Why Vince McMahon Unbanned Canadian Destroyers In WWE
Modern wrestling's most overused move? Quite possibly...
The Canadian Destroyer is a regular fixture on most modern pro-wrestling shows, with at least one athletic performer pulling the Petey Williams-innovated move off on any given night - and sometimes more than that.
Though it isn't quite as prominent in WWE as it is elsewhere, the likes of Rey Mysterio and Adam Cole still drop a Destroyer in their big matches. An interesting situation, given that regular piledrivers have been banned in the promotion for years, despite exceptions being made for The Undertaker's Tombstone.
Per Bryan Alvarez on a recent episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, Vince McMahon allows Destroyers because he was once backstage at an NXT TakeOver show, saw somebody doing the move, and asked why he didn't see more of them on the main roster. He doesn't view it as a piledriver but a transitional move, hence why it's allowed.
The Destroyer is one of the most over-spammed moves in pro-wrestling today. Its creator acknowledged this earlier in the year:-
Once a huge, game-changing move, the Destroyer is now the norm, with the first three matches on last week's AEW Revolution pay-per-view all featuring kickouts from it. Such is the sport's evolution, though it'd be nice to see performers dialling back.