Welcome to another episode of #FinisherFriday! This is Wreddit_Regal giving you my take on the easiest and most efficient way to make an opponent land on their head.
Before the Architect and Messiah that is Seth Rollins came to be in modern-day wrestling programming, there was this young blood wreaking havoc in the indies named Tyler Black. This lad was brimming with so much energy, athleticism, and self-confidence, that his natural ending was the highest achievable promotion for any aspiring wrestler, the jungle known as the WWE. From there, it was a series of ups and downs, gaining and losing friends, followers and gold on the way, until forming a stable known as The Movement and proclaiming himself as the Monday Night Messiah.
To some hardcore indy fans, Seth Rollins probably doesn't hold a candle to his earlier identity, as WWE is known to water down most wrestlers' movesets. Although Seth Rollins has now become more calculated and precise thanks to his tutelage from the Cerebral Assassin, Tyler Black was more fearless, cocky, and violent.
Some of Black's notable finishers included:
Paroxysm
Phoenix Splash
Buckle Bomb
and this article's topic, God's Last Gift
Let's break the move into chunks:
- The attacker starts with the opponent in the fisherman hold
- The attacker doesn't lift the opponent vertically, but to his left side
- As he lifts up the opponent, he uses both of his legs to trap the opponent's free leg
- Both the attacker and the opponent land on the mat; the former landing on his side and the recipient landing on his head/neck, assuming the small package position
As I've explained in my previous article about the Lightning Spiral, this move is the easiest and most efficient way to inflict damage to the neck, like a brainbuster does. Here's why:
1. The attacker doesn't need to fully lift their opponent up. For smaller wrestlers, this move is a godsend to them, as they only need to have the strength to lift the opponent slightly sideways in order to trap their free leg midway through the move.
2. The move is relatively shorter compared to other brainbuster variations. This leaves no time for the opponent to react or perform a counter to it. Most of the time they will probably think about receiving an ordinary fisherman suplex, only to find their head/neck driven onto the mat.
2. There's no transition time between performing the move and pinning the opponent. By the time both wrestlers land on the mat, the small package position is already assumed, making the opponent lose valuable time which would've given them a chance to kick out.
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| ...this wasn't the exact GIF that I had in mind, but you get my point. |
Fun fact: Rollins and KUSHIDA had a short-lived Twitter argument a couple of years ago because of this move. You can read more about their beef here.
Using my trusty Regal Rating, I would give this finisher:
8/10 for aesthetics. Let's be real here; this move is as unassuming and as bland-looking as it gets. But this lack of eye candy is the main selling point of this move, as no one would usually expect to have their head driven to the mat when put in a fisherman buster position.
8/10 for damage. This move shares the same problem with the Lightning Spiral: there is no added weight or force in driving the opponent's head, plus the opponent is lifted only a short distance compared to its other counterparts.
And that's it chaps, God's Last Gift analyzed! Who do you want to make this move as one of their staples? Let us know in the comment section below!
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Wreddit_Regal is the resident sports kinesiologist of Reddit's wrestling forum, r/squaredcircle. From the most basic of punches to the most intricate double-team maneuvers, he can explain them within the realm of human anatomy and physics, because when doing absolutely nothing wrestling-related, he also happens to work as an operating room nurse.
: The Messiah's Last Gift){kind=link}