5 finishing moves that would be banned in the WWE and the wrestlers who use them
Any wrestling fan understands that the WWE tries to present a tamer representation of professional wrestling, both story wise and in-ring. Many performers who join the company are usually tweaked, for better or worse, to better fit the WWE style.
Working in a PG environment, wrestlers must adhere to the guidelines given to them by the WWE, even if it means crippling their move set. Recently, we've seen Hideo Itami, the inventor of the GTS, forced to adopt a new move after fracturing the nose and orbital bone of Brian Kendrick last year. Prior to that, Seth Rollins had his Curb Stomp taken away for a few years but was allowed to use the move again in late 2017.
The WWE attempts to keep the most dangerous maneuvers away from the screen in an attempt to prevent their younger fans from trying to imitate their heroes. So it wouldn't be surprising if some of the best talents outside of the company had to adjust their in-ring style a bit if they joined the WWE.
#1 Fear Factor (Package Piledriver) - Pentagon Jr
Prior to his WWE run, Kevin Owen's original finisher was the Package Piledriver. It was deadly, looked dangerous, and was rarely kicked out of. However, once he arrived in NXT, KO was quickly given a new move, dropping his first opponent, CJ Parker, with a Pop-Up Powerbomb. While the move is now iconic for the Prize Fighter, his old finish definitely seemed more devastating.
Pentagon Jr. has since made the move his own, dubbing it the Fear Factor. Pentagon has put away many a foe with the maneuver. The multi-time world champion has cemented his legacy already, thanks in part to the Package Piledriver.
It was rumored throughout the summer that both Pentagon and his brother Fenix would be heading to the WWE in 2019. While the Lucha Bros would end up revealing this to be false, fans imagined what the careers of Fenix and Pentagon would look like once they made the jump. And it's easy to see that, first off, Pentagon Jr. would be given a new finisher.
WWE has an almost hard and fast rule when it comes to piledrivers; don't do them. Aside from The Undertaker and Kane, rarely anybody on the current roster has ever pulled off the move in a WWE ring. The piledriver is just too dangerous, injuring multiple wrestlers throughout the decades, including Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Nobody that comes into the WWE will ever use the piledriver again, and it can be assumed that once the Brothers of Destruction have left the WWE, we may never see any variation of the move in the company ever again.