We had a very nice surprise at the end of Monday Night Raw last week. No there wasn’t a title change, a stipulation made, or some unexpected run in. Something did come back but it wasn’t a former superstar, it was a finishing move, the Curb Stomp.
Seth Rollins landed the move on Finn Balor to get the 1-2-3 count on Monday, the finish sent shockwaves to fans across the globe. It’s back! By God, he used the Curb Stomp again!
This! This Right Here Happened! Literally Happened! Seth Rollins used the Curb stomp . It's been a long time since we've seen this !!! pic.twitter.com/nQywLutpii
— Gourav 🇮🇳 (@Gourav_2706) January 16, 2018
For those who don’t recall, the Curb Stomp was Rollin’s original finisher that brought him to stardom. He used that to win his first WWE Championship at WrestleMania 30 upon cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase during the middle of the match between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns. Rollins pinned Reigns, which catapulted him to a long-tenured run as a great heel champion.
Unfortunately, soon after, the Curb Stomp was banned from use by Vince McMahon. The reason being that as champion, kids would obviously look up to Rollins, and with his curb stomp being a violent move used on the streets (like in the movie American History X), McMahon didn’t want kids emulating the move.
While it made total sense, it left Rollins in a tough spot. At the time he was aligned with Triple H, looking at Helmsley as a mentor, so naturally, the pedigree was used as his next finisher. Storyline wise it fit perfectly and propelled him as the largest villain in the company.
The pedigree was a great finisher, but everyone knows that’s Triple H’s move, there was no overcoming that. Once his feud with Hunter at last year’s WrestleMania was done, Rollins wanted a move that would define him, not something famously made by someone else.
In came the “Kings Landing”, which is pretty much a flying knee to the face. Ironically enough this was a signature move of Kenny Omega, but I digress. In all honesty, the Kings Landing never seemed right, it was never hit flawlessly or looked as clean as it should be. Since he was with The Shield, it was mainly used to set up the following moves by Dean Ambrose and Reigns.
The Curb Stomp couldn’t have come at a better time. It shines a light back on Rollins and adds a nice wrinkle to his new stories. Rollins was at the top of the mountain when the Curb Stomp was his move, this reignites excitement from the fans for “The Architect”.
Now that Ambrose is on the shelf and Reigns is off preparing for his WrestleMania moment, Rollins is off in his own world. He’s tagging with Jason Jordan right now, though this could go in a number of ways.
The reintroduction to Rollins most famously coveted move, which we haven’t seen in 3 years, will bring nothing but great things for him. Maybe it will take him to even newer heights. The wrestling fans will be cheering for Rollins harder than ever before.