The Undertaker

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Height: 6'10" Weight: 328 lbs Real Name: Mark Callaway DOB: 3/24/62
Hometown: Death Valley, Arizona (Houston, Texas) Other Names: The Master of
Pain (USWA), Texas Red (USWA), The Punisher (USWA), "Mean" Mark Callous (WCW),
Kane the Undertaker(WWF), "American Badass" (WWF), "The Dead Man" (WWF), "The
Phenom" (WWF) Wrestler Since: 1984 Finishing Maneuver: Tombstone Piledriver,
Chokeslam, The Last Ride PWI 500 2005 Ranking: #26 Previous PWI 500
Rankings: #23(2004), #18(2003), #2(2002), #11(2001), #8(1999), #5(1998),
#6(1997), #19(1996), #14(1995), #23(1994), #46(1993), #21(1992)
History: (Last Updated: 6/27/05) For nearly 15 years now, the Undertaker has
been the unstoppable force in World Wrestling Entertainment. He is the Phenom,
the Dead Man, the monster who always seems to be able to rise up no matter the
assault. He has made hundreds of wrestlers Rest In Peace, either by Tombstone
Piledriving them through the mat or by giving them the devestating Last Ride
Powerbomb. He is a four-time WWF/WWE World Heavyweight Champion, and has held
the WWF/WWE World Tag-Team Titles half a dozen times. Yet more remarkably than
all that, the Undertaker is still going strong as a major threat to any foe that
happens to be in his way. The Beginning Mark Calloway grew up in Dallas,
Texas, where he continued to grow in size and power as he went into high school.
He played basketball at West Texas High, with his height (over 6 feet at the
time) giving him a sizable advantage in the game. But Calloway's love of the
sport was overshadowed by another interest:
professional wrestling. Despite being offered athletic scholarships to go to
college, Calloway opted to began training as a wrestler instead, where he was
discovered by Fritz von Erich and given a referral to Don Jardine, who was
better known in wrestling circles as the Spoiler. Calloway debuted as the masked
Texas Red in '84, facing (and being brutally beat by) Bruiser Brody. Part of the
reason Calloway wore a mask was because of his high school basketball coach, who
was reportedly upset at a great b-ball player "wasting his time" with wrestling.
When it came down to a choice, though, Calloway went with what he loved:
wrestling. WCCW/CWA/USWA Calloway continued to wrestle as Texas Red for the
next few years, while still continuing his schooling (he graduated in 1988). He
frequently appeared in von Erich's World Class Championship Wrestling, making a
name for himself while his skills inside the squared circle grew. In June '87,
Texas Red teamed up with Ted Arcidi and nearly
gained the Texas Tag-Team Titles, winning over Bruiser Brody & the Spoiler
(Calloway's trainer) and the Fantastics to reach the finals. Unfortunately, the
duo couldn't overcome the force of Tony Atlas & Skip Young, who took the
tournament. A few years later, in '89, WCCW was bought up by the United States
Wrestling Association, based out of Tennessee. Although there was some interest
from the USWA, Calloway was utilized at first in the Continental Wrestling
Association, a smaller branch of the organization promoted by Jerry "The King"
Lawler. Calloway wrestled as the Master of Pain for the CWA, managed by Dutch
Mantell. Calloway wasn't known for speaking much, but his power was
unquestioned. In March '89, the Master of Pain & Mantell teamed up in the CWA
Tag-Team Title Tournament, and won the first match by taking down Brian Lee &
Bill Dundee, before later falling to Jimmy Valiant & Jeff Jarrett. Calloway and
Lee had various confrontations, but also became friends in the back,
with Lee later being Calloway's best man at his wedding. In April '89, as the
Master of Pain, Calloway defeated Jerry Lawler and became the USWA World
Heavyweight Champion, a prestigious accomplishment. This reign only lasted a few
weeks, however, before Lawler took the title back. Calloway later transferred
back to Texas for a time, wrestling for the Texas branch of the USWA, where he
became the Punisher, managed now by General Skandar Akbar. In October '89, the
Punisher was scheduled to face Eric Embry for the USWA Texas Heavyweight Title.
But when Embry couldn't make the match, the Punisher won via forfeit, gaining
some more gold. Once again, though, it was a short reign for Calloway, as he
lost to Kerry von Erich a few weeks later. 1990: WCW In late '89, the
Skyscrapers, Sid Vicious & "Dangerous" Dan Spivey, were feuding with the Road
Warriors in World Championship Wrestling. When Vicious was injured, though,
Calloway was given the opportunity to step in as the new
Skyscraper. Wrestling as "Mean" Mark Callous, he took the opportunity and ran
with it, showcasing his skills on a national stage. One of Callous' more
notorious moves at the time was to walk the top rope, a manuever he still
performs today (called "going Old School"). At Clash of the Champions X in
February '90, Callous & Spivey faced off against the Road Warriors, with the
Skyscrapers trying to use their power to their advantage. But the Road Warriors
had power of their own, and near the end, appeared to have the win, as Spivey
got caught with the Doomsday Device. Callous, however, returned to the ring with
a chair and slammed Animal with it, knocking him down. Callous & Spivey then
later gave Hawk a spike piledriver on the chair, losing the match via
disqualification, but setting a major statement. Over the next few weeks, the
feud continued to build between the Skyscrapers and the Road Warriors, leading
to a "Chicago Street Fight" match being signed at Wrestlewar '90. However,
early on in the event, it was announced that, due to injury, Dan Spivey would
not be participating in this match, and a substitute had to be found. Callous,
with his manager, Theodore R. Long, managed to find a new member in the Masked
Skyscraper (Mike Enos). However, the lack of teamwork and experience from the
new Skyscrapers team, plus the advantage of the style of match for the Road
Warriors, kept the Skyscrapers from getting the victory, as the Road Warriors
put away the Masked Skyscraper with the Doomsday Device. It wasn't long
afterwards that the Skyscrapers were finally disbanded, as Spivey left WCW,
while "Mean" Mark Callous broke out into the singles division. Callous slowly
gained ground as a respected heel as the months went on. At Capital Combat, he
bested Johnny Ace in a solid match (although the PPV is more infamous remembered
for the appearance of Robocop). A month later, Callous had possibly his biggest
victory in WCW, when he took down "Flyin" Brian Pillman at
Clash of the Champions XI, winning with a heart punch. By this point, Callous
had yet another new manager, this time in the form of Paul Heyman (who later was
the driving force behind ECW). This victory helped put Callous in line for a
United States Title shot against the champion, Lex Luger, at the Great American
Bash '90. But, even with his manager's help, Callous couldn't stop the force of
Luger, eventually falling to the champ. This would be Calloway's last major
appearance for WCW, as he slowly faded from the scene over the next few months.
Different reports state that either Calloway was released from his contract by
WCW or Calloway waited out his contract, so that he could sign with Vince
McMahon and the World Wrestling Federation. WWF Calloway began wrestling at
various house shows under the name "Kane the Undertaker", as he began to develop
his new character's nuances in front of live crowds. He didn't officially
appear, though, on WWF television until November '90, at
the '90 Survivor Series. One of the "Survivor" Matches that had been set up
pitted Dusty Rhodes, Koko B. Ware, & the Hart Foundation against Ted DiBiase,
Rhythm & Blues, & a mystery partner, whom DiBiase touted as his ace in the hole.
When the teams came out, the Undertaker made his first appearance, being led to
the ring by Brother Love. The Undertaker quickly struck as a monster, taking out
Koko B. Ware with his Tombstone Piledriver. The Undertaker later faced off
against Dusty Rhodes, taking out the captain of the "Dream Team" with a
vengeance. But the Undertaker couldn't take his attention away from Rhodes, as
the two fought to the outside, where the Undertaker was counted out. Thanks to
his help, however, DiBiase was able to be the sole survivor in the end. The
Undertaker continued to gain mystique as he wrestled over the last months of
1990, always destroying his opponents and apparently feeling no pain. On one
edition of the Brother Love show, Brother Love announced that he
was no longer the Undertaker's manager. Instead, Paul Bearer would be taking
over the position, giving the Undertaker an even more sinister manager at
ringside, carrying the Undertaker's urn. It was long rumored that the Undertaker
gained his power from that urn. The Undertaker would also 'bury' his opponents
after matches by placing them in body bags, a definitely scary proposition. The
Undertaker became well-known in his matches both for his inability to be hurt to
his high-flying acrobatics, from walking across the top rope to an unbelievable
flying clothesline. He was on his way up. 1991 The Undertaker quickly made a
mark in the new year, as he was expected to be a major contender during the '91
Royal Rumble. He entered the battle royal as entrant #12 and immediately had an
impact, tossing out Bret Hart, the Texas Tornado (Kerry von Erich), and Butch of
the Bushwhackers. He was finally set to the outside by a running clothesline
from old nemeses from his Skyscraper days, the
Legion of Doom. Despite this set-back, the Undertaker continued to gain
momentum, as it seemed like, in a normal match, nobody could stand up to him. At
Wrestlemania VII, the Undertaker soundly defeated a long-running legend in "The
Phenom" Jimmy Snuka, showing that he was now a major force in the WWF. It also
led, later down the line, to the Undertaker adapting the name of "The Phenom".
The Undertaker next set his sights on a top-ranked player in the WWF, the
Ultimate Warrior. Around this time, Paul Bearer had taken over Brother Love's
former duties as a "talk-show host", running the Funeral Parlor, where various
guests were 'invited'. On one such broadcast, Bearer had the Ultimate Warrior
on, and presented him with a casket with the Warrior's picture on it. The
Warrior promptly attacked Bearer, only to have the Undertaker intervene and
stuff him into the casket. On another occasion, at Saturday Night's Main Event
#29 in April '91, Bearer wheeled another casket down to ringside
during the Warrior's match with Sgt. Slaughter. Later on, the Undertaker came
out of the casket and attacked the Warrior, with Hulk Hogan coming down to make
the save for his on-and-off tag-team partner. The Undertaker and the Warrior met
in several matches, but never faced off in a definitive challenge on a major
card to conclude their feud. The Undertaker, with Paul Bearer, soon began
forming an allegiance with Jake "The Snake" Roberts, who had also had problems
with the Ultimate Warrior (once locking the Warrior in a room full of poisonous
snakes). The two made a sinister pair, as Roberts' treachery was a match for the
Undertaker's cold heart. At Summerslam '91, the Undertaker joined Roberts in
"celebrating" the wedding between "Macho Man" Randy Savage and Elizabeth, by
delivering a present with a snake inside to the reception. This led to a
long-running feud between Savage and Roberts, with the Undertaker regularly
becoming involved as well. In September '91, the Undertaker
competed in the first King of the Ring tournament. The Undertaker bested Animal
(of the Legion of Doom), but then fought to a brutal Double Disqualification
with Sid Justice (known as Sid Vicious in WCW), ending his run in the
tournament. In the meantime, the Undertaker's power was starting to lead him to
the very top of the pile, as he began feuding with the WWF World Champion, Hulk
Hogan. The Undertaker got in another assault at the Funeral Parlor, beating down
on the Hulkster and making himself a serious threat for the title. At the '91
Survivor Series, the Undertaker and Hogan faced off in what was billed the
Gravest Match. During the battle, another of Hogan's foes, Ric Flair, came to
the ring and distracted Hogan, helping the Undertaker back into the match. With
the referee down, Flair later slid a steel chair into the ring, and the
Undertaker used it, Tombstoning Hogan headfirst into it. The shuddering Hogan
was then pinned, making the Undertaker the WWF World Heavyweight
Champion. Due to the controversial finish, a second card, Tuesday In Texas,
was set up less than a week later, with a rematch between the Undertaker and
Hogan, with WWF President Jack Tunney at ringside. During the match, Flair again
became involved, but Hogan intercepted him, getting rid of the Nature Boy, but
also taking out Tunney. While Flair was trying to help the President, Hogan
managed to use the chair to knock down the Undertaker and roll him up for the
pin, apparently regaining the championship. Due to the chair again becoming
involved, however, Tunney ruled that the belt was now vacated, leaving the
Undertaker and Hogan to feud over the last of the year without gold involved.
1992 President Tunney later announced that the winner of the '92 Royal Rumble
would be declared the new WWF World Heavyweight Champion, sparking lots of
interest in the event. It was also announced that both the Undertaker and Hogan
would be given favorable draws, in that they could only enter
the Rumble after pick #15. The Undertaker entered the Rumble as #20, still a
pretty low pick considering where he could have ended up. The Undertaker had an
immediate impact in the Rumble, though, tossing out "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka and
choking out several wrestlers, including Ric Flair, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper,
"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, and others. But when Hogan arrived, he cleaned house,
including managing to clothesline the Undertaker over the top rope, ending his
chances to get back the gold. Instead, Flair went on to win the Rumble, despite
having come in #3, to become the new champion. The Undertaker continued to
feud with Hogan for the next few weeks, but a change for the Dead Man seemed to
be on the horizon. Despite his evil tactics, there were some cheers beginning to
come from the audience whenever he sat up from someone's shots, as a fan
following began to form. It grew quickly a month or so later, when the
Undertaker surprisingly saved Elizabeth from a beatdown from Roberts.
When Roberts later confronted the Undertaker about it on the Funeral Parlow,
asking what side the Undertaker was on, the Undertaker simply replied "Not
Yours", generating a huge cheer from the crowd. Roberts later got some revenge,
though, slamming the Undertaker's hand inside of a casket and beating on him and
Paul Bearer while the Undertaker was helpless. The two wrestlers faced off at
Wrestlemania VIII, with the Undertaker continually on the offensive. Although
Roberts got two of his DDTs near the end, when he became distracted by Paul
Bearer, he was left open to a rising Undertaker, who Tombstoned Roberts on the
floor, then rolled him into the ring for the 3 count. Now as a fan favorite,
the Undertaker began facing some of the biggest monsters in the WWF. He had
feuds with the Berserker and Sid Justice for a time, showcasing his skills in
each battle he fought. The Undertaker later had a protracted feud with Kamala,
the Ugandon Giant, who was managed by Harvey Whippleman & Kim
Chee. Kamala seemed unstoppable at times, but had a major flaw in that he
feared some of the Undertaker's mind games, especially when it came to caskets.
At Summerslam '92, the two wrestlers met up, with the Undertaker in control for
much of the match. In the end, as the Undertaker went for the Tombstone victory,
Kim Chee ran into the ring, causing the DQ. Kamala then splashed the Undertaker
several times in the corner, only to have the Undertaker rise up and chase him
to the back. The two wrestlers faced off again at the '92 Survivor Series, this
time in the first-ever "Casket" Match. Thanks to the Undertaker using the urn on
Kamala, he got the victory, shoving the heavy man into the specially-built
casket. 1993 The Undertaker's problems with Harvey Whippleman continued in
1993, as Whippleman promised a new challenger that would take care of the Dead
Man. It turned out to be an enormous wrestler named Giant Gonzales, who was
nearly 8 feet tall. At the '93 Royal Rumble, the
Undertaker came out as the 15th pick and struck quickly, eliminating Ted
DiBiase, Genichiro Tenryu, Samu, and the Berserker, sending wrestlers flying.
