| 1 | Randy Savage — Flying Elbow Drop Most Dangerous Move of the Golden Era Randy Savage's Flying Elbow Drop — launched from the top rope to a prone opponent — was one of the most visually spectacular and crowd-popping finishing moves of the Golden Era. Savage used it four times at WM4. | Flying Elbow Drop | Top Rope Elbow Drop | Randy Savage | 4 |
| 2 | Ted DiBiase — Million Dollar Dream The Sleeper Hold of the Wealthy Ted DiBiase's Million Dollar Dream (a rear naked choke / sleeper hold variant) was his primary finishing submission — perfectly fitting his evil millionaire character who could afford to squeeze opponents into unconsciousness. | Million Dollar Dream (rear naked choke) | Submission — Sleeper Hold Variant | Ted DiBiase | — |
| 3 | Demolition — Decapitation (Flying Elbow to held opponent) Demolition's Tag Team Finisher Demolition's finishing tag move (the Decapitation) saw Smash hold an opponent over his knee while Ax climbed the top rope and delivered a flying elbow to the prone opponent's throat — devastating and perfectly suited to their brutal characters. | Decapitation (Flying Elbow to opponent held over knee) | Tag Team Combination Finisher | Demolition (Ax & Smash) | — |
| 4 | Hulk Hogan — Atomic Leg Drop The Most Famous Finisher of the Golden Era Hulk Hogan's Atomic Leg Drop remained the most famous finishing move in wrestling at WM4 — though not used in the tournament double DQ, its symbolic presence was felt throughout the evening. | Atomic Leg Drop | Leg Drop | Hulk Hogan | — |
| 5 | Jake Roberts — DDT The Most Feared Move in Wrestling in 1988 Jake Roberts' DDT was considered the most dangerous and effective finishing move in professional wrestling in 1988 — Roberts used it to dramatic effect throughout his career, though his WM4 match went to a time limit draw. | DDT (front facelock drop) | — | Jake Roberts | — |
| 6 | Rick Rude — Rude Awakening (Neckbreaker) Ravishing Rick's Finishing Move Rick Rude's Rude Awakening (a swinging neckbreaker) was his primary finishing move — his WM4 match with Jake Roberts went to a 15-minute draw without a definitive finish. | Rude Awakening (swinging neckbreaker) | Neckbreaker | Rick Rude | — |
| 7 | Greg Valentine — Figure Four Leg Lock The Hammer's Submission Finish Greg Valentine's Figure Four Leg Lock was his iconic submission finisher — used throughout his WWF career and applied in his two WM4 tournament matches. | Figure Four Leg Lock | Submission | Greg Valentine | — |
| 8 | Brutus Beefcake — Sleeper Hold The Barber's Sleeperhold Brutus Beefcake's sleeper hold was his primary finishing move — he applied it to Honky Tonk Man post-match at WM4, putting Honky to sleep before cutting his hair. | Sleeper Hold | Submission | Brutus Beefcake | — |
| 9 | One Man Gang — 747 Splash (Corner Splash) Gang's Crushing Corner Finish One Man Gang's 747 Splash — a running corner splash that crushed opponents against the turnbuckle — was his primary finishing move in the WM4 tournament before being DQ'd against Savage. | 747 Splash (corner splash) | Running Corner Splash | One Man Gang | — |
| 10 | Ricky Steamboat — Crossbody Block The Dragon's Aerial Finish Ricky Steamboat's jumping crossbody block was his aerial finishing move — the same move he used throughout his legendary IC title reign at WM3, used at WM4 before losing to Greg Valentine in the tournament first round. | Jumping Crossbody Block | Aerial Crossbody | Ricky Steamboat | — |