10 Best Dusty Finishes In Wrestling History 

As someone from Maryland, I assure you the Maryland State Athletic Commision does exist.....and they are they biggest heels at every Maryland indie show

Popped hard at that Bahsickle line.

There was a match between the Usos and Shelton Benjamin and Chad Gable a few years ago where Benjamin and Gable won the tag titles but the decision was reversed because they pinned the wrong Uso. Obviously isn't an all time great Dusty finish in terms of memorability but I've always thought that was a really creative Dusty finish. The fact that they're twins meant the officials had to do a slow-mo replay of when the tag was last made.

we all had a dusty finish from time to time

I’ve unironically wanted to see a wrestling list like this for awhile. Jericho and Dean’s nullified championship wins are low key some of the most memorable moments they ever had in the company. The fact that they actually had the “Dean Ambrose, WWE Champion” graphic on the screen was great.

Surprised 'The American Dream' Dusty Rhodes vs 'Superstar' Billy Graham for the WWE Championship wasn't mentioned here from Madison Square Garden...it's the catalyst for 'The American Nightmare' Cody Rhodes quest to ''finish the story'' and defeat Roman Reigns for the WWE Championship. It was the closest Dusty got being a WWE Champion (or WWWF Champion as the belt/company was known back then).

Oh he's just common man working hard with his hands, he's the American Dream RIP dusty ❤🥺

I have a bad feeling like we may get a dusty finish at WrestleMania. It’s probably not gonna happen but it would be something else.

Lists like this make me realize just how long I've been watching wrestling. Since 1983 I've seen almost every one of these finishes live on TV. I'm a walking anthology

I was there live for the Shawn Michaels vs Triple H match in San Antonio. My hometown. My first ever wrestling show. It was epic as hell. Especially since stone cold came out after and stunned Bischoff

Note on number 8 Ambrose versus Rollin, this was the first major event after dusty passed way and it's largely believed this was done at that time as a tribute to him

OH HE GOTTA BAHTHICKLE

I will never forget that Luger/Flair match. People were pissed but that wasn't the first time they got screwed just looked at the Midnight Express/LOD match. Love Baltimore, a great wrestling city.

You said the Maryland athletic commission no blood thing like it was kayfabe "Totally real and not made up". I'm sure it was a storyline for that match, but it is an actual rule for the Maryland athletic commission. In Maryland, you can not "introduce" blood in a wrestling match. In fact, AEW was investigated in 2019 by the Maryland athletic commission for having blood in the Jon Moxley vs Kenny Omega match at Full Gear.

morgan webster vs travis bank's dusty finish in progress was no doubt the best ive seen, the fact it solidified travis's desperate champion heel turn was golden

Leaving out Dusty's own WWF title win at Madison square garden off this list is criminal. It's literally the storyline for Cody finishing the story

I can say the worst dusty finish is jerry lawler vs michael cole

Other matches with similar endings include Hogan vs Bockwinkel for the AWA title and Dusty vs Superstar Billy Graham for the WWWF Title

The 2000 Triple H-Jericho-Hebner stuff was gold as a kid

Great stuff from an old Houston Wrestling kid 💪

good video

The son of a plumber. The American Dream was a boss. 💪

thanks!

punk v rock at the royal rumble is a good example of a heel suffering from the dusty finish

One that isn’t really talked about is Bobby Lashley vs Vince/Shane/Umaga for the ECW championship. Bobby won the title in a handicap match, but Vince ruled that he kept the title because Bobby pinned Shane and not him.

More tag team ones. One was when the Rockers beat the Hart Foundation for the belts and even defended them at house shows. The change was because Jim Neidhart was supposedly leaving the company but when he got a new contract they made up some BS about the rope being broken so they gave the titles back to the Hart Foundation. 2nd was when the Rougeau's beat the Hart Foundation for the titles in Montreal but the titles were given back because the Rougeau's used Jimmy Hart's megaphone. Andre the Giant and Rick McGraw seemingly won the tag titles over Mr. Fuji & Mr. Saito but the titles were given back because one of the falls was because of a DQ. And the most famous Dusty finished that ended up changing the history of the business, Hulk Hogan beating Nock Bockwinkle for the AWA title, including getting a 3 count, was made void because Hogan had tossed Bockwinke over the top rope then a while later Hogan once again pinned Bockwinkle but it was reversed because Hogan had used a foreign object throw in by Bobby Heenan for Bockwinkle to use.