But the Undertaker was then attacked from behind by Giant Gonzales, who was not
even an entrant in the Rumble. Gonzales beat on the Dead Man and eliminated him,
costing him his shot at winning the Rumble. The two men would face off a few
months later at Wrestlemania IX, with the Undertaker getting the DQ victory
after a desparate Gonzales used chloroform to knock him out. After the match, as
the Undertaker was being stretchered away, he rose up, then came back to the
ring and attacked both Gonzales & Whippleman. The Undertaker and Giant
Gonzales continued to feud for the next few months, with Whippleman striking a
harsh blow by taking down Paul Bearer at one point and stealing the urn. This
led to a "Rest In Peace" Match being signed for Summerslam '93, with there being
no disqualifications and no countouts, only pinfalls. During
the match, Whippleman and Bearer got into it, with Bearer knocking out
Whippleman with one punch and reclaiming the urn. With his power back behind
him, the Undertaker handily dispatched with Gonzales, getting another victory.
It was also the end of Gonzales' run with the WWF, leading the Undertaker to
seek other opponents. Going into November '93, one of the biggest storylines
in the WWF was the battles between the All-Americans (Lex Luger, Tatanka, & the
Steiner Brothers) and the Foreign Fanatics (Yokozuna, Ludwig Borga, & the
Mounties). During one Raw, Yokozuna & Borga worked together to take out Tatanka,
injuring his ribs. This left a spot open on Luger's team for the upcoming PPV.
The Undertaker soon surprisingly stepped in as Tatanka's replacement, joining
the team. The two squads faced off at the '93 Survivor Series, with Crush
joining the Foreign Fanatics in place of an injured Pierre Rougeau. The
Undertaker mostly stayed on the apron for a good portion of the match, until
it was down to him & Luger vs. Yokozuna & Borga. When Luger made the hot tag,
the Undertaker came in to huge cheers and attacked Yokozuna, shrugging off most
of the WWF Champ's best shots and sitting back up, terrifying the sumo wrestler.
The two fought outside the ring, both getting counted out. Luger went on to beat
Borga to get the victory. 1994 Throughout the rest of '93 and into '94, the
Undertaker continued to feud with the WWF Heavyweight Champ, Yokozuna. At one
point, the Undertaker & Paul Bearer managed to trick Yokozuna and his managers,
Jim Cornette & Mr. Fuji, into signing a title match at the next pay-per-view
involving a "Casket" Match. This left Yokozuna having to contemplate ending up
buried in an extra-large casket that the Undertaker had personally made. At the
'94 Royal Rumble, the match took place, with Yokozuna unable to keep the Dead
Man down. But just as the Undertaker seemed to have everything well under
control, a veritable army of heels rushed the ring,
including Diesel, Crush, Adam Bomb, Jeff Jarrett, and others, all paid by Mr.
Fuji to interfere in the No DQ Match. Although the Undertaker fought hard,
coming back several times, he eventually stayed down after Yokozuna broke the
urn, causing green smoke to pour out of it. The Undertaker was then rolled into
the casket, ending the match. Afterwards, as the heels celebrated, the
Undertaker mysteriously appeared on the TitonTron and said that he would not
Rest In Peace, and then floated upwards, through the screen. It was a surreal
moment, to say the least. For months, the Undertaker stayed off of WWF
television, as many people speculated about where he was. Finally, near the end
of the summer, "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase stepped forward and claimed
that he, once again, was bringing the Undertaker to the WWF. At the same time,
Paul Bearer also claimed to have the Undertaker on his way back. DiBiase's
Undertaker appeared first (portrayed by Brian Lee), and did seem to be
the real deal. But Paul Bearer had the real Undertaker, and he made his return
at Summerslam '93, where he not only defeated his twin, he also placed the fake
Undertaker into a casket and removed him, so that he would never appear again.
With his "doppelganger" dealt with, the Undertaker once again focused his energy
on the man who had masterminded his departure: Yokozuna. The sumo wrestler was
no longer the WWF champion, but that didn't stop the Dead Man from setting up a
"Casket" Rematch for the '94 Survivor Series. Yokozuna, with his managers
backing him, opted to sign the contract, believing that the same result would
take place. But the Undertaker had back-up, as he arranged for Chuck Norris to
be the special ring enforcer for the match, to keep the other men away. With
Norris on the outside, nothing could stop the Undertaker from taking out
Yokozuna and finally putting the big man into the casket, winning the match.
After the victory, the Undertaker spent the rest of the
year continuing his feud with DiBiase and his Million Dollar allies, as DiBiase
wanted revenge for the Undertaker's actions at Summerslam. 1995 At the '95
Royal Rumble, the Undertaker got a chance to take out one of DiBiase's allies,
his long-time tag-team partner, Irwin R. Schyster (IRS). Although the Undertaker
managed to take out the tax collector, he still took a hit in the end, when
DiBiase stole his urn and departed with it. For the next few months, the
Undertaker battled against the Million Dollar Corporation, in an attempt to
reclaim the urn. He got his chance at Wrestlemania XI, where he faced off
against DiBiase's biggest ally, King Kong Bundy. During the match, Paul Bearer
managed to get the urn back, giving the Undertaker a power boost. But Kama,
another of DiBiase's men, came down and took out Bearer, before leaving with the
urn. This didn't stop the Undertaker, though, as he defeated Bundy with a
clothesline. Kama (later known as the Godfather, among other names)
took the urn and apparently melted it down into a chain that he could wear
around his neck. This led to a long feud between the Undertaker and Kama over
the summer, as the Undertaker sought vengeance for his lost power idol. The two
faced in a pre-show match at In Your House I, with the Undertaker getting the
victory. Kama came back for some revenge, though, in the '95 King of the Ring
tournament, as he helped Mabel beat the Dead Man to move on (Mabel would later
win it all). The feud met its final conclusion at Summerslam '95, as the
Undertaker once again signed to face a man in a "Casket" Match. This being the
Undertaker's favorite match, Kama basically had no chance, even with DiBiase's
help, as the Dead Man caught him with a Chokeslam & a Tombstone Piledriver, then
rolled him into the casket for the victory. The Undertaker next started
feuding with another large man in King Mabel. During one six-man match between
the Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, & Diesel vs. Owen Hart,
Yokozuna, & the British Bulldog, Mabel came down to the ring and attacked. With
the Undertaker incapacitated thanks in part to a shot from Yokozuna, Mabel
dropped his leg across the Undertaker's face, supposedly badly injuring him. It
was said that he had damage to his orbital socket, putting him on the shelf. Not
surprisingly, Mabel bragged constantly about his actions, as well as wearing the
chain that used to be the urn, until it was announced that the Undertaker would
be returning at the '97 Survivor Series with a team from the Dark Side to face
Mabel and his allies. The Undertaker had to wear a mask that looked similar to
the Phantom of the Opera, making him seem even more mysterious. For the match,
the Undertaker teamed with Savio Vega, Henry Godwinn, & Fatu, while Mabel had
his Royals: Jerry "The King" Lawler, Issac Yankem (later known as Kane), and
Hunter Hearst Helmsley. The match-up was pretty even until the Undertaker came
in after around 10 minutes. He then proceeded
to quickly take out Lawler, Yankem, and Helmsley in order, leaving Mabel to run
from the ring and be counted out. The Undertaker's entire team 'survived'. A few
weeks later, the Undertaker settled things with King Mabel in a "Casket" Match
at In Your House V. Despite help from Mabel's partner, Mo, they couldn't keep
the Undertaker locked down, and he eventually won the match by placing another
body in a casket. 1996 With the victory over Mabel, the Undertaker was
proclaimed the #1 Contender to the WWF World Title, which was currently held by
Bret Hart. The Undertaker seemed to be on a roll, having reclaimed the chain
from Mabel, which he remade into the urn. He faced some dissention, though, from
Diesel (Kevin Nash), who believed that he should still be the #1 Contender,
having lost the belt to Hart. At the '96 Royal Rumble, the Undertaker got his
shot against the champion. He first had a staredown, though, with Diesel, who
was still in the aisle after the Rumble had completed.
The Undertaker's match with Hart was a good one, with several close falls. At
the end, though, an unmasked Undertaker looked to have the win, catching Hart
with the Tombstone. But Diesel reappeared and pulled the ref out of the ring,
causing the DQ. This meant that the Undertaker won the match, but was denied the
title. The Undertaker and Diesel continued to feud over the next few months,
with the Undertaker costing Diesel his World Title match against Hart at In Your
House 6, by coming through the ring and dragging Diesel underneath with him!
Later on, the Undertaker scared Diesel by having Paul Bearer bring a casket to
the ring during one of Diesel's matches. Inside was a perfect replica of Diesel,
complete with closed eyes. The two large wrestlers finally met up at
Wrestlemania XII, with Diesel trying to use his power to his advantage. But even
after two Jacknife Powerbombs, the Undertaker just wouldn't stay down, and
eventually finished off Diesel with a huge Tombstone for the
victory. On the Raw following the PPV, the Undertaker had a scheduled match
with Justin Hawk Bradshaw. During the bout, Mankind came out and attacked the
Undertaker, ending the match and starting a massive feud, with two scary
individuals involved. A third was soon added, as Mankind began joining up with
Goldust (Dustin Rhodes) in their battles against the Undertaker. The Undertaker
faced Goldust in a "Casket" Match at Beware of Dog II in May '96 (with the match
being replayed due to technical problems with the first Beware of Dog). Although
the Undertaker fully had the upper hand near the end, when he went to open the
casket, Mankind came out of it with the Mandible Claw, knocking out the
Undertaker and placing him in the casket, which gave Goldust the improbable win.
This led to the Undertaker and Mankind signing to face each other at King of the
Ring '96. Both men took some hard hits, but both seemed resistant to pain. Near
the end, though, the match was decided from the
outside, as Paul Bearer went to hit Mankind with the urn, but apparently
accidentally hit the Undertaker instead, allowing Mankind to get the win. The
battles between the three men continued over the next month, as the Undertaker
met and won over Goldust at International Incident via DQ, due to Mankind's
interference. This led up to Summerslam '96, where the duo signed to face in a
"Boiler Room Brawl" Match. The stipulation was that the first person to leave
the boiler room and reach Paul Bearer & the urn in the ring would be the winner.
After several brutal maneuvers throughout the boiler room, the Undertaker
finally escaped and made it to the ring. But, shockingly, Bearer refused to give
the urn to the Dead Man, and even used it as a weapon. This allowed Mankind to
come back and get the win, as well as getting the services of Paul Bearer.
Bearer's reasoning behind turning on the Undertaker had to do with something
that had happened in the Undertaker's past, but the story was
vague at first. It still led to the feud intensifying between the Undertaker
and Mankind, as well as with Goldust, whom the Undertaker destroyed with a
Tombstone in a "Final Curtain" Match at Mind Games. This allowed the Undertaker
to concentrate fully on Mankind, as well as Paul Bearer, who betrayed him. The
Undertaker and Mankind signed up for another match at Buried Alive, which was
named for the "Buried Alive" Match the two had. In the end, the Undertaker's
power was too great for Mankind, as he threw the deranged man into the pit and
tossed in some dirt, winning the match. However, before the Undertaker could
bury Mankind fully, he was attacked by another Paul Bearer ally, the Executioner
(Terry Gordy), who joined with Mankind and others to bury the Undertaker in the
grave. At the end of the PPV, lightning struck the shovel stuck in the ground,
and the Undertaker's hand appeared through the dirt. The Undertaker
disappeared from television for a time, but his presence was
still felt, especially after a match was signed between him and Mankind for the
'96 Survivor Series. If the Undertaker won the match, he would get 5 minutes
with Paul Bearer, who had to be suspended above the ring in a cage. The
Undertaker finally made his reappearance that night on PPV, descending from the
ceiling complete with wings. He managed to defeat Mankind, but was denied the
match with Bearer, as the Executioner once again attacked. This led to an
"Armageddon" Match between the Undertaker and the Executioner at It's Time, with
the Undertaker successfuly winning the match to get rid of the Executioner.
1997 The Undertaker went into '97 feuding with another big man in Vader. The
two clashed at the '97 Royal Rumble, with Vader surprisingly getting the win
after Paul Bearer, now managing Vader, hit the Undertaker with the urn, allowing
Vader to get his splash for the pin. The Undertaker got a little revenge later
on, however, when he came out as the final entrant in the
Rumble. The Undertaker dumped out Henry Godwinn and Mankind, but then the
controversy erupted. While Mankind and Terry Funk were brawling on the floor,
Bret Hart eliminated Austin. However, Austin came back into the ring and tossed
out first the Undertaker & Vader (who were brawling with each other), then
Diesel and Hart to get the victory. This controversial ending led to a match
being signed to decide the true winner of the Rumble at the next Pay-Per-View,
the Final Four. It would pit the Undertaker, Vader, Hart, and Austin against
each other in a mini-Battle Royal. More intrigue was soon added to the match, as
Shawn Michaels "lost his smile" and vacated the WWF World Title, which was
placed up for grabs in this match. Ironically, the first one to be eliminated
was Austin, who was tossed by Hart. Austin stayed around ringside, though, as
the Undertaker managed to toss out Vader. This left the Undertaker vs. Hart for
the WWF World Title, with each determined to eliminate the
other. Austin was a factor as well, though, as he reentered the ring and joined
the fight. In the end, while the Undertaker was distracted by Austin, he was
eliminated by Hart, who won the vacated World Title. Only one night later,
Hart was beaten by Sycho Sid on Raw, creating a new champion. It was later
announced that the Undertaker would be the #1 Contender at Wrestlemania, taking
on whoever held the belt at that time. The Undertaker wanted a piece of Sycho
Sid, saying that it was now his time to get out from the shadows of Bret Hart
and Shawn Michaels, among others. He even made sure that Hart could not regain
the belt against Sid shortly before the event. At Wrestlemania XIII, the two big
men collided with the belt on the line. It was an epic clash of power hitters,
with Shawn Micheals doing commentary from the announcers' table. In the end,
Bret Hart interfered, but it turned out to be good for the Undertaker, as he
distracted Sycho Sid. This allowed the Undertaker to get
the Tombstone and make the pin, becoming the WWF World Heavyweight Champion for
the second time. Since the Undertaker had the World Title around his waist,
Paul Bearer seemed to want to be his manager again. Bearer also started talking
about a "secret" that would turn the fans on the Dead Man. During one Raw near
the end of March, during a dispute between the two men, Mankind reappeared,
throwing a fireball into the Undertaker's face. This led to a match being signed
between the two for the next PPV, appropriately titled WrestleFest '97: Revenge
of the Taker. During the match, multiple referees were taken out, as the brawl
could not be contained. Several weapons were used, with the Undertaker coming
through by smashing Mankind with the steel steps to send him off the apron and
through the Spanish Announce Table. This led to the Undertaker getting the
victory and retaining the title after the Tombstone. After the match, the
Undertaker beat on Paul Bearer, even grabbing a fireball
from Mankind and throwing it into Bearer's face. The next person to challenge
for the Undertaker was Steve Austin, who was just starting his rise as a major
fan favorite. Austin, currently, was in a huge feud with the Hart Foundation,
especially since Bret Hart was put in a wheelchair. At A Cold Day In Hell, the
Undertaker and Austin met up, with the Hart Foundation inexplicitly coming to
ringside as well. The two faces battled long and hard, with Austin managing to
get the Stone Cold Stunner on the Dead Man. But before the cover could be
completed, Brian Pillman rang the bell, distracting the referee. This allowed
the Undertaker to come back, catching Austin with the Tombstone (after several
reversals) for the pinfall victory, retaining the title. After the match, the
Hart Foundation charged in and attacked the Undertaker, with Austin making the
save using one of Bret Hart's crutches. But after the faces cleared the ring,
Austin caught the Undertaker with a Stunner as well,
showing that their feud wasn't over. Shortly after the victory, the
Undertaker decided to allow Paul Bearer to be his manager, due to the secret
that Bearer apparently held over him. It was an uneasy partnership, for sure, as
the Undertaker regularly nailed some of Bearer's other allies, including Vader
and Mankind. At the '97 King of the Ring, the Undertaker defended the World
Title against the leader of the Nation of Domination, Faarooq. The Undertaker
had to deal, also, with the NOD, but this also helped him at the end, as Faarooq
became distracted by problems between two of his men, Crush and Savio Vega. The
Undertaker then got the Tombstone and won. But this wasn't enough for Paul
Bearer, who called for the Undertaker to Chokeslam the man to inflict more
punishment. The Undertaker, with no choice, goes through with it, but then was
confronted by Ahmed Johnson, who was unhappy with the Undertaker's recent
actions. A feud began to develop, but an injury to Johnson ended the
battles prematurely. Near the end of June '97, the Undertaker finally had
enough, and turned on Vader during a tag-team match with Faarooq & D-Lo Brown.
