A HITC roundup says WWE banned or modified five high-risk moves: the punt kick, chair shots to the head, shooting star press, an early Pedigree version and the piledriver. It links the restrictions to concussion and serious head or neck injury risks.
HITC says WWE barred chair shots to the head during the PG era, while the punt kick was on its banned list after concussions and head injuries attributed to mistiming or failed execution. The original Pedigree, designed to drive an opponent head-first into the mat, never aired and was changed. The article says the original piledriver was banned after Steve Austin suffered a neck and spinal-cord injury against Owen Hart, though piledrivers still appear occasionally.
For the shooting star press, the article points to Brock Lesnar’s failed attempt against Kurt Angle at WrestleMania 20, saying Lesnar could have suffered a fatal neck injury. It describes the move as suited only to highly trained high-flyers.
