Seth Rollins has opened up on the sudden banning of his Curb Stomp finishing move immediately after winning his first WWE Championship at WrestleMania 31.
Rollins cashed in his Money in the Bank contract during the main event between Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar, turning the bout into a triple threat and walking away with the WWE title. The moment has cemented itself as one of the most memorable cash-ins in company history.
However, according to Rollins, the celebration became short-lived when it came to his finishing move.
Seth Rollins Recalls Losing His Finisher As World Champion
Speaking on the Club Shay Shay podcast with NFL Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe, Rollins revealed that former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon banned the Curb Stomp the very next day.
“He banned it. Literally the day after I won my first world title at WrestleMania,” Rollins said.
According to Rollins, McMahon then informed him they would be “moving in a different direction” and finding something “equally as good and equally as devastating.” No detailed explanation was provided at the time.
Rollins later speculated that the decision may have stemmed from how the move was portrayed in mainstream media coverage. He believes McMahon might have been concerned about the way it looked and was named.
“I’d been doing it for years. This is what I think happened, and I don’t have confirmation. He watched The Today Show piece, he sees the Stomp, he sees people referring to the Curb Stomp, somebody in his inner circle said, ‘Hmm, Vince I don’t know about that move, I think it might be a little too dangerous, there might be a connotation to it,'” Rollins said.
“I’m like, ‘Brother, we’ve been doing it for years. It’s pro-wrestling. You can call it something else if you want. I didn’t come up with the name; you came up with the name. Call it the Stomp, call it whatever,” he added.
Rollins became a newly crowned world champion without a finisher. However, after experimenting with alternatives for weeks, he ultimately adopted Triple H’s iconic finisher, the Pedigree. Rollins also felt it was apt, as he was playing the role of Triple H’s protégé in that storyline.
However, he was initially hesitant to ask Triple H directly for permission. So, he approached McMahon first.
“So I was like, ‘Here’s what I’ll do – I’ll ask Vince about it, and then I know Vince will say yes, just to spite Triple H, and Triple H can’t say nothing about it.’ It was a good idea anyway. I was a bad guy, Hunter was my mentor, I was his protege, he wasn’t wrestling, it was a good way to carry on a legacy of the move,” he said.
“So yeah Vince okay’d it. Whether he did it because he liked it or just to take a shot at his son-in-law, I don’t know, but it worked,” Rollins concluded.
The Pedigree became synonymous with Rollins’ heel persona during that championship reign, showing him as Triple H’s on-screen protégé. Ultimately, the Curb Stomp was put back and has played a key part in WWE programming since.
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