To me, the most important aspect of a finishing move is that it is the one move that will always finish the match. It has to be the move where the crowd stands on their feet the moment they see the wrestler signalling that the finisher is coming. I do not think a finisher has to be a move that few people can do. All it has to be is a move that a certain wrestler has perfected to the point where he can do it on all wrestlers no matter their shape or size. Another factor for me is something I like to call the "mark out factor." By that I mean it has to be a move that makes me notice it every time I see it. Considering I am a "smart" fan and an adult it is not always easy to impress me although the five moves that I have chosen for you today are definitely worthy of being on this elite list. Without further adieu, here she blows...

5. Crippler Crossface by Chris Benoit
I know Benoit has used the diving headbutt, german suplex, dragon suplex and an array of other moves as finishers but to me this is his finisher. If I was to put this list together six months ago I doubt this move would be on it. However, in the past couple of months the WWF has done a fantastic job of putting this move over. One of WCW's biggest faults when they had Chris Benoit was that they did a poor job of putting over his finisher. The fact that Sid started using the move only proved just how great Benoit was at locking it in. A lot of the finishers in the past involved using the legs and back but the crossface is a more rugged finisher that puts pain on a wrestler's face and arms. The move works tremendously well against all opponents because Benoit knows how to put it on correctly. The fact that he is the most intense wrestler in the business helps the move out as well because the look on his face when he puts it on makes it look that much more brutal. This one edged out Jericho's Liontamer because the Crossface is finally being recognized as a deadly finisher.

4. Frog Splash by Eddy Guerrero
A few of my colleagues mentioned this move although they chose to acknowledge Rob Van Dam and D'Lo Brown instead of Guerrero. I think RVD's frog splash is beautiful because of the height and distance he gets on it. D'Lo Brown also has good distance and velocity when he delivers the move but to me the king of the frog splash is Eddy Guerrero. Because of Brown's presence in the WWF, Guerrero has not been using the frog splash in the WWF so it is no longer his finisher. Being a great worker means you can have several finishers instead of just one. Before Brown and Van Damn, he was the man that popularized the move in the mid '90s while he was making a name for himself in Japan, ECW and later WCW. His frog splash often covered a large part of the ring and much like RVD's splash of today, he had a lot of velocity behind it. Although it is not his finisher at the moment he was the one that made the move so popular today.

3. Flying Elbow by Randy Savage
This is another one of those moves that has had several different people using it for various purposes. The move I am referring to is of course the move that saw Randy Savage climb the top rope and drop the elbow onto his prone opponent in the ring. The moment that sticks out the most in my mind is at WrestleMania IV when he dropped the elbow onto Ted Dibiase to win the vacant WWF title. I remember growing up how my little brother used to call it the "Oooooh Yeah" elbow because whenever Savage was standing on the top rope he would always mouth those words. Once he became a balding 40 year old in WCW he became a sloppy worker that many of you will remember. I try to avoid those days and think back to the mid 80's when he was one of the best workers alive who always could get a reaction from the crowd thanks to the big elbow. Some people may think that Shawn Michaels or Perry Saturn do a better flying elbow than Savage and while that may be true it was Savage who gave me my fondest memories as a younger wrestling fan.

2. Harlem Hangover by Booker T.
When people ask me who my three favourite active wrestlers in the business today are I would say Chris Jericho, Eddy Guerrero and Booker T. (no G.I. Bro references today). They would always ask me "why do you like Booker T. so much?" My answer was simple: The Harlem Hangover. If you are a wrestling fan who did not watch WCW from before '98 then you probably missed seeing him do this move. Due to a number of knee injuries Booker has stopped doing this move and I must say that I miss seeing it. The move is difficult for any wrestler which is what made Booker T's version of the move that much more impressive. His opponent would be on his back in the center of the ring as BT would climb the turnbuckle. He would come off the top rope doing a 360 degree flip into a leg drop coming across his opponent's chest. It's a bitch to take because of all the pain you feel in your legs, your tailbone and I doubt it is a pleasant feeling for the guy taking the move. Others say the Shooting Star Press or the 450 Splash are impressive (they are) but to me the Harlem Hangover was the best finisher in WCW because it was performed by a 270 pound man instead of the 200 pound guys that were doing the other moves. If you appreciate the athleticism of big men take a close look at a tape of this move because you won't see anything prettier from a man of his size.

1. Stone Cold Stunner by Steve Austin
There are a lot of things about Steve Austin that make him great. His workrate, his pyschology, his charisma, his mic work and of course, his finisher. It's a move that anybody can do and a move that anybody can take. Yes it is simple but it is effective too. There is no doubt in my mind that if Steve Austin used some boring move like a Camel Clutch as his finisher than he would not be as famous as he is today. While he was hurt in the fall of '97 he still was able to do the Stunner and it elevated him even more. The reason he became the most popular wrestler ever is not because of what he said, it's because of what he did. Just listen to the pop he got when he beat HBK for the title at WM14. Yeah, we all knew he was going to win the title but I guarantee that most of you still marked out for it because it's a move that can be used on anybody anywhere at any time. As much as I enjoy seeing aerial moves off the top rope nothing compares to the two finger salute, the kick to the stomach and the Stunner that signals the end for an opponent. The most definitive finisher in wrestling history is the Stone Cold Stunner and that's the bottom line because...well you know the rest.

Notable finishers that failed to make the list: The Liontamer by Chris Jericho, Sweet Chin Music by Shawn Michaels, The 450 by Juventud Guerrera, The Cradle Piledriver by Jerry Lynn and the other high flying move of the 80's The Superfly Splash by Jimmy Snuka.

Three of the five moves are ones that are performed off the top rope. I left off the Diamond Cutter because I feel it is very similar to the Stunner and felt that it would be wrong if I were to repeat a move.