WWE: 10 Lasting Legacies Of The Undertaker (Other Than The Streak)

4. The Tombstone Piledriver Is The Most Devastating Finisher

When the Undertaker started using the Tombstone Piledriver as a finisher, it instantly became one of the coolest finishing moves in the history of wrestling history. The Undertaker's Tombstone came at a time when lame finishers like Hulk Hogan's leg drop or Ultimate Warrior's body splash (all due respect to him) were what we were used to seeing. Unlike their moves, Undertaker's move really looked like it hurt. This was a case of a guy turning somebody upside down and then dropping them head first into the mat. Imagine that move in a real fight? It would end the fight right there. That's why it is such an effective finisher. When the move was done right, it should never hurt somebody. However, when Owen Hart did it to Steve Austin at SummerSlam 1997, it severely injured Austin and took years off his career. Undertaker always did the move by landing on his knees. When Hart did the move, he dropped to his butt and Austin's head ended up hitting the mat, which nearly paralyzed him. Austin told Owen to do it the right way, but Owen figured he could do it safely his way. It didn't happen at SummerSlam 1997. What was great about the move was that few people ever kicked out of it. There were kickouts in recent years when they started doing those "kick out of finishers" spots that have been common in the main event scene, but it wasn't always like that. It always bothered me that Kane used the Tombstone for a period in his career. It should have been a move that only Undertaker did as a way to protect it. Kane doing it did make sense because he had similar moves to Undertaker, but it would have been better if nobody else ever did the Tombstone. When he retires for good, nobody else should ever do the Tombstone Piledriver. Let it end with him.