5 WWE Superstars whose popular moves were taken away from them
A finishing move can make or break a WWE Superstar’s believability as a character.
Roman Reigns, for example, has used the powerful spear as his go-to move to defeat opponents ever since he debuted on WWE’s main roster in November 2012, while Randy Orton’s RKO outta nowhere has become one of the most popular moves in the history of pro wrestling/sports entertainment.
On the flipside, there are Superstars like Santino Marella, whose opponents must have been wondering where their futures would go next if they lost a match to the Cobra Strike. Great Khali’s Khali Chop fits into the same category, as does Enzo Amore’s JawdonZo.
Simply put, when a Superstar finds a move that the audience believes in, there is a good chance that they will continue to use it for their entire career and they will one day become synonymous with the move.
However, in rare circumstances, there have been times when somebody has used a finisher but, for various different reasons, it has ended up being taken away from them.
In this article, let’s take a look at five WWE Superstars who were told to stop using their popular moves.
#5 Darren Young
The inspiration for this article comes from Darren Young, who recently revealed in an interview with Chris Van Vliet that he was told to stop using the Crossface Chicken Wing during his time in WWE, despite the fact that his on-screen and off-screen mentor, Bob Backlund, had passed the submission on to him.
Young explained that he was informed he could no longer use the move because “it was a dangerous hold”, but he later found out through The Miz that Triple H was actually reserving the submission so that main-roster newcomer Asuka could use it when she debuted.
He said (quotes via Wrestling Inc.):
"The Miz pointed that out to me in the locker room weeks later and I was like 'I f*****g knew it!' It broke my heart. I've got pictures of him [Triple H] on my wall in my childhood room. It broke my heart. I cried like a baby backstage and he [Triple H] came over and was like 'Darren, why are you crying?'"