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Owen Driver


Was justing watching a clip of a '92 Steve Austin-Masahiro Chono match where Austin basically performs the same move to Chono that Owen broke Austin's neck with several years later with, similar, if not as extreme results.

Steve Austin breaks Masahiro Chono's neck

I was just wondering if there are any examples of that version of the piledriver EVER being performed correctly. I never saw anyone perform that tombstone that way before Summerslam '97 and, obviously, haven't since, outside of this one clip.

Thoughts?

And, obviously, happy new year.

Well typically you wouldn't do that piledriver for obvious safety reasons.  I know Owen swore up and down that it was perfectly safe, but the jolt alone makes it tough to protect someone, you'd think.  There's reasons guys do the piledriver the traditional ways.  That being said, the move is actually called a K-Driller and I've seen Japanese wrestlers (I wanna say Kobashi but my memory is hazy on it) do it before Owen busted it out, so it wasn't unheard of.  Austin wasn't in any condition to be taking that move, however.  

Comments

  1. Has there been a piledriver since the Punk-Cena match on Raw? That was such a mark moment for me.

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  2. 2 Cold performed that version of the pile driver frequently in ECW.

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  3. The comment section is another reason why youTube comments are death. People claiming "KARMA!" as if Austin did it on purpose and that he had the Owen injury coming to him, and that he had no right to be mad at Owen about it. It's like people can't take a few seconds to think critically before speaking.

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  4. They made another storyline out of that moment when Owen did the same piledriver to Dan Severn.


    I forgot the gist of the storyline, but Owen retired and became the Blue Blazer, but the won the tag titles with Jeff Jarrett.

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  5. I swear Owen used to use that move occasionally before the Summerslam match and he used it a couple times during that weird fake injury angle with Dan Severn without a legit injury coming of it.

    It's weird how around this period half of the WCW roster (and I assume a lot of the WCW workers) were using the Tombstone Piledriver as a transition move. Sting, Steamboat, Rude, etc... Would bust it out, usually leading to a reversal or two (like on that video) and it would get a close count, but never a definitive 3 for the finish.

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  6. Are we allowed to post youtube links here? Here is Sabu doing the move too... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IP8I1foEjbg

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  7. Didn't Rikishi do this piledriver as a finisher in 2000?

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  8. Even being a dangerous move, I wanna see the Piledriver back as a Murder-Death-Kill move. Imagine the pop it would be if someone did this a dramatic match.

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  9. I thought his was more along the lines of the Fire Thunder Driver.

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  10. Possibly a new finisher for Fale?

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  11. That move wasn't even in Owen's "moveset", so to say. I still don't understand why he did it. Austin was bigger and heavier than he was.

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  12. I could have swore that Punk or Cena broke one out in one of their better outings together.

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  13. Think critically? On YOUTUBE? Brother, those guys have to be reminded to breathe every few seconds. Wanting them to think critically requires them to have the capacity for thought at ALL.

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  14. On a chair, no less. Stay classy, ECW.

    Oh wait...

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  15. Yep, and it helped make the match seem epic.

    For my money, probably their best pure match against one another (though I also loved NOC 2012 and Summerslam 11).

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  16. You are correct on all counts. I definitely remember Owen doing the move at least once, I think to Davey.

    It's super dangerous, but several wrestlers were using it at that time, especially if they wanted to differentiate their move from the Tombstone proper.

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  17. That was about as safe as you can get doing that move.

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  18. He Tombstoned Bret at 'Mania X, but there it was the Undertaker version. I think he used it more in Japan, so he was digging into his expanded repertoire for spots. I believe I read once that the plan was for Owen to hit several piledrivers for a series of 2 counts building up to Austin making a comeback after the last kickout.

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  19. I just see the piledriver and think, hey that's Billy Gunn's old finisher.

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  20. Theberzerker! HUSS!January 2, 2015 at 1:01 PM

    Wow...talk about karma. Sort of.

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  21. I've said this a few times, but the Burning Hammer as Cena's MurderDeathKill super finisher would be awesome.

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  22. The basic pilesdriver really isn't that dangerous if it's done correctly.

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  23. Sounds likely. It was kind of funny how the story of the match was Owen working on Austin's neck considering how things turned out.

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  24. And it's pretty easily to pull it off believably while still being safe.

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  25. HowmuchdoesthisguyweighJanuary 2, 2015 at 1:17 PM

    Weirdest thing about the move being in Owens head at all was the fact that undertaker was main eventing that night and it would of essentially neutered takers finisher a bit, imo. Austin was clearly to low in Owens grasp for that move to end up being safe. He had nowhere to go. My assumption is Owen wasn't fully aware of the placement of steves neck (obviously).

