A few months ago the WWE essentially killed one of the greatest, most innovative, hottest finishing moves in recent memory, the Curb Stomp.
The premise of the Curb Stomp was pretty simple. Current WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Seth Rollins, would wear down his opponents until they were down on their hands and knees. He would then get a running start, jump into the air, and seemingly stomp their faces into the mat, or in Dean Ambrose’s case, cinder blocks. The move looked vicious and brutal like it was supposed to. Even knowing the scripted nature of professional wrestling, viewers had to wonder how Rollins and his opponents were able to consistently pull this move off without causing any legitimate injuries.
It was great to watch, it was fresh, it was different, it was impressive, and then without explanation…. it was gone. All references to the Curb Stomp were scrubbed from WWE programming. No mention was made of its use. No videos were shown of Rollins stomping his opponents. It was like the Curb Stomp never existed. Several months would pass before fans were finally given an explanation by Rollins himself.
In an interview with Fox Sports back in July, Seth Rollins stated, “It was a decision that was collectively made from a PR standpoint. ‘Curb Stomp’ just seemed like it was too perceptually violent, I guess you would say. I never hurt anyone with it. It was just something we didn’t want kids trying on each other.”
Okay….. I get that. This is, after all, the “PG era”. This is supposed to be family entertainment so you think it would be a bad idea to stomp people’s faces into the ground… Understood.
I didn’t LIKE the ban on the Curb Stomp, but I understood…. that is until the last two episodes of Monday Night Raw aired. Now I’m just down-right confused.
Last week on Raw, Seth Rollins and John Cena squared off in an outstanding main event match to end the show. Only problem was, a botched “flying knee” from Rollins led to the demise and destruction of John Cena’s nose.
The knee landed flush and Cena’s nose was visibly broken…. Disturbingly broken.
Cena finished the match but had to rush to the emergency room after the show, and also required emergency surgery due to breathing problems caused by the injury. Of course, these things happen. It’s a risk that these performers run, and unfortunately is often just the cost of doing business.
The following Raw is what has left me scratching my head in confusion….
Seth Rollins has now started using the Cena injury in his promos bragging about the damage he caused, and on top of that, WWE is selling new Seth Rollins shirts that mock John Cena, and reference the flying knee that caused Cena’s gruesome injury.
So let’s review…. The WWE now have banned a move that caused ZERO real-life injuries in the ring because it was “perceptually too violent”, but they’re PROMOTING and CAPITALIZING on a move that legitimately put a man in the hospital.
I don’t think I’m going to be able to figure this one out for a while. For now, let’s just file this one under “STUPID”.
-Cause StunSeed said so
Rest in Peace to one of the greatest WWE Superstars of all time, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper.
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