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There are few wrestling moves more memorable than the Tombstone Piledriver. It has been a staple in professional wrestling for decades, and has become so popular that everyone, even those not in WWE, call the move the ‘Tombstone’.
Part of the move’s popularity is its simplicity. You pick someone up, flip them upside down, and kneel down while driving that person’s head into the mat. Even if the move is scripted and actually safe to take, it looks devastating.
Although most of the move’s initial users were big men (especially Andre the Giant, who invented it in the first place), a lot of smaller wrestlers have started using it too.
Even the Young Bucks, who are noted for their aerial maneuvers, use a double-team Tombstone Piledriver as one of their main tag team finishers.
They say that imitation is the best form of flattery, so that must mean that there are a lot of flatterers out there that love using the Tombstone in their matches.
But out of all these wrestlers, which ones hit the Tombstone the best? Read on to find out…
7. Drew McIntyre
Before he became known as ‘the Chosen One’ in WWE, McIntyre was known in British wrestling circles as Drew Galloway. And Galloway’s finisher before coming to WWE was the Tombstone Piledriver, which he called ‘Thee Move’. In most cases, he hit the move perfectly, and it made him look like a major threat in the ring.
As you can imagine with WWE’s extremely hierarchical environment, they would never allow a rookie – or even a rising star hand-picked by Vince McMahon himself – to use a move associated with one of the company’s most iconic wrestlers (unless there was a feud between them).
This is why McIntyre was given the double-arm DDT as his WWE finisher instead of the Tombstone Piledriver.
Yet this could’ve been the perfect way for Vince’s ‘Chosen One’ to be catapulted to the main event. Imagine seeing this heelish rookie beating everyone with the Tombstone. He would keep beating people with it, until he eventually crossed paths with the Undertaker, who’d be furious over this act of disrespect.
That would be the perfect way to setup a feud between legend and rising star, which would’ve done wonders for McIntyre’s career during his first run in WWE.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tx2hHnFjaZg
6. Jun Akiyama
Jun Akiyama is often considered the unofficial ‘fifth’ pillar of heaven of All Japan. His matches in AJPW and NOAH in the 1990s and 2000s were legendary, and the man himself is known as one of the best tag team wrestlers in Japan.
Akiyama, like most Japanese wrestlers, was mostly known for his suplex variations. It was Akiyama that created two popular moves that are now used in WWE: the Blue Thunder Bomb and the Exploder Suplex. But Akiyama was also known to break out other dangerous power moves on occasion, including a modified Tombstone Piledriver.
Akiyama’s version included a cradle, which meant that instead of wrapping his arms around his opponent’s waist, he’d lock them between his opponent’s legs in the same way that Cesaro does with his Neutralizer.
This small adjustment made it look like Akiyama was putting more force into the downward thrust with his Tombstone, which in turn made him look more dangerous as a competitor.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hHpm7RgbpE
5. Jushin 'Thunder' Liger
I have no idea why, but the Tombstone Piledriver is not taken seriously as a finisher in Japan. Despite its legendary reputation in North America, many Japanese wrestlers use it as a transitional move in their matches. Case in point: Jushin Thunder Liger.
Liger is one of the true legends in pro wrestling, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest pro wrestlers of all time. Although known mostly for his aerial maneuvers and technical wrestling ability, Liger has also been known to throw some big power moves as well.
While he likes to focus on suplexes and Powerbombs (the bread and butter of Japanese wrestling), he has also hit the Tombstone Piledriver on his opponents many times. As expected, Liger hit the move quickly, yet with enough force to make it look like it really hurts.
But Liger never hit it in a finishing sequence or part of a dramatic comeback; it was a move he’d just throw out in the middle of a match, just to bedazzle the audience with his strength.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyaLUlYuqcE
4. Hiroyoshi Tenzan
Hiroyoshi Tenzan is one of NJPW’s most loyal wrestlers. He debuted with the company in 1991, and has been with them since then with almost no interruption. Although he has used many different finishers, his biggest and most dangerous was the TTD, the Tenzan Tombstone Driver.
