7 Shocking Times WWE Revived Banned Moves
Don't Call It A Comeback
Vince McMahon is a mad old f*cker.
Not new information, but relevant yet again following a Monday Night Raw main event that drew gasps at its climactic conclusion. Seth Rollins unleashed his first curb stomp in nearly three years, with a slow-motion replay and a brand new name suggesting that seemingly out-of-nowhere, it's back for good.
This isn't the first time 'The Architect' has been subject to the Chairman's whims. Only last year did Vince become infuriated with the second of silence in Rollins' entrance music. The hilarious insertion of a metal singer wailing 'BURN IT DOWN' had to be played down by Seth despite shocking the sh*t out of audiences for weeks before it disappeared again.
Getting his finisher back has probably made up for the musical snafu. Rollins' Pedigree never felt as prestigious as Triple H's, nor did he ever quite have the requisite bite to knock his foes out with a running knee. He's not the first to suffer the fate though.
Through various safety concerns, public relations manoeuvres or inexplicable urges, the company has put a halt on particularly severe spots only to reverse their decision down the line. Typically for pro wrestling, the return of a beloved hold or strike often generates a bigger response as a result.
7. Tombstone
The Undertaker's 2000 return as a leather-clad bike-riding 'American Bad Ass' saw him wreak havoc on the McMahon-Helmsley Regime, nailing both Triple H and Shane McMahon with Tombstones within 24 hours of his return. Only those two men would take them again for the better part of two years.
A spate of serious neck injuries in the late-1990s had resulted in long layoffs for some of the company's biggest-hitters. Stone Cold Steve Austin was the most notable absentee, taking nearly a year to recover from the surgery he required after an Owen Hart tombstone gone wrong two years earlier.
It was around this time that Vince McMahon issued an edict banning all piledrivers. Even the company cornerstone wasn't immune from The Chariman's whims. Upon his reimagined return to the main roster, The Undertaker introduced 'The Last Ride' powerbomb to circumvent the ban, until McMahon's stance later softened.
In 2001, it was coincidentally Triple H and Shane McMahon that took the move at WrestleMania and Survivor Series respectively. Feuds with The Rock and Ric Flair in 2002 represented a soft relaunch for the finisher before it returned full-time alongside his 'Deadman' persona in 2004.