncle!"
2 Barry Windham - Superplex
Just about anyone and everyone who watched Barry Windham in the ring knows full well that the Widowmaker was one of the most naturally gifted superstars ever. It also helped that his six-foot-six frame made just about any and all suplexes look highly devastating.
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He might not have invented the move, but the Horsemen Hall Of Famer was able to make the top rope Superplex one of the most feared and dangerous moves of the decade.
1 Ric Flair - The Figure Four
The Nature Boy was a master at showcasing how great The Figure Four could be as a finisher. Flair would work the leg during the match, most of the time using a knee lift to smash his opponents’ legs up just a little more before bellowing out “now” throughout the arena. Once The Figure Four was on, it was just a matter of time before The Dirtiest Player In The Game started using either the ropes, a fellow Horsemen, or a valet’s hands for added leverage, doing his best to ensure a victory.
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