This led to an angry Paul Bearer finally revealing his long-kept secret: that
the Undertaker had actually killed his real parents by burning down the family
home, as well as badly scarring his brother, Kane (a reference to the
Undertaker's original name in the WWF; see above). The Undertaker battled
against Vader at the next WWF PPV, Canadian Stampede. Vader managed to get the
upper hand for a while, due to Bearer distracting the Undertaker by screaming
"Murderer!" at him. But the Undertaker eventually made his comeback, getting an
amazing chokeslam off the top rope on the huge man. The Undertaker then put
Vader away with the Tombstone, once again retaining the WWF World Title. The
Undertaker next concentrated on the threat of a former champion, Bret "Hitman"
Hart, who was riding a tidal wave of hate as the leader of the
reformed Hart Foundation. With Hart as the #1 Contender, a match was signed
between the two at Summerslam '97. As an added twist, "The Heart Break Kid"
Shawn Michaels was added as the special guest referee, to make sure that the
Hart Foundation couldn't be a factor. The problems between HBK and Hart seemed
to give the Undertaker a strong edge going into the match. But the different
referee also caused problems for the champ. At one point, the Undertaker caught
Hart with a chokeslam and pinned him, but Michaels was outside the ring, getting
rid of Brian Pillman & Owen Hart (two of the Hart Foundation). Later on in the
match, Hart put the Sharpshooter on the Undertaker, using the ringpost. When the
Undertaker kicked out, Hart fell into Michaels, knocking him down. This allowed
Hart to grab a chair and use it on the Dead Man, but this only got a 2 count.
Michaels then noticed the chair in the ring, and argued with Hart about it. When
Hart spit in his face, Michaels grabbed the chair
and swung, but Hart ducked, and Michaels instead knocked out the Undertaker!
Hart then made the cover, and a very reluctant HBK made the count, costing the
Undertaker the WWF World Title. The Undertaker rightfully blamed Michaels for
the loss, and began a major feud with him over the next few months. On one Raw,
the Undertaker partnered with Mankind against HBK & Triple H. In a shocking turn
of events, Michaels again used a chair, this time to bust the Undertaker wide
open. At Ground Zero, the Undertaker got his chance for revenge, but he didn't
want just a pinfall victory. He wanted blood. Before the match even began, the
Undertaker surprisingly attacked the referee, even as Michaels ran away. While
Commissioner Slaughter tried to stop him from leaving, the Undertaker tossed the
referee onto both of them, showing his rage. The Undertaker destroyed Michaels
for a while around ringside, before finally entering the ring, where a second
ref was waiting. Although Michaels wanted a DQ
for what happened to the first ref, the match still took place. The 2nd ref was
also later ko'ed, as was a third. Meanwhile, many weapons came into play, as
well as Michaels' allies in "Ravishing" Rick Rude, Triple H, & Chyna (soon to be
known as Degeneration-X). In the end, after the Undertaker chokeslammed yet
another ref, the match was thrown out, and the locker room cleared to try to
break up the brawl. The Undertaker had one last shot, though, as he dived over
the top rope and took out a dozen wrestlers with a plancha. Due to the chaos
that took place at Ground Zero, it was obvious that the Undertaker and Michaels
needed to settle their score in a better setting. This led to the creation of
one of the WWF's all-time biggest matches, the Hell In A Cell. Before this
happened, however, the Undertaker was given another World Title shot, facing off
against Bret Hart at One Night Only, an event held in the United Kingdom.
Although the Undertaker had the upper hand in several
portions of this match, his rage was uncontainable, as he let loose on Hart
near the end of the match when Hart was tangled in the ropes. When the
Undertaker wouldn't break away, the referee called for the DQ, costing the
Undertaker his chance to regain the title. This didn't seem to bother the Dead
Man that much, though, as he went back to focusing on his true target: Shawn
Michaels. The two wrestlers were signed to fight at Badd Blood '97, although
Michaels was obviously reluctant to sign up for a Hell In A Cell match. At the
beginning of the match, Michaels tried to bring down Degeneration-X, but the
rest of his group were sent back to the locker room, where they couldn't
interfere. This led to a wild, bloody brawl inside the cage, with the Undertaker
getting the majority of the shots in on the over-matched Michaels. At one point,
Michaels was tossed over the top rope, where he crashed into a cameraman,
injuring him. While the doors were opened to get medical help for the
cameraman, however, Michaels made a run for it, heading outside the cage. The
Undertaker gave chase, and after a fight in the aisle, a bloody Michaels tried
to escape by climbing up the cage to the roof. Once again, the Undertaker was
right behind him, and after a brawl on the roof, the Undertaker, by stomping on
Michaels' hands, set him into the announce table. In the end, it looked like the
Undertaker had everything handled, as he Tombstoned Michaels in the ring. But
suddenly, the match was interrupted by darkness, as Kane made his first
appearance, tearing off the door to the cell and Tombstoning his brother! A
barely conscious Michaels made the pin, shockingly winning the match. For the
rest of the year, Kane, with Paul Bearer doing the talking, challenged his
brother, but the Undertaker refused, not wanting to fight his own flesh and
blood. Instead, Kane took out Mankind at the '97 Survivor Series with a
Tombstone, then continued to attack various wrestlers, even as the
Undertaker continued his feud with Shawn Michaels, as well as challenging the
returning "Double J" Jeff Jarrett. The Undertaker and Jarrett met at
DeGeneration-X in December '97, with the Undertaker obviously controlling the
match. Not surprisingly, at the end, Kane & Paul Bearer came out. But Kane
chokeslammed Jarrett to get him out of his way, causing the DQ finish. Kane then
slapped the Undertaker, but the Dead Man again refused to attack his family.
After the match, when Jarrett tried to get the Undertaker in a Figure Four,
Undertaker Chokeslammed Double J and left him in the ring. 1998 Things
seemed to get better briefly for the Undertaker going into '98. Shawn Michaels
had been claiming that Kane would soon join D-X in the fight against the Dead
Man, but Kane surprisingly instead attacked Michaels, then gave the Undertaker a
'salute', making it seem like the two had reconciled their differences. This led
to the Undertaker having a "Casket" Match with Michaels, the new WWF
World Champion, at the '98 Royal Rumble. Once again, the Undertaker dominated
the match, and had Michaels in the casket after a Tombstone, when members of DX
& Los Boricuas rushed in to attack him. Kane then appeared, apparently to make
the save, by getting rid of the other wrestlers. But Kane then viciously
attacked the Undertaker, Chokeslamming him into the casket to give Michaels the
victory. Kane & Paul Bearer weren't done, however, as they poured gasoline on
the casket and lit it on fire! When the fire was finally put out, though, it was
discovered that the Undertaker was no longer inside, showing that he still knew
how to escape caskets. In March '98, Kane & Paul Bearer called out the
Undertaker, who had been missing for weeks. In a spooky display, a casket
appeared on the stage, with a lightning bolt striking it. The Undertaker then
appeared, threatening his brother. The desire not to hurt his family was gone.
The two would have various clashes leading up to the next
pay-per-view, including a Kane dummy being displayed inside of a coffin, a
chilling representation. The two clashed for the first time in the United
Kingdom, at Mayhem In Manchester, where the Undertaker managed to get the
victory over this brother. This didn't come close to stopping the feud, as each
brother continued to try to take out the other. At Wrestlemania XIV, the
brothers finally met in the USA, with Paul Bearer on the outside. The match
started in an odd way, with Kane Tombstoning the special guest entrance
announcer, Pete Rose. The two brothers fought long and hard, with each shrugging
off some incredible shots. At one point, the Undertaker tried his
over-the-top-rope plancha, but Kane dodged, causing the Dead Man to smash
through the Spanish announce table. Kane later landed the Tombstone, but the
Undertaker kicked out and made a comeback, landing three consecutive Tombstones
to finally put his brother down long enough for the three count. After the
match, though,
Kane rose up again, taking down the Undertaker, then Tombstoning him on a steel
chair, taking the Dead Man out. Over the next few weeks, the two brothers
continued to war, especially after Kane set fire to the tombstone of their
parents' grave. Kane later brought the caskets of the parents to Raw, with the
Undertaker being Chokeslammed through one of them when he tried to intervene.
This all led to an "Inferno" Match between the two at Unforgiven '98, with a
ring surrounded by fire. The first to be burned would be the loser. After
several near misses, including the Undertaker leaping over the flames to hit his
brother, the Dead Man again got the victory, by setting Kane's arm on fire. He
also got some shots in on Paul Bearer, for good measure. On the next Raw, the
Undertaker called out Kane once again. Kane & Paul Bearer came out and talked
about how Kane was actually Bearer's legitimate son, and that Bearer had slept
with the Undertaker's mother. When Bearer called her a whore,
the Undertaker once again started up a brawl. The family feud continued onward,
but the Undertaker also had other concerns, including problems with the owner of
the WWF, Vince McMahon. The Undertaker blamed McMahon for bringing his family
problems to where they were today, doing it simply for ratings, and even took
the fight to McMahon at one point, Chokeslamming the owner. At Over the Edge
'98, the Undertaker surprisingly came out as a "special enforcer" for the Steve
Austin/Dude Love World Title Match, where McMahon had appointed himself the
referee. Despite McMahon's tactics, the Undertaker kept him & his minions from
cheating Austin. He even Chokeslammed Pat Patterson through a table, as well as
taking out Gerald Brisco, making sure that Austin got the victory over Dude
Love. The Undertaker proved that his actions weren't just for Austin's benefit
the next night, as he demanded a title shot from McMahon. The ower agreed that
the Dead Man would get a shot, if he could beat his
brother, Kane. During the match, the Undertaker had the win, but the referee
was down. This allowed Mankind (changing back from Dude Love) to come in and
take out the Dead Man with the Mandible Claw, allowing Kane to get the win. This
rekindled the feud between the Undertaker and Mankind, with Paul Bearer once
again supporting the Undertaker's rival. This backfired on Bearer, who got
busted open during a cage match by the Undertaker, and was later attacked by the
Dead Man while recuperating at home. The feud between the two men became so
brutal that it was decided that the only way to solve it was a Hell In A Cell
Match. This was signed between the two at King of the Ring '98, and it soon
became known as one of the most brutal matches of all time. The fight remarkably
started on top of the cage, and nearly ended there, as the Undertaker threw
Mankind off the top to the Spanish announce table 50 feet below! After medics
began to cart Mankind off, he got off the stretcher and
climbed back onto the cage, restarting the fight. But the Undertaker almost
ended it again, this time by Chokeslamming Mankind through the cage roof! The
Undertaker followed Mankind down, and even took out Terry Funk, a friend of
Mankind's who had gotten in the way. After a long, brutal brawl inside the cage,
the Undertaker Chokeslammed Mankind into a pile of thumbtacks, then landed the
Tombstone, mercifully ending the bloody fight. It was a match that had to be
seen to be believed. Later on that night, there was a "First Blood" Match
between Kane and the WWF World Champ, Steve Austin. During the match, Mankind
came down to interfere, with the Undertaker then appearing to try and stop him.