Tenzan’s TTD is different from all other variations on this list because of one important factor: his opponents don’t wrap their arms around his waist. For everyone else on this list, the victim holds onto their opponent to keep themselves cinched in to avoid really falling and hitting their heads on the mat.
But with Tenzan, he held them up with his own strength, and most of them only used one arm to support themselves. Because of that, Tenzan’s victims had to trust him to not drop them in a bad way, effectively putting their lives in his hands like no one else.
As if that wasn’t enough. Tenzan was also known to pull an Owen Hart on occasion and do a sitting version, which greatly amplified the risk factor of this move.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVn0v0_M6aQ
3. Kazuchika Okada
New Japan’s new ace Kazuchika Okada is one of the tallest and strongest wrestlers in the company. As such, he’s able to do more ‘lifting’ moves, which includes the Tombstone Piledriver. But unlike almost everyone else on this list, Okada doesn’t try to win the match with the Tombstone. Instead, it’s used to setup his real finisher, the Rainmaker.
Yes, that’s right; Okada used the iconic Tombstone to setup for what he considers an even bigger move. That’s like hitting the F-5 to setup for a crossface.
While some fans might not like the idea of the legendary Tombstone being used as just a regular move in a finishing sequence, it does make sense from a psychology standpoint.
Okada’s Rainmaker targets the head and neck, and dropping someone directly onto those body parts with great force right beforehand makes it that much more likely that the victim won’t have enough strength to kick out after it lands.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Js0xF-bM4IM
2. Kane
From the moment he first debuted in WWE, Kane was using the Tombstone Piledriver to demolish any soul unfortunate enough to cross his path. The main reason for giving Kane this move was to cement the closeness that Kane had to the Undertaker, his storyline brother.
Kane wanted revenge on ‘Taker, and there’s no better way to send a message than by using your rival’s own signature maneuver.
Yet over the years, Kane gradually moved away from using the Tombstone as his regular finisher and instead started using the Chokeslam as his main finisher. That actually ended up being a great thing for Kane, because it allowed him to develop his own aura and not be defined by his relationship with the Undertaker.
While Kane has busted this move out several times over the years, it was mostly on rare occasions. There was also something ‘off’ in his execution at times, since he would quickly drop to his knees without giving the fans enough time to see the impact approaching. Thus, Kane’s version didn’t have the same ‘impact’, if you will, as the move’s most iconic user…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL8A5SliYIU
1. The Undertaker
There’s a reason why wrestlers, fans and commentators all over the world call it the ‘Tombstone Piledriver’ and not the ‘kneeling belly-to-belly Piledriver’ or ‘reverse piledriver’. That is because this move is more synonymous with the Undertaker than anyone else in the entire wrestling industry.
For almost thirty years, the Undertaker has been dropping people on their heads with his terrifying Tombstone Piledriver. Even though it’s a safe move to take (as long as your head is high enough from the ground to not actually hit it on impact), there’s something devastating in seeing a near-7-foot monster pick someone up and drop them head-first into the ring canvas.
But what makes ‘Taker’s Tombstone the best was how he executed it. In most cases, he would bend his knees for a split second and then quickly straighten them, creating the illusion that he was putting even more force into the Tombstone’s impact.
In other cases, he put in a little delay before dropping to his knees, which gave the eventual impact more drama. And in other rare occasions, he did a leaping Tombstone which, while probably causing immense pain to his knees, made his Tombstone look even more devastating than normal.
Even though many more awesome, complicated, more aesthetically-pleasing and dangerous wrestling moves have come up since 1990, for millions of wrestling fans around the world, The Undertaker’s Tombstone Piledriver will be etched into their memories as the greatest finisher in WWE.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHM4abfU5HQ
