Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.0

WWE: The 50 Greatest Finishing Moves In WWE History Blu-ray Movie Review

Which back-breaking, skull-crushing move will be number one?

Reviewed by Martin Liebman September 5, 2012

If you truly had at top finishing move, it stirred genuine emotion with the fans.

There's a lot that defines a professional wrestler, that shapes him from a mere performer into a bona-fide superstar, that elevates him to heights achieved by only the best of the best the world of sports entertainment has ever seen. There's his looks, obviously: is he a muscular freak of nature like Triple H or an extra-extra-large combatant like Mark Henry? How about his skill? Is he a man with a million moves like Rey Mysterio or a bundle of energy like Kofi Kingston? Is he a charismatic fan-favorite like John Cena or a balanced superstar like Randy Orton? A wrestler must possess almost unearthly skill, skill which requires precision placement of his own and his opponent's body, a perfect understanding of the sport's finest points to avoid injury yet put on a dazzling, complex, and dangerous performance, to sell the trickery and convince people that it really is real or man, that has GOT to hurt! He must know how to act a part and become someone other than himself, whether behind the mic or inside a choke hold or falling through a table. While his ring presence, size, looks, and skill set are critical factors in a wrestler's development, it can be that signature finisher -- that one move all but guaranteed to put an end to a match, to cripple an opponent, to bring the fans to their feet -- that can truly make a superstar great. A legendary signature move can be identified in a second or a syllable. They can change a career path, define a match, and shape a legacy. "The Stunner." "Rock Bottom." "The Sharpshooter." "The Attitude Adjustment." These and others like them end matches, earn wins, define a wrestler, and become a part of WWE jargon and even the American lexicon. These are the fifty greatest finishers in WWE history, as ranked by the WWE itself.

Yup, that guy is definitely finished.

The WWE has selected a panel of executives and creative staff to determine the top fifty finishing moves in WWE history. Unfortunately, they've left the fan's voice out of the equation. An unfortunate oversight, but the truth is that the list isn't half-bad -- it's pretty solid, actually (though fans will certainly debate about this list more than most others. Hey! Mankind's Mandible Claw/Mr. Socko ranked that low? come on now!) -- even if the presentation is half-bad. The good news is that everything fans would have expected to be there makes the list. The collection is all about the names and the moves associated with them. That's it. Things begin with JBL's classic clothesline finisher and move on to Vader's Vader Bomb at number 49. Where everything else ranks is left to the imagination or the purchase of the disc, but fans can expect a wide array of moves and stars. There's the Dudley Death Drop, The Pile Driver, the Camel Clutch, the Leg Drop, the Doomsday Device, the RKO, the Attitude Adjustment, the Superfly Splash, the 619, the Walls of Jericho, the Chicken Wing, the Pedigree, the Stunner, the Spear, and the People's Elbow, to list a few. Amongst the wrestlers are classic names like Dusty Rhodes, Ted DiBiase, Jerry Lawler, Big Show, Kurt Angle, Brock Lesnar, Sgt. Slaughter, Ric Flair, Randy Orton, and The Undertaker. There's even some names that may ring the bells only found inside longtime wrestling fans, like Kerry Von Erich. It's good to see his Claw maneuver make the list, but the problem is that The 50 Greatest Finishing Moves In WWE History fails to dig deep into the wrestlers and their moves, whether Kerry Von Erich or Stone Cold Steve Austin, simply moving down the list with only speed in mind.

