10 Unlikely Origins Of Wrestling Finishers

8. The Strange Approach WWE Took With The Undertaker's Tombstone

John Laurinaitis Randy Orton RKO
wwe.com

This again is unlikely in retrospect, given WWE's modern handling of the piledriver, which is forbidden - unless it's the Canadian destroyer variation, inexplicably. What WWE is communicating here is that flips make everything OK. Which is very strange, since some of you hate flips because AEW. Hmmm. This might be latent bias creeping in, but best not jump to conclusions.

Speaking on the Why It Ended With Robbie E podcast in 2018, Koko B. Ware explained that the WWF took a laissez-faire attitude with the Tombstone piledriver initially. Treating a dangerous head-drop finish like a football manager instructing an orc of a centre-half around the opposition's 18-yard box, 'Taker per Koko was effectively told to just hit-and-hope.

It wasn't practised ahead of time. Koko, the first recipient of the move, was told by the Undertaker "Hey, they want me to do this". And so he did, and not perfectly. Koko revealed that he cracked his neck after being "dropped on [his] head, to be honest with you".

His head was positioned too close to 'Taker's knees, and not "the fat part of his thighs," which explains the error.

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!