The UndertakerReturn; feud with Mankind (1994–1997)
Paul Bearer betrayed Undertaker by hitting him with the urn he is seen carrying here.
After WrestleMania X, Ted DiBiase introduced an Undertaker back to the WWF. This Undertaker, however, played by Brian Lee, was an impostor Undertaker (dubbed the "Underfaker" by fans) and led to the return of the real Undertaker at SummerSlam, appearing as a new version of his original Deadman persona, replacing grey with purple. The Undertaker defeated the impostor after three Tombstone Piledrivers.[15] At Survivor Series, Undertaker defeated Yokozuna in a rematch, another casket match. Throughout most of 1995, The Undertaker feuded with members of Ted DiBiase's Million Dollar Corporation. At WrestleMania XI, while Undertaker was facing King Kong Bundy, Kama stole The Undertaker's urn, and antagonized him by melting it into a large gold necklace and attacking the Undertaker.[15] Later, The Undertaker defeated Kama in a casket match at SummerSlam.[15] Several weeks later, The Undertaker injured his orbital bone near his eye, forcing a period of absence for surgery, until his return at Survivor Series.
The Undertaker returned at the 1995 Survivor Series, wearing a Phantom-like, grey upper mask.[15] At the Royal Rumble, The Undertaker was unmasked in a WWF Championship match against Bret Hart, when Diesel interfered in the match to cost the Undertaker the championship.[16] One month later, at In Your House: Rage in the Cage, while Diesel was facing Hart in a steel cage match, Undertaker came bursting through the ring apron from under the ring, dragging Diesel underneath, allowing Hart to get the victory.[16] This feud culminated in a match between Diesel and the Undertaker at WrestleMania XII, in which the Undertaker was victorious.[12]
His next feud commenced the very next night, when Mankind made his debut, interfering in the Undertaker's match with Justin Hawk Bradshaw. For the next few months, Mankind ambushed and cost the Undertaker several matches.[16] The feud intensified, and they began taking their battles into crowds, backstage areas, and in the boiler rooms of different arenas. As a result, the first ever Boiler Room Brawl was booked between the two at SummerSlam. During the match, when Undertaker reached for Paul Bearer's urn, Bearer hit him with it, betraying the Undertaker and allowing Mankind to "incapacitate" The Undertaker with the Mandible claw, giving him the win.[16] After Bearer's betrayal, the Undertaker took his rivalry with Mankind to a new level, resulting in a Buried Alive match at In Your House: Buried Alive. Undertaker won the match after a chokeslam into the open grave, but after interference from The Executioner, as well as the help of several other superstars, The Undertaker was ultimately "Buried Alive".[16] After being buried alive, the Undertaker returned at the Survivor Series again pitting him against Mankind, but with a unique stipulation; hanging 20 ft above the ring was Paul Bearer, enclosed in a steel cage. If Undertaker won the match, he would be able to get his hands on Bearer. Even though the Undertaker won the match, interference from The Executioner enabled Bearer to escape the Undertaker's clutches.[17] The Undertaker then briefly turned his attention to The Executioner, who had become a thorn in his side since his arrival. At In Your House: It's Time, the Undertaker defeated The Executioner in an Armageddon rules match.[17] By the end of 1996, the Undertaker began a feud with Vader, culminating in a loss to Vader at the Royal Rumble after Bearer interfered on behalf of his new protégé.[17] After this loss, the Undertaker began to focus his attention on the WWF Championship.
Hell in a Cell; Brothers of Destruction (1997–1998)
See also: Hell in a Cell and Brothers of Destruction
At WrestleMania 13, The Undertaker defeated Sycho Sid for the WWF Championship, marking his second time as WWF Champion.[18] After the event, Paul Bearer attempted to rejoin with the Undertaker, using the threat of revealing Undertaker's "biggest secret". In the storyline, Bearer announced that Undertaker was a murderer, who as a child had burned down the family funeral home business (where Bearer worked), killing his parents and his younger half-brother. Undertaker claimed there was no way for Bearer to have that information, but Paul announced that he was told this by Undertaker's half-brother Kane, who was still alive but horribly burned and scarred. Bearer raised Kane after the fire, having him institutionalized. Now, Kane was waiting for revenge after all these years. In defense, Undertaker responded that Kane, a pyromaniac, had been the one to set the fire and could not have possibly survived.
