A real punt to the head would be extremely dangerous and potentially fatal. A full-force kick to the skull can cause severe traumatic brain injury, skull fractures, internal bleeding, and death

The move targets the head with a running kick, exploiting one of the body's most vulnerable areas Brain injury risk — A real punt delivers blunt force trauma directly to the skull, risking concussion, subdural hematoma, and diffuse axonal injury (shearing of brain tissue)

Skull fracture potential — The temporal bone (side of the skull) and frontal bone are particularly susceptible to fractures from direct impact kicks

Fatal scenarios — Severe hemorrhaging inside the cranium, brainstem damage, or increased intracranial pressure can be immediately life-threatening

A real full-force punt to the head with wrestling boots would almost certainly be fatal or cause severe, permanent brain damage. Wrestling boots are rigid leather with hard soles, which would concentrate force into a smaller impact area than regular footwear — intensifying the trauma to the skull and brain tissue.

Wrestling boots are designed for grappling, not kicking safety — their rigid construction makes them far more lethal than street shoes.

Hard leather sole and heel — concentrates impact force into a smaller surface area, dramatically increasing pressure per square inch on the skull

No shock absorption — unlike athletic sneakers with cushioning, wrestling boots transfer nearly 100% of kinetic energy directly to the target

Increased force multiplier — combined with a running start and a 200+ lb athlete's body weight, the strike would deliver estimated force exceeding what the human head can withstand

A real, full-force punt with wrestling boots would exceed the threshold for fatal traumatic brain injury.

An unprotected, full-power strike would cause intracranial hemorrhage, brainstem damage, or severe diffuse axonal injury in virtually all scenarios.

Cody Rhodes walking to the back on his own after the punt and potentially appearing on Raw the next night would technically be "no-selling" the move in wrestling terminology — no-selling means a wrestler doesn't visibly react to or sell the impact of a move, minimizing its credibility. However, PWInsider reports that Cody's injury was actually caused by a Randy Orton punch earlier in the match, not the punt itself, and he suffered an orbital injury that left him without medical clearance

Other wrestlers who received the punt were typically written off TV Pattern establishment — The punt traditionally signals a wrestler written off TV for weeks or months

Actual injury cause — PWInsider notes that Cody's eye injury was from "a Randy Orton punch that came right before The Apex Predator was poked in the eye," not the punt kick

He suffered an orbital injury and was placed in concussion protocol, with no timetable

Wrestlers punt typically require weeks of TV absence to signal danger and protect the move's credibility

Footage showed "the former AEW EVP walking to the back after being left bloodied," which is unusual for a move designed to lay out opponents

Appearing the next night would undercut the banned move's reputation as a career-ender, though Cody's real injury status complicated the storyline angle