Wrestling Moves That Need to be Retired

Pro wrestling has evolved significantly over the last 30 years. During the ’80s, WWE infused more entertainment into the product, which eventually allowed the sport to grow and blossom. By the late ’90s, though, wrestling would go through another metamorphosis.

This time, the action inside the ring would be at the center of the change. Since 1998, the bar has consistently been raised as far as the risks and physical punishment performers are willing to take. This has led to an increase in high-risk high spots. It has also led to many moves being severely overused. So much so that a handful of specific moves are better off being retired at this point.

UPDATE: 2024/04/18 20:00 EST BY BENJAMIN VIEIRA

Over the years, professional wrestling has seen some truly phenomenal and breath-taking moves. They are the ones that leave audiences in a state of disbelief that someone is able to accomplish such tremendous moves and make them look so good. However, while some moves started off as unique, things have gotten oversaturated. Some moves have simply become just another move used in a match that holds no weight. However, some have also shown their danger and should not be used again. Let’s take a look at some of those moves down below.

The Frog Splash Has Been Watered Down

It’s Still A Good Looking Move

• The Frog Splash used to be a big time finisher.
• It has been turned into a secondary attack.
• While it has been used well, it is over done.

To be fair and completely honest, this move is the least egregious of all the overused moves. Still, during the late 1990s and 2000s, the Frog Splash was a devastating finisher. Today, Montez Ford of the Street Profits uses his own version of the move known as “From The Heavens.” While Ford’s version is worthy of being a finisher, he’s not the only one who uses the move.

What’s worse, some other performers who use the move use it as more of a secondary attack and not a finisher. Sure, guys like Christian Cage and Seth Rollins make the move look great, but without winning the occasional match while using it, all they’re doing is watering down what was once a great finisher.

The Spear Doesn’t Always Look Good

Goldberg Made It Popular

• The move was Goldberg’s finisher in WCW.
• Countless WWE stars use it today.
• It used to be exclusive to a couple of wrestlers.

We go from a slightly overused move to a tremendously overused finisher. In the late 90s, Goldberg brought the Spear to the forefront of pro wrestling. Oddly enough, the move wasn’t even Goldberg’s finisher, but rather the setup for his finisher. Still, Goldberg made the move look devastating and it became arguably more popular than even his Jackhammer finisher.

Flash forward to modern-day wrestling where nearly double-digit performers use the move. In WWE alone, the move is used by Roman Reigns, Edge, Bobby Lashley, Charlotte Flair, and Bron Breakker, in NXT. That’s way too many people using what was once an exclusive move reserved for the likes of Goldberg and Edge. It’s time for the Spear to take an extended break.

The Buckle Bomb Is Too Dangerous

It Nearly Ended Sting’s Career

• Rollins had used the move often.
• It injured Finn Balor in the first Universal Championship match.
• It almost caused Sting to retire.

We’ve arrived at our first dangerous move on the list. It should first be said that Seth Rollins is an incredible performer and arguably the best overall wrestler in the game today. However, Rollins’ offensive arsenal features a move that has already injured two huge names, with the potential to injure more: the Buckle Bomb.

The sad thing is that Rollins used the move for years without a hitch. Then, in 2015, Rollins almost ended Sting’s career using the move. To make matters worse, the following year, Rollins injured Finn Balor using the same move. At that point, the move should’ve been permanently banned. It wasn’t though. Rollins continues to use the move. So far, there haven’t been any further injuries, but that could change at any moment.

The Muscle Buster Is Samoa Joe’s Finisher

It Ended One Career Already

• Samoa Joe has made the move famous.
• In 2015, Tyson Kidd had to retire due to injury from the move.
• Joe continues to use it to this day.

Pro wrestling requires a lot of trust between the competitors inside the ring. After all, every time a performer steps in the ring, they’re putting their lives in their opponent’s hands. This is why the Muscle Buster needs to be phased out of the business completely. It has already cost one talented performer his career in the past.

In 2015, a botched Muscle Buster by Samoa Joe severely injured Tyson Kidd and ended his in-ring career. Luckily for Kidd, he landed on his feet and still gets to work in the business he devoted his life to, but others might not be as lucky. To be fair, ever since injuring Kidd, Samoa Joe started using the move a lot less. But like the Buckle Bomb, the Muscle Buster is a ticking time bomb.

The Cutter Should Be Reserved For One Person

The RKO Is The Best Version Of The Move

• DDP originally utilized the move.
• Randy Orton should be the only one using it.
• Cody Rhodes has adopted a Springboard Cutter.

