I’ve just finished watching this
year’s Hell in a Cell. The latter two of the three featured Hell in a Cell matches were actually pretty
decent, though they’re far from “classic”-material (there are simply a lot of
iconic Hell in a Cell matches,
particularly when wrestlers from the Attitude Era are involved). I especially enjoyed the match between
Charlotte and Sasha Banks, probably because of how groundbreaking and remarkable
the whole idea of it. For not only was it the main event (I’m not sure if this was the first time a women’s match became
a pay-per-view’s main event, but it was the first time I’ve encountered such occurrence),
but it was also the first women’s Hell in a Cell match ever (this one, I’m
sure).
Anyway, I’m not here to write
about that match, or about any match of Hell
in a Cell for that matter. Rather, it’s this: since the other solid Hell in a Cell match featured
Seth Rollins, I was reminded of how
bummed I was – and, apparently, still is – when his original finisher, the Curb
Stomp, was banned.
First and foremost, Seth Rollins
is easily one of WWE’s best young superstars.
It was very apparent by how the WWE Universe (i.e. the fans) loudly cheered
for him even though he was being a straight-up heel. It’s
simply an indication of how awesome a character he is (The Rock and Randy
Orton, two of my most favorite wrestlers of all time, also received tremendous
cheers even when they were being villains because they were terrific, immensely
entertaining characters).
The first time I began to like
Seth Rollins was when he feuded with Randy Orton, setting up a WrestleMania 31 match. It was a good fight,
but not incredibly memorable. Then this
beauty happened:
Seth Rollins really sold the epic
RKO, making Randy Orton look fantastic and giving him the win. Later that same night, Rollins would slyly capture the
WWE World Heavyweight championship when he cashed in his Money in the Bank
during the main event match between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns when both were
worn off.
Seth Rollins has great in-ring skills. But the move that I liked most in his arsenal
was the Curb Stomp. It was quite simple
and seemingly unremarkable in a technical standpoint, but it always produced an
exciting and emphatic effect.
I’m not a regular week in, week
out follower of WWE (I used to be when I was way younger) – I’m not too updated
on happenings; I watch Raw, Smackdown, and the pay-per-views occasionally. That’s why I was greatly surprised when I saw
Rollins using Triple H’s Pedigree as finisher.
At first, I thought it was simply an alternate finisher that Rollins
added to his in-ring repertoire. But after several more
weeks of not seeing the Curb Stomp in action, I finally became curious why it
had been missing. I looked it up and
learned that it was banned. Bummer.
Apparently, it was banned for PR
purposes because it was “too violent” and WWE didn’t want kids to emulate it
and get hurt. That’s the official
reason. But it’s really a big piece of
bullcrap when you think about it. There
are plenty of dangerous moves in wrestling, which could injure or even prove
lethal when executed casually by a non-professional. In fact, if you consider it, the Pedigree, the finisher that was
substituted for the Curb Stomp, is as equally dangerous.
According to one insight I read
after further researching on it (because the official reason is simply BS), it’s
because WWE was (is?) battling concussion lawsuits from former wrestlers, and
it wouldn’t have a good effect for WWE’s defense if people
constantly see its reigning champion (Rollins was champion back then) stomping
heads on TV. That made more sense.
Still, regardless of the real
reason. It’s quite unfortunate. The Curb Stomp is a really cool finisher. It definitely added to Seth Rollins as a wrestler
– it definitely made him more interesting and distinctive. The Pedigree is strongly
identified to Triple H. On the other
hand, the Curb Stomp is fresh enough to allow Rollins to make it
iconically his own.
Seth Rollins remains one of WWE’s most
terrific performers. But he’s no longer
as fun as he was when he still had the Curb Stomp.
No comments:
Post a Comment