The WWE 2K series has been the pinnacle of customization for a wrestling game for quite some time now. Whether it is fans creating wrestlers that were never going to be a part of the WWE series otherwise or making the perfect entrance for a custom superstar, these games have endless creation options available at your fingertips. One thing that goes more in-depth seemingly every year is the custom move sets fans can create.
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WWE 2K23 introduced a lot of new moves like the Cody Cutter and even reintroduced some like the Steiner Recliner. Any creators and fans who want to make their WWE 2K save more reminiscent of AEW programming will be right at home with the many options for finishers that are currently used by AEW stars. Here are the best AEW finishers you can find in WWE 2K23.
UPDATE: 2023/10/03 07:30 EST BY ETHAN SCHLABAUGH
With AEW hiring more and more talent as the years go on, the more likely it is to see a finisher or two of those wrestlers pop up in the rival competition's video games. Besides something like Fire Pro Wrestling World, WWE 2K23 is the most customizable wrestling title on the market with thousands of moves that have been utilized or are being used by dozens of other wrestlers. Plus with some of AEW's roster being made up of wrestlers that once were employed by WWE and maybe even made an appearance in the 2K series, the company tends to keep their moves in the creation suite for fans to use. So let's take a look at some extra finishers that are featured on AEW television and WWE 2K23.
18 Dudebuster/Deadeye - Adam Page
Like many finishers in the WWE games, they won't be directly named after the finisher of an AEW star. A prime example of this is the Deadeye used by "Hangman" Adam Page, which is called the Dudebuster in the game. While he doesn't use the move as his primary finisher nowadays, he does bust it out every once in a while.
With some updates that have come out, 2K gave players the option for a springboard finisher, so in turn another Hangman finisher can be utilized.
17 PTO/Scorpion Crosslock - Saraya
Saraya started to bring her former finisher in WWE back into her repertoire with her match against Skye Blue on Dynamite in February 2023. The move is a complicated-looking finisher that bends the opponent at their legs and arms, while in WWE it was called the Paige Tap Out. It begins as a Sharpshooter but then ends up looking even more inescapable.
Since departing WWE and joining AEW, 2K has decided to keep the move inside the game but now erasing her name from the move and just shortening it down to PTO.
16 Go To Sleep - CM Punk
CM Punk would make his long-awaited return to professional wrestling when he joined AEW for their debut episode of Rampage in Chicago. Since then Punk has had some highs and lows with AEW before he was fired by Tony Khan for his backstage fight with "Jungle Boy" Jack Perry.
Much due to his time in WWE and multiple appearances in the franchise, CM Punk's Go To Sleep finisher is still included in the 2K series. Plus for a short stint, the move was given to Hideo Itami, KENTA, during his time in the 2K series. Punk is no longer with AEW but he currently doesn't seem to be a part of any WWE video game so this is fans' best bet to have an accurate CM Punk moveset in WWE 2K23.
15 Jaded - Jade Cargill
Jade Cargill would make an outstanding first TBS Championship reign when he became the inaugural champion and held the title for 508 days. Cargill would lose the belt to Kris Statlander at Double or Nothing in 2023 after already performing a match against Taya Valkyrie.
Cargill's impressive finisher is another that has been in countless WWE titles as the move was used by Beth Phoenix during her career and was known as the Glam Slam.
14 Blade Runner - Jay White
Former Bullet Club leader Jay White was in the midst of a free agent run when both AEW and WWE were trying to convince the Switchblade to join their promotion. Eventually, AEW would get White's attention and the star would start appearing on AEW television alongside his old partner Juice Robinson.
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Jay White uses a swinging reverse STO that has been a staple move in WWE games for years. Variations also include Bray Wyatt's Sister Abigail move where he plants a kiss on the opponent's head before the impact.
13 Spinning Back Elbow/Judas Effect - Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho is adept at switching up his character when the time calls for it, which tends to keep him relevant for longer than most of his peers. Moving from WWE to AEW, Jericho decided to switch up his finishers and tends to not use his old Codebreaker finisher as often to end a match.
Jericho would introduce a spinning back elbow maneuver he has since called the Judas Effect. Jericho uses it greatly as a quick move he can seemingly bust out of nowhere.
12 The Stomp/Curb Stomp - Britt Baker
The stomp has been a finisher in WWE video games for quite some time now as it switches back and forth from being a finisher that Seth Rollins tends to use. Britt Baker utilizes the move to get a handful of wins when not using her Lockjaw finish. There are plenty of arm-trapped cross faces in the game, none stick the players' hand in the opponent's mouth.
Luckily for fans of the D.M.D. there are two stomp options in the game with one facing a downed opponent and the other facing a standing wrestler and kicking them in the gut to get in position for Baker's finisher.
11 Spinning Back Fist/Uraken - Eddie Kingston
Eddie Kingston would have a huge pop-worthy moment during his fight with CM Punk at Full Gear when he started the match by hitting his finisher, the Uraken. A move he has adapted for quite some time used by legends like Aja Kong. Kingston is a massive fan of old-school Japanese wrestling and emulates that style when he can.
