Jerry Lynn Discusses Dangers Of The Piledriver, Origins Of Cradle Piledriver

Piledrivers have been phased out of wrestling over the years due to the damage they can potentially cause to the head and neck.

When they were still common in the sport, Jerry Lynn famously used the cradle piledriver as his finishing move in the ECW. 

Speaking to Robbie Fox on My Mom’s Basement, Lynn discussed the dangers of the piledriver and the origins of his cradle piledriver. 

“I took some tombstones off the turnbuckle from Justin Credible. There is a lot of trust there. It has to be someone you really trust. In ECW, I couldn’t think of a finisher. Nova was very innovative and coming up with cool stuff, so I asked Nova, ‘Can you help me come up with a finisher?’ He said ‘sure.’ The next week, he says, ‘Remember Dynamite Kid in Japan would do the cradle piledriver? Why don’t you try that.’ That’s how it all started. It’s very dangerous. When you get them up, when you let go, you’ve got nothing except bend your knees a little so their head doesn’t slide down further. I tell [my opponent] a certain way to base so I can protect them. I started doing it in 1999 until 2013 and I think I had four mishaps. It’s dangerous, anytime you’re dumping someone on their head,” said Lynn. 

Elsewhere during the interview, Lynn discussed his cradle piledriver becoming immortalized on the AEW Tag Team Titles. You can find his full comments by clicking here. 

If you use any of the quotes above, please credit the original source with a h/t and link back to Fightful for the transcription.