Why don't wrestlers add moves to their arsenal more often?

[Str8Shooter]

I was thinking about how Cena gets ripped for his "5 moves of doom", and other guys seem to have a reputation of having limited movesets, and it got me wondering why more people don't add moves to their repertoire?

If nothing else you'd think they'd get bored of using the same moves all the time and would want to add something new in to try and freshen things up. Hell you'd think Cena might add new moves just to fuck with people who hate on him for it.

[Westcoastvibes]

I often wonder this myself. One of the main reasons amateur wrestling teaches so many moves and variations is that you decide your next move based on the situation and what is the most effective and fluid move you can use depending on the previous offense or defense.

I know that pro is about showmanship and ratings but at what point is having a variation of moves in your arsenal considered bad? What would be wrong with cena hitting a power bomb now and then or a full Nelson suplex. the rare occasions we get back and forth matches with heavy influence on actual wrestling and substantial move sets instead of striking and signiture moves get tremendous reviews and the crowd loves it, it shows skill and technical knowledge, and that's not a bad thing.

[Kyle]

I think it's a lack of ability or a lack of desire to really improve in the ring. Cena can execute many moves (though maybe not crisply) but he doesn't because so many of his matches are set up for him to get beat down most of the match and then make a heroic comeback. The best wrestlers in the company (Bryan, Rollins, Cesaro, Ziggler, KENTA, Steen, Devitt, Zayn, Ambrose....) are all very good with their match-pacing so they can work back-and-forth with a lot of different moves mixed in because, naturally, they are all great wrestlers who know the intricacies of match psychology and are talented enough to have a wide repertoire of moves because they know not only how to execute them, but why it works in the situation they use it in.

[PorkChop]

Does anyone remember when Cena dropkicked someone and everyone marked out?

It was a shitty dropkick, easily the worst I've ever seen. But just seeing Cena do something new made people go crazy

[axis]

They probably keep things the same as they know how to do certain things, and probably wont get hurt from them. They work 300 days a year, and if they are off injured because they tried something new, thats less money for them.

[The Legend]

I think in the case of WWE they don't want their guys to have larger movesets because at that point you have overlap. They want John Cena to have his signature moves that nobody else can do, same as Randy Orton, same as Seth Rollins, etc.

Their roster is so large that when you want every guy to have an almost completely unique moveset you wind up not being able to add many moves.

[Everlong]

They probably keep things the same as they know how to do certain things, and probably wont get hurt from them. They work 300 days a year, and if they are off injured because they tried something new, thats less money for them.

I think this is probably a big part of it. Routine is a big part of the way they stay safe in the ring. Especially as you become more and more seasoned, that routine is probably something they cling to to extend their career.

[Hanley!]

In fairness, people do add new moves sometimes. I remember a few years ago when John Cena added that ugly-as-balls top-rop fameasser to his arsenal. And there was that time he added that manky STF to his move set. Now that I think about it, holy fuck Cena's moves all look terrible. You'd think before he started using a new move, he'd make sure it actually looked good.

I've always been okay with signature moves to be honest, they give the wrestlers more of an identity in the ring and they add little spots throughout the match that the audience can pop for. Used well they can really enhance a match. I do think wrestlers should be willing to add new signature moves from time to time though, and that they should vary things up with plenty of different non-signature moves during lengthy matches to keep the audience guessing.

[Messiah]

In fairness, people do add new moves sometimes. I remember a few years ago when John Cena added that ugly-as-balls top-rop fameasser to his arsenal. And there was that time he added that manky STF to his move set. Now that I think about it, holy fuck Cena's moves all look terrible. You'd think before he started using a new move, he'd make sure it actually looked good.

U MEAN LIKE DIS?

[Hanley!]

Michael Cole: "Are you kidding me?"

Yes, Cole.

He's kidding all of us.

[Str8Shooter]

Michael Cole: "Are you kidding me?"

Yes, Cole.

He's kidding all of us.

That rana from Cena wasn't that bad for a guy Cena's size.

[Hanley!]

He should have considered doing a move that looked good period, instead of one that looked "not that bad for a guy his size." Not a lot of judgment shown there.

I guess maybe we should give him marks for effort, but it's hardly surprising that he hasn't kept it in rotation since.

[Kyle]

I get that some wrestlers like the routine and the company doesn't want their guys using the same or similar moves. But having said that, there are a crap-ton of wrestling maneuvers out there. Many variations of suplexes, powerbombs, throws, lifts, submission holds, strike attacks, etc. I don't really think it would be an issue if everyone expanded their moveset at least a little bit.

One of the biggest problems with regards to this I believe is that matches on RAW are usually short (bar one or two) so the guys don't have the time to really settle into the match and execute a wide variety of moves before setting up the finish.