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| Article: |
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| Dead Man Rising |
Calum Waddell |
With a WWE career spanning 17 years, 13 titles reigns and 15 straight WrestleMania victories, we look at the highs and lows of The Undertaker
Cast your mind back, if you are old enough, to 22 November 1990 and the fourth annual Survivor Series. It was the second eight-man tag match of the evening and for weeks Ted DiBiase had teased the identity of his “mystery” partner – the grappler who would join the “Million Dollar Man”, Greg Valentine and The Honky Tonk Man in their battle against Dusty Rhodes’ “Dream Team”.
Usually, at least back then, when WWE promised a surprise entrant it was a formerly employed wrestler – someone that the fans knew and who they could enthusiastically cheer or jeer upon their re-emergence. Not this time, though – instead, led to the ring by his manager Brother Love (yes, you read that right), a towering man-monster billed as “Kane The Undertaker” took to the squared circle. Slowly moving around the canvas like a zombie from George Romero’s Dawn Of The Dead, McMahon’s latest heel – with his deathly garb and whitened face – made quick work of jobber to the stars Koko B. Ware before systematically destroying Rhodes himself.
Although “Kane” would be counted out, his foes (which also included The Hart Foundation) sold the dead man’s offence so well that fans were in no doubt about the newcomer’s future prospects in the Federation. What was most surprising, therefore, is that it took so long for WWE to give the audience what they wanted and hand the man in black his first world title match…
BORN DEAD
Mark Calaway was brought to WWE from WCW, where he had worked the ropes as “Mean” Mark Callous, a bland, colourless Southern badass whose most memorable feud was with Lex Luger over the US Championship. According to his 2003 autobiography (so take an appropriate pinch of salt), Hulk Hogan shoulders the credit for recommending that Vince McMahon employ Calaway, after the Hulkster brought his future nemesis on board for a role in his sci-fi stinker, Suburban Commando (which began filming in mid-1990).
This being the cartoon era in WWE, McMahon no doubt began salivating at the idea of giving his latest skyscraping behemoth a ridiculous, family friendly, t-shirt selling gimmick but, thankfully, Mean Mark escaped the hell of a Red Rooster or a Hillbilly Jim and was given a character that managed to compliment his slow, methodical ring style. Further, by rarely having to sell (the initial incarnation of The Undertaker was virtually indestructible), Calaway could leave the really hard work to his opponents.
Bedecked in a black mortician’s outfit with a tolling bell hailing his entrance, Taker’s popularity grew quickly as he pulverised such fading talents as Jimmy Snuka (quickly defeated at WrestleMania VII), dropped Brother Love’s managerial services in favour of Paul Bearer (the debuting Percy Pringle) and, wisely, got rid of the “Kane” prefix before the end of 1990.
In 1991 the big man stared at the ceiling for The Ultimate Warrior at house shows, but this was quickly forgotten about when WWE began advertising a bout between “the undefeated” Undertaker and World Champion Hulk Hogan at the fifth annual Survival Series. Although the resulting match sucked (when watched today it actually looks as if the action is playing out in slow motion), it was notable for two things: the fan reaction to the supposedly heel Taker, whom they cheered over The Hulkster, and the fact that the dead man actually left the arena with the World Title.
Of course, this being Hogan, the classic problem occurred: he wasn’t keen to put over the younger, more popular wrestler and only did the job thanks to contrived outside interference from Ric Flair. In other words, fans were given the Undertaker victory they craved but were left in no doubt about who was the better – the dead man had only won because he cheated and poor Hogan had been screwed out of his belt. And of course, Hogan doesn’t lose without getting his win back.
The week after the Survivor Series, WWE presented a new pay-per-view called Tuesday In Texas – the company’s first unsuccessful attempt to run PPVs on a Tuesday (after Taboo Tuesday decisively proved the concept a dud some 13 years later). The show was also a convenient venue for Hogan to regain the WWE Championship, which he did in another horrible match with a screw finish. And thanks to the all the outside interference, the belt was held up and declared vacant the next day. The Undertaker’s title reign lasted all of six days.
