Rushed finish

A rushed finish is a professional wrestling term for the end of a match, which its competitors had to undertake with haste.

Reasons for a rushed finish

A match may have a rushed finish for the following reasons:

A person in the match is injured, and needs the match to finish as soon as possible to protect themselves. They often do this by rolling up their opponent for a pin or sometimes a disqualification.
The match is a timed match, where the viewers can see a clock, and the match must end before a certain time on the clock, in order for storylines to continue.
The match is televised, and it had been going on for too long, so its end had to be shortened.
There was a botch in the match, and the wrestlers have to recover the situation to make it look realistic.

Due to the reasons listed above, there have been many rushed finishes in pro wrestling. These include:

At SummerSlam 1997, the match between Owen Hart and Stone Cold Steve Austin for the Intercontinental Championship was rushed after Owen Hart botched a Hart Driver and broke Steve Austin's neck. Hart realised Austin was hurt so Hart allowed Austin to get a quick roll-up for the victory.

Lita and Matt Hardy versus Trish Stratus and The Big Show from July 2001. Lita had to rush a Litasault on Stratus to win this mixed tag-team match, after a Twist of Fate was botched.

Brock Lesnar versus Kurt Angle had to rush the ending to their match at WrestleMania XIX with a quick F-5 by Lesnar after he botched a Shooting Star Press which later turned out to give him a concussion

William Regal and Eugene versus Tyson Tomko and Christian for the World Tag Team Championship at New Year's Revolution 2005. Eugene became legitimately injured during the match, which meant that he had no choice but to pin Tomko with a schoolboy roll-up, as he and Regal were booked to retain the titles.

Kurt Angle versus Matt Striker on the July 11, 2005 edition of Raw. It was a Kurt Angle Invitational match, meaning that Angle had to defeat Striker in three minutes or he would lose his gold medal. Striker was dominating at the end of the match, but Angle locked in his Ankle Lock with only four seconds of the match remaining, resulting in Striker having to tap out almost immediately.

Trish Stratus versus Mickie James at WrestleMania 22 for Stratus' WWE Women's Championship. Mickie was supposed to win the match with a Stratusfaction, but due to a botch (Stratus legitimately injured her leg, chick kicking the ring post) , James used a quick Mick Kick to become the new WWE Women's Champion.

Trish Stratus dislocated her shoulder when facing Mickie James at Backlash 2006, prompting Mickie James (who also had injured her left elbow) to disqualify herself.

Shelton Benjamin vs. Jeff Hardy from February 2007. Shelton botched a springboard, hurting his head and neck. Hardy quickly did a Twist of Fate and a Swanton Bomb to finish the match.

Trish Stratus versus Lita at New Year's Revolution 2005. Lita tore her left ACL after a botched Lou Thesz Press off the apron on to Trish Stratus. Stratus, in retrospect, "worked" on that specific knee of Lita and quickly ended the match with a Chick Kick.

John Cena versus Mr. Kennedy on the October 2, 2007 edition of Raw. In the first minutes of the match, Cena hit a botched hip toss on Kennedy where Cena tore his right pectoral muscle. The match went on for a few minutes before Cena locked in his STF-U maneuver and Kennedy tapped out within seconds of the move being applied.

Candice Michelle versus Beth Phoenix on the October 22, 2007 edition of Raw. In the second of the three falls championship match, Candice fell to the ring face first from the top rope as Beth Phoenix ran into the ropes. The referee could be heard saying "Pull her out and cover quick". Beth quickly pinned Candice and retained the Women's Championship and Candice Michelle suffered a cracked clavicle.

Triple H versus Randy Orton at One Night Stand 2008. In a Last Man Standing match, Orton attempted to perform an RKO on Triple H, but was thrown out of the ring. He landed awkwardly, breaking his collar bone. Orton could be seen telling the referee that he was injured, and Triple H quickly ended the match by hitting Orton in the head with a sledgehammer.