10 greatest super-finishers in wrestling history

#4 The Undertaker's Spike/Leaping Tombstone Piledriver

Sometimes a slight difference between kneeling and leaping can mean a lot in wrestling

For over twenty-five years, the Undertaker’s Tombstone Piledriver has been considered one of the most powerful and dangerous finishers in all of pro wrestling. There’s something simple yet devastating in seeing him pick someone up, flip them upside down and then drive them down to the mat.

For most of his career, the Undertaker knelt down when executing the Tombstone. This was done to protect his knees, and he sometimes delayed the impact by controlling his kneel to build up the anticipation of the move’s impact. But there have been a few occasions on which the Undertaker added some extra power to his signature Tombstone by leaping/jumping instead of kneeling.

By making this slight modification, the Tombstone became an even more powerful move. The best example of this move being used was at WrestleMania XXVI, when ‘Taker used a Leaping Tombstone on Shawn Michaels to pin him after a ‘regular’ Tombstone that he used earlier wasn’t enough to win the match.