Ronda Rousey says WWE has barred other wrestlers from performing the Tombstone Piledriver even two years after The Undertaker retired.
The iconic wrestling move – which saw the Dead Man hoist his opponent upside down before dropping to his knees, driving their head into the mat – was regularly performed by ‘Taker and his on-screen brother Kane, but WWE fans have seldom seen others try it on screen.
Both of the so-called Brothers of Destruction are retired now, but Rousey has explained there is a reason you shouldn’t expect any current stars to adopt it in the future.
The UFC legend is set to face Liv Morgan in the namesake match at Extreme Rules next month, and she had an interesting response when a fan told her to hit the SmackDown Women’s Champion with a Tombstone Piledriver.
Speaking on her own Baddest Stream on YouTube show, she said: ‘[The Tombstone Piledriver is] such a dangerous move, nobody else is allowed to do it.’
She added: ‘It’s basically a retired move.’
Well, there you have it!
The idea of certain moves being banned in WWE for safety reasons isn’t unheard of, and indeed almost all variations of the piledriver have long been against the rules in the company.
Despite this, Undertaker did continue to use the move while other versions were barred, but perhaps his longevity and status in the business – as well as the move’s enduring popularity, and how perfectly he performed it – gave him a pass.
Meanwhile, one of ‘Taker’s legendary rivals Mick Foley recently made waves when he suggested the German Suplex – which sees a wrestler grab their opponent round the waist from behind, before throwing them backwards over their head – should also be banned.
Given the nature of pro wrestling as entertainment, the idea is for the person taking the move to land on their shoulders rather than impacting their neck, but Foley doesn’t see the need to do the move at all.
He said: ‘I did not let people throw me backwards very often. There would be times a guy like Rick Steiner would throw me whether or not I wanted to go, but I generally had a plan B.
‘I just don’t like German Suplexes. I think that over time they shorten careers, and they destroy the quality of life.’
The former world champion pointed to a recent AEW Dynamite match between Daniel Garcia and Wheeler Yuta for the ROH Pure Championship as an example of his concerns.
‘These guys are great workers. I just think they could do without that move… I don’t want to see any of us in wheelchairs. I don’t want to see any of us needing long-term care,’ he said on his own Foley Is Pod podcast. ‘There [are] just other ways around it. I just wonder what it’s going to take for people to say, “Let’s take the German [Suplex] off the menu.” ‘
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