DEATH CERTIFICATE
Still, the good news was that he was finally mingling with the big boys and, entering the 1992 Royal Rumble to crown a new champion, he was one of wrestling’s hottest properties. Although Ric Flair would walk away with the win and the title in what is arguably still the best Rumble of all time, it looked like the sky was the limit for the dead man in 1992.
Sadly, however, after turning face early in the year, his awful match against the departing Jake Roberts at WrestleMania VIII represented the beginning of a painfully slow decline, which the character would only really break free from in 1996. Indeed, the 1992-1996 incarnation of The Undertaker was notable only for featuring some of the worst WWE matches and feuds of all time.
During a period when Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels and Kevin Nash represented the Federation’s main event contingency, The Undertaker toiled away in midcard programmes against such woeful bone-benders as Papa Shango, Kama (both played by Charles Wright, who later became The Godfather), Kamala, King Kong Bundy, IRS and the truly indefensible Giant Gonzales (think The Great Khali, only without the ability to cut entertaining promos). Worst of all, however, was his challenge for the World Title against the late Yokozuna at the 1994 Royal Rumble.
A stilted, boring fiasco that climaxed with Taker being “killed” (seriously) and sealed in a casket, with his spirit ascending to heaven before promising soon to be reborn. Shortly afterwards, Ted DiBiase introduced a fake Undertaker (played by Calaway’s real-life friend, Brian Lee), Leslie “Naked Gun” Nielsen appeared in vignettes investigating the whereabouts of the real Undertaker and the entire, shoddy excuse for a storyline rivals even the Katie Vick debacle for “worst WWE angle in history”.
When Calaway finally returned for the Undertaker versus Undertaker match at SummerSlam (with his new purple outfit), it was WrestleCrap of the highest order. Nonetheless, much like the WWE version of Rob Van Dam, Taker remained over with the fans throughout the rough years, in spite of his bland, boring storylines and his failure to capture any titles. With his spectacular ring entrance always guaranteeing a huge pop and his merchandise remaining a top seller, Calaway had fallen into every wrestler’s worst trap – contentment.
RESURRECTION
However, this all changed with the arrival of one Michael Francis Foley to WWE in early 1996. Although Foley’s Mankind character was initially positioned as a midcard foe, it is to Mick’s credit that he worked his ass off to become (alongside The Rock and Steve Austin) one of the top three talents in WWE – and the entire wrestling industry – by the end of the millennium. Moreover, in doing so, Foley brought out the best in all of his opponents – and none benefited more from this than The Undertaker.
Following a top-rate brawl at the 1996 King Of The Ring, WWE management decided to continue the Taker-Foley feud, which spawned an entertaining (if overly gimmicky) Boiler Room Brawl at SummerSlam, a blinder of a bout at the Survivor Series and a decent (as well as the first) Buried Alive Match at In Your House 11. With the former Mean Mark reinvigorated and his character having developed to allow more human emotions (as well as more realistic matches, mercifully dropping the dire supernatural shtick that had fast become a hindrance), the company began rewarding him with better opponents.
Although largely forgotten about, the dead man’s defeat at the hands of Vader at the 1997 Royal Rumble remains a genuine highlight and his four-man elimination contest against (eventual winner) Bret Hart, Steve Austin and Vader at In Your House 13 was an absolute marvel. The same, of course, cannot be said of his second World Title win against Psycho Sid at WrestleMania XIII, but it was certainly better than anyone had any right to expect.
Sadly, The Undertaker’s second championship reign got off to a bad start, largely due to a baffling storyline in which his former manager, Paul Bearer, threatened to bring his thought-to-be-dead brother Kane into the Federation. This sort of horror movie schlock didn’t help Taker’s campaign at all, although it eventually paid off in ways that few could have expected.
