Wardlow Credits Batista And Other WWE Stars For AEW Moveset Inspiration
AEW star Wardlow has been having quite the year so far, from his high-stakes feud with MJF to becoming the reigning TNT Champion. There are many impactful moves Wardlow can use against wrestlers, from the F-10 to the Powerbomb Symphony, and on the September 16th episode of "Dynamite Download", Wardlow talked about the inception and significance of his wrestling moves, starting with the F-10.
"That's my baby," Wardlow said. "That is my favorite move."
The TNT Champion then revealed where he got the idea for his corner knee strike. The "thumbs up, thumbs down" motion was a tribute to the former World Heavyweight Champion, Batista, while he set-up for it came from Batista's Evolution stable-mate, Randy Orton. "I saw Orton do the DDT where he hangs the feet up on the ropes ... [and I wondered] if I could hang their feet up and then drop them and knee them," Wardlow said."
Wardlow's clothesline, meanwhile, is an homage to Bradshaw's Clothesline from Hell. "My god what a beautiful move. He threw that f***ing thing, and he would come off the ropes too," Wardlow says. He loved the move, but wanted to put his own spin on it. So he added the charge-up follow-through to give it more of an extra flair, which he sayscame from the video game "Injustice: Gods Among Us."
Who wrote the symphony?
The story behind the Powerbomb Symphony, meanwhile, is equally interesting. Wardlow explained that when he was younger, he and his friends would do backyard wrestling on the trampoline. During this "matches," Wardlow would constantly do Kevin Nash's Jackknife Powerbomb or Batista's Batista Bomb numerous times on his companions.
"My poor friends," Wardlow lamented. "They had to have hated me."
But using multiple powerbombs as his AEW finisher wasn't actually Wardlow's idea.
"This isn't something I pitched," he said. "It was [Chris] Jericho and Tony [Khan] ... Khan is the one that first labeled it the Powerbomb Symphony." The AEW CEO's decision seems to have paid off, as the move has become a huge fan favorite, helping to elevate Wardlow to new heights in the eyes of the AEW audience.
Wardlow recently defended his TNT Championship on the September 7 edition of "AEW Dynamite," defeating Tony Nese to retain. With the evolving wrestling landscape, Wardlow recognizes the changes ahead and is ready to take them on.