The truth is that The 50 Greatest Finishing Moves In WWE History is probably the worst program released to Blu-ray so far by the WWE. That's a shame, because it's amongst the most intriguing and right up there in terms of potential greatness. It's a rushed compilation piece that doesn't lack interesting insight or cool characters or awesome finishing moves, but does lack thoroughness, foregoing almost anything that's more than a basic "X wrestler performed Y finisher." Insert some clips of the move in action, add a few sound bytes, and it's on to the next. It feels very generic, and chances are many viewers will watch and wonder why there's not more substance, not a little more time spent on the moves, more of an effort to discuss their development, implementation, and legacy. All of that earns cursory mentions, at least, but fans will want more, even diehard WWE fanatics who know not only the moves and the wrestlers who performed them, but those unfortunate souls who took the worst of the abuse over the years, who found themselves at the mercy of the perfectly-executed RKO or Leg Drop. There's no narrator beyond a voice that announces the next move. The set does offer a variety of individuals, most of them current WWE SuperStars, who reflect on the moves and the wrestlers and, to their credit, enthusiastically recount their memories of watching or falling victim or stating how happy they are not to have fallen victim to each move. Viewers will hear from Mick Foley, Wade Barrett, Matt Striker, Daniel Bryan, The Miz, Kofi Kingston, William Regal, Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Drew McIntyre, CM Punk, and Brodus Clay. That's a nice collection, and so is the grouping of the fifty greatest finishers, but as the old commercial asked, "where's the beef?"

WWE: The 50 Greatest Finishing Moves In WWE History Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The 50 Greatest Finishing Moves In WWE History features the standard WWE video presentation. It's comprised of new HD video interview clips (as well as a handful of high definition wrestling action scenes when covering the finishing moves performed by current wrestlers) and classic standard definition footage framed in a 4:3 window with "black bars" on either side of the 1.78:1 screen. The HD material offers clear, clean details and balanced, bright colors. Anyone who wants to see crisp and well-defined interview footage of Mick Foley, The Miz, or Brodus Clay will want to give this one a watch. Facial detail is strong, and the wrestling footage offers well-defined action across the screen, both in the foreground and the background. HD colors impress, particularly Kofi Kingston's bright green shirt seen in his interview clips. Noise and compression issues are of minimal concern. The SD footage is fine; it always looks rather stable on these wrestling discs and this is no exception. It's rough around the edges to be sure and plagued with all the usual SD suspects, but fans will be pleased with how well the older footage has held up under the Blu-ray spotlight. In essence, fans familiar with these WWE compilation releases that combine new and old material know what to expect and this release delivers on those expectations with ease.

WWE: The 50 Greatest Finishing Moves In WWE History Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

This one's pretty simple. The 50 Greatest Finishing Moves In WWE History features a straightforward Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. It's fairly dialogue-heavy, with much of the audio content comprised of interviewees speaking on the various finishing moves. Speech is clear and well defined, flowing from the center channel without complication. Music is rich, playing with good spacing and an energized presence. It's lowered under dialogue but retains the crispness and spread to the front sides and backs. The ping pong ball scenes push a breezy sound into the stage and through the back channels, even, giving the goofy low-end computer visual some audio support. That's about all she wrote for this one. It's as basic a WWE track as listeners will ever encounter. It's fine in every regard but hardly more than a forgettable support element.

WWE: The 50 Greatest Finishing Moves In WWE History Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The 50 Greatest Finishing Moves In WWE History contains a number of bonus moments and matches spread across both discs. Disc two contains nothing but its special features.

Disc One:

• Finishing Move Demonstration: Sgt. Slaughter Demonstrates the Cobra Clutch on Tony Anthony. World Wide Wrestling -- December 10, 1981.
• DDT vs. Rude Awakening Match: Jake "The Snake" Roberts vs. "Ravishing" Rick Rude. Madison Square Garden -- October 24, 1988.
• Intercontinental Championship Match: Mr. Perfect vs. Texas Tornado. Dayton, OH -- January 13, 1991.
• WWE Championship Match: Bret "Hit Man" Hart vs. Bob Backlund. Superstars -- July 30, 1994.
• WCW World Tag Team Championship Match: Kevin Nash & Scott Hall vs. The Giant & Lex Luger. Superbrawl VII -- February 23, 1997.
• King of the Ring Semi-Final Match: Mankind vs. Jerry "The King" Lawler. King of the Ring -- June 8, 1997.
• ECW Matchup: Rob Van Dam vs. 2 Cold Scorpio. Living Dangerously -- March 1, 1998.
• Four Corners Match for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship: "Nature Boy" Ric Flair vs. Diamond Dallas Page vs. Hollywood Hogan vs. Sting with Special Guest Referee Randy "Macho Man" Savage. Spring Stampede -- April 11, 1999.

