7 Shocking Times WWE Revived Banned Moves

6. Burning Hammer

Finn Balor Seth Rollins
WWE.com

The Burning Hammer was a subject of some consternation in WWE dressing rooms in the mid-2000s, but surprisingly not for its inherent danger.

A blow-up between Tyler Reks and John Cena ultimately resulted in the move disappearing from view after 'The Champ' angrily implied that it bore too great a similarity to his Attitude Adjustment.

Reks commented, "I used it at Bragging Rights 2010 and John was literally across the ring from me when I hit Santino with it. I'd been using it for 8 months on Superstars and everything before all this. I come backstage...and John grabs me in front of everyone and says, "what do you think you're doing? I thought I told you to get a new finisher." I said, "yeah, I thought you were joking John...I'm really sorry." He started yelling at me asking who gave me permission to use that. He belittled me, called me an idiot, and asked me if I enjoyed working here. I told him of course I do. He told me, "find another finisher or you're fired." I was humiliated, I was a full-grown man, why can't we talk about this like human beings?"

Shielded from view somewhat on the WWE Network, Brian Kendrick and Kota Ibushi clearly didn't read the memo when they utilised it to dramatic effect in 2016's celebrated Cruiserweight Classic. The brutal execution should have been the finish, however.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett