8 banned moves we would love to see back in WWE
When watching professional wrestling, many usually forget to consider the word ‘professional’, and the men and women who put their bodies on the line, for our entertainment are just that. The performers have perfected their craft and are thus able to make the difficult look easy and the rough look smooth.
However, the risks are real, and while pro-wrestling isn’t exactly pure combat, the truth is, there are only so many different ways a human being can be dropped on his or her head without getting injured. Wrestling isn’t ‘real’ per se, but the potential for serious injury most certainly is.
WWE has taken steps to protect its independent contractors, by restricting or outright banning the use of certain moves.
As fans, the dangers are often forgotten, and while we do not wish to see anyone dropped on their neck any time soon, there are a whole raft of manoeuvres, which have been banned, that we’d love to see used in WWE from time to time. Here are eight such banned moves that we’d love to see back.
#8 Burning Hammer
If you’d said that, in 2016, the WWE Universe would see The Brian Kendrick deliver a Burning Hammer to Kota Ibushi in the Cruiserweight tournament that would eventually be won by T.J. Perkins, chances are, you’d have been laughed out of whatever building you found yourself in.
Kendrick wouldn’t have been on anyone’s list of potential Burning Hammer users, but use it he did. It is absolutely criminal that it wasn’t the finish. For those who are unaware, the Burning Hammer is essentially an inverted Death Valley Driver (Attitude Adjustment), where the poor victim taking the move lands directly on their head, as opposed to flat on their back.
The move was one of many innovated by the legendary Kenta Kobashi and was so well protected in Japan, that Kobashi only used the move on seven occasions. Each time, he was victorious.
There should be no-one clamouring for the Burning Hammer to return as a full-time finisher in WWE, but as a WrestleMania-worthy super finisher, it may well be perfect. To put the cat amongst the pigeons, this is exactly how the eventual Roman Reigns/John Cena match should end.