The Undertaker with Lord of Darkness attire
His next major storyline began at SummerSlam in 1997 when referee Shawn Michaels accidentally hit Undertaker with a steel chair shot meant forBret Hart, costing the Undertaker his WWF Championship.[18] The feud culminated at In Your House: Badd Blood, where the Undertaker challenged Michaels to the first ever Hell in a Cell match. During this match, Undertaker's storyline half-brother Kane made his debut, ripping off the door to the cell and giving Undertaker a Tombstone Piledriver, Undertaker's trademark finisher, allowing Michaels to pin him.[18]
The match would get a 5-star rating from Dave Meltzer. As the storyline progressed, Kane, with Paul Bearer, challenged the Undertaker to fights, but the Undertaker consistently refused to fight his brother. The Undertaker's final encounter with Michaels was in the return of the casket match at the Royal Rumble, where Kane cost the Undertaker the win by trapping him in the coffin, padlocking the casket lid, and setting it ablaze. The Undertaker, however, had disappeared when the casket lid was reopened.[19] After a two month hiatus, Undertaker returned and defeated Kane at WrestleMania XIV.[19] The two had a rematch, the first ever Inferno match, one month later at Unforgiven: In Your House, where The Undertaker won by setting Kane's right arm on fire.[19]
Undertaker's feud with Mankind was renewed afterward, and they faced each other in a Hell in a Cell match at King of the Ring. During the match, Undertaker threw Mankind off the roof of the 16 foot cell onto the Spanish announce table below, in what was a preplanned move. He later chokeslammed Mankind through the roof of the cell into the ring which legitimately knocked Mankind unconscious and finished the match by Tombstone Piledriving mankind.[19]
At Fully Loaded, Undertaker and Stone Cold Steve Austin defeated Kane and Mankind to win theWWF Tag Team Championship.[19] Undertaker and Austin's reign as tag champions lasted for only two weeks, as Kane and Mankind regained the titles on an episode of Raw is War.[20] Undertaker then became the number one contender for the WWF Championship at SummerSlam, now held by Austin. Shortly before SummerSlam, however, Undertaker revealed that he and Kane were working together as brothers. Despite this revelation, Undertaker told Kane that he did not want him to interfere in the match with Austin, and even though Undertaker lost the match, he handed Austin his belt back after the match in a show of respect.[19] In September, the storyline continued, and Undertaker began to show some villainous characteristics when he and Kane revealed the fact that they were in cahoots to rid Austin of his title for Vince McMahon. At Breakdown: In Your House, Undertaker and Kane were booked in a Triple Threat match with Austin for his WWF Championship; McMahon stated that the brothers were not allowed to pin each other. Undertaker and Kane pinned Austin simultaneously after a double chokeslam,[19] so the title was vacated by McMahon. This event led to a match at Judgment Day: In Your House between the two brothers for the title, with Austin as the Special Guest Referee. Near the end of the match, Paul Bearer seemed about to assist Kane by handing him a steel chair to hit Undertaker with, but as Kane had his back turned, both Bearer and Undertaker hit Kane with the chair. Undertaker went for the pin, but Austin refused to count the fall, attacked the Undertaker, and counted out both brothers.[19] Finally, Undertaker became a villain the next night on Raw is Warfor the first time in over six years, reconciling with Bearer and claiming that he and Bearer would unleash their Ministry of Darkness on the World Wrestling Federation. As part of this new storyline, he admitted that he had indeed set the fire that killed his parents, for which he had previously blamed Kane.[20]
After Survivor Series, Undertaker returned his attention back to his previous feud with Austin for costing him the title at Judgment Day, viciously hitting Austin in the head with a shovel during a title match with The Rock, returning the favor for what happened a month earlier. With this twist in the storyline, McMahon scheduled a Buried Alive match between Undertaker and Austin at Rock Bottom: In Your House. In the weeks leading up to Rock Bottom, the Undertaker attempted to embalm Austin alive, tried to have Kane committed to a mental asylum, and had his druids chain Austin to his symbol and raising it high into the arena.[20] Undertaker, however, lost the match after Kane interfered.[21]