Wrestling pundits always reiterate the fact that everything in pro wrestling has been done before. While this is certainly true, it’s not a license to just start stealing moves. The Cutter is probably the most blatant example of a finisher that is currently being watered down by many performers.

In the 90s, Diamond Dallas Page made the Diamond Cutter arguably the most popular move in the business. After Page stepped away from wrestling, Randy Orton adopted the move as his finisher and took it to new heights. Somehow though, even with Orton still around, guys like Cody Rhodes and Jay Lethal began incorporating their own Cutters. With all due respect to those guys, anyone not named Randy Orton shouldn’t use a Cutter and the move should retire with Orton.

The DDT Was One Of The Best Moves Of The 1990s And 1980s

It Is Now A Basic Move

• Jake “The Snake” Roberts popularized the move.
• The Undertaker was the first person to kick out of it.
• Virtually everyone uses the DDT now.

While the Diamond Cutter was arguably the hottest move of the 90s, the 80s had its own innovative finisher, the DDT. The move was popularized by the great Jake “The Snake” Roberts. At its peak, the DDT would spell the end for even the toughest pro wrestlers. At WrestleMania 8, The Undertaker would be the first performer to kick out of the move.

Since the mid-90s, other performers began using the move, but not as a finisher. This severely watered the DDT down. Sadly, today, the move is used almost as a basic maneuver. Jon Moxley uses a double-arm DDT as his finisher, but he’s far from the only guy who uses it.

The Destroyer Has Lost It’s Shock Value

It Had Formerly Been Exclusive To Petey Williams

• It is an exciting move to see executed.
• The move has been oversaturated in the last few years.
• Countless wrestlers use it now.

Regrettably, this move finds itself on this list. In the early 2000s, despite not being a household name, Petey Williams captured the attention of the wrestling world with his Canadian Destroyer finisher. To say that move was impressive would be an understatement. Had Williams had the luxury of performing the move in WWE, he’d be a way bigger name today than he is.

Instead, the move that Williams made famous is now one of the most annoyingly overused moves in wrestling. With all due respect to Bad Bunny, the moment he busted out a Canadian Destroyer is the moment the move officially jumped the shark. It needs to go away for a while to regain some luster.

The Tope Suicida No Longer Looks Cool

Changing The Name Doesn’t Help

• Bret “The Hitman” Hart helped popularize it.
• It has become a standard move.
• It has been overused, both on television and on the independent scene.

The origins of many wrestling moves are up for debate. The Tope Suicida, or Suicide Dive falls under that category. For most WWE fans, the move was popularized by Bret Hart during the 90s. After Hart brought the move plenty of attention, more and more wrestlers began to use it. The problem was, they didn’t have Hart’s ring psychology and thus began overusing it.

Today, a Suicide Dive is a standard move on the independent wrestling scene. Furthermore, it seems like an almost mandatory spot for all AEW wrestlers. With all due respect to Excalibur, calling it a “Tope Suicida” rather than a Suicide Dive doesn’t change the move. Wrestling hipster lingo or not, the move has been overused to death and needs to go.

The Superkick Is Incredibly Overused

Everyone Has Been Using It

• Shawn Michaels made the move popular as Sweet Chin Music.
• The Young Bucks have made the move overused.
• It no longer seems like an effective finisher.

This is probably the most heartbreaking entry for wrestling fans who grew up in the 90s. While “Gentleman” Chris Adams was the first big-name wrestler to use the Superkick, Shawn Michaels is the one who popularized it. Michaels put just about every big name in the business down with Sweet Chin Music.

However, today, every indy wrestler in the world busts out a Superkick in the middle of the match. To be honest, most of the blame for the move being watered down goes to The Young Bucks. The talented duo throws more ineffective Superkicks than anyone in the sport today. It’s time to shut off the lights on the Superkick party.

The Crowd Dive Is Illogical

It Doesn’t Make Much Sense

• The move lacks suspension of disbelief.
• The wrestlers just wait to be jumped on.
• It needs to be gone.

Without a shadow of a doubt, this is the dumbest and most illogical move in pro wrestling today. The entire premise of pro wrestling is to suspend disbelief. Well, the silly Crowd Dive that has become so prevalent in the sport today greatly disrupts the suspension of disbelief. The psychology and logic behind the move is virtually non-existent.

The move requires a group of wrestlers to stand there and wait for someone to climb to the top rope and jump off into the crowd, knocking everyone over like bowling pins. Even if the performer diving off doesn’t make contact with one of the people in the crowd, they’re expected to go down and sell the move. If only one move must be eradicated from wrestling, it needs to be this one.