What's in a Finisher?

What the hell is going on with finishers nowadays? Why is it that no one can use a flying elbow or a perfectplex? These are legitimate finishers which when used properly could easily signal the end of the match with little setup. Not these 30 second convoluted train wrecks I see being performed as of late.

New wrestling talent seems to be on a kick lately of trying to reinvent the wheel when it comes to the finishing maneuver. I'm not sure if they are trying to hard to invent a new move to cement their legacy with a timeless maneuver or if these older finishers are just off limits to them. Either way something has to give here because the majority of these finishers require too much setup with a little or no payoff.

A prime example of this is MVP's Playmaker. The picture to your right shows how the move begins. Right off the bat this thing looks awkward. It requires several seconds for MVP to place his opponent in this position and on top of that you will notice his opponent will actually hold his leg in order to help him keep his balance! Why would your opponent help you to knock them unconscious? To finish the move MVP falls forward and no matter the angle you see it from you are never quite sure what this move actually does to his opponent. Perhaps the sheer embarrassment of being looked in this awkward yoga position causes his opponent to lose consciousness, who's to say really. I'm a big fan of MVP but I think he needs a simpler finishing maneuver that actually looks like it does something.

If you look back on popular finishing maneuvers you will find that they really are simple. Sweet chin music is a kick to the face, the choke slam is well...a choke slam,the million dollar dream was a sleeper hold and the perfectplex was just a fisherman's suplex. It's easy to understand what is going on when these moves occur and you can use them at any point during the match. What makes them special is the person performing these moves. For example, a regular flying elbow does not mean much, but if the Macho Man drops a flying elbow you know that was a significant piece of offense. It's a simple maneuver but with the proper build up and delivery it becomes something more.

I feel as though new talent is letting the finishers define them as opposed to making them work for them. If it is the case where the WWE is not letting them use older moves because they feel as though retired wrestlers have some type of entitlement to them then I suggest management needs to move on from this stance. The WWE has a wealth of young talent right now on the verge of becoming big names, with the right finishers a good majority of them could cross that threshold.

Your thoughts are welcome on this matter.