In 2015, Seth Rollins experienced a sudden setback when WWE chairman Vince McMahon banned his finishing move, the Curb Stomp, shortly after Rollins won his first WWE Championship. This decision came during a hectic day after WrestleMania 31 in San Francisco, when Rollins flew from San Francisco to New York for The Today Show, then back to San Jose for Raw, only to be summoned by McMahon.
During a meeting, McMahon informed Rollins that the company planned to move in a different direction and that the Curb Stomp would no longer be used. Rollins suspects someone close to McMahon may have second-guessed the move or its controversial name following the national TV exposure earlier that day.
He took it away with no explanation,
Rollins recounted.
And then left me with no finish, his world champion with no finishing move, for — it took me a couple months before I decided to just steal Triple H’s Pedigree.
Considering New Options and Seeking Permission
After losing the Curb Stomp, Rollins experimented with various alternative finishing moves without success. Then, he contemplated adopting the Pedigree, famously used by his on-screen boss Triple H, who was also his real-life mentor. Despite initial hesitation about asking permission, Rollins crafted a clever strategy.
I was afraid — not afraid, but I was like, ‘If I ask Triple H if I can use the Pedigree, I feel like he’s gonna say no,’
Rollins admitted.
He was the only person who had ever used it. 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 though, anyway — I was a bad guy, Hunter was my mentor, I was his protege, he wasn’t wrestling, I was like, ‘It’s a good way to carry on the legacy of the move.’ So yeah, Vince okayed 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 either way, it worked.
Reclaiming and Rebranding His Move
Rollins eventually regained permission to use the original Curb Stomp in 2018, albeit under a new name, The Stomp. While presently sidelined due to injury, he continues to employ this finisher when active. Recently, the move has taken on new significance in storylines, as a masked figure has been deploying The Stomp while targeting members of Rollins’ former faction, The Vision. This angle hints at Rollins’ anticipated return to active competition.
