Results of WWE matches may be predetermined but there’s little doubt that the toll taken on the bodies professional wrestling stars is heavy.

For generations and long before the industry became one of the most popular and commercially successful in the world, wrestling has been renowned for its soap opera.

Maven wrestled for a number of years in WWE and feuded with The UndertakerWWE

Over the decades, it has remained a tale of the good guys against the villains. But the demands placed on the physiques of those involved in the drama has increased exponentially.

With fans eager to see high-flying, intense physical action mixed in with the storylines played out on shows like Raw and SmackDown, the men and women of WWE, AEW and beyond are tasked with working as safely as possible.

As a result, years of training goes into perfecting the art of how to dish out and take the trademark finishing moves that have become famous over the years, from the iconic Tombstone of The Undertaker to Triple H’s Pedigree.

Some moves, it seems, are easier to work with than others, at least according to former WWE Hardcore Champion, Maven, who broke down a series of high-profile finishers for a video on his popular YouTube channel.

Ranking the likes of Shawn Michaels‘ Superkick and Edge’s Spear, on his own unique scale, he placed 16 moves at varying degrees of discomfort, from ‘Barely feel it’ – those which hardly register on the pain threshold of the recipient when done safely, to ‘I hate this job,’ for finishing moves that very much leave their mark.

Kane, Chris Jericho and Randy Orton all had their iconic moves analysed and rated, and two in particular may raise eyebrows with the positioning; one being the emphatic Batista Bomb, the final offence used in matches by WWE star turned Hollywood sensation Dave Bautista, who wrestled as Batista.

“The Batista Bomb was perfect for Dave [because] it truly showed his aggression,” explained Maven, who won the first series of WWE reality series Tough Enough. “It was one of those moves and, as a power wrestler, Dave came in with one of the best physiques in the business.

“When you have a physique that looks so devastating, you want a move that looks equally as devastating. The Batista Bomb did just that.”

Maven went on to detail one night he took the Batista Bomb that he’ll never forget – the instance earning it a place at the highest end of his scale alongside the Frog Splash used most commonly in WWE by Rey Mysterio.

The powerhouse was, Maven claims, ‘amped up’ performing in front of then-rookie NBA star LeBron James. He continued: “One night, I believe it was on Raw, I was wrestling Dave [and] we had a special guest in the audience, LeBron James, in his first year in the League, was ringside.

Bautista’s Batista Bomb once left Maven in a fair amount of discomfortWWE

Batista was a big name in WWE prior to his fame as a star in Marvel movesWWE

“Dave and I actually worked close to him, and that was the end of the fun night for me in that match! The Batista Bomb, that night – I’m assuming Dave was amped up, but when he delivered me to the mat, it was definitely one of those moves I felt!

“In general, this was a move I took many times from him, and he always delivered me safely, but, again, when you’re dealing with gravity and the force from an extremely strong guy, I’ve had funner nights, let’s just put it that way! [sic].

At the very bottom end of the scale, there was a surprise inclusion for perhaps one of the most famous and recognised finishers ever – Stone Cold Steve Austin’s favourite, the Stone Cold Stunner.

Stunners were flying everywhere in the Attitude Era, and some were better at taking them than others. Nonetheless, Maven was adamant that, incredibly, when done right, the Stunner barely registers.

He added: “If the RKO [of Randy Orton] is, in my opinion, the most famous finisher of all time, could make a strong argument, or I could listen to a debate about this one – we’re talking about Steve Austin’s Stone Cold Stunner.

“Simon Dean and I both took one in LA at Monday Night Raw, the night after a WrestleMania.

“It’s one of the only moves that I can think of that people get more enjoyment watching how someone sells it than watching Steve do it.

A young LeBron James was at ringside to watch poor Maven take a pastingWWE

Stone Cold Steve Austin and his Stunner were icons of the Attitude EraWWE

Maven ranked some major moves in a surprising order on his channelYouTube/MavenHuffman

“Some people would take it great, like The Rock like Scott Hall; then Vince McMahon… and everybody else is probably in between!”

Placing the Stunner in its lowly berth on the pain scales alongside Orton’s RKO, Jeff Hardy’s Swanton Bomb and the leg drop, popularised before his time by Hulk Hogan, he concluded: “How is it to take? Well, I’m happy to announce the Stone Cold Stunner goes in the ‘barely feel it’ category.”

Now 47 years old, Maven wrestled for WWE between 2001 and 2005 and has recently returned to prominence with his YouTube channel which goes about sharing the secrets of the wrestling world in a gentle manner.