It's not surprising to see WWE Superstars borrowing moves from each other, but sometimes, many aren't allowed to execute certain wrestling maneuvers. While speaking on his podcast, Road Dogg reacted to reports of Asuka being told not to perform the armbar after Ronda Rousey got signed by WWE.
On his podcast this week, the tag team legend reviewed WrestleMania 34, which saw Ronda Rousey make her in-ring debut for WWE. The 'Mania in 2018 also had Asuka's undefeated streak ending at the hands of Charlotte Flair in a SmackDown Women's Championship match.
Rumors circulated back then, via Dave Meltzer, that Asuka's signature move, the armbar, was removed from her repertoire due to Rousey's presence on the roster.
Road Dogg seemingly confirmed the rumors to be true and noted that wrestlers being asked to stop doing certain moves isn't new in the business. He highlighted how many stars didn't do German suplexes after Brock Lesnar popularized it and became a massive merchandise seller thanks to his 'Suplex City' t-shirt several years ago.
Here's what Road Dogg revealed on the latest episode of Oh...You Didn't Know:
"I do remember about Ronda coming in and people stopping or having to stop using similar armbars. Look, a lot of people do that; you know what I mean? A lot of people come in and have stuff, and you go, 'Yeah, we're not going to do that anymore. Don't do those.' Look, a lot of German suplexes, when Brock was coming around and taking everybody to Suplex City, and that shirt was selling like wildfire, you didn't notice too many other people doing German suplexes, didn't you? But nobody said a word about that." [From 1:00:13 to 1:00:45]
Ronda does an armbar = silence
— Michael (@HellcatPerez) April 3, 2023
Asuka does an armbar = crowd erupts.
Asuka is the real baddest woman on the planet. #WrestleMania
Brock Lesnar and Ronda Rousey both had a triumphant outing at WWE WrestleMania 39
This year's Show of Shows prominently featured the former MMA fighters as Ronda Rousey teamed up with her real-life best friend Shayna Baszler to compete in the Women's WrestleMania Showcase.
The members of the Four Horsewomen of MMA beat three other teams to get their hands raised after a nine-minute bout.
As for The Beast Incarnate, Lesnar kicked off night two with a titanic clash against Omos. The former WWE Champion dispelled all fears regarding the quality of the match by putting on a reasonably entertaining in-ring contest with The Nigerian Giant.
The challenge might have seemed massive on paper, but Lesnar got a pinfall victory at the end of a five-minute showdown.