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The Undertaker Reveals Which WWE moves Hurt the Most
These are the wrestling moves that punished The Undertaker's body most over the years.
Make no mistake – one of the best parts of watching WWE is not only enjoying the nonstop drama and trademark in-ring action found on Monday Night Raw every week, but it's having a vested interest in your favorite WWE Superstars outside the ring.
Being a professional wrestler is akin to subjecting yourself to the equivalent of repeated car crashes every time you compete. Eventually, that kind of wear and tear on your body causes long-term physical issues. This thinking makes fans worldwide wonder, "How badly does that WWE Superstar's finishing move really hurt?"
The physical punishment that every WWE Superstar undergoes on a regular basis is intriguing to everyone in the WWE Universe. Recently, one of the most respected and popular Superstars of all time revealed everything fans have wanted to know about the physical impact of his signature moves over the years – and how much of a toll they've taken on his body.
Speaking openly on a recent episode of his popular Six Feet Under podcast, The Undertaker talked at length about the wrestling moves that contributed to his eventual retirement in 2020.
What Move is toughest on The Undertaker's Body?
If you noticed the multi-time WWE Champion slow down during the latter stages of his career to focus on a more physical, brawling style, you're not alone. While The Undertaker was the farthest thing from a high-flyer, he was incredibly agile in the ring during the first half of his career, frequently breaking out high-impact aerial moves that left the WWE Universe with their jaws on the floor.
Unfortunately, that high-impact style eventually wore The Undertaker down, and he explained that one move in particular contributed to long-term hip injuries.
"Nothing really bothered me as far as my move set until the end of my career," The Undertaker confessed. "But that guillotine leg drop on the apron, by the end of my career, was sending shivers right up my spine. Like somebody was hitting me with a cattle prod every time that I would drop that leg on the apron, because there's no give at all to the apron. That's where everything is tied in and it's pretty solid there. I would get pretty good height on that thing. I think that's probably what took out my right hip, is dropping that guillotine leg drop."
(We agree with The Undertaker – landing on your backside onto the unforgiving ring apron while handing out leg drops night after night would destroy anyone's hip!)
For any fan wondering why The Dead Man specifically called out his leg drop as one of the most painful moves to dish out throughout his career and not his trademark Tombstone Piledriver – don't worry, he also credits that iconic finishing move as something that destroyed his knees over time.
"The Tombstone, just at the very end, kind of started to bother me because my knees were getting kind of chewed up," he continued. "But for the most part of my career, it was nothing really – it just kind of snuck up on me one day."
Which Move Did The Undertaker Hate Being on the Receiving End Of?
When you're a seven-foot-tall WWE Superstar, being on the receiving end of any big maneuver is a recipe for long-term pain, but The Undertaker calls out explicitly one move that he never liked being on the wrong side of.
"My least favorite would be the powerbomb," he stated. "I didn't like taking the powerbomb – it was a bone-rattler. It depends on the guy, too. You can let somebody float down or you can bring somebody down with a little extra trajectory."
There are not many Superstars who didn't put that extra "oomph" into their respective powerbombs. In fact, we can only think of Kevin "Diesel" Nash as someone who didn't deliver the powerbomb in a driving, decisive fashion. (Nash's Jackknife powerbomb was more of a gentle release than anything else.)
Being powerbombed clearly wasn't a walk in the park for The Undertaker, which is probably why he exacted revenge later in his career by perfecting the high-impact "Last Ride" powerbomb – it was his excuse for payback against many painful powerbombs he took when he was younger!
Which WWE Superstar Had the Finishing Move That Hurt The Undertaker the Most?
According to The Undertaker, there was only one WWE Superstar he absolutely dreaded being hit by their finishing move: Syscho Sid, who frequently used the (you guessed it) powerbomb to finish off his opponents.
"Sid was always in a hurry to get you down on the mat," The Undertaker explained. "There was a little force added to his powerbombs."
He's not wrong. Sid – also a seven-footer – shouldn't have been able to powerbomb a grown man his size, but the two-time WWE Champion did it with regularity nonetheless. If The Undertaker tells the world that Sycho Sid's powerbomb hurt the most, we're inclined to believe him! Besides, if we really have any doubts, all we have to do is ask former WWE Superstar Heath Slater, the last person to be on the receiving end of a Sycho Sid powerbomb in a WWE ring:
The Undertaker's admissions serve as reminders to the WWE Universe that the larger-than-life Superstars competing on Raw, SmackDown, and NXT every week feel pain just like everybody does – and it shouldn't be surprising that some iconic wrestling moves hurt far more than others. Truth be told, after listening to what The Undertaker had to say, this is the only time we're not daydreaming about being WWE Superstars ourselves one day!
You can tune in to Peacock to watch Backlash France on May 4. In the meantime, catch up on all things WWE Universe on Peacock.