However, the Undertaker accidentally took out Austin instead with a chair shot,
costing him the match and the title. Austin regained the title the next night,
but also gave the Undertaker a Stone Cold Stunner afterwards. The Undertaker
wanted a piece of Austin and his title, but McMahon wouldn't
grant it, instead placing the Undertaker & Austin in a Tag-Team Match against
the WWF Tag Champs, Kane & Mankind, at the next PPV. During this time, though,
the Undertaker (while wearing Kane's mask) defeated Mankind in a "No Holds
Barred" Match to become the #1 Contender, adding fuel to the fire between
himself and Austin. It didn't help that the Undertaker and Kane seemed to be
reconciling, with both men saving each other from assaults. At Fully Loaded
'98, everyone was talking about the fact that the Undertaker had not yet shown
up to the arena, possibly meaning that Austin would have to face Kane & Mankind
alone. Before the match began, though, the Undertaker appeared, and made his way
to the ring. He seemed reluctant to tag in Austin, though, as he watched from
the apron. Eventually, he did get tagged in, and cleaned house on both his
brother and Mankind, getting the Tombstone on Kane for the victory and winning
the WWF Tag-Team Titles for himself & Austin. The Undertaker
didn't seem willing the share, however, as he left the ring carrying both
belts, with a speechless Austin watching from the ring. Only a few weeks
later, in August '98, the Undertaker & Austin lost the Tag-Team Titles in a
"Four Corners" Match to Kane & Mankind, where the Undertaker seemed to let Kane
pin him for the belts (the other teams were the New Age Outlaws and Owen Hart &
Rocky Maivia). Speculation was rampant, especially from Vince McMahon, that the
Undertaker & Kane were in cahoots. Soon afterwards, Kane attacked Austin while
dressed as the Undertaker. When Austin got the upper hand and put Kane in the
back of a hearse, he was shocked to find the Undertaker in the driver's seat,
right before the Dead Man pulled away. The Undertaker & Kane later showed that
they truly had become a team, as they both took out Paul Bearer, followed by
Mankind. The Undertaker also chokeslammed McMahon, showing that they weren't
allies. As the #1 Contender, the Undertaker took on Austin for
the World Title at Summerslam '98. Before the match, the Undertaker swore that
he would face Austin on his own. He kept his word, as he ordered Kane back to
the dressing room at one point during the match. This turned out to be a
mistake, as Austin later got a low blow, followed by the Stone Cold Stunner, to
retain the belt. The Undertaker handed the belt to Austin afterwards, but joined
with Kane at the ramp to stare down the champion. For the next few weeks, the
Undertaker & Kane tried to get their hands on Vince McMahon, who had made some
comments towards them. The Brothers of Destruction took out various tag-teams in
their quest. But McMahon later used this to his advantage, first apologizing to
the brothers, then signing a "Triple Threat" Match between the two brothers and
Austin for the World Title at the next PPV. It was later announced by McMahon
that neither brother could pin the other to win the match, which meant that both
would be gunning for Austin. At Breakdown, the
fight took place, with Austin decidedly outnumbered. At times, it seemed like
there would be problems between the two brothers, since both were interested in
once again becoming the WWF World Heavyweight Champion. This gave Austin a few
openings, but the brothers managed to stop any pinfall attempts, and in the end,
worked together to give Austin a Double Chokeslam. Both men then followed up
with a pin, causing a double pinfall count of 3. This led to confusion regarding
who was champion, as Mr. McMahon grabbed the title and left with it, simply
happy that it was out of Austin's hands. On the next Raw, Mr. McMahon had a
ceremony planned to reveal who was the rightful champion. However, Austin
interrupted the ceremony by attacking McMahon. Afterwards, McMahon claimed that,
since the brothers hadn't protected him, he wasn't going to name either one
champion. Instead, they would face each other at the next PPV to decide the
winner. McMahon then flipped off both brothers, a stupid
move that led to both men destroying McMahon and badly injuring his leg. The
brothers had trouble functioning for a few weeks, as both knew the other wanted
to take the belt away from him. It didn't help when Austin was appointed the
special referee for their match at Judgment Day '98. The 2 men shook hands to
begin the contest, but obviously started falling apart as the match continued.
They also both still had it in for Austin, which led to Kane giving the 'ref' a
Chokeslam at one point. Later on, Paul Bearer came to the ring and wanted to hit
the Undertaker with a chair. But when Kane turned his back, Bearer hit him
instead. The Undertaker then delivered a chair shot of his own and covered, but
Austin refused to count, instead hitting the Stone Cold Stunner on both
wrestlers, then counting them out, before declaring HIMSELF the winner! With
Paul Bearer back on his side, the Undertaker seemed more demonic than ever,
bragging about how he burned Kane because he was weak. The two
brothers began to feud again, this time with Bearer working for the Undertaker.
In the meantime, the WWF World Title belt was still vacated, leading to a
tournament being set up for the '98 Survivor Series. In the first match of the
tournament, the two brothers squared off. Thanks in part to Bearer's
interference, the Undertaker got the Tombstone to move on to the next round,
where he faced the Rock. But Kane ended up costing the Undertaker by coming down
and Chokeslamming the Rock, earning the Undertaker a DQ and ousting him from the
tournament. The brothers brawled afterwards, as the tournament continued, with
the Rock eventually getting a controversial win in the finals over Mankind.
The next night on Raw, Austin got a World Title shot against the Rock, which the
Undertaker disputed. During the match, the Undertaker attacked Austin with a
shovel, beating him down. The next week, it was announced that Austin had had a
blackout on a house show, and was currently in the hospital.
This didn't stop the Undertaker, who ambushed Austin in the hospital,
suffocated him under a pillow, choked him, then tried to embalm him, with Kane
making the save. The Undertaker continued to become more demonic as the weeks
went by, even going as far as crucifying Austin on a cross during one Raw. The
two continued to feud, with the Undertaker and Kane fighting occassionally as
well. At Rock Bottom, the Undertaker and Austin met in a "Buried Alive" Match,
with the Undertaker swearing that he would end Austin's career. The two men went
at it full force, using any weapons that they could get their hands on,
including some serious shovel shots. Near the end of the match, Austin nailed
the Undertaker with the Stone Cold Stunner, but then was distracted by Paul
Bearer, whom he chased to the back. The Undertaker recovered and grabbed a
shovel, preparing to nail Austin when he came back. But then Kane came out and
attacked, Tombstoning the Undertaker into the grave! Austin then
returned on a bulldozer, dropping huge mounds of dirt onto the Undertaker,
effectively burying him alive. This was the last seen of the Dead Man in the
last weeks of '98. 1999 Things took a sinister turn for the Undertaker as
the new year began. First, his Acolytes appeared (Bradshaw & Faarooq),
essentially kidnapping Dennis Knight. The Acolytes spoke of bringing the
wrestler to "him". This was soon revealed as the Undertaker, who appeared more
evil than ever before. He made Knight drink a cup of blood and carved a symbol
into his chest, 'claiming' him. Knight then became Mideon, another of the
Undertaker's new Ministry of Darkness. The Undertaker promised another victim at
the '99 Royal Rumble, and delivered, sending his Ministry out to attack the huge
Mabel during the Rumble. The Undertaker seemed to hypnotize Mabel, before taking
him away in a hearse. Mabel would reappear the next night on Raw as Viscera, yet
another brought into the Undertaker's Ministry. He was joined by
the Brood (Gangrel, Edge, & Christian), making the Undertaker's Ministry
extremely strong in a short period of time. The Undertaker soon made it clear
who his main target would be. He spoke about tearing down Vince McMahon's
Corporation, one by one. At the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, Mideon was put in
a match against one of McMahon's supporters, the Big Boss Man. After the Boss
Man won via a Boss Man Slam, the lights went out in the arena. When they came
back on, the Undertaker was watching from the aisle as the Ministry assaulted
the Boss Man. Although he fought hard, the Boss Man was no match for the
numbers, and was eventually carried away. Although there were fears that the
Boss Man would be forced to join up, like Mideon & Viscera, it was announced on
the next Raw that the Boss Man had refused. This didn't stop the Undertaker from
threatening McMahon again, giving Shane McMahon a letter to take to his father,
and giving Vince a week to answer it. McMahon later replied
that he was in charge of the WWF, and that the Undertaker could burn in hell,
placing him in an "Inferno" Match against Kane on the next Raw. The Undertaker
won the match, though, then burned a teddy bear, causing a visibly-shaken Vince
to say "No, please no!" McMahon later announced that the Undertaker would face
the Big Boss Man in a Hell In A Cell Match at the next PPV, Wrestlemania. The
Boss Man and the Ministry had several confrontations over the next few weeks.
During one, the Undertaker tried to crucify the Boss Man, only to have McMahon
bring out police to arrest him. The Undertaker came back to threaten McMahon
from his house, saying that he would get "her". A war broke out on a later Raw
between the Ministry and the Corporation (Boss Man, Test, & Ken Shamrock), with
the Undertaker and the Boss Man fighting into the crowd. At Wrestlemania XV in
March '99, the Undertaker and the Boss Man had their Hell In A Cell Match.
Although the Boss Man had some strong moments, such as
when he handcuffed the Undertaker to the cage, there was no stopping the Dead
Man, who eventually finished off the Boss Man with a Tombstone Piledriver. The
Undertaker wasn't through, though, as the Brood came down from the ceiling and
lowered a noose into the cage. The Undertaker strung the noose around the Boss
Man's throat, then had the cell lifted, hanging the Boss Man! On the next Raw,
it was revealed that the person whom the Undertaker had been threatening for
weeks was actually Vince's daughter, Stephanie McMahon. The Undertaker had the
Ministry kidnap her, but Ken Shamrock was later able to find her, shaking, with
an Undertaker symbol on her forehead. This started a running feud between the
Undertaker and Shamrock, since the Dead Man believed Shamrock had interfered in
his business. The Ministry kidnapped Shamrock's sister, Ryan, and 'sacrificed'
her on the Dead Man's symbol. The Undertaker also tried later on to sacrifice
Debra, but Shamrock stopped it. Around this time,
the Ministry began to have major problems with the Brood, as the Undertaker
believed that Christian had been failing him. When the Undertaker was preparing
to 'sacrifice' both Shamrock and Christian on one show, the Brood turned on the
Ministry, cutting down their numbers. At Backlash '99, the Undertaker watched
from the back as the Acolytes & Mideon defeated the Brood in a six-man tag,
thanks in part to Viscera's interference. The Undertaker then went on to handle
his own business, taking on Shamrock. During the match, Shamrock got his ankle
lock submission hold, but was distracted by Bradshaw, who came to the ring with
a baseball bat. Shamrock got rid of the Acolyte, but later had a move reversed
into the Tombstone, as the Undertaker got the victory. After the match, Bradshaw
severely beat down Shamrock with the bat. Backlash ended in a truly horrifying
way, as Stephanie McMahon was shown inside a limo, surrounded by police. When
the Ministry appeared, the police told the limo
to leave. However, in the driver's seat, inexplicitly, was the Undertaker, who
drove off with a screaming Stephanie. On the next Raw, the Undertaker called
Vince and told him that, if he didn't want Stephanie harmed, he would have
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin deliver documents to him by the half-way point of the
show. However, Austin refused to help McMahon, so McMahon tried to deliver the
documents himself, to no results. Since his wishes had not been granted, the
Undertaker brought Stephanie down to the ring with the Ministry, preparing to
'sacrifice' her on his symbol. First Shamrock, then Paul Wight (the Big Show)
tried to stop them, with no success. But Austin then appeared, apparently
reconsidering the torture of Stephanie, and cleaned house, saving Stephanie and
getting a thank you from Mr. McMahon. The Undertaker sought revenge on the
next Smackdown, getting himself placed in a tag-team match with Hunter Hearst
Helmsley against Austin & the Rock. It was later announced that
Shane had betrayed his father and joined his group with the Undertaker's,
forming the Corporate Ministry! A war broke out during the tag match later that
night, as the Corporate Ministry, the Union (Wight, Shamrock, Mick Foley, &
Test), and the McMahons all became involved. Near the end, the Undertaker
prepared to nail Austin with a chair shot. He became distracted, though, when
Vince entered the ring and challenged him. The Undertaker took out Vince with a
brutal shot to the head, but this left him open to the Stone Cold Stunner,
allowing Austin to get the pinfall victory. The Undertaker announced later on
that month that, thanks to Shane, he would be challenging Austin for his World
Title at the next pay-per-view, with Shane as the special guest referee. The
Corporate Ministry feuded with several wrestlers over the next few weeks,
including Austin, Vince, the Rock, and the Union, among others. There were also
some problems between the Undertaker and Triple H, especially at No
Mercy '99 (in the UK), where they faced Austin in an "Anything Goes Triple
Threat" Match for the World Title. The two men couldn't work together, since
both wanted the title, giving Austin the ability to steal away with the win. On
the next Raw, the Ministry took out Vince, leaving him to be stretchered out.
The Undertaker later had a "Casket" Match with the Rock, with Triple H helping
the Undertaker win with a sledgehammer. The Undertaker tried to return the favor
during Triple H's match with Austin, even preparing to place Austin on his
symbol. But Austin turned the tables on him, handcuffing the Undertaker to the
symbol instead and raising it. The Undertaker, though, just laughed maniacally,
not at all bothered by the 'crucifixtion'. At Over The Edge '99, the
Undertaker faced Austin for the World Title, with Shane McMahon appointed as the
special guest referee. Vince was supposed to be a referee as well, but wasn't
there due to being attacked on Sunday Night Heat by Shane.
Vince did send his stooge, Pat Patterson, to be the second ref, but the
Undertaker quickly Chokeslammed Patterson, taking him out as well. Later on,
Gerald Brisco, another Vince ally, came out with a ref shirt, making a 2 count
for Austin (as he had hit the Undertaker with a chair shot). Brisco was taken
out as well, as the fight raged on. Vince appeared, injured or not, to try and
make a count, but Shane took him out again, then made a quick 3 count as the
Undertaker made the pin on Austin, giving the Undertaker the victory and his
third WWF World Title reign. Tragically, however, the win was overshadowed by
Owen Hart's death earlier in the night, and the Undertaker didn't show up to
celebrate his win on Raw (which was dedicated to Owen). The feud between the
Undertaker and Austin continued after the PPV, with the Undertaker promising to
give Austin to the "Higher Power". It was later set up by the McMahons that the
Undertaker would have to give Austin a rematch for the title, if
Vince could beat the Undertaker in a match. Technically, Vince won, as the
Undertaker got himself DQ'ed by shoving the referee. This allowed the rematch to
take place, but the Corporate Ministry attacked during the match, ending it
prematurely. The Higher Power then revealed himself to Austin, shocking him. On
the next Raw, the Higher Power was shown to the world, with Vince McMahon
apparently watching the robed figure from the back via the monitor. Instead, the
robed figure actually turned out to be Vince, showing that the monitor was
playing a taped segment. The Undertaker now had both Vince and Shane McMahon on
his side, but he didn't have Linda McMahon, who made Austin the new CEO of the
company. The Undertaker feuded with several wrestlers for the next few weeks,
including a brutal match with Paul Wight, where the Big Show Chokeslammed the
Undertaker partially through the ring floor before the Corporate Ministry made
the save. It was later announced that the Rock would get a
World Title shot against the Undertaker, if he could win a "Triple Threat"
Match between himself, the Dead Man, and Triple H. Once again, problems arose
between the two Corporate Ministry members, as Chyna accidentally tripped the
Undertaker, causing him to go after Chyna. This distracted Triple H, who got
taken out by the Rock and pinned, giving the Rock the title shot. Things seemed
to be going downhill for the Corporate Ministry, due to the problems between the
two main wrestlers, even as the group continued to deal with the Rock & Austin,
among others. At King of the Ring '99, the Rock got his title shot against the
Undertaker. It was a brutal match, mainly for referees, who kept being taken
out. In fact, the Undertaker purposefully seemed to be nailing them, to keep the
match from being completed. Near the end of the match, Paul Bearer tried to give
a chloroform-filled rag to the Undertaker, but the Rock was able to intercept it
and use it on the champ instead. But, since
there was no ref, the Rock couldn't get a pinfall. Triple H then came to the
ring and showed some Ministry unity, Pedigree'ing the Rock. The Undertaker then
recovered and eventually put away the Rock with the Tombstone, staying the
champ. However, the next night on Raw, the CEO, Austin, announced that a match
was signed between himself and the Undertaker for the World Title, with the
stipulation that if the Ministry interfered, the title would be lost. Without
the outside interference, the Undertaker fell to Austin's Stone Cold Stunner,
losing the belt. He got some revenge, though, splitting Austin's head open with
the gold before departing. The Undertaker later got Austin to agree to a
rematch at the next PPV, in a "First Blood" Match. The Undertaker got his point
across at the contract signing, when he bloodied Austin, then filled a pen with
his blood to be able to sign the contract. The Undertaker also began siding with
his brother, Kane, again, as the Brothers of Destruction
teamed up against Paul Wight, Austin, and other wrestlers. But when the
Undertaker Chokeslammed Kane's partner, X-Pac, Kane again turned on his brother,
attacking him. It was later announced that the First Blood match had some extra
stipulations, mainly that, if the Undertaker lost, Vince McMahon could no longer
be on WWF television. On the Sunday Night Heat before the PPV, the Undertaker
busted Austin open again, preparing a wound for their match later that night.