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Much like Jericho's Judas Effect, Kingston can hit the Uraken seemingly out of nowhere to really catch an opponent off guard for a quick finish.
10 Fireman's Carry Powerbomb 2/Big Bang Catastrophe - Keith Lee
Keith Lee arrived in AEW after being released from his WWE contract in February 2022. Lee immediately started putting in work with matches against names like Isiah Kassidy and the "Face of the Revolution" ladder match.
A man of many moves, Keith utilizes powerful-looking slams as his finisher such as the Big Bang Catastrophe which is a Fireman's Carry turned into a sort of Powerbomb. The move is currently in the WWE 2K23 moveset list under the aptly named Fireman's Carry Powerbomb 2.
9 Double Underhook DDT/Paradigm Shift - Jon Moxley
One of AEW's biggest names luckily already had their finisher in the WWE flagship video game series. Jon Moxley uses a variation of the double underhook DDT for his Paradigm Shift finisher in AEW and used to do it during his time in WWE as well, called Dirty Deeds back then.
Moxley is fond of switching up his finishers by either expanding on old ones and creating something like the Death Rider move, or entirely new ones like his Bulldog Choke submission.
8 Last Shot - Adam Cole
Adam Cole would keep his same finisher after leaving WWE and joining All Elite Wrestling. Cole utilizes a running knee to the back of his opponent's head which he calls the Last Shot. The AEW faithful tend to pop loud for the move whenever it is hit.
In 2K23 fans have a few options as there are three variations of the Last Shot. The first is Cole's signature to the back of the head, another facing the opponent, and the third doesn't involve the opponent being downed but instead, a running, standing finisher to the face.
7 Spin Kick/Black Mass - Malakai Black
Another WWE-turned-AEW-star, Malakai Black would get his finisher over quickly with the AEW crowd by debuting against Cody Rhodes and hitting Arn Anderson with a devastating kick to the head. Black, much like others, can utilize the move seemingly out of nowhere to hype up the crowd.
WWE 2K23 keeps his finisher from his time in the game, plus the second variation with Black lifting the opponent up from the ground with his foot before spinning around with the kick.
6 Spike Tombstone Piledriver/Meltzer Driver - The Young Bucks
A move that The Young Bucks created during their time in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla and New Japan Pro Wrestling, The Meltzer Driver is a piledriver assisted by their partner jumping and pushing the opponent's feet downward. The move was named after Wrestling Observer Newsletter creator, Dave Meltzer.
The move has been in multiple WWE games since around the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 era of titles. It uses the name Spike Tombstone Piledriver and can be found in the tag team finisher portion of a wrestler's moveset.
5 Buckshot Lariat - Adam Page
As mentioned earlier 2K would finally give players the ability to set a finisher as a springboard maneuver, giving names like Cody Rhodes his Cody Cutter or Adam Page the Buckshot Lariat. Adam Page uses this as a second and stronger finisher compared to his Deadeye move.
The lariat was added alongside other moves and some fixes to the game with the 1.08 update. Finally, fans can have a complete Hangman Adam Page in WWE 2K23.
4 Pac - Black Arrow/Corkscrew Shooting Star Press
2K left Pac's finisher in the series from his time in the games. For any fan wanting to make a complete Pac, pretty much all of his moveset is still in there with different names. The Black Arrow has been renamed to the Corkscrew Shooting Star Press.
His other finisher The Brutalizer is included as well due to Pac debuting the move while he was still employed in the WWE wrestling as a part of the Cruiserweight division.
3 Falcon Arrow - Hikaru Shida
Former AEW Women's Champion utilizes a famous Japanese pro-wrestling maneuver as one of her finishers, the Falcon Arrow. Shida's technique with the move rivals others like Hayabusa and Seth Rollins as one of the greatest performers to do the maneuver.
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Hikaru Shida also uses a couple of other finishers like The Katana and Tamashii, both involving a stiff knee to her opponent's face.
2 Eclipse/O-Face - Athena
Athena has easily one of the hardest finishers to perform in modern-day wrestling. An impressive cutter jumping from the top rope. Athena has admitted that she used to hit the move from the middle rope which made the move even harder as she had less room to rotate for the jump.
Again 2K recycled the move as Athena wrestled under WWE as Ember Moon. Athena's finisher seems like something that a fan would create in the old create-a-finisher mode in the SmackDown vs. Raw series.
1 Electric Chair Driver/One Winged Angel - Kenny Omega
One of professional wrestling's most protected moves comes from Kenny Omega with the One Winged Angel. Still to this day, the only person to ever kick out of the finisher is his former Golden Lovers partner Kota Ibushi.
The move has been in countless WWE video games since Omega debuted the move, with 2K even starting to introduce a second variation with the player picking up the opponent by using the corner turnbuckles to help lift.