7 seconds in and i already popped for bahhhthikle

Good choices Adam.

What about Hogan/Bockwinkle at Super Sunday? That match ultimately helped lead to Hogan going to WWF and changed the course of wrestling history.

The Punk-Cena Night of Champions 2012 was incredible

I think HBK's victory in the '95 Rumble should count as a dusty finish. I don't think it had ever been an explicit rule that both feet must touch the floor up until that point. It is the golden rule and a lot has came from it but I think it was a Dusty finish.

Can't forget about the Road Warriors vs Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson at starrcade 87 in Chicago

6:21 The Reign of Terror was one of the darkest times in WWE

Ric Flair vs Dusty Rhodes NWA/JCP/WCW Starrcade 1984 and 1985

I never knew this particular wrestling trope was called a Dusty finish, nor that it was innovated by the American Dream. The more you know!

Quite the legacy on top of everything else for Dusty

I'd almost forgotten about Dr. Death in that bold stonewashed jeans and rattail hairstyle combo.

Considering the Moxley/Omega unsanctioned match, I thought at first that the Maryland State Athletic Council thing was a shoot lmao

The Dusty Finish was used in Florida by Eddie Graham, it was over used by Dusty while he was booker in Florida and Mid Atlantic and that his how it got the Dusty Finish name

I couldn't even concentrate on the video. Where are your glasses Adam? WHERE ARE YOUR GLASSES!?

I still remember watching that HBK vs HHH match live being 13 and getting duped and pissed. Hook line sinker

Jerry Lawler Vs Nick Bockwinkel deserves an honorable mention

a Dusty Finish from outside of wrestling: In 1970, the National Hockey League expanded from 12 to 14 teams, adding the Vancouver Canucks and Buffalo Sabres, and at that year's Amateur Draft league officials needed to determine which of those two teams got to pick 1st overall; this being a full decade before even the NBA started doing a formal draft lottery. Apparently deciding that a coin flip was too simple, they dug a large wheel with wedges numbered 1-13 out of the storage of Montreal's Queen Elizabeth Hotel, decided landing on a 7 would be a respin to make the wheel actually even, and then let the teams pick what half of the wheel they got. Buffalo won the right to pick so they took 8-13, Vancouver was left with 1-6, and so they spun. (How did Buffalo win the right to choose? Easy, they flipped a coin.) NHL President Clarence Campbell then announced that the winning number was 1 for the Canucks, but Sabres GM Punch Imlach noticed something, stood up and protested: the winning number was actually _eleven,_ but the digits were displayed vertically, as in 1 1 and Campbell had misread it. And so the decision was reversed and the #1 pick went to Buffalo, who selected future hall-of-famer Gilbert Perreault, while Vancouver had to settle for taking future 2-time All Star & general manager Dale Tallon 2nd overall.

pretty good guy all around

I lost my damn mind at number 2.

Imagine if at WrestleMania 40: -Roman through Bloodline interference pins Cody again -The crowd is ready to riot when both Adam Pearce and Nick Aldis come down -They both specifically requested no Bloodline interference -"Due to this, the correct winner if the match...AND NEW WWE chamipion, Cody Rhodes" -Cody wins the belt using his father's finish

dusty didn’t create nor was the 1st use the dusty finish, but he popularized it enough that it became known after him

Honestly, I'd love for Sting's final match at Revolution to have this finish so he and Darby retain the titles. Then, the Bucks use their EVP clout to force a rematch. Oops, Sting is retired so it's 2-on-1, and Darby goes through hell before losing. Since Sting actually worked under Dusty in the dying Crockett days, it'd be fitting.

I'm sorry, but the Bull rope match between Eddie vs JBL should have been on this list.

Dusty didn't invent the Dusty Finish. He just used it so often it got tagged with his name

,,That would've made people happy so they decided against it. " wwe since the Tribal Guy Story always

I thought this was a video of Dusty Rhodes ten best finishes.

The was a pre Hulkamania match where in AWA Hulk Hogan appeared to beat Nick Bockwinkel for the AWA title but was reversed for Hogan throwing him over the top rope A main reason he jumped ship to WWF was Verne Gagne not wanting to put the belt on him even though he was so over 🤔

"He's got a BAHTHICKLE!!!!"😂 nice reference😂 Here's to hoping that Cody doesn't win at WM with a dusty finish

Wait... THATS WHY ITS CALLED THAT? I just thought it meant "dusty" like "dirty".