The Undertaker went into Fully Loaded '99 apparently with a major advantage. But
things turned bad early in the night, as he was bloodied himself by Austin,
leveling the playing field. The two men both went into their "First Blood" Match
with the possibility of bleeding quickly. The two men fought both inside and
outside the ring, using whatever weapons possible to make their opponent bleed.
At one point, the referee went down, allowing Shane McMahon to come to the ring.
Austin took out Shane with a chair, but the
Undertaker got a low blow. Austin somehow, though, followed up with a Stunner,
only to have Vince hit him with one of Vince's crutches. The Undertaker again
had the advantage, but X-Pac (whom the Undertaker had again attacked earlier in
the night) came to the ring and went after him. This allowed Austin to recover
and use a camera to bloody the Undertaker's face. A semi-alert ref caught the
blood and called for the bell, giving the Undertaker the loss and sending Vince
away from WWF tv. After the match, Triple H came to the ring and attacked
Austin, only to be attacked in turn by the Rock. Meanwhile, the Undertaker
bloodied Austin with a chair shot, then surprisingly knocked down Shane as well,
before leaving. On the following Raw, the Undertaker again attacked X-Pac,
getting some revenge for him costing the Dead Man his title shot. Kane then came
out to try and save his partner, only to be double-teamed by the Undertaker &
the Big Show, who surprisingly shook hands and formed a
tag-team. The two monsters weren't best of buddies, as the Undertaker even told
the Big Show that he would one day stab him in the back. But the team still was
nearly unbeatable, even as they feuded with X-Pac, Kane, & the Roaddogg. At
Summerslam '99, the two big men faced off against X-Pac & Kane for the WWF
Tag-Team Titles. The Undertaker & the Big Show worked hard to keep X-Pac in the
ring, using their superior size and strength on the lightweight. Near the end of
the match, the Big Show survived X-Pac's Bronco Buster and hit the Showstopper,
but X-Pac kicked out after 2. An infuriated Undertaker tagged himself in, then
showed the Big Show how to do it, Tombstoning X-Pac and pinning him, getting the
Tag-Team Titles for himself & the Big Show. The reign lasted all of a week,
before the teamwork problems caused the Undertaker & the Big Show to fall apart.
At the end of August, after beating down the Rock, Triple H, and Mankind, the
two big men were challenged by the Rock 'n' Sock
Connection for the belts. When Paul Bearer came down to the ring during the
match, he eventually went away with the Undertaker, leaving the Big Show to be
beaten and lose the belts. The Big Show called out the Undertaker on the next
Smackdown, and choked out Paul Bearer, yet strangely the two continued to team
together, feuding with both the Rock 'n' Sock Connection and X-Pac & Kane, as
well as Triple H. Going into September, the Undertaker & the Big Show challenged
the Tag Champs to a "Buried Alive" Match. They were both hindered and helped by
Triple H during the bout, who took out the Rock, the Big Show, and then finally
buried Mankind, which gave the Undertaker & the Big Show the Tag-Team Titles
once again. The team's strange functionality continued into the month, as,
although they were champions, the Undertaker had no problems eliminating both
the Big Show & the Rock to win a "#1 Contender Battle Royal", earning the Dead
Man a shot at the World Champion. On the next Raw, the
Undertaker accepted a challenge from the Rock 'n' Sock Connection, with a
stipulation that it would be fought under "Darkside" Rules. This meant that the
Undertaker could use other men besides himself, as he had the Big Show, Mideon,
& Viscera take on the Rock & Mankind. However, Kane appeared and Chokeslammed
the Big Show, helping the Rock 'n' Sock Connection once again win away the
Tag-Team Titles, causing an irate Undertaker to call his brother out. This was
all a set-up, though, as the rest of the Undertaker's partners attacked, then
tried to burn Kane alive, with the Rock 'n' Sock Connection making the save.
It was during this time that the Undertaker was feeling many of his injuries
over his 9-year career, including an apparently serious groin injury that would
slow anyone down. Despite this, the Undertaker was scheduled to be involved in
the 6-man World Heavyweight Title Match at Unforgiven '99. This all changed,
though, on a late September '99 episode of Smackdown. Vince
McMahon had been furious at Triple H for his previous actions, and arranged for
Triple H to be in 5 matches that night, with the stipulation that Triple H had
to win 3 of the 5 matches to remain in the Unforgiven main event. One of those
scheduled matches was a "Casket" Match with the Undertaker. However, the
Undertaker refused the match, saying that it wasn't going to happen. When Vince
threatened to take away the Undertaker's shot at the title, the Undertaker
replied that he didn't care if he didn't wrestle in the WWF again! Viscera &
Mideon replaced him in the "Casket" Match, and the Undertaker vanished for the
rest of 1999. 2000 The Undertaker was expected to make his return at the '00
Royal Rumble, but another injury, namely a torn pectoral muscle, put him back on
the shelf for another 4 months. This led up to Judgment Day '00, where the Rock
was set to defend his WWF World Title against Triple H in an "Iron Man" Match,
with Shawn Michaels as the special guest referee. Near
the end of the match, the falls were tied at 3 all, but the tide was turning
for Triple H, as Vince, Shane, & Stephanie McMahon, as well as DX, had come down
to help out their partner. Just as everything seemed lost, the Judgment Day
promo began playing on the Titon Tron, with 3 little girls chanting. A voice
said "Are you scared? He's here", and the Undertaker made his reappearance,
driving out to the ring on a motorcycle! He cleared house of all the wrestlers,
including a Chokeslam & Tombstone on Triple H. Unfortunately, as time ran out,
Michaels ruled this as a DQ, giving Triple H the fall he needed to become the
World Champion. The Undertaker chased off both Michaels & DX after the match.
It was later announced that Vince's wife, Linda McMahon, had signed the Dead Man
to a contract, giving him free reign to go after DX & the McMahons. The
Undertaker quickly became a major threat to Vince's group, as well as Triple H's
title, when he beat Road Dogg & X-Pac in a "Handicap" Match
to win the #1 Contender's spot. However, the Undertaker would lose the shot to
the Rock in a "Triple Threat" Match also involving Kane, due to Triple H hitting
the Dead Man with a chair. Problems really began to bloom between the three
wrestlers, which was what Triple H & DX wanted. However, Linda McMahon was able
to talk some sense into them, getting them back as a unified front against their
foes. The three men continued to go after Triple H, Vince, & Shane, who sent
every heel team they could against them. At King of the Ring '00, the
Undertaker, Kane, & the Rock faced off against Triple H, Vince, & Shane. It had
been previously announced by Linda McMahon that if a face member got the
pinfall, he would become WWF World Champion. Problems quickly broke out between
the three faces, as each wanted to become the champion. Triple H used this to
advantage, nearly stealing away the match. Near the end, though, things broke
down, as all six wrestlers brawled around the ring. The
Undertaker nailed Kane with a chair shot, to keep him from winning the title,
then caught Shane McMahon on the turnbuckle and Chokeslammed him through a
table. While this was going on, however, Vince McMahon tried to take advantage
of a downed Rock and went for the People's Elbow. The Rock kipped up, though,
catching Vince and nailing him with the Rock Bottom. He then made the pin,
winning the match as well as the World Title. Although his team got the victory,
the Undertaker definitely wasn't happy with the result. The Undertaker & Kane,
despite their brawl at KOTR, continued to work as a team afterwards, in a feud
with the WWF Tag-Team Champs, Edge & Christian. At one point, the Brothers of
Destruction seemed to have the Tag-Team Titles won, thanks in part to the
Undertaker's new finisher, the Last Ride Powerbomb, only to have Edge &
Christian's ally, Kurt Angle, attack the Undertaker with a sceptre (he had won
KOTR) to cause the DQ. Angle later spilled food on the Undertaker's
motorcycle, infuriating the Undertaker, who had become more of an American
Badass than a Dead Man in recent weeks. The Undertaker and Angle set up to face
at the next PPV, although Angle did try to bribe the Undertaker with a moped,
which the Badass threw off the stage. The two faced off at Fully Loaded '00,
with them unable to wait to get into the ring, as they fought in the aisle. The
Undertaker dominated the match, until Angle was able to use a wrench on him.
Even this didn't stop him, though, as he came back and got the Last Ride on
Angle for the victory. The Undertaker had a rematch with Angle on the next
Raw, but it turned out to be a set-up, as Angle, the Big Show, & Shane McMahon
beat down the American Badass. The Undertaker got some revenge on an August Raw,
throwing the Big Show off the stage and through a table. The Undertaker's
problems were only beginning, though, as Kane turned on him during a match
between the Undertaker and Chris Benoit, Chokeslamming the
Undertaker so hard, the ring collapsed. Kane then stole his brother's bike,
upping the betrayal. The two brothers feuded going up to Summerslam '00, where
they were scheduled to face off. But the Undertaker's rage got the best of him,
as he attacked Kane with a chair and ripped his mask off, sending a bloody Kane
rushing to the back while hiding his face. The match was ruled a No-Contest.
The feud between the two brothers continued to grow going into September '00,
but other factors were soon added, as Chris Benoit and the Rock became involved.
This led to brawls between the Undertaker & the Rock and Kane & Benoit, two
teams who disliked each other. It was later announced by Commissioner Mick Foley
that the four men would face off for the Rock's World Title in a "Fatal Fourway"
Match at the next PPV, Unforgiven '00. The Undertaker and the Rock went into the
event as a broken team, as the Undertaker had Chokeslammed the Rock through a
table after a match with the Dudley Boyz.
During the match, all four men tried to use anything at hand to win the match.
At one point, with the referee knocked down, Benoit knocked out the Undertaker
with a chair shot and got the 3 count, despite the Undertaker's feet on the
ropes. Commissioner Foley, having seen the feet, overturned the decision and
restarted the match, leading to Benoit getting beat down by all 3 men. Near the
end, the Undertaker got the Last Ride on the Rock, but Kane broke up the fall.
Benoit then got the Crippler Crossface on the Rock, with the Undertaker breaking
it up, then Chokeslamming Benoit. Kane then pulled the Badass to the outside,
while the Rock was able to recover and get the Rock Bottom on Benoit for the
victory, keeping the belt from the Undertaker. The Undertaker again left the
WWF for a time afterwards, as he had to have gallbladder surgery. This put him
on the shelf until the end of October, on the Halloween edition of Raw, a
fitting time for the Dead Man to return. He interrupted a
speech from William Regal about the problems with Boston, giving Regal the Last
Ride. The Undertaker soon went right back to his goal of regaining the
championship, as he defeated Kane, Chris Jericho, and Chris Benoit in a "#1
Contenders Fatal Fourway" Match to earn a shot against Kurt Angle, the current
champion. Angle seemed terrified of the Undertaker, even though he had Edge &
Christian on his side. At the '00 Survivor Series, the two faced off for the
title, with the Undertaker being his dominant self. At one point, the Undertaker
forced Angle to tap out to an armbar submission, but the ref was distracted from
Edge & Christian. The Undertaker later attacked the tag-team, and the ref sent
the two men to the back, out of the match. Near the end, an injured Angle
crawled underneath the ring, with the Undertaker apparently pulling him back
out. He delivered the Last Ride and made the pin, but the ref wouldn't count,
saying that the man was NOT Angle! A puzzled Undertaker was then
rolled up from behind by the real Angle, losing the match! Angle later
revealed on the next Raw that the 'fake' Angle was actually his brother, Eric. A
furious Undertaker attacked both men, and Chokeslammed Kurt off the stage &
through some tables, taking out the champ. The Undertaker then vented some more
rage by beating Edge & Christian in a "Handicap" Match. The Undertaker continued
to feud with the 3 men going into December '00, as well as Chris Benoit, whom
the Undertaker defeated with an inside cradle at the UK PPV, Insurrextion '00.
Commissioner Foley later announced that Angle would have to defend his
championship against the Undertaker, Steve Austin, the Rock, Rikishi, and Triple
H in a "Hell In A Cell" Match! Vince McMahon tried to talk the men out of the
match, since he didn't want his 'investments' to be badly injured. But the
Undertaker didn't care about McMahon's talk, as he came down to the ring at one
point and gave him the Last Ride. The six wrestlers continued to
feud in different pairings going up to the PPV. At Armageddon '00, the Hell
In A Cell Match was set to take place, with Commissioner Foley vowing to leave
his position if any wrestler was seriously hurt. The Undertaker cut a promo
before the match, talking about his previous bouts in the HIAC against Shawn
Michaels and Mankind. He said that he was a different man inside the steel, and
wondered who he would make famous that night. The match quickly turned brutal,
with almost every wrestler bleeding in some way, shape, or form. During the
match, Vince McMahon & his stooges came to the ring to try and stop it, ripping
the door off the hinges with a truck. McMahon was arrested by WWF security,
though, ordered by Commissioner Foley. With the door off, though, the wrestling
action spilled into the aisleways, with several incredible shots taking place
along the cars and other scenery that was set up. At one point, every wrestler
ended up on top of the cage, with the threat of one or more
taking the hard plunge. It turned out to be Rikishi, as the Undertaker sent the
big Samoan off the cage and into the bed of the truck! In the end, with the
Undertaker outside the ring, Austin hit the Stone Cold Stunner on the Rock, then
was distracted by Triple H. This allowed Angle to quickly pin the Rock and steal
the victory, keeping his World Title. Despite being denied the big belt, the
Undertaker didn't go much longer without some gold. In the middle of December
'00, on Raw, he & the Rock were placed in a Tag-Team Match against the Tag
Champs, Edge & Christian. Thanks to the Rock getting the People's Elbow on
Christian, the two men won the Tag-Team Titles, the Undertaker's 4th reign with
the belts. Unfortunately, it was a very short reign, as Edge & Christian got a
rematch the next night on Smackdown (taped on Tuesday, aired on Thursday), with
Angle as the special guest referee. This cost the two men the titles, as Angle
used the Olympic Slam on the Rock, put Edge on top,
and counted quickly to three, transfering the titles back to Edge & Christian.
