Batista is a legend of the wrestling ring and a certain WWE Hall of Famer, having turned down an induction in 2020 due to scheduling conflicts. He has won multiple World Champions in his career, usually with one of his three unique and recognisable finishing moves.
He is one of the few wrestlers who won multiple Royal Rumbles and has a number of Wrestlemania main events under his belt. He is also a huge part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as the former WWE Champion plays Drax the Destroyer in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies.
Here is our ranking of every one of Batista’s finishers and why they are considered good, great or one that isn’t really a finisher (but kind of is).
Batista’s Finishing Moves
3) Spinebuster
Whilst not general considered a finisher in the WWE, on occasions Batista has used the move to win matches. This has been on occasions where he has faced much larger opponents. He used the Spinebuster to win against the likes of Big Daddy V and The Great Khali, stars who lacked the strength and ability to work with him to hit his Batista Bomb finisher.
He used the Spinebuster to pin The Great Khali at Unforgiven 2007, retaining his World Heavyweight Championship in the process. In our mind, this gives it the chance of being called one of Batista’s finishers, although it is generally known as a signature move of the Animal.
His spear is also in this category, but as far as I’m aware did not win any high-profile matches like the Spinebuster did. Therefore it is not included on this list.
2) Batista Bite
A short lived submission finisher for Batista, the Batista Bite was not a popular move in general. He was known as a power wrestler over his career, with Powerbombs, Powerslams and spinebusters the bulk of Batista’s impressive arsenal. The submission move was added during his feud with John Cena in 2010 as the pair moved towards an I Quit match at Over the Limit 2010.
The move was a variation of the “Rings of Saturn” move, now used by PAC in AEW, where it is known as the Brutalizer. It was popularized by Perry Saturn in WCW and the WWF, although since his retirement it has been used by many former WWE superstars.
The move itself looks great and forced a number of WWE superstars to tap out over it’s short usage. Upon his return to WWE in 2014, Batista did not bring back his submission finisher, indicating he was not a big fan of the Batista Bite.
1) Batista Bomb
The Batista Bomb is the most recognisable move in the Animal’s arsenal and his best finisher from his long career. It is a simple move, taking the oft used Powerbomb and adding Batista’s own animalistic flair to the proceedings.
The move usually begins after he hits the Spinebuster to his opponent. He then gets up, shakes the ropes a la Ultimate Warrior, before giving his opponent the “thumbs down” gesture that he famously gave when turning on Triple H and Ric Flair. He launches the opponent into the gap between his legs before lifting them into a powerbomb position, before slamming them to the ground with a sit-down powerbomb move.
The genius of the move is that it’s puts the opponent in prime position to get pinned. This is why he won so many titles with the move, as that extra second he saves by already being in position could be the difference in getting a three count or a two count. This is Batista’s best finisher and one of the things that fans miss about The Animal since his retirement three years ago.