Big Show Banned From Using Chokeslam…Kind Of
For years we've heard rumors about in-ring moves being banned by the WWE. Sometimes it's for safety reasons, like when they banned the piledriver, which is the act of driving an opponent down onto their head/neck. Other times they ban moves to make them seem more exclusive when a Superstar pulls it off as their new finisher. Today we have news on a different kind of banned maneuver, the kind performed on the public.
The Big Show was on Sports Junkie 106.7 The Fan in Washington DC yesterday and explained what WWE Superstars can/can't do to fans.
"WWE Superstars aren't allowed to grab anyone by the neck, simulate choke holds, or picking up," Big Show said. "I've gotten enough letters from our legal department, I don't pick anybody up anymore or fake chokeslam."
Big Show, who has been chokeslamming wrestlers since his WCW days, is not allowed to put his hands around anyone's neck, outside the ring. He's run into trouble with WWE's legal department for taking pictures with fans who want to mimic chokeslams, and Big Show has had enough. If this were the case twenty-five years ago, Andre The Giant would have never been able to get Bob Uecker over at WrestleMania IV. Big Show's Chokeslam was always more impressive than those of Undertaker and Kane just because of the height from which he drops opponents from. It's a true shame fans will no longer be able to reach such heights upon meeting this giant of a man.
Banned moves will pop up in-ring from time to time. Guys like CM Punk and HHH will occasionally step outside of the rules to improve match quality, but not without taking a hit to their paycheck. It's this kind of rebellion that put HHH/Taker over at WrestleMania two years ago. When it comes to fan safety, though, I doubt you'll ever seen Big Show crossing the boundaries.
Big Show's hand is as big as my head, so his surrogate "WMD" (which is just a knockout punch) finisher works perfectly for photo-ops. You won't get a picture that looks like you're being dropped from sky scraping altitudes, but I'm sure Big Show will sell the punch for the picture, if you ask nice enough.