The Undertaker & the Rock continued to partner together over the rest of '00.
2001 The new year started with a two-show tournament set up to decide who
would be the #1 Contender to Kurt Angle's World Title. The Undertaker faced
Rikishi on Raw in the semi-finals, and managed to defeat the heavyweight with a
DDT variation. This placed the Undertaker in the finals on Smackdown against his
brother, Kane. After an altercation with Vince & Stephanie McMahon earlier in
the evening, however, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin was also placed in the #1
Contender's match. The match went haywire halfway through, as the referee was
taken out. Mr. McMahon entered as the new referee, even as the Undertaker got
Chokeslams on both Austin and Kane. But the Undertaker was distracted by
Rikishi, who had run out to the ring. Although the Dead Man took care of
Rikishi, he was left open to the Stone Cold Stunner, and Mr. McMahon
surprisingly made the count to make Austin the #1 Contender. The Undertaker
next concentrated on his placement in the Royal Rumble. He was involved in a
Four-Way match on the next Smackdown to decide who would be the 30th entrant to
the Rumble, along with Kane, Rikishi, and the Rock. Near the end, the Undertaker
Chokeslammed Kane, but then was clotheslined out of the ring by the Rock, who
then took out Kane with the Rock Bottom. The Undertaker pulled the Rock out, but
this allowed Rikishi to take advantage, squashing Kane and earning the #30 spot.
A match was set up on the next Raw pitting the Rock & Kane against the
Undertaker & Rikishi, to allow the four to continue their rivalries.
Surprisingly, though, as the Rock was about to take out the Undertaker with the
Rock Bottom, Kane interfered, Chokeslamming his tag-team partner! The Undertaker
then took out the Rock with the Last Ride to get the victory. For the next few
shows, the Brothers of Destruction again appeared reunited,
as they took out the Rock, Austin, and other Rumble competition. They
immediately became the biggest threat to the rest of the WWF. At the '01 Royal
Rumble, all the talk was about whether the Brothers of Destruction would again
work together, with a title shot on the line. Kane entered at #6, and was a
destructive machine for the majority of the match. He was still there when the
Undertaker entered as #25, but was in danger of being tossed by everyone in the
ring. The Undertaker proved his loyalties, as he made the save for his brother,
and the two teamed together to destroy everyone else. The Undertaker quickly
threw out Bradshaw, Hardcore Holly, and Val Venis, clearing the ring. He and
Kane then stood waiting, as Scotty Too Hotty came out as #26 and was soundly
thrashed, before being thrown out by both brothers. The two again waited without
fighting each other, as #27, Steve Austin, made his way out (only to be
assaulted by Triple H). The Rock then came back in (he had been
outside after being thrown through a table by the Big Show), and the two
brothers were unable to continue working together. This led to the Undertaker's
eventual downfall, as #30, Rikishi, was able to kick him out of the ring. Austin
went on to win the Rumble. The Undertaker & Kane stayed together after the
Rumble, as they were both involved in a feud with Rikishi & Haku (who had
reappeared at the Rumble). The two teams fought over the next few weeks, with
the Brothers of Destruction defeating Rikishi & Haku in a "First Blood" Match at
one point. The victory gave the Brothers the chance to get back the WWF Tag-Team
gold, as they were placed in the "Triple Threat Tables" Match against Edge &
Christian and the Tag Champs, the Dudley Boyz, at No Way Out '01. The fight
started in the aisle and didn't enter the ring much, as all sorts of weapons,
from the ring steps to steel chairs, were used repeatedly. It soon became
apparent who the biggest threats were, as the Brothers started to
dominate both tag-teams, leading to some double-teaming. Near the end, the
Undertaker & Kane took out everyone with Chokeslams, then set up multiple
tables. Unfortunately, they were then interrupted by Rikishi & Haku, who
brutally attacked both men, keeping them out of the action. The Dudleyz
capitalized by giving Christian a 3-D through a table, winning the match and
keeping the belts away from the Brothers. The Brothers got some revenge on the
next Raw, when they cost Rikishi & Haku a title shot against the Dudley Boyz.
Just to show their unbiased opinion, however, the Brothers then proceeded to
Chokeslam the Tag Champs after the match as well. The feud between the tag-teams
would slow down considerably, though, over the next few weeks, as the Undertaker
found a new target. When Triple H came out, after defeating Austin at No Way Out
'01, and claimed that he had beaten everyone, the Undertaker objected, claiming
that Triple H had never beaten him. This started a wild feud
between the two stars, as Triple H went out of his way to injure the
Undertaker, using the man's own motorcycle against him. Triple H also had the
Undertaker arrested when the American Badass tried to get revenge. Triple H also
used a sledgehammer on the Dead Man, cutting him open. All of these events just
fueled the rage that the Undertaker had burning inside of him. This led up to
Wrestlemania X-7, where Triple H looked to end the Undertaker's 8-match winning
streak at the big event. The match started out quickly, with a brawl on the
outside that saw Triple H go through the Spanish announce table. The two
eventually entered the ring, but when the referee was taken down, things started
to fall apart. The Undertaker got a Chokeslam on Triple H, but only got a 2
count from a woozy ref. The Badass then took out his frustrations, actually
taking out the referee! The two wrestlers then took the fight to the outside and
beyond, eventually fighting to the top of a camera tower. On top,
the Undertaker won the fight, Chokeslamming Triple H to the ground below, then
jumping off on top of him! When the EMTs tried to check on the downed wrestler,
the Undertaker took them out as well, still enraged over his opponent. The two
headed back to the ring, where the Undertaker looked to put it away with the
Last Ride, only to be hit in the head with the sledgehammer as he lifted Triple
H. The Game tried for the pin, but still only got a 2 from the slow ref. A
frustrated Triple H then pulled up the bloody Undertaker and hammered him in the
corner, but the American Badass countered with a thunderous Last Ride powerbomb
for the victory, staying undefeated at Wrestlemania. Another match at
Wrestlemania involved Steve Austin vs. the Rock for the World Title. In a
shocking turn of events, Austin turned on the fans and joined with Mr. McMahon
to win the belt. Triple H later joined with Austin against the Rock, with the
two men brutally beating him down. This led to the Two-Man
Power Trip proclaiming themselves as the most dominant force on Raw. This was
once again disputed by the Undertaker, along with Kane, as the two brothers
began to fight against the Power Trip. The Brothers of Destruction showed their
true potential soon enough, as they were able to avoid interference from the
Power Trip and defeated Edge & Christian for the WWF World Tag-Team Titles on
Raw in the middle of April '01. The two groups continued to fight over the next
few weeks, with the Two-Man Power-Trip badly injuring Kane's arm at one point,
handicapping the Brothers. At Backlash '01, the two teams met in a tag-team
match. It was announced before the event that not only would the Brothers of
Destruction be putting up the Tag-Team Titles, Triple H (Intercontinental) and
Austin (World) would also have to put their belts up as well! This made for a
high-powered match, with so much gold on the line. The Power Trip predictably
focused on Kane's arm, making him the weak link on the
team, with the Undertaker doing all he can to protect his brother. Near the end
of the match, Kane was in serious trouble, as he was Pedigree'd by Triple H. The
IC Champ then tagged in Austin, but with the ref distracted by outside events
(namely Stephanie McMahon), the Undertaker came in and Chokeslammed Austin. Kane
then made a weak cover, with Austin kicking out after 2. Later on, Kane made the
tag to the Undertaker, but the ref was again distracted. Although the Undertaker
unleashed hell in the ring, taking out Triple H with the Last Ride, the ref
refused to count a pin, believing that Kane was the legal man. As the Undertaker
then fought with Austin into the crowd, Kane rose up and attacked Triple H, but
was distracted by Vince McMahon's interference. As Kane turned back around,
Triple H knocked him cold with his sledgehammer, getting the tainted victory and
taking away the tag-team titles. On the next Raw, the Mr. McMahon & Austin
tried to schedule a title match between
Austin and the injured Kane, but Linda McMahon interrupted, saying that Kane
was in no shape to fight, but that the Undertaker deserved a title shot. The
match never really got started, though, as, during the Undertaker's entrance to
the ring, the viewscreen showed the Power Trip assaulting the injured Kane in
the back. The Undertaker went to his brother's aid, smashing Triple H into a
garage door, then fought back to the ring with Austin, where the match seemed to
be starting. But Triple H then reappeared, hitting the Undertaker with his
sledgehammer to cause the DQ. Both Brothers were then decimated by the Power
Trip, as they put Kane on the shelf. The Undertaker got some revenge at the UK
PPV, Insurrextion '01, where he managed to defeat the Power Trip in a Handicap
Match, helped somewhat when Mr. McMahon accidentally hit Triple H with a chair.
The Undertaker then Chokeslammed Mr. McMahon, then Triple H, for the victory.
The war between the Undertaker and Austin reached new
heights when the Undertaker brutally tossed Austin through a window, badly
injuring him. This wasn't enough for the Dead Man, though, as he attacked Austin
in the ambulance as well! Instead of backing down to the Undertaker's anger,
Austin added to it, by getting police officers to claim that the Undertaker's
wife, Sara, had been in an accident, getting the American Badass to leave the
building. This left Kane once again facing a double-team, as he had to take on
the Power Trip alone in a "Tag-Team Title" Match. Kane actually got the win via
DQ, due to Triple H using a chain on him (the two were scheduled for a "Chain"
Match at the next PPV). Austin and Triple H then gloated in the ring about how
Sara was fine, revealing that it was a plot to further injure Kane all along.
At Judgment Day '01, the Undertaker got another shot at Austin's WWF World
Title. Showing his fury, the American Badass threatened Commissioner William
Regal before the match, getting him to change the match to
a No Holds Barred Match. Surprisingly, Austin had no problem with the new
stipulations. The bout soon became very violent, as the Undertaker wanted some
serious revenge. On the outside, the Undertaker took out Austin by Chokeslamming
him through the announce table. Austin later fought back by cutting open the
Undertaker from a camera shot. The two men continued to battle hard, with Austin
getting several chair shots on the Dead Man. But the Undertaker shrugged them
off, then got a low blow, followed by a Chokeslam. Triple H then charged the
ring, only to be taken out by the Dead Man. Mr. McMahon stopped the Undertaker
from getting the pin, but then was accidentally taken out by a chairshot from
Austin. However, the numbers were too great for the Dead Man, as Triple H nailed
him with the sledgehammer during an attempted Last Ride. Kane arrived too late,
as Austin got the 3 count, staying the World Champion. The Undertaker's feud
with Austin & Triple H soon cooled off, as the
Undertaker was confronted with something new: someone was stalking his wife. On
several WWF shows, video footage was shown of Sara at home, undressing, and
sitting around the pool at their house. A mysterious voice talked about what he
saw, and how he enjoyed spying on the Undertaker's wife. On the Raw before the
next PPV, the stalker revealed himself as Diamond Dallas Page, one of the WCW
'invaders', saying that he had targeted Sara because he wanted the Undertaker to
"make him famous". At King of the Ring '01, DDP again appeared, talking about
how he'd been at Raw the next day. Throughout the night, footage was shown of
DDP, much like he had shown footage of Sara. This led to DDP coming to the ring,
with Sara appearing on the Titon Tron and letting him know that it was time to
become famous. The Undertaker then came to the ring and basically destroyed DDP,
with Sara filming it with a video camera. DDP was eventually thrown out of the
ring, falling to the Undertaker's anger. The
stalking didn't cease after the PPV, as Page continued to try to get a piece of
the Undertaker's wife throughout the next few months. At the Ohio Valley
Wrestling event, The Last Dance '01, The Undertaker teamed with his brother,
Kane, against DDP & his partner, Leviathan (later known as Batista in WWE). The
Brothers won, via DQ, with the Undertaker getting some more shots in on his
wife's stalker. The problems continued to grow, though, as DDP was obsessed with
Sara, talking about her constantly. He also later hit the Diamond Cutter on
Sara, apparently getting some sick satisfaction from her pain. Meanwhile, the
WWF was fighting a war against the WCW/ECW contingent, now known as the
Alliance. The Undertaker reluctantly joined the WWF team at Invasion, if only to
get another crack at DDP. During the main event match, though, the Undertaker
lost it, eventually brawling through the crowd with DDP, with no concern for the
match. When Austin turned on the team and joined the Alliance,
helping Booker T pin Angle, the whole power focus changed dramatically. On
the next Raw, the Undertaker continued the fight against the Alliance, defeating
ECW's Rhyno with a Chokeslam. After the match, DDP came to the ring, with the
Undertaker quick to attack him, along with Sara. But when the Undertaker tried
to use a chair, DDP pulled Sara into the way, causing her to be knocked out. The
Undertaker carried Sara out, trying desperately to wake her up. Meanwhile, DDP
was interviewed leaving the arena, claiming no responsibility for Sara's injury,
but stating that he was turned on by it. Going into August, the Undertaker's
feud with DDP was enlarged, as Kane began once again teaming with his brother,
while DDP began allying with his old WCW partner, Kanyon. On one Raw, DDP cost
Kane a chance to win the Hardcore Title, interfering in his match with Kanyon.
DDP was later seen in the back, standing in a 'shrine' dedicated to Sara. The
Undertaker quickly had Sara sent off to be
guarded by the APA, then went to the shrine, where he attacked 'DDP'. It turned
out to be Kanyon, though, as Page appeared and attacked the Undertaker from
behind, with Kane making the save. Things really heated up between the two
teams on the next Smackdown. First, DDP & Kanyon, due to interference by Test,
defeated the APA for the WWF Tag-Team Titles. Later on that night, Sean O'Haire
& Chuck Palumbo, as the WCW Tag Champs, were looking for competition. They got
the Brothers of Destruction, who eventually got double Chokeslams on the WCW
wrestlers to win the WCW World Tag-Team Titles! This set up a "Unification"
Match at Summerslam '01 between the two tag champs. Commissioner Regal also
added some stipulations, as he had the power, with the WWF Tag belts involved.
He made it a "Steel Cage" Match, to ensure that Alliance interference would be
at a minimum. During the match, DDP & Kanyon were quick to try to escape, rather
than take the punishment of the Brothers. The fighting was
intense, as the steel came into play multiple times. Near the end, the Brothers
almost appeared to just let Kanyon escape, making it 2-on-1 on DDP. This led to
Page being slaughtered by the Brothers, using steel chains on him. The
Undertaker then seemed to be willing to let Page leave, saying he would let him
live. But Kane talked the Undertaker out of it, as he Chokeslammed DDP off the
cage, then gave him the Last Ride for the pinfall victory, unifying the WCW &
WWF Tag-Team Titles. On the next Raw, Sara requested a match with DDP, with
the Undertaker there to support her. Before the match began, DDP allowed Sara to
get in a few shots, then went to choke her in the corner. A furious Undertaker
pulled DDP to the outside, then Chokeslammed him out there, before rolling him
back into the ring, where Sara made the easy pin, getting a win over Page. This
was the end of the feud, as the Undertaker stopped focusing on DDP and started
working on defending the Unified Tag-Team Titles with
Kane. On the 1st September Raw of '01, the Undertaker had a match with the WWF
turncoat, Test. Near the end of the match, the Undertaker prepared to give Test
the Last Ride, only to be attacked by Steven Richards, ending the match via DQ.
