WWE: 5 Ideas for Braun Strowman's New Finishing Move

WWE: 5 Ideas for Braun Strowman's New Finishing Move

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 3:56 p.m. ET

Braun Strowman needs to end his matches with something more powerful than a British Bulldog-style Running Powerslam.Braun Strowman is in the midst of a monster push (no pun intended). Ever since he debuted in August 2015, he has enjoyed the typical monster booking: barely leaving his feet, no-selling his opponents’ offense, squashing multiple opponents, in short, 2-minute matches. It’s obvious Vince McMahon has big plans for this man.If rumors are to be believed, the new planned WrestleMania main event is Royal Rumble match winner Braun Strowman challenging champion Roman Reigns. This would fit into Vince’s continued determination to convince the fans that Reigns is their next big star. After all, in Vince’s mind, there’s no better way of making someone an underdog then making them face a giant, and Strowman fits that bill almost perfectly.However, Strauman still faces several problems in his quest to make Roman Reigns look good. Like many giants before him, he’s rather immobile, incapable of moving with much agility in the ring. His move pool is shallow, limited to only a handful of heavy-looking strikes and basic slams. We have yet to see him execute a Vertical Suplex, which is pretty much the go-to move for and powerhouse wrestler.Related Story: WWE WrestleMania 33: Match Card Projections 3.0Finally, there’s his finisher problem. Strauman’s current regular finisher is a British bulldog-inspired Running Powerslam. Now, this move would be effective if this were still the 1980s. The wrestling landscape has changed so much since then and so have its fans. So many more impressive moves have been seen in a wrestling that a Running Powerslam isn’t believable as a finisher in 2017. Therefore, Strauman needs a different finisher to look more impressive.Apart from that Running Powerslam, Strowman has used other moves as finishers as well, with limited success. He used a lifting arm triangle choke for a while, but that move failed to elicit a large reaction. He also used the Yokosuka Cutter for a time, but again, no reaction. Finally, he also used a reverse Chokeslam facebuster, but that move is incredibly dangerous, and shouldn’t be used by someone as inexperienced as Strauman.Instead, here are 5 moves that Strowman could use, that are safer and more likely to get a better reaction than anything he has used already.Next: No. 5

5. Go to Heaven

Most wrestling moves in WWE are fairly generic. Today’s WWE superstars use a lot of moves that share a lot in common. Neckbreaker variations, the same Powerbombs, DDTs and the same strikes and suplexes, all of them are used frequently in WWE. Then there are moves like this one, which stand out far more than others.

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What we’ve got here is basically a wrist-clutch Olympic Slam. Used once by NJPW mainstay Hirooki Goto, the move looks both painful and dangerous. It’s a perfect move for someone that needs to use a ‘lifting’ move to show off their strength, like Braun Strowman. It’s one thing for Strowman to lift someone and then drop them without leaving his feet.

But a move looks far more painful if Strowman lands on top of them or uses his own weight to amplify impact. This move would achieve that. If you were to see Strowman lifting someone and then dropping them backward, it would look far more painful than anything he has used thus far.

4. Back Suplex Chokeslam

There’s a reason so many big men in wrestling use a Chokeslam variation. Grabbing someone by the throat is a demonstration of power, as the neck is a very vulnerable part of the body. If you can grab someone’s neck, and then slam them as hard as possible to the mat, you look dangerous and intimidating.

But many wrestlers have used the Chokeslam, so a point where it has lost some of its luster. So what better way to re-invent the move in a WWE ring than by doing it from a different position.

Akira Taue, the Japanese wrestler who used countless different Chokeslam variations, came up with one that could be done from a Back Suplex. All you do is lift someone up as if to execute a Belly-to-back Suplex, and then, you grab their neck and Chokeslam them. It looks both different and devastating at the same time, and you get more height out of it as well.

If Strowman started using this move, he’d definitely be turning more heads than he does now.

3. Fisherman Powerbomb

Braun Strowman would get a far better reaction if he used a move that wasn’t associated with someone else. The Running Powerslam will always be associated with the British Bulldog, no matter how much time goes by. Strowman needs something that hasn’t seen in WWE, and this move might be the one.

Combining a Fisherman Suplex lift with a Powerbomb finish, this move is as painful-looking as it is crisp and technical. Lifting someone into a Fisherman Suplex, only to smash them back-first into the canvas, is a great way to demolish your opponents. This move isn’t even particularly difficult to execute; as long as the user has the strength to lift their opponent, it can be done correctly.

Since people don’t expect Strowman to do something that’s mostly associated with smaller guys, this move would actually work well for him. It would show off both strength and technical skill at the same time, which is what Strowman needs to do if he’s to prove he’s more than just another monster.

2. Tornado Bomb

Braun Strowman has yet to demonstrate one of those ‘trademark’ super strength spots. We have yet to see him hold someone over his head in a Military Press, pick someone up with a one-handed Chokeslam like Kane used to, or even do a delayed Vertical Suplex. It’s one thing for him to be able to hit a few stiff-looking strikes. He needs to show he can use powerful-looking wrestling moves, and few fit that category more than the Tornado Bomb.

    Instead of wasting time lifting his opponents onto his shoulders, Kensuke ‘Japanese Road Warrior’ Sasaki simply hooks one of his opponent’s legs, lifts him upward onto one shoulder, and then drives him into the canvas as hard as possible, Powerbomb-style in the above video. It’s a truly perfect demonstration of power, and it would fit Strowman perfectly. With his massive arms and shoulders, he could execute a very convincing Mountain Bomb on a smaller opponent (read: anyone).

    By sitting down or kneeling afterward, it would add extra emphasis to the move, as it would look like he’s putting more force into the move and amplifying the impact his poor victim suffers.

    1. The Lariat

    Sometimes, simplicity is better than over-complicating things. While a big slam or a heaving Powerbomb can do wonders in making someone look menacing, a single, devastating strike can work just as well. And no wrestling strike attack does that more effectively than the Lariat.

    Used by a wide variety of wrestlers, the Lariat has been the go-to finisher for many world champions. In WWE, JBL executed arguably the stiffest lariat seen in a WWE ring with his Clothesline from Hell. Elsewhere in the world, legendary strong style wrestlers like Kenta Kobashi and Stan Hansen delivered truly devastating Lariats that looked like they could cleave someone’s head off.

    Now, of these three men, JBL was the biggest, and his Lariat was downright vicious. So imagine how devastating it would be if Strowman used one?

    He wouldn’t have to run like JBL did, or spin it in a discus manner like many wrestlers do nowadays. All he’d have to do is swing his arm and wrap it around his opponent’s head and upper chest, and they’d be down in a flash…and they wouldn’t be getting up. Strowman’s enormous, so executing a Lariat would be a simple and believable way for him to keep someone down for way more than a three-count.

    What should Braun Strowman’s finishing move be?

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