A finishing move in the world of wrestling is crucial. Something that can make or break a pro wrestler, often the coolest looking moves don't click, while something as goofy as "The People's Elbow" becomes iconic. Each wrestler has a different method to their madness when landing on their signature, match ending match up. In this series, "Making A Finisher," Fightful.com will go in depth with wrestlers as they explain their moves, discuss how they were developed, who took it the best, the worst, why they stopped doing some of them, and the psychology behind them.
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EC3 was among the top one percent, but that doesn't mean he's relying on the One Percenter to end his matches all the time.
For years, EC3 used a headlock driver as a finishing move. While Jon Moxley abandoned it himself in favor of a DDT, EC3 has let it go to utilize a submission based game. After his second WWE tenure, EC3 adopted a grounded Cobra Clutch, which Fightful had actually spoken with him about years prior. He had it in his mind and finally unleashed it in The Narrative, and named it Control.
"I always visually played around with it. I’m like, ‘This looks great, but nobody’s doing it.’ That visual you would get out of a crossface or a Rings of Saturn was always so cool, cinematically, and you could see both guys’s faces. It looks vicious. So, just evolving that, kinda setting it up with an odes to my past that aren’t exactly the old derivatives of my past. The old TKO. Now, I do it a little bit differently, I drop a brother on his knee. I beat Sting, so I’m going to hit this reverse DDT, but I’m going to lay out like it was the top 1% move, bam, differently and then transitioning into that hold," EC3 said.
"You know, the first time I’ve hit it straight was in the Narrative against fodder—the nameless opponent in my first one—and then against Moose when he dropped in the Narrative that we released in the extended cut that was supposed to release with IMPACT. But,. So, another reason I did all this with this character build with things like this, I know wherever I go, I’m going to walk into feuds of people with established names, so I may never have a chance to establish what it is I do differently. So, yeah. I’ve done it. People don’t know," EC3 said.
That wasn't the only adjustment to his repertoire. EC3 busted out an old classic, but fans were fearful that was his new finish. But don't worry, you move marks!!
"I remember, too, like I dropped Moose with the reverse DDT aspect of it and, I’ll probably call that Freedom—Control, Freedom, Purpose—it fits my shit. I just thought of that. Thank you, again for helping me with a finish. But, I remember dropping Moose with it and uploading that video to Instagram. People were just, ‘Don’t tell me your finish is a reverse DDT! That’s it?’ First, DDT is awesome, first off. Sting beat everybody with it. So, it rules. So, but it’s not the entirety of it. Guys, relax and stop being move marks. It’s not about moves. It’s not about stars. It’s about stories. It’s about emotions. It’s about moments. That’s what this is. To me."
A good finishing move is about protecting it and making it your own. For those that say "that shouldn't be a finisher," the former Derrick Bateman has some words of wisdom for you.
"How many times have people been kicked in the head in wrestling all the time now? Every move’s a kick to the head. Kicks to the head fucking hurt, man. They’ll knock you out. They should finish people off. But, whatever," he said.
At the time in which Fightful spoke to EC3 about this a new finishing hold -- late 2020 -- he'd not yet locked it in and put someone away, despite establishing the move. He also has a distinct vision for Control -- that aforementioned protection.
"Yeah. The thing is once I do it, nobody’s ever going to reverse it ever. Ever. It’s over. It’s done. But, you’re absolutely right. There’s a lot of things to play with there. So, that’s why I’d love to establish it so we can move on into cool reversals. But, until I establish it for, I don’t know, six years? Maybe twelve? Nobody’s getting out. Nobody’s reversing it," he professed.
Well, that's worked out well for Baron Corbin. When the End of Days hits, you know the match is over. There are some lines that EC3 draws in the sand, though.
"You know I would do a moonsault back in the day? But then I landed on my head once and I’ll never do it again. A moonsault is way easier than a phoenix splash, c’mon. I can do Whisper in the Wind. I just probably couldn’t do the moonsault into the 450 aspect."