Rip Dusty 😢

Benoit vs Rock for the WWF title was not included but I understand why 😅

Ambrose vs. Rollins for the WWE Championship was a fantastic story between both former Shield brethren. When that first referee reversed the decision, I was p*ssed off and wished Ambrose won it by the end of the feud. 😮‍💨

I can’t be the only one who didn’t know the “dusty finish” was named after Dusty Rhodes.

that shawn michaels vs triple h match on raw from December 29th 2003 was awesome austin stunning bischoff never gets old that episode of raw was great especially the santas little helpers divas tag match with stacy keibler Lita and Trish Stratus vs Victoria Molly holly and miss Jackie best part of that match was victoria turning babyface at the end of the match by attacking molly holly with the women's title man wwe's women's division on raw during that time was stacked.

2:57 What in the world are you talking about? This wasn't used to get the Ten Pounds of Gold off Flair. That belt wasn't being used and the NWA title had been the Big Gold Belt since 1986. And it didn't get the Belt off Flair in any sense. He held on to the Big Gold Belt bc it represented both the NWA and WCW world championship and since he didn't lose the WCW title he kept the belt.Then a couple of months later at the first SuperBrawl he beat Fujinami to retain the WCW title and regain the NWA title. That's why when he got fired by Jim Herd in July he still had the Big Gold Belt. The NWA title wasn't used seperate from the WCW until 1992 when Masahiro Chono won it in the G1 tournament. 8:05 You don't know your kayfabe match rules. Lumberjack matches aren't no DQ so Owen never won the title. Lumberjack rules means lumberjacks are outside to throw wrestlers back into the ring if they leave, not anything goes. That's why lumberjacks always sneak in the ring to interfere in every Lumberjack match. Why would they always do that if it's legal?

Are you sure the title match at the first New Japan super show didn’t involve Luger defending the solo WCW belt against Chono?

If they do this to cody if he wins this time, people will hate him and riot haha

The Dusty Finish could easily also be named The RobJob.

Today I learned why it's called a Dusty finish. For the longest time I thought it was dusty finish

I'm surprised Eddie vs JBL didn't make it

with this being released now i know cody is about to have a dusty finish

Dusty finish at Mania 40. Leads to Rock thinking Reigns OWES him. Summerslam rock vs reigns. Rock wins the strap. Roman falls in line and the bloodline is stronger than ever. Survivor Series WWE vs. Bloodline. Reigns shows signs of baby face turn from summerslam to the royal rumble where he wins (and finally gets cheered for his effort). Rock vs Roman 2 at Mania. Cody wins Elimination Chamber to set up Triple Threat. Cody beats BOTH The Rock and Roman for an even bigger moment than if he beat just Roman.

The NWA would later recognize Tatsumi Fujinami as champion.

RIP dusty rhodes u are missed

I swear to God if Starcade 97 is on this list....

So by this reckoning The Hart Foundation shouldn't have won the Tag Team titles at Summerslam 1990 since one of their falls was by DQ , Inoki and Owen should've been WWF champions , Bob Holly and Savio Vega should've been Intercontinental champions .

I'm going to go out on a limb and throw in the match between the Harts and the Rockers where the Rockers actually beat them for the titles. It wasn't televised, so the results don't count and the Harts kept the belts. Not exactly 100% a Dusty finish, but maybe it's close?

Guess what cody goin to do at wm 40

At least Dusty won the title at The Great American Bash 1986.

I still think his best match was against Luger for the United States title

First!! I hope everyone is having a great day

'mericindrim Dustay Rhodes, is the best of the best of the best, ifyawill.

Never understood the rationale of a double pin when someone on top of their opponent also has their shoulders down. Like, definitively, someone is being pinned in that situation. The fact the other guy also has his shoulders on the mat is mostly moot. He's not being pinned.

Logan Paul versus Kevin Owens at Royal Rumble 2024, does this count as a Dusty finish? Everyone thought ko won for about 2 seconds till the ref pointed out the knuckles

So, the Hard Times promo helped lead up to the Dusty Finish? How about that ...

Poor Lex Luger. That might be worse than beating Yokozuna by countout.

This will happen to wrestlemania 40

Only WrestleMania will show the reverse Dusty Finish.

