The Undertaker refused to perform risky move on 440-pound WWE legend
John Bradshaw Layfield (JBL) recently recalled how Vader wanted The Undertaker to reverse his moonsault into a tombstone piledriver.
Vader defeated the legendary superstar at the 1997 Royal Rumble after landing his signature Vader Bomb from the top rope. The three-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion often executed athletic moves that other people his size were unable to perform, including the moonsault.
Speaking on his Stories with Brisco and Bradshaw podcast, JBL said Vader genuinely thought The Undertaker could catch his 440-pound body mid-moonsault before tombstoning him:
“He goes, ‘I got an idea. You think I can do a moonsault and The Deadman catch me and tombstone me?’ Vader’s 440 [pounds] at the time, and I said, ‘Absolutely. Just call it [in the ring], don’t even tell him! He’ll love you forever. It’ll be the greatest spot in the history of the Royal Rumble! Just do it!’” [1:20:12-1:20:32]
JBL is close friends with The Deadman in real life. The 2020 WWE Hall of Fame inductee persuaded Vader to suggest the idea as a joke because he knew his friend would never attempt the risky move.
How The Undertaker reacted to Vader’s idea
JBL watched Vader pitch the dangerous spot to The Undertaker from the other side of the WWE locker room.
He said The Deadman ignored his Royal Rumble 1997 opponent’s request and walked away without saying a word. Later that night, the WWE icon asked JBL if he had anything to do with the outlandish idea.
“Taker never looks at him,” JBL said. “He’s looking straight ahead, looks up, and he pats him on the leg and walks out of the dressing room. Vader looks around, he goes, ‘What does that mean?’ I go, ‘He loved it!’ Taker pulled me aside later, he goes, ‘Have you been traveling with Leon [Leon White, Vader’s real name]?’” [1:20:48-1:21:15]
Vader passed away in 2018 at the age of 63. He is set to be posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame alongside The Undertaker on Friday, April 1, in Dallas, Texas.
Did you know that The Undertaker has a weird phobia? Check out the video above for more details!
Please credit Stories with Brisco and Bradshaw and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.