Seth Rollins brought back one of his old finishing moves last night (Jan. 15). In the main event of this week’s episode, he hit Finn Bálor with his old curb stomp finisher - which was referred to by one of the names it used to go by before he hit the main roster, Blackout.
To say that fans were excited would probably be an understatement.
The knee strike he was using, a (frankly inferior) version of Kenny Omega’s V-Trigger, was not good. Triple H’s Pedigree never felt like a great fit, even when Rollins was a heel.
But still, I was somewhat surprised to see how excited the WWE Universe was to see the curb stomp return Blackout debut. And I include myself and my enthusiasm in that.
Probably partially because it’s a throwback to his glory days as The Architect of The Shield, and a reminder of a great night for him and the move at WrestleMania 31 in Santa Clara. The fact the moves he used after this one weren’t great is a big factor, too. Some of it is because it was something we thought we couldn’t, or weren’t allowed to have.
Whatever the reasons, it turns out we’re not the only ones who are fired up about it:
Welcome back, old friend. pic.twitter.com/CJIpdytSoQ
— Seth Rollins (@WWERollins) January 16, 2018
Lots of questions as to why it’s back, especially since Rollins himself said it was yanked for creating negative connotations Vince McMahon didn’t want people having about one of his big stars. But we’ll leave that to rumors. There aren’t too many things everyone is happy about in wrestling, so let’s enjoy it.
Right, Finn?
^*!•?*:?!”~
— Finn Bálor Forever (@FinnBalor) January 16, 2018