Finishing moves with a twist: a celebration of mutated maneuvers
On most nights, there’s no sight more tempting to Rey Mysterio than that of a weakened opponent slumped sternum-first over the middle rope. Usually, such a rosy scenario gives way to Mysterio’s coup de grace, the 619.
This past Monday night, things took a turn for the unusual. ( WATCH FINISHERS WITH A TWIST)
In the midst of staging a comeback against Daniel Bryan on Raw, The Ultimate Underdog seemingly hit a snag: The bearded half of Team Hell No had absorbed a slingshot and fell onto the middle rope, but he was resting right next to the turnbuckles in the corner. Bryan’s awkward ring positioning made it all but impossible for Mysterio to swing into his patented, area-code-alluding finisher.
Undeterred, The King of Mystery adapted to the circumstance and creatively incorporated the ring post into the 619. The innovative tweak excited fans and allowed Mysterio to splash Bryan and win their all-important first singles encounter.
Mysterio is not the only Superstar to have mutated a trademark maneuver in the name of convenience. Zack Ryder found himself in a similar predicament on Raw. Facing Damien Sandow, Long Island Iced-Z kept on the attack even after “The Enlightened One” dodged his Broski Boot and rolled out of the ring. Without missing a beat, Ryder nonetheless booted Sandow from inside the ring. Everybody’s favorite broski, it would appear, was determined to serve Sandow sole one way or another.
Sometimes, situations allow for use of traditional weapons of choice; other times, a quick-thinking backup to the tried-and-true is what’s needed. Whether it’s propping a ladder across the top rope to get extra height and bounce on a 450 Splash (See: Gabriel, Justin), leaping off the chain link walls of the Elimination Chamber to Disaster Kick a giant ( Rhodes, Cody) or finding a particularly unfriendly surface on which to plant an opponent ( Orton, Randy), many of today’s Superstars have created scintillating variations of the finishers just by adapting to unique situations and battlegrounds. ( WATCH PLAYLIST)
So how does Mysterio’s around-the-post 619 stack up to the many other spur-of-the-moment ring innovations? Watch video of these hand-selected maneuver mutations and vote for your favorite! ( VOTE NOW)
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