Richards had apparently also left the WWF to join the Alliance, saying that
since the Undertaker was the one who destroyed Right To Censor (Richards'
group), he wanted to take him out. The two faced off on Smackdown, with the
Undertaker the heavy favorite. But the match never really got started, as
Richards immediately left the ring, then tried to hit the Undertaker with a
chair. Unfazed, the Dead Man followed Richards, but then was attacked by Brian
Adams & Bryan Clark, known in WCW as Kronik! The trio beat down the Undertaker
and left him laid out in the ring. The Undertaker continued to battle Richards
& Kronik over the next few weeks, although he did take a painful-looking
Meltdown through the announce table on one Raw. Kane, of course, was
there to help out his brother, but Kronik struck another harsh blow when they
helped the Dudley Boyz take away the WWF Tag-Team Titles, splitting up the belts
again. At Unforgiven '01, the Brothers of Destruction defended their remaining
belts, the WCW Tag Titles, against Kronik, with Richards in Kronik's corner.
While not a technical masterpiece, it did feature four truly large men beating
the hell out of each other, as revenge was a key factor on the minds of the
Brothers. Near the end, the Undertaker took out Richards (who was trying to
interfere), but turned into a jawbreaker from Adams. However, Kane came off the
top rope with a thunderous clothesline, taking Adams down. When Clark tried to
intervene, the Undertaker Chokeslammed him, then got the pin, retaining the WCW
Tag Titles. After the match, Richards tried once again to attack with a chair,
but the Undertaker stopped him. When Richards turned to run, Kane caught him,
and delivered a Chokeslam of his own. On the next
Smackdown, the Brothers of Destruction defended their belts against Booker T &
Test. The Undertaker seemed to have things well under control deep into the
match, as he battled Booker T. But when the Dead Man accidentally threw Booker T
into the ref, things turned bad, as Shane McMahon quickly involved himself by
giving Booker T a chair. Booker T missed the chair shot, though, and was
Chokeslammed. But before the Undertaker could finish him off, Shane entered the
ring and hit him with the chair, barely fazing him. The Undertaker turned around
and gave Shane the Last Ride, taking him out. But when he turned back around,
Booker T swung the chair into his face, knocking him out. Booker T then made the
pin, as a groggy ref counted to 3, taking away the Brothers' Tag-Team Titles.
The Brothers continued to feud with Booker T & Test over the next few weeks,
with the Undertaker focusing on Booker T, while Kane had several brawls with
Test. The Undertaker even involved himself in a tag-team
match, helping the Hardy Boyz win away the WCW Tag Titles by giving Booker T
the Last Ride. At No Mercy '01, the Undertaker got his one-on-one shot with
Booker T. The fight started early, with the American Badass barely able to turn
off his motorcycle before Booker T attacked him. They eventually made it
inbetween the ropes to officially start the match. Booker T had his moments,
even getting in his Spinarooni, but there was no stopping the Undertaker on this
night, as he defeated Booker T with a Last Ride after catching his foe on the
turnbuckle. On the next Raw, the Brothers concluded the feud, beating Booker T &
Test in a tag-team match, with Kane reversing a Pumphandle Slam attempt into the
Tombstone for the victory. A week later, the Brothers were announced as part of
the WWF Team to face the Alliance Team at the Survivor Series to decide who
would stay and who would go. They were joined by Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, &
the Rock. However, soon after, it was announced by the
Alliance that someone on that team would be turning on the WWF. They were
right, as Angle joined the Alliance later that night. Angle was later replaced
on the WWF team by the Big Show, giving more power to the WWF squad. Angle,
meanwhile, joined Steve Austin, Booker T, Rob Van Dam, & Shane McMahon. The two
teams met at the '01 Survivor Series, with Vince McMahon having floated the
'rumor' that Austin would be joining the WWF again. In the match, the Big Show
surprisingly went first, being taken out by RVD's 5-Star Frog Splash, followed
by a Flying Elbow from Shane. As Shane celebrated, the Brothers entered the
ring, with Kane getting a Chokeslam, followed by the Undertaker piledriving him.
Jericho then got the Lionsault to eliminate Shane, making it 4-on-4. Kane was
the next to go, as RVD eliminated him with a missile dropkick. Later on, the
Undertaker was battling Angle, having knocked him down. But Austin came in
without a tag and hit the Stone Cold Stunner, then rolled Angle
on top, eliminating the Dead Man! The Undertaker then watched from the back the
various eliminations, until Austin was pinned by the Rock, following Angle
betraying him and returning to the WWF. This ended the Alliance once and for
all. The Undertaker didn't appear on the next Raw, but he made himself heard
on Smackdown, as he demanded respect from Vince McMahon. He was upset that Mr.
McMahon had gone to Angle for the set-up of the Alliance, and hadn't let the
Undertaker in on it. McMahon tried to smooth things over by putting the American
Badass in a match with Angle that night. Late in the match, the Undertaker, in a
fury, put his foe in the Ankle Lock, threatening to break Angle's leg! When
Angle reached the ropes, the Undertaker refused to break the hold, which brought
Mr. McMahon to the ring with a chair. The Undertaker turned to meet him, slowly
taking the chair from his grasp and throwing it on the ground, before saying
that all he wants is respect. The Undertaker then left
the ring, leaving a slightly smiling Mr. McMahon behind. On the last Raw of
November '01, Mr. McMahon confronted the Undertaker, saying that he had great
respect for him, as well as telling him that the Undertaker owes Mr. McMahon for
allowing him to fight in the WWF. Later on, Mr. McMahon & Kurt Angle were going
to make Jim Ross kiss McMahon's ass, when the Undertaker interrupted. It seemed
like he had come down to save JR, stepping between the three men. He talked
about how the he himself had probably been the biggest McMahon ass-kisser,
taking his crap for 11 years. He then asked JR if he wanted to kiss Mr.
McMahon's ass. When JR said no, however, the Undertaker turned and said does
that mean that JR was better than him? The Undertaker attacked JR, then forced
him to 'kiss' Mr. McMahon's rear, due to what he believed was a lack of respect.
The Undertaker had turned another corner, as he soon became the most feared
wrestler in the WWF. As part of his new partnership with Mr.
McMahon, the Undertaker was given a Hardcore Title Match against Rob Van Dam
(whom McMahon was still angry about for his Alliance ties) at the next PPV. The
Undertaker attacked RVD on one Smackdown after RVD had just won a match over
Bubba Ray Dudley, beating him down and telling him that he had to learn to
respect authority. Later that night, the Undertaker destroyed Tazz in a match,
beating him with a Chokeslam, then following it up afterwards by attacking him
with the steel steps. The Undertaker continued to attack RVD after matches,
appearing with a new, shorter hairstyle. The two met at Vengeance '01, with the
match barely even beginning before the two men fought to the outside. Since it
was for the Hardcore Title, the Undertaker was able to use any weapons
available, but so was RVD, making for an exciting match between the two
involving chairs, fire extinguishers, trash cans, and even the Titon Tron! In
the end, Van Dam tried for a Van Daminator, but the Undertaker was able to
duck the kick. He then grabbed RVD by the throat and Chokeslammed him off the
ramp and through multiple tables! Suffice to say, the Undertaker made the easy
pin, becoming the Hardcore Champion. The Undertaker finished out the year
defending the Hardcore Title, which obviously suited his new violent streak. On
the Raw following Vengeance, the Undertaker faced off against Spike Dudley. The
Undertaker dominated the cruiserweight, eventually winning by hitting the Last
Ride onto a trash can. The Undertaker wasn't done, as he Chokeslammed Spike over
the ropes and out to the floor. The next week on Raw, the Undertaker continued
his devestation, as he destroyed Jeff Hardy in a match, beating him with the
Last Ride. After the match, the Undertaker attacked both Hardy and Lita, using
the Last Ride to send Hardy through some tables off the stage! When Lita tried
to help, the Undertaker threw her off the stage as well, adding to the
destruction. A few days later on Smackdown, Matt Hardy,
Jeff's brother, tried to get some revenge in a match, but the Undertaker again
prevailed with the Last Ride. The Dead Man also continued his new trend, beating
on Hardy after the match. He slammed Hardy's throat with a steel chair, badly
injuring him, then left the ring with the title. 2002 The Undertaker ended
2001 with another slaughter of a cruiserweight, taking apart Tajiri with the
Dragon Sleeper. Afterwards, though, his beatdown of Tajiri was interrupted by
Tajiri's tag-team partner, the Big Show, who challenged the Undertaker to a
fight. The Undertaker, though, just got on his bike and left. Going into the new
year, the Undertaker announced that he wasn't scared of the Big Show, he was
just psyching the man out. The Undertaker then defended his Hardcore Title
against the giant, and came out the winner, once again using the Dragon Sleeper
to get the victory. The short feud then died down, as the Undertaker began to
concentrate on preparing for the Royal Rumble, where he
would be a heavy favorite alongside wrestlers like Steve Austin, Kurt Angle,
and the returning Triple H. At the '02 Royal Rumble, the Undertaker's luck
wasn't as great as he would have liked, as he entered the Rumble early with the
#8 draw. This didn't stop the American Badass from having a major effect on the
Rumble, though, as he cleared the ring, throwing out Rikishi, Goldust, Al Snow,
and Billy Gunn. The next man down was Matt Hardy, who definitely had a personal
score to settle. He was joined by Lita, as the two tried to double-team the
Undertaker, to little effect. However, when Jeff Hardy came down as #11, the
Undertaker had to fend off a 3-on-1 assault. The Dead Man managed it, though,
eventually eliminating both Hardys! The Undertaker then started to get ready to
take on the Tough Enough rookie, Maven, but then had to deal with the Hardys &
Lita reentering the ring to get some more of him. The Undertaker again tossed
the Hardys out, but while he was leaning over the ropes
yelling at them, Maven came from behind and dropkicked him, eliminating the
Undertaker from the Rumble! A completely stunned Undertaker turned, looking at
the rookie who had cost him his chance to headline Wrestlemania. He then entered
the ring and viciously attacked Maven, throwing him out of the ring and beating
on him all the way through the crowd and to the back, where he threw Maven
headfirst into a popcorn machine, cutting him open. On the next Smackdown, the
Rock talked about some of the events that happened in the Rumble, including the
Undertaker being eliminated by Maven. The Rock had a #1 Contender's Qualifying
Match later that night with Kurt Angle, with the Undertaker appearing during the
match and Chokeslamming the Rock, helping Angle get the win. On the next Raw,
the Undertaker brutally beat down Maven again, this time using a steel chair to
the throat. He then gave an interview, where he talked about how Maven was
paying for his lack of respect, as was the Rock. The
Rock, however, got some revenge a few days later, as he Rock Bottomed the
Undertaker through a table. The feud continued to build up over the next week,
as the Undertaker & Chris Jericho won a tag-team match on Raw over the Rock &
Steve Austin, thanks to the Undertaker using a lead pipe from his motorcycle. On
Smackdown, though, the Rock cost the Undertaker dearly, as his interference
allowed Maven to actually defeat the Undertaker for the Hardcore Title! A
furious Undertaker caught up to the Rock during an interview later that night,
savagely beating down the People's Champ and Tombstone Piledriving him on top of
a limosuine! Both men wanted to get their hands on the other after the limo
incident. But the Undertaker also was having problems with co-owner Ric Flair,
who wouldn't let the two meet up until the next PPV. At No Way Out '02, the
match finally took place, letting loose the pent-up rage both men had held for
the last 10 days. The bout went in and out of the ring, as the
two men fought long and hard for the victory. When the Undertaker got a
Chokeslam on the Rock, it seemed to be almost over. But the Rock kicked out at
2, leaving an upset Undertaker to go and get on his motorcycle. When the referee
followed him out, the Undertaker smashed him into the ring steps, then got his
lead pipe out again. Flair then came out, trying to stop the Undertaker from
using the pipe, only to take a boot to the face. However, the Rock had had
enough time to recover, and was able to dodge the pipe shot. The Rock then took
the Undertaker down and put in the Sharpshooter, only to have the other
co-owner, Vince McMahon, run out as a distraction, leading the Rock to put the
Sharpshooter on him as well. The Undertaker broke that up, but during the
confusion, Flair nailed the Dead Man with the pipe! A stunned Undertaker was
then caught by the Rock Bottom and pinned, losing a big match. The Undertaker
came into Flair's office on the next Raw with a challenge to the Nature
Boy, saying that he wanted to face Flair at Wrestlemania. Flair, though,
surprisingly declined the challenge, saying that he wanted to focus on being an
owner, not a wrestler. The Undertaker didn't take this news well, saying that he
would change Flair's mind. Over the next few weeks, that's what the Undertaker
did. On one show, the Undertaker took out Flair's best friend, Arn Anderson,
brutally bloodying him in the ring. Later, the Dead Man went down to Ohio Valley
Wrestling and destroyed Flair's son, David, trashing him in a bathroom. Flair
then agreed to the match with the Undertaker, but the Dead Man didn't want just
an acceptance. He called Flair out to have him beg for the chance to face him.
Flair refused, though, instead attacking the Undertaker in a wild brawl. During
the fight, a fan was hit at ringside, leading to Flair being arrested and taken
away, while the Undertaker was seen with a big smile on his face. The arrest
allowed Mr. McMahon to get Flair's power temporarily
taken away, which Mr. McMahon used to put the Undertaker in a match against
David Flair. After the Undertaker dominated his son, Ric came out and used a
chair to cause the DQ. At Wrestlemania X-8, the Undertaker & Flair went at it
in a brutal "No Disqualification" Match. The fight quickly went to the outside,
as the two men fought around the announcers' table. The Undertaker took control
by throwing Flair into the ringpost, then dominated for a time, cutting the
Nature Boy open. Every time Flair started to make a comeback, the Dead Man
stopped it, getting in more offense. Flair finally started to make a comeback
when the Undertaker missed a big boot, doing the splits on the top rope. Flair
knocked him out of the ring, then followed, getting the Undertaker's lead pipe
from his motorcycle and using it to bloody the Dead Man up. The momentum shifted
a few more times, leading back into the ring, where Flair got the Figure Four
applied. But the Undertaker was able to reach over and
grab Flair by the throat, breaking the hold and lifting the Nature Boy in the
air for a Chokeslam for a 2 count. This led the Undertaker to beat down the
referee, but this just led to Arn Anderson running out and getting the
Spinebuster on him. But despite the double-team, the Undertaker was just too
strong, throwing Arn from the ring, then Tombstone Piledriving Flair for the 3
count. WWF Raw It was announced on the next Raw that the two co-owners would
each be taking over 100% of one of the WWF's shows, with Flair running Raw,
while Mr. McMahon controlled Smackdown. In the draft of the WWF superstars,
Flair surprisingly picked the Undertaker as his #1 draftee, finally showing the
Dead Man some respect. On the next Raw, the Undertaker formally challenged
Triple H for a shot at his Undisputed World Title, with Flair sanctioning the
match. But Mr. McMahon, on Smackdown, overruled Flair, stating that since he had
won the coin toss, he got to choose the first challenger, not Flair.