Disc Two:

• Smackdown Match: Chris jericho & The Rock vs. Kurt Angle & Stone Cold Steve Austin. Smackdown -- November 15, 2001.
• RAW Match:: Rob Van Dam & Bubba Ray Dudley vs. Brock Lesnar & Eddie Guerrero. RAW -- June 3, 2002.
• No Disqualification Tag Team Match: Shawn Michaels & Jeff Hardy vs. Chris Jericho & Christian. RAW -- February 17, 2003.
• Classic Match: The Rock vs. Goldberg. Backlash -- April 27, 2003.
• 6-Man Elimination Match: Bubba Ray, D-Von & Spike Dudley vs. Evolution (Triple H, "Nature Boy" Ric Flair & Randy Orton). RAW -- July 14, 2003.
• Women's Championship Match: Trish Stratus vs. Lita. RAW -- December 6, 2004.
• Fatal 4-Way Elimination Match to Become the #1 Contender for the World Heavyweight Championship: Shawn Michaels vs. Randy Orton vs. JBL vs. Chris Jericho. RAW -- December 29, 2008.
• Fatal 4-Way Match for the World Heavyweight Championship: Undertaker vs. Batista vs. Rey Mysterio vs. CM Punk. WWE Bragging Rights -- October 25, 2009.
• Six Pack Challenge for the WWE Championship: Sheamus vs. John Cena vs. Randy Orton vs. Chris Jericho vs. Edge vs. Wade Barret. Night of Champions -- September 19, 2010.

Disc Two Blu-ray Exclusives:

• Smackdown Match: Triple H & Undertaker vs. Big Show & Edge. Smackdown -- February 6, 2009.
• RAW Match: Rey Mysterio, Jeff Hardy & The Great Khali vs. Edge, Dolph Ziggler & Chris Jericho. RAW -- June 22, 2009.
• No Disqualification 6-Man Tag Team Match: Mr. McMahon & D-Generation X vs. Legacy. RAW -- August 24, 2009.
• Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match: Team Mysterio (Rey Mysterio, Big Show, Chris Masters, Kofi Kingston, & MVP) vs. Team Alberto (Alberto Del Rio, Cody Rhodes, Jack Swagger, Drew McIntyre, & Tyler Reks). Survivor Series -- November 21, 2010.
• RAW Match: John Cena & Rey Mysterio vs. CM Punk & R-Truth with Special Guest Referee Bret "Hit Man" Hart. RAW -- May 23, 2011.

WWE: The 50 Greatest Finishing Moves In WWE History Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The 50 Greatest Finishing Moves In WWE History fails to live up to expectations, and it fails pretty miserably. Sure it's a compilation piece, but the finisher is one of the coolest parts of the wrestling match and often one of the defining elements of a wrestler's style. The Stunner, the Attitude Adjustment, and all of the other moves are synonymous with the men and women who perform them. Why make a release that doesn't do them the justice they deserve? And what's with the lottery theme? That doesn't make any sense seeing that the moves were ranked, not chosen at random. If fans want only a rapid-fire compilation piece that goes down the line, introduces the wrestler and his (or her, in one case) move, and offers a few clips and comments, then this might be a worthwhile release. Audiences looking for depth, or at least more than a minute or two with each finishing move, will be disappointed. It's sort of like an Encyclopedia entry for each one, a generic overview and not a detailed account authored by insiders and experts. It's that simple. WWE's Blu-ray release of The 50 Greatest Finishing Moves In WWE History features good video and fine lossy audio. Plenty of bonus matches are included. Diehard WWE video collectors who want a basic overview of the top finishing moves should buy, others should rent or skip.