The Miz Explains How Dean Malenko Helped Him Come Up With The Skull Crushing Finale

Originality in pro wrestling can be hard to come by, but WWE stars are always looking to innovate when possible. The Miz was recently asked on TikTok how he came up with his Skull Crushing Finale finisher and the "Awesome One" shared an interesting story of how he put the pieces together in 2009.

The Miz explained that his character went through a transition and needed to be "more serious" which involved switching from shorts to tights after his first tag team run with John Morrison ended. "So I went with Dean Malenko and Arn Anderson, and every live event, every television [taping], we would be racking our brains on different finishers," Miz said. He first came up with the knee DDT, then the knee lift into the neckbreaker before trying to combine the two. That didn't work for him either.

"Then one day, Dean was like, 'Why don't you try and do a full nelson and sweep the front of his legs and see if that works,'" Miz recalled. "We did it and everyone seemed to like it. I liked it because I could pretty much do it on everybody, and so that is how the Skull Crushing Finale was created."

The Miz has since used the Skull Crushing Finale to win a number of championships in WWE. On two occasions, Miz successfully cashed in a Money in the Bank contract to win the WWE Championship and was able to pin the likes of Randy Orton and Drew McIntyre by using his signature move. Miz is also an eight-time Intercontinental and Tag Team Champion.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit TikTok with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.