Randy Orton's "Punt" has been Banned!?

[ProWrestlingFan]

Randy Orton said on Twitter that his "Punt" kick has been banned. I think its a bad move by WWE.

Punt Kick was the move which made Heel Randy Orton so entertaining to watch.

Your thoughts ?

 

[Nate DaMac]

I happen to think it was done for storyline purposes. They can start disqualifying him using it and shit.

If the banning is legit, I have to assume it was for good reason. A running kick to the head has to pose a serious risk of head injury. The less head injuries we have floating around, the better.

 

[JGlass]

I don't know if it's legit, or just a kayfabe excuse Orton is making for why we don't see the punt used anymore. His character is still malicious, but the WWE might not want to use one of their top faces to be the one to put guys out of commission, even if it is a super heel. He saves face with this, as it seems like he'd still use the punt if he had his druthers, but can't because it's banned.

 

[LoudClearVoice]

I happen to think it was done for storyline purposes. They can start disqualifying him using it and shit.

If the banning is legit, I have to assume it was for good reason. A running kick to the head has to pose a serious risk of head injury. The less head injuries we have floating around, the better.

I agree and it COULD be leading towards a heel turn, if it is for storyline purposes. He can just keep getting DQ'd as you said and he'll get fed up with and just keep using the punt until he's "fired."

 

[The Liar]

Does anyone else think this could be pure BS? Chris Jericho tweeted last year that he would never wrestle for the WWE again, yet he returned to action a few months later. Orton could be tweeting this right now, and then punt Jericho in the skull at No Way Out.

 

[bittermang]

Funny, since, you know... the entire express purpose of the move was to concuss people for storyline purposes. Then concussions (finally) became a hot button topic back in the real world. Suddenly the kick he uses to concuss people on purpose isn't as fashionable anymore. Huh.

 

[mister5000]

It's probably legit banned for the time being. It's politicking season again for Linda and the WWE is probably playing it safe and keeping their product and brand as far away from the word "concussion" as humanly possible.

 

[Nate DaMac]

JUst when you thought we were moving away from this PG stuff..... we get this little nugget of info.

What exactly does this have to do with PG stuff? I don't think it has anything to do with TV rating guidelines as much as it has to do with trying to prevent head injuries. I was shown earlier how Vince McMahon took a seriously stiff shot from the punt once. Cena's dad did as well. Besides, the entire lifespan of Orton's punt has taken place in the PG Era.

He hasn't used it in like a year anyway. It hasn't hurt anything to this point, what's the problem?

 

[ProWrestlingFan]

What exactly does this have to do with PG stuff? I don't think it has anything to do with TV rating guidelines as much as it has to do with trying to prevent head injuries. I was shown earlier how Vince McMahon took a seriously stiff shot from the punt once. Cena's dad did as well. Besides, the entire lifespan of Orton's punt has taken place in the PG Era.

He hasn't used it in like a year anyway. It hasn't hurt anything to this point, what's the problem?

Nope. Randy Orton has been using it since 2004.

[YOUTUBE]vuM8YduWXNk[/YOUTUBE]


Mick Foley, Rob Van Dam, Shawn Michaels, Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon, HHH, Chris Jericho all have been punt kicked by Randy Orton and none ever got injured.

 

[vampirek]

Storyline purpose it makes sense, Orton can't be going around kicking wrestlers in the head when storyline wise it takes them out of action week in week out. If the storyline is built for it, I can see Orton doing it. At least it keeps the finisher aspect to it rather than making it some move that won't even get a 3 count.

 

[Uncle Sam]

I find it hard to believe that the punt is banned for its concussive capabilities but then other strikes to the head - i.e. Punk and Bryan's vicious kicks - are used on a weekly basis. Remix claimed in the other thread that the punt has the ability to do more damage, though I'm not buying it. That said, I'm not an expert on strikes to the head, concussions, WWE policy, or - come to think of it - anything, so I won't labour the point.

Other possible reasons include:

• Orton's character has become less sadistic of late.
• It's difficult to have a wrestler use a finishing move that their opponents have to sell for a month, usually by going off TV.
• It's covert marketing to hype up how dangerous it is before he punts Chris Jericho off our TV screens or something.

Orton's teased it a few times lately, but hasn't used it since he eliminated the New Nexus one by one if I remember correctly.

If it's genuinely dangerous, I don't want those guys risking their safety for my entertainment. Well, I do - that's the entire basis of professional wrestling - but it's not as nice a sentiment to express, is it?

 

[Nate DaMac]

Nope. Randy Orton has been using it since 2004.

[YOUTUBE]M79oEcUD940[/YOUTUBE]

Well that's not exactly the same punt is it? It was a hard kick to the chest.

You may be right though, it wasn't always PG. But it did happen a lot during the PG Era.

Mick Foley, Rob Van Dam, Shawn Michaels, Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon, HHH, Chris Jericho all have been punt kicked by Randy Orton and none ever got injured.

I concur, most people who take it know what they're doing. Doesn't change the fact that it is an incredibly easy move to botch and when botched, it's potential deadly.

Still, he hasn't used it since the Punk feud a year ago, has he? It really doesn't matter.

 

[CM Steel]

This makes alot of sence. A wrestler can not use the tip of his or her wrestling boot in a match at all. I'm sure that Randy Orton has other offense.