This stripped the Undertaker of his title shot, making him a very unhappy man.
Two #1 Contender Matches were set up on Raw instead, to find out who would get
the shot at the champ from Raw. The Undertaker won his match, beating Rob Van
Dam. In the second match between Steve Austin and Scott Hall, the Undertaker
tried to interfere, going after Austin. Flair then came down as well to help
Austin. Austin managed to get the win, then gave out Stunners to everyone,
including Flair. The Undertaker and Austin continued to feud over the next few
weeks, with Ric Flair continally being between them. The final #1 Contenders
Match between the Undertaker and Austin was set up for Backlash '02. Flair,
meanwhile, inserted himself as the special referee for the bout. The match
started off slow, with Austin using psychological warfare early on by flipping
off the Undertaker repeatedly. The two men fought inside and out of the ring,
heading into the first row of seats at one point. As they fought,
the new World order members surprisingly came out and watched the match from
the ramp. Later in the match, the Undertaker rammed into Flair, who went down
hard. When the Undertaker turned around, Austin got the Stunner, but Flair
couldn't make the count. As Austin tried to rouse him, the Undertaker got a
Chokeslam for a 2 count. The Undertaker then went for a chair, only to have
Flair take it from him. Near the end of the match, Austin tried to use the chair
as well, with Flair trying to grab it from him. He only succeeded in distracting
Austin long enough for the Undertaker to land a big boot, knocking the chair
into Austin's face! The Undertaker then made the pin, and although Austin got
his foot on the rope, Flair counted to 3, apparently not seeing the foot. This
made the Undertaker the #1 Contender. Later that night, the Undertaker
interfered in the Undisputed World Title match, attacking Triple H to get Hulk
Hogan the World Title. On the next Raw, the Undertaker personally
thanked Flair for 'calling it down the middle', then talked about Hogan. He was
interrupted, though, by Triple H, who, even though he was supposed to be solely
on Smackdown, burst out from the back and attacked the Undertaker, bloodying him
badly before security can arrest him and take him away. The Undertaker returned
the favor on Smackdown, interfering during Triple H's #1 Contender Match with
Chris Jericho to help Jericho win. After the match, the Undertaker & Jericho
beat down Triple H, until Hulk Hogan could make the save. The Undertaker and
Triple H faced off at the UK PPV, Insurrextion '02, which was an up-and-down
match, especially when the top rope broke during the bout. In the end, Triple H
got the victory. WWE Raw It was announced at the next Raw that the WWF had
become World Wrestling Entertainment (due to a lawsuit with the World Wildlife
Fund). During the night, the Undertaker's motorcycle was stolen by Hogan, who
later destroyed it by hitting it with an
18-wheeler. The Undertaker got revenge in a brutal way the next week, as he
attacked Hogan with a tire iron, then chained him to a motorcycle and dragged
him behind it, eventually sending Hogan spinning into some boxes. Hogan had to
be put on a stretcher. At Judgment Day '02, the two men went at it for Hogan's
Undisputed World Title. The match started with the Undertaker using Hogan's own
weight belt against him, only to have Hogan steal it back and whip the
Undertaker instead. The two legends fought in and out of the ring, with the
Undertaker getting busted open at one point. At the end, Hogan "hulked up" and
had the Dead Man on the ropes, getting the Immortal Leg Drop, but the Undertaker
kicked out at 2. The Undertaker then managed to take Hogan down and grab a
chair, only to have the Hulkster kick it back into his face. But when Hogan went
for the pin, the ref was distracted by Mr. McMahon, who had come to ringside.
While Hogan attacked and Leg Dropped Mr. McMahon, the Undertaker
recovered, flattening Hogan with a chair shot, then Chokeslamming him for the
pin, winning the WWE World Title for the fourth time. The Undertaker made an
immediate impact on the next Raw, as he attacked Rob Van Dam from behind when
RVD was coming out for the first match. The Dead Man claimed that, since he was
the World Champ, no one should come out before him. However, before he could
finish his speech, a recovered RVD attacked, catching the Undertaker with the
Five Star Frog Splash. This led to the Undertaker defending the World Title one
night after winning it, and nearly losing it, as RVD pinned him after hitting
his Rolling Thunder. But since the Undertaker's feet were on the ropes, the
now-heel GM, Flair, restarted the match, and the Undertaker caught the
distracted Van Dam with the Last Ride for the victory. The Undertaker continued
his brutal streak the next Raw, making Tommy Dreamer drink his tobacco spit,
then taking Dreamer out. Going into June '02, the Undertaker
got into a match with Dreamer, beating him with the Dragon Sleeper, then
dumping a bucket of vomit that Dreamer had brought to the ring onto the downed
wrestler. However, the Undertaker was then attacked by Jeff Hardy, who
dropkicked him into the vomit, a disgusting sight. The Undertaker went to get
Hardy afterwards, but was only able to find his brother, Matt, whom the
Undertaker gladly beat up as a message to Jeff. On the next Smackdown, the
Undertaker made an appearance, attacking the man who won the right to challenge
for the title at the next PPV, Triple H. The Undertaker then returned to Raw to
call out the Hardy Boyz, who decided to answer his call, taking out the
Undertaker with a double-team while using a ladder. The feud between the
Undertaker & the Hardyz continued the next week, as the Dead Man defeated Matt
in a Non-Title Match, thanks in part to Raven helping to take out Jeff. After
the match, while Raven subdued Matt, the Undertaker destroyed Jeff. He then
spoke in
the back afterwards, stating that this was what Triple H had in store for him.
On the Smackdown before the PPV, the Undertaker went to try and assault Triple H
after he had just had a match with Billy Gunn. Kurt Angle also came down to help
out, but accidentally hit the Undertaker with a steel chair in the process. A
furious Undertaker demanded a Non-Title Match with Angle that night, which Mr.
McMahon reluctantly gave. Both the Undertaker and Angle talked about destroying
each other, which led Mr. McMahon to bring both to his office. The boss tried to
get both men to shake hands and agree to have a "clean competition", i.e. not
cause any injuries before the PPV. But the two men couldn't be contained, as
things erupted into a brawl in the boss's office! The match was just as intense,
with both men looking for a big move for the win. Near the end, the Undertaker
managed to escape the Ankle Lock, then got a Chokeslam. But he was then
distracted by Triple H, who came to ringside.
Angle then rolled up the Undertaker from behind, getting the quick victory!
Afterwards, the Undertaker and Triple H brawled, while Angle had to deal with
Hulk Hogan. The fight between the Undertaker and Triple H at King of the Ring
'02 was a brutal one, as old emotions roared to the surface. During the match,
the referee was taken out, adding to the chaos. This was only heightened as the
Rock came to the announcers' table. Meanwhile, the Undertaker tried to use a
steel chair on Triple H, only to be knocked out of the ring. The Undertaker then
opted to nail the Rock, before reentering the ring. The Rock followed with the
chair, but accidentally hit Triple H instead, bloodying him! The Undertaker
quickly took advantage, nailing Triple H with the Last Ride. But when a 2nd ref
could only get a 2 count, the Undertaker attacked him as well, throwing him out.
This, though, allowed the Rock to reenter and get the Rock Bottom on the Dead
Man. Triple H recovered and got the Pedigree, but
the 1st ref was still down. As Triple H went to get him up, the Undertaker
scored a low blow, then rolled him up for the pin, retaining the Undisputed
World Title. The Undertaker had a Non-Title Match with Jeff Hardy the next
day, defeating him with the Last Ride. But a resilient Jeff challenged the
Undertaker to another match on the next Raw, a Ladder Match for the Undisputed
Title! The Undertaker agreed, setting the stage for a great non-PPV bout.
(Under Construction) Pay-Per-View/Show Summary: (86 - 58, 3 NCs, 2 DDQs, 1
DCO)
- Texas Tag-Team Title Tournament (June 29, '87) = Texas Red & Ted Arcidi
defeated Bruiser Brody & the Spoiler and the Fantastics before falling in the
finals to Tony Atlas & Skip Young.
- CWA Tag-Team Title Tournament (March 13, '89) = The Master of Pain & Dutch
Mantell beat Brain Lee & Bill Dundee, then lost to Jimmy Valiant & Jeff Jarrett.
Tracey Smothers & John Paul won the tournament.
- WCW Clash of the Champions X (February '90) = The Skyscrapers (Mark Callous &
Dan Spivey) lost, via DQ, over the Road Warriors.
- WCW Wrestlewar '90 (February 25) = The Skyscrapers (Callous & the Masked
Skyscraper) lost a "Chicago Street Fight" match to the Road Warriors.
- WCW Capital Combat (May '90) = Callous defeated Johnny Ace.
- WCW Clash of the Champions XI (June 13, '90) = Callous pinned Brian Pillman.
- WCW Great American Bash '90 (July 7) = Callous was beaten by the NWA US
Champion, Lex Luger.
- WWF Survivor Series '90 (November 23) = The Undertaker, Ted DiBiase, Greg
Valentine, & the Honky Tonk Man fought in an "Elimination" match against Dusty
Rhodes, Bret Hart, Jim Neidhart, & Koko B. Ware. The Undertaker was counted out.
DiBiase was the sole 'survivor'.
- WWF Royal Rumble '91 (January 19) = The Undertaker competed in the Rumble,
which was won by Hulk Hogan.
- WWF Wrestlemania VII (March 24, '91) = The Undertaker defeated Jimmy Snuka.
- WWF King of the Ring Tournament (September 7, '91) = The Undertaker took down
Animal, then fought to a Double Disqualification with Sid Justice. Bret Hart won
the tournament.
- WWF at Royal Albert Hall (October 3, '91) = The Undertaker won, via countout,
over Jim Duggan. Later that night, the Undertaker competed in a Battle Royale,
which was won by the British Bulldog.
- WWF Survivor Series '91 (November 27) = The Undertaker beat Hulk Hogan to win
the WWF World Title.
- WWF Tuesday In Texas (December 3, '91) = The Undertaker lost the World Title
to Hulk Hogan.
- WWF Royal Rumble '92 (January 19) = The Undertaker competed in the Rumble,
which was won by Ric Flair.
- WWF Saturday Night's Main Event #30 (January 27, '92) = The Undertaker & Ric
Flair lost, via DQ, to Hulk Hogan & Sid Justice.
- WWF Wrestlemania VIII (April 5, '92) = The Undertaker beat Jake Roberts.
- WWF UK Rampage '92 (April 19) = The Undertaker lost, via countout, to Sid
Justice.
- WWF Summerslam '92 (August 29) = The Undertaker won, via DQ, over Kamala.
- WWF Survivor Series '92 (November 24) = The Undertaker won a "Casket" match,
beating Kamala.
- WWF Royal Rumble '93 (January 24) = The Undertaker competed in the Rumble,
which was won by Yokozuna.
- WWF Wrestlemania IX (April 4, '93) = The Undertaker won, via DQ, over Giant
Gonzales.
- WWF Summerslam '93 (August 30) = The Undertaker won a "Rest In Peace" match
over Giant Gonzales.
- WWF Survivor Series '93 (November 24) = The Undertaker, Lex Luger, & the
Steiner Brothers fought in an "Elimination" match against Yokozuna, Ludwig
Borga, Crush, & Jacques Rougeau. The Undertaker was counted out. Luger was the
sole 'survivor'.
- WWF Royal Rumble '94 (January 22) = The Undertaker lost a "Casket" Match to
Yokozuna.
- WWF Summerslam '94 (August 29) = The Undertaker defeated the 2nd Undertaker.
- WWF Survivor Series '94 (November 23) = The Undertaker defeated Yokozuna in a
"Casket" match. Chuck Norris was the special referee.
- WWF Royal Rumble '95 (January 22) = The Undertaker pinned Irwin R. Schyster.
- WWF Wrestlemania XI (April 2, '95) = The Undertaker defeated King Kong Bundy.
- SMW Blue Grass Brawl III (April '95) = The Undertaker & Tracey Smothers won a
"Handicap Loser Salutes The Flag" match over D'Lo Brown & the Gangstas.
- WWF In Your House I (May 14, '95) = In a dark match, the Undertaker took down
Kama.
- WWF King of the Ring '95 (June 25) = The Undertaker was beaten by Mabel, who
later won the KOTR tournament.
- WWF In Your House II (July 23, '95) = In a dark match, the Undertaker beat
Kama in a "Casket" match.
- SMW SuperBowl of Wrestling (August '95) = The Undertaker defeated Unabom.
- WWF Summerslam '95 (August 27) = The Undertaker won a "Casket" match over
Kama.
- WWF In Your House III (September 24, '95) = In a dark match, the Undertaker
pinned Mabel.
- WWF Survivor Series '95 (November 19) = The Undertaker, Savio Vega, Henry
Godwin & Fatu fought in an "Elimination" match against Mabel, Jerry Lawler,
Hunter Hearst Helmsley & Isaac Yankem. The Undertaker's whole team 'survived'.
- WWF In Your House V (December 17, '95) = The Undertaker won a "Casket" match
over Mabel.
- WWF Royal Rumble '96 (January 21) = The Undertaker won, via DQ, over WWF World
Champ Bret Hart.
- WWF In Your House VI (February 18, '96) = In a dark match, the Undertaker won,
via countout, over the IC Champ, Goldust.
- WWF Wrestlemania XII (March 31, '96) = The Undertaker beat Diesel.
- WWF "Good Friends, Better Enemies" (April 28, '96) = In a dark match, the
Undertaker defeated Mankind.
- WWF Kuwati Cup Tournament (May 8-12, '96) = The Undertaker beat Isaac Yankem &
Davey Boy Smith before losing to Hunter Hearst Helmsley. Ahmed Johnson won the
tournament.
- WWF "Beware Of Dog" (May 26, '96) = In a dark match, the Undertaker lost a
"Casket" match to the I-C Champ, Goldust.
- WWF "Beware Of Dog II" (May 28, '96) = The Undertaker again lost a "Casket"
match to the I-C Champ, Goldust.
- WWF King of the Ring '96 (June 23) = The U

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