WWE: Four iconic wrestling finishers that don’t hold up in 2019

1. Hulk Hogan’s Atomic Leg Drop

The most iconic wrestler in WWE history and the first true wrestling superstar also has one of the most absurd wrestling finishers in WWE history. Not that it was absurd at the time, but in 2019, the Atomic Leg Drop is a move that is mimicked more on trampolines than it is an effective finisher.

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You could make the case that the running splash is worse than this move in 2019 and I would not argue. However, because of how protected this move was at the time and how devastating it was meant to be, it has to be number one on this list.

You very rarely ever even see the atomic leg drop anymore. Perhaps the best version of it outside of Hogan belonged to The Undertaker, who would perform it on the ring apron. At least then you could buy that the opponent’s next would snap back.

Wrestling was far different back then but it is funny to think how anyone that watched WWE legitimately believed that the running leg drop was debilitating enough to hold someone like Andre the Giant down for three seconds.

At least with an elbow or a forearm, or even a diving headbutt, there is the idea of hard, bone-to-bone contact that hurts an opponent. In this, Hogan is just planting the fattiest part of his body on his opponent’s head.

In theory, it would hurt more than the running splash, and that is fine. However, booking something as simple as a leg drop as the most protected finisher in WWE is something that could never stand in 2019.