Are we thinking Cody wins at Mania this year (MW 40) to then have a dusty finish? 🤔

Not one person gonna “um actually” This?! Dusty didn’t invent the dusty finish

God bless you all 🤎

And don't forget Hulk Hogan VS Nick Bockwinkel 1983 several times it would look like he won the awa world title only to have it reversed

Hulk Hogan Vs Nick Bockwinkle AWA 1983

Hogan s vs Bockwinkle launched the WWF

"First of all, I would to thank the many, many fans throughout this country that wrote cards and letters to Dusty Rhodes, The American Dream, while I was down. Secondly, I want to thank Jim Crockett promotions for waitin’ and takin’ the time ‘cause I know how important it was, Starrcade ‘85 it is to the wrestling fans, it is to Jim Crockett promotions, and Dusty Rhodes The American Dream. With that wait, I got what I wanted, Ric Flair the World’s Heavyweight Champion. I don’t have to say a whole lot more about the way I feel about Ric Flair; no respect, no honor. There is no honor amongst thieves in the first place. He put hard times on Dusty Rhodes and his family. You don’t know what hard times are daddy. Hard times are when the textile workers around this country are out of work, they got 4 or 5 kids and can’t pay their wages, can’t buy their food. Hard times are when the auto workers are out of work and they tell ‘em go home. And hard times are when a man has worked at a job for thirty years, thirty years, and they give him a watch, kick him in the butt and say “hey a computer took your place, daddy”, that’s hard times! That’s hard times! And Ric Flair you put hard times on this country by takin’ Dusty Rhodes out, that’s hard times. And we all had hard times together, and I admit, I don’t look like the athlete of the day supposed to look. My belly’s just a lil’ big, my heiny’s a lil’ big, but brother, I am bad. And they know I’m bad. There were two bad people… One was John Wayne and he’s dead brother, and the other’s right here. Nature Boy Ric Flair, the World’s Heavyweight title belongs to these people. I’mma reach out right now, I want you at home to know my hand is touchin’ your hand for the gathering of the biggest body of people in this country, in this universe, all over the world now, reachin’ out because the love that was given me and this time I will repay you now. Because I will be the next World’s Heavyweight Champion on this hard time blues. Dusty Rhodes tour, ‘85. And Ric Flair, Nature Boy… Let me leave you with this. One way to hurt Ric Flair, is to take what he cherishes more than anything in the world and that’s the World’s Heavyweight title. I’m gon’ take it, I been there twice. This time when I take it daddy, I’m gon’ take it for you. Let’s gather for it. Don’t let me down now, ‘cause I came back for you, for that man upstairs that died 10-12 years ago and never got the opportunity to see a real World’s Champion. And I’m proud of you, thank god I have you, and I love you. I love you!" --- *Dusty Rhodes*

Oh God…they’re gonna do this to Cody, aren’t they?

Luger barely got any juice at all in that match. Apparently he'd never bladed before and was a little hesitant about it. Still, any blood is too much for the athletic commission.

Yea like when kane won the heavyweight belt (first blood match) only to drop to austin the next night. Also when austin lost the title to mankind in a 3 way (summerslam 1999) with hhh only to have mankind drop it to hhh the next night. I really hate when they do these kinda stuff very annoying makes the win pointless. Its like lets make the fans happy on this ppv only to lose it on a house show the next day.

Dusty Pacitti isn’t real. It can’t hurt me.

I don't think Hebner's count in the Jericho - HHH match was even that fast.

Eddie guerrero vs jbl great american bash? Not in the list 😅

And this is what he need to see in this year's WrestleMania Main Event.

Oh, I _hope_ WWE aren't going to Dusty Finish Cody on night 2 of Wrestlemania.

I still think the Moxley is a bit BS because since when do refs call a DQ after the fact? You can't do it once and then never again, either it's the rule or it isn't. And what makes it worse is that it happened _after another ref took over._ What authority does the original ref to nullify the call of the man who is now officiating, presumably with the company's blessing? Why even bother with the replacement? Surely the bell ringer should be allowed to call the DQ if the ref is being assaulted, otherwise why don't heels just always knock out the ref, beat up the other guy in a coma with a steel chair, and wait for the replacement to count the fall? Oh right, because then the original ref can just return _after_ the match to cancel the call and compeltely undemrine their colleague's authority.