I remember back in the day when Billy Gunn used the tip of his cowboy boot in a match against Bart Gunn. And the WWF/E told him to stop using the front part of his boot as well. But I guess in this case and era. The E banned the move all together.

 

[LoudClearVoice]

I guarantee this becomes the plot point of an Orton heel turn that leads to Orton-Sheamus at Summerslam.

You're right and we've seen this before (not saying it's a bad thing). Orton will probably have a match Sheamus (after Sheamus feuds with Del Rio), he'll punt Sheamus, win the belt but then they'll reverse the decision and give the belt back to Sheamus. There's your summer slam storyline.

 

[DexVendetta88]

This has kayfabe written all over it. The ban of chairshots to the head I know are legit, but banning the punt I feel has an angle of sort to it. I think they want to make it a relatively "rare" move that is done once in a blue moon. To be quite honest here, this reminds of the time they banned Undertaker's Hell's Gate submission hold. It wasn't seen for a while, and he was warned constantly about using it.

 

[ricdogg21]

I gotta think total angle, just seems odd that they would single out something like the punt when Ryder is still using the "Broski Boot" as part of his repertoire.

 

[brighamosity]

For what it's worth, I read a week or two ago that Cody Rhodes said that Randy Orton punted him and had he not been wearing his mask, he thinks he would have been seriously injured. I guess Rhodes could have been saying that in kayfabe, but it didn't sound like it.

 

[Uncle Sam]

Two things:

One - did Orton even punt Rhodes while he was wearing the mask?

Two - how would a face mask protect from a kick to the side of the head?

 

[Captain Morgan Freeman]

I think the tweet was more of an excuse for him to not have to use it anymore rather than to build towards some plot where he punts Lillian Garcia for fucking up announcing his name. There's a reason he hasn't punted anyone since his feud with Nexus more than a year ago, everytime he punts somebody they usually have to take time off to sell the effects of the punt with Jericho gone for a year and a half and Husky Harris still nursing a knee shaped wound in his head as far as kayfabe is concerned.

It's not exactly wise to have some of your bigger stars like Cena and Punk take a few months off due to being punted when an RKO would have done the same job. While on the other hand if he just uses it jobbers then it becomes a move that can only put down the likes of JTG and Heath Slater.

I don't think it's happened yet but i could imagine someone being badly injured if either Orton or the person selling the move happen to mess up while the move is being done.

 

[anvilx8]

Damn shame, cuz it was a great move.. but ya, it could for sure be dangerous and I'm sure its cause a concussion or two.. the punt to Vince comes to mind. That one was brutal

 

[Azane]

My mind tells me he wouldn't of bothered even mentioning it if it wasn't going to pop up soon.

He's bringing something irrelevant to the front, and it's to a point that face Orton is a bit stale, so my mind is in conspiracy mode where it thinks twitter is nothing but a way to push kayfabe.

It's not the first thing I would "ban" on a list of concussive moves being used in the wrestling world right now.

 

[whoopin' ass]

Mick Foley, Rob Van Dam, Shawn Michaels, Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon, HHH, Chris Jericho all have been punt kicked by Randy Orton and none ever got injured.

my understanding is that the kick itself is pretty legit - you just can't fake it even thought he doesn't put his full force behind it. but if you don't want kids to imitate things, you need to pull certain moves. a kid won't understand that the kick isn't real and you really don't need someone getting kicked full force in the head out of stupidity.

 

[ultramattman]

For what it's worth, I read a week or two ago that Cody Rhodes said that Randy Orton punted him and had he not been wearing his mask, he thinks he would have been seriously injured. I guess Rhodes could have been saying that in kayfabe, but it didn't sound like it.

Orton punted Rhodes at Wrestlemania 26, at the end of the Legacy break-up match when Orton beat Dibiase and Rhodes in a triple threat. That's long before Cody wore the mask. When Rhodes returned from that punt he was 'Dashing' Cody Rhodes which then evolved into masked Rhodes.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

On one hand, it seems excessive. After all, it's not as if the talents that sell concussion injuries as part of storylines actually have them. On the other hand though, I can see WWE wanting to avoid this route because of how this topic has made a resurrgance in the media for the past few months. The topic hasn't really gone away, but it's become more prominent now. I was watching something, I think it was Dateline, a few weeks back in which they were discussing how concussions are on the rise among teenage girls and that the #1 sport for sustaining concussions is soccer.

Due to the Chris Benoit murder/suicide, we all know how much negative press WWE caught, much of it deservedly so. Vince McMahon got raked over the coals when it was all said and done, so I can at least see why he'd go to extreme lengths to avoid having any WWE involvement in things, no matter how remote.

 

[BestInCanada20]

It kind of makes sense since they have been going against shots to the head, starting with the chair shots, but I believe this is totally kayfabe. Someone simply asked him why he hasn't used it so of course he needs an explanation. We know he's not REALLY kicking them in the skull and he used it as a face last year when he kept taking out members of the Nexus and it's also how he ended Chris Jericho's last run, so by saying he only used it as a super heel is completely inaccurate. I've also seen him set up for it in recent matches, I believe he tried to land it on Kane at Wrestlemania and I wouldn't be surprised if this is a way to further his current storyline with Chris Jericho. Jericho could simply demand that Lauriniatis bans the punt kick in their match at No Way Out.