    And yes he did to it to Severn as part of a storyline. Just looked that one up. Did notice Owen let him go so Severn could take the move (as opposed to Owen spiking it down), the one to Severn almost looked like a michonoku driver on impact.

    Rikishi's original finish was as safe as it could be. He was a bigger, stronger guy so he could have his opponent high and tight over his shoulder and his fat thighs helped also. Guys head never made it to the mat. Plus he would pop them up and out to look impactful

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  26. Lawler popped for that. It's the last time I remember him being awake.

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  27. ouch, I'll never forget Capital Combat '90 when Rick Steiner picks Ron Simmons up for a piledriver and dropped on his knees FORWARD instead of the traditional on his backside. I'm still shocked that didn't end in disaster.

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  28. Rick Rude ftw

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqG4CfGf4cU&spfreload=10

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  29. Crikey Mate Down Under AussieJanuary 2, 2015 at 1:31 PM

    Nah, Punk and Cena both got yelled at and I'm pretty sure fined, I think anyone else would have been punished severely.

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  30. Those comments are something else. YouTube home to the crazies.

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  31. Riklishi used that as his finish for a while.

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  32. Talking dangerous move can't believe I saw a reverse rana in a wwe ring at nxt ppv...steiner screwdriver looked dangerous

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  33. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkS6ChB9rrA

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  34. Here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkS6ChB9rrA

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  35. Yeah, I watched that match recently, and it was definitely a nasty moment. I think I saw it also done during the Jericho-Ultimo Dragon match that was on Jericho's DVD. Makes you cringe.

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  36. The Steiner Screwdriver is basically the same move (starts as a suplex, ends in a sit-down Tombstone), and I'm sure I've seen Owen do the same Tombstone in other matches.

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  37. Is there video of the steiner screwdriver, because that shit scares me!

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  38. I think it'd be fun to go through all the moves in Firepro Wrestling that would result in serious neck injury and see how many of them are actually done today.

    TigerBomb 93 anyone?

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  39. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qO37wWEHs7g

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  40. Jesus christ.

    Is there a demarcation point as to when Steiner turned from that kinda guy who looks like he could be a real star in the sort of Kurt Angle vein, into well...White Dennis Rodman?

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  41. I remember people used to bitch that Greetings never hit properly, which always baffled me. Why the fuck would you complain that a move which could easily cripple or kill someone didn't actually land?

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  42. White....Dennis....Rodman? What? If anything, Steiner looked like someone took Superstar Graham and hooked an airhose to HIS ass, and blew him up to ridiculous proportions. All that extra muscle....for NOTHING.

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  43. Steiner (Rick) was quite bad for that. There's a clip of him nearly killing Scott Norton with a fucked powerslam.

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  44. Adam "Colorado" CurryJanuary 2, 2015 at 3:52 PM

    91, not 93.

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  45. Adam "Colorado" CurryJanuary 2, 2015 at 3:53 PM

    Because it looked like shit.

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  46. Adam "Colorado" CurryJanuary 2, 2015 at 3:57 PM

    Steen/Owens should keep using the package piledriver. Every time I've seen him do it it looked totally safe.

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  47. That point was roughly after they rejoined WCW. Mid 97 or so. ECW Steiners were bigger but they were still themsevles. But by like 97 Scott Steiner still had the dark hair but he looked like he ate the original Steiner and whatever he was taking had changed his head shape. Probably the proto version of HGH. Then when he became Big Poppa Pump he just looked like a completely different guy. His workrate bit the dust around that time too, it became way too dangerous for him to do early 90s Steiner stuff.



    The facial aesthetics is the big thing. Like for all the people who swore there was a 2nd Ultimate Warrior or that Kane has been played by 3 guys, I'm surprised there was never a 2nd Scott Steiner theory because if you put 92 Steiner and 98 Steiner in front of me, even after watching a lot of wrestling I'd be pretty sure they were different people.

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  48. Charismatic eNegro Jef VinsonJanuary 2, 2015 at 6:01 PM

    Not so fast....


    http://youtu.be/5f81u2xMNBg

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  49. Coming up through the WWE system, I wonder if Cena ever took that move in his entire life before that match.

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  50. No one on the roster at that time (or currently) has the balls to do it. CM Punk gave something less than two shits.

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  51. Ha, I've commented on the 'Two Steiners' thing before.

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  52. afair they included two or three other moves they don't regularly use as well, for example Cena hitting a sit-down powerbomb.

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  53. I think the K Driller was Kobashi... Either him, or Satoshi Kojima

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  54. I actually remember him doing it in Stampede Wrestling when he was just starting out in Calgary. Actually, a bunch of guys used to do piledrivers that way if memory serves me correct.

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  55. And didn't actually put people's bodies and lives at risk!

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  56. Am I imagining things or did Vader once do some weird tombstone variant on Kane?

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