5 Wrestling moves banned by WWE (original) (raw)

WWE Superstars are trained performers, who go through years of experience in the ring, before putting their body at risk. When they enter the ring, they completely depend on and trust their opponent as well. When two opponents trust each other completely, the chemistry they have inside the ring becomes undeniable and their performances reach another level.

However, no matter how much trust opponents may have, or how much training they undergo, it only takes a second for everything to go wrong. There are some moves that are just too dangerous to perform inside the ring.

In this article, we will take a look at 5 wrestling moves which are banned by the WWE for being deemed too dangerous.

The Piledriver

The Piledriver is perhaps one of the most dangerous moves in professional wrestling. It’s not due to the fact that the move is difficult to execute (which it is); it’s because of how common it was in the past. Many wrestlers regularly used the move in their matches. Nowadays, the traditional form of the Piledriver is banned, and almost impossible to see in the Independent Scene. The reason it was banned is, many wrestlers were injured seriously with broken necks due to the move. This infamously includes Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Hangman’s Chokehold

One of the less dangerous moves on this list, the move was banned for a completely different reason. The Hangman’s Chokehold is where the wrestler lifts their opponent up into the air by holding them around the neck. While it may appear to be otherwise, the wrestler is fine as the hold on the hand of the person lifting them and remain safe. A similar move was done by Trish Stratus in the corner as well. The move was banned by WWE following the murder/suicide of Chris Benoit, to stop reminding the fans about the death. Benoit had hanged himself following the murders, and as a result, any choking moves are banned for being in poor taste.

The Punt

Randy Orton’s villainous avatar in the late 2000s was a very dangerous character. He was unstable and prone to attack anyone, including his bosses. Also, he had in his move-set the dangerous Punt Kick. The kick is basically where you run up to your fallen opponent and kick them in the side of the head. The move was one which Orton used a lot, but he ended up hurting people with it, including Vince McMahon. Also, the move was considered to be too easy for the kids to imitate and possibly hurt themselves, resulting in WWE banning it.

The Vertebreaker

The move by its definition is an extremely unsafe one. The WWE wrestler lifts their opponent into a backdrop before hitting them with a reverse piledriver. The move was invented by Gregory ‘Hurricane’ Helms. He never injured anyone with the move, but other wrestlers outside the promotion did. WWE banned the move as it was considered too unsafe to use in the ring.

Burning Hammer

The Burning Hammer may be one of the most dangerous moves ever introduced to professional wrestling. The originator of the move, Kenta Kobashi, only used it seven times in his career. It is a Reverse Death Valley Driver, where the opponent is face up in the position of a Death Valley Driver, and driven face and shoulder first into the mat. While the move was dangerous by itself, it was banned for a separate reason in WWE, as it was too close to John Cena’s Attitude Adjustment.