WWE Has Banned 10 Moves from Ever Being Performed
In his most recent match of his retirement tour, John Cena provided a love letter to wrestling alongside AJ Styles as they busted a number of different moves not normally in their arsenal at Crown Jewel in Perth, Australia.
The 17-time world champion, who calls time on his glittering career on December 13 in Washington, D.C, performed The Miz's skull crushing finale, the Sister Abigail finisher made famous by the late Bray Wyatt, Randy Orton's RKO (Outta Nowhere), as well as Chris Jericho's 'Walls of Jericho' and Rusev's accolade submission.
As arguably the greatest wrestler of all time, Cena has a special privilege which serves him well when it comes to using other wrestlers' moves in matches.
But over the years in WWE, many wrestlers have been banned from performing a plethora of moves for a multitude of reasons.
Advert
Here are the 10 moves WWE issued a ban on.
Piledriver
A move that requires a specific landing, Stone Cold Steve Austin suffered from temporary paralysis and spinal cord bruising after a mishap from Owen Hart at SummerSlam in 1997 - leading to him completely changing how he wrestled.
A long-time ban on the move was issued, though there have been rare occasions where the piledriver has been bought back - including in CM Punk and John Cena's 2013 classic on Raw and in various Kevin Owens headloss moments.
Curb stomp
Seth Rollins' curb stomp has secured him multiple world titles but there was a period where the move was banned by Vince McMahon, who did not want young children replicating the action of a foot going on the back of someone's head and pushing it to the ground.
Rollins trialled other moves such as the Pedigree, but then the decision was reversed.
Shooting star press
There are few sights better than a high-flying wrestler soaring through the air but the shooting star press, a move performed from the top rope, was nixed back in 2004 after both Brock Lesnar and Billy Kidman botched it and landed head first - suffering concussions as a result.
When cruiserweight Evan Bourne, a much smaller performer, was able to demonstrate that he could perform the move in an extremely safe way - it was unbanned.
Muscle buster
Again linked to injuries, Tyson Kidd's in-ring career was ended in 2015 when he was on the receiving end of a Muscle buster from Samoa Joe - who had used the move for years without issue.
Kidd, who has never blamed Joe, was lucky to survive after a freak accident occurred. The move was not used by Joe on the main roster as he used a submission finisher, though he did perform it again on the NXT brand and continues to use it in AEW.
Wings of Love
In one of the most unusual instances for a move to be banned, former Divas champion and Hall of Famer Michelle McCool was instructed to stop doing the 'Wings of Love' because it was seen as "too devastating for the girls!".
Years later and with the female wrestlers given much more respect, Mandy Rose used it as her finisher during her run.
Burning Hammer
When it comes to the dangerous moves in wrestling history, it is hard to top the burning hammer - where a wrestler effectively drops their opponent on their head.
Japanese legend Kenta Kobashi made it famous but only did it on a handful of occasions. It has been rarely seen in WWE but Brian Kendrick busted it out at the Cruiserweight Classic against Kota Ibushi and had Daniel Bryan losing his mind.
Diving Headbutt
The diving headbutt was used by Chris Benoit, who went on to brutally kill his son and wife before hanging himself in one of wrestling's darkest days.
With studies uncovering the concussions he suffered and the strikes to the head affecting his head, WWE administered new concussion protocol and banned the move - though Bryan and Chad Gable were later allowed to do it.
Punt kick
While the move suited Randy Orton's unhinged character many moons ago, it was banned when he kicked McMahon in the head as planned and the former WWE chief suffered a concussion.
Orton has used it since but only sparingly and normally the move is teased in matches and angles but not normally performed unless it's a big deal.
The Vertebreaker
Cody Rhodes surprised fans when he did the Vertebreaker, a similar move to the piledriver, in a match against Logan Paul last year. The move, which requires the opponent to tuck their head, can often run the risk of a nasty landing and so is very rarely seen on WWE television.
Brainbuster
In a similar capacity, a brainbuster - essentially a suplex but with a more devastating landing, was banned in WWE for some time as adaptations were made.
However, it returned in a big way at WrestleMania 40 when Sami Zayn used it from the top rope against Gunther en route to ending his historic reign as Intercontinental champion.
Josh Lawless