Ultimately, “dead brother” stuff aside, 1997 was a great year for the dead man, with top bouts against constant muse Mankind, Bret Hart (who overcame him for the title at SummerSlam) and, especially, Shawn Michaels. Indeed, it was his Hell In A Cell match against Michaels at In Your House 18 that saw Dave Meltzer’s award him the first and only five star match of his career – and deservedly so, because it remains one of the absolute best steel cage bouts to date. It also, of course, heralded the debut of Kane, who would dominate The Undertaker’s landscape for years to come.
THIS FIRE BURNS
Although Glen Jacobs and Mark Calaway had tangled in the past (when the former was performing under his ghastly Isaac Yankem DDS gimmick), few fans were aware of it and the inevitable Kane versus Undertaker match at WrestleMania XIV was hugely anticipated. Though it wasn’t up to match, it told a good story, boasted a crazy spot where Taker missed his hands-free plancha and crashd and burned on the Spanish announce table, and also saw the WWE debut of Pete Rose (in the first of many beatings from Kane). Taking three tombstones to put Kane down, the pair met again in the first ever Inferno Match, where Taker set his brother’s arm on fire.
With the company now in full Attitude mode, 1998 saw the best year yet for the man from the dark side, with King Of The Ring hosting the notorious Hell In A Cell II against Mankind and SummerSlam serving up a fast-paced, exciting brawl against Steve Austin. Clearly, The Undertaker was finally reaping the rewards of sticking with WWE during the lean years (while almost every all of his peers, with Shawn Michaels a rare exception, had left for the big bucks in WCW). As 1998 came to a close he remained at the top of the card, pitted against fellow merchandise kings Austin, Kane and The Rock but coming up short in his quest to lift the World Title.
By the end of the year he became a heel for the first time since February 1992, claiming responsibility for killing his parents in a fire and attempting to embalm Stone Cold while he was still alive. His dark side gimmick now almost completely satanic and Occult-like, his Ministry Of Darkness – which saw his Acolytes, Faarooq and Bradshaw, abducting the likes of Viscera and Mideon to join his flock that included the gothic Brood of Edge, Christian and Gangrel – was so over the top that it was pure Marmite to the fans.
Amid such super-daft setpieces as Steve Austin being Crucified, Stephanie McMahon being taken hostage while burning crosses were erected outside the McMahon homestead and an attempted black wedding with Vince’s daughter, Taker gained a third World Title reign thanks to a tainted victory over Stone Cold at the fateful Over The Edge ‘99. After Austin regained the belt on Raw, The Undertaker formed “The Unholy Alliance” with The Big Show and the pair twice captured the Tag Titles. However, a groin injury put him on the shelf for eight months and, when he returned, his satanic ways were but a memory.
ARE YOU SCARED?
At Judgement Day 2000, Calaway made a spectacular return with the true-to-life “American Badass” gimmick, embracing his redneck roots and ditching the sacrifices and organ music in favour of Titan motorcycles and Kid Rock. Bedecked in a bandana, shades, a leather trenchcoat and riding his sled to the ring, it was a character transformation unlike any other and the now-former dead man was on fire with the fans.
After failing to win the Tag Titles together, a brief resurrection of Taker’s tired feud with Kane threatened to kill his momentum, but he quickly moved on to a stellar match with Kurt Angle at Survivor Series and a six-man Hell In A Cell at Armageddon, which saw him throw Rikishi off the top of the cage. The following year got off to a promising start, as the oft-quipped “Bikertaker” went over the rarely beaten Triple H at WrestleMania X-Seven and he spent much of 2001 teaming with Kane as The Brothers Of Destruction. Unfortunately, however, this is also where the rot really began to set in…
For the rest of this feature, check out issue 14 of FIGHTING SPIRIT – available at WH Smith and all good retailers. (For US readers we are now carried at Borders, so check for local availability or click here to subscribe.)
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