The Undertaker has revealed that his famous Tombstone Piledriver underwent an important adjustment early in his WWE career, admitting the original version of the move was difficult to control and potentially dangerous for his opponents.

During the opening stages of his WWF run, The Undertaker did not execute the Tombstone in quite the same way fans would later become accustomed to seeing. Instead of positioning an opponent squarely against his shoulders, their legs and body could hang towards one side.

Speaking on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, The Undertaker admitted that his early technique largely came down to being inexperienced and still figuring out the safest way to perform the move.

“Well, one, I really didn’t know how to do it right the first. It’s just like, you know, I’m just dumb, young, and just grabbing guys up, and they’re hanging over here on the side, and eventually I got them squared up, and it was much easier to control their body weight and land safer and land square.”

The WWE Hall of Famer was also asked whether any of those early Tombstones went particularly badly. He immediately pointed towards Koko B. Ware, who became the first wrestler to take the move during The Undertaker's televised WWF debut.

“Oh yeah, there was early on. There was some pretty bad tombstones, and it’s crazy because I really pride myself on not hurting people. But you can go back. Koko B. Ware took a hellacious one that I kind of blew off when it happened. I was like, come on, man, just suck it up. And then I watched it back years later, and I was like, oh, maybe he had a reason to b*tch about that because that looked gnarly.”

The moment took place at Survivor Series on November 22, 1990, in Hartford, Connecticut. The Undertaker was introduced as the mystery member of Ted DiBiase's Million Dollar Team and quickly made an impact, eliminating Koko with the Tombstone roughly a minute into his appearance.

Koko has previously recalled being dropped on his head during the move and claimed that he and The Undertaker had not rehearsed it beforehand. Despite the frightening nature of the incident, Koko has also made clear that he does not hold a grudge against The Deadman, with the two discussing what happened in the years that followed.

For The Undertaker, refining the Tombstone was not simply about protecting the wrestler taking it. The demanding WWF schedule meant he also needed a version that reduced the physical strain on his own body.

“It’s a safer way, and not only is it a safer way, but it was a more efficient way to do it. We’re on the road 20, 25 days out of the month. You have to figure out ways to minimize the trauma, and how to take care of yourself.”

Once he learned to properly square an opponent's body before dropping to his knees, The Undertaker found that he had significantly greater control over the move.

“And it was very difficult to not break somebody’s neck. When all their body weight is making a hard right, once I figured out how to get them lined up, it was better for them and it was a lot easier for me.”