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This should be a really interesting month for Classics.com. They are profiling the one and only Undertaker. He debuted in November of 1990 at Survivor Series and unbelievably, a gimmick of an undead wrestler powered by an urn has lasted for two decades. His character evolved, from the undead zombie to the leader of the Ministry to a red-neck biker to his current incarnation which is an amalgam of all three. Love him or hate him, he’s been on the one constant for the WWE these past twenty years. With that much material, we should expect a wide range of matches to be showcased on here.
By the way, the PPV they are showing here is Survivor Series 1991, when Undertaker won the WWE title from Hulk Hogan. I won’t be watching that because once the Survivor Series Anthology comes out I will buy it and review it then. One final note: The Classics.com crew updated the look of the site, breaking the monthly videos down in categories (full length episodes like Superstars and Raw, Original Series like Legacy of the IC title and finally the 10 individual matches featuring the theme of the month) and I have to applaud the group for all the wonderful changes they’ve made in the past few months. They’ve even added a Timeline section. Nice work, guys!
---Week One---
It looks like Week One will be focusing on Undertaker’s early career. I’d imagine that Week One would focus on the early 90’s, Week Two would be the mid to late 90’s, Week Four would be the late 90’s and early 00’s and Week Four would be the mid to late 00’s.
-Undertaker vs. Rick Sampson-
This is Undertaker’s very first television match, from December 9th, 1990 and it aired on Wrestling Challenge. Undertaker still had Brother Love with him and was being introduced as Kane the Undertaker. Now, where have I heard that name Kane before? Undertaker chokeslams Sampson as Brother Love gives us a pre-recorded promo about the Undertaker. Taker hits all his big moves including the flying clothesline, the ropewalk and the Tombstone, which ends this at 1:55. This was your standard 1990’s Undertaker squash match. ½*.
-Undertaker vs. Tugboat-
This is a Copps Coliseum match from January 25th, 1991. The running time here is 12 minutes and that frightens me a bit. Ok, not a bit, a LOT. Undertaker is sans manager here. Where’s Bearer? Tugboat is getting a good share of boo’s here. Undertaker attacks from behind to no avail, getting clotheslined to the outside and landing on his feet. Taker returns to the ring only to get shoulderblocked back out. Tugboat clotheslines Taker once in the ring and Taker slides back out again. I hope this isn’t going to be one huge stall-fest. Taker is pulled back into the ring but boots Tugboat in the face when he put his head down. Taker follows with his flying clothesline and drops a big boot for two. Taker tries a slam but he just drops him, so he covers with an elbow drop for two. Taker works in a reverse chinlock as the fans start booing. Mooney mentions it is like a funeral in here. I would say, they were literally bored to death. We have another reverse chinlock spot and I question why this match is on here. There was no Ultimate Warrior match they could have shown? The two clothesline each other in a double KO spot as the referee counts. Taker does the sit-up which was shown off-camera. Taker drops his head and he’s booted and he’s clotheslined to the outside (again). Tugboat powerslams Taker but he doesn’t cover. What an idiot. Tugboat misses a splash in the corner and Taker heads upstairs, dropping an elbow after doing a little ropewalk for the pinfall and the victory at 8:48. I’ve never seen Undertaker use that finish before. This match was way too long and just dreadful, but just seeing Taker not finish with the Tombstone was cool. ¼*.
-Undertaker vs. Hulk Hogan(c) for the WWE Title-
This is a Home Video match-up from July 29th, 1991. It is the first ever televised meeting between the two. Undertaker attacks as soon as the reigning WWE champ makes it to the ring. Taker rips off the shirt of Hogan and starts to choke him with it. Taker then uses the belt to ram into Hogan’s back and the referee refuses to ring the bell. Taker chokes away at the champ but misses a legdrop. Hogan is up and he chokes away at Undertaker before ramming him headfirst into the apron. Hogan clotheslines him in the corner and Taker no sells. Hogan atomic drops Taker into another no-sell opportunity. Hogan goes off the ropes but Bearer pulls his leg to interfere. Taker takes control again and continues his strategy of choking out Hogan. Hogan is Tombstoned and does his writhing selling routine. Taker takes his time in covering and when he does Hogan kicks out and Hulks up at two. Hogan hits the big boot but that doesn’t fell Hogan. So Hogan chokes Bearer for no reason other than to lure Taker into a charge that would hit his manager. That works and Hogan rolls up Undertaker for the pinfall at 4:33. That was a pretty clean job for the Undertaker and I actually liked how Hogan had to outwit Undertaker to win. *.
-Undertaker vs. Greg Valentine-
This Primetime Wrestling match took place on October 14th, 1991. Gorilla would like to see Valentine shut the coffin lid on Taker’s career. I have a feeling that won’t be happening tonight. Valentine blocks a blind charge with a boot and he chops away at Undertaker. He can’t knock down the dead man and Valentine gets slugged down when trying for a back drop. Valentine is choked in the corner as Undertaker slows things down. Valentine’s comeback is short-lived after he runs into a big boot. Undertaker connects with hits flying clothesline and can the ropewalk be far behind? No, it’s an elbowdrop and Undertaker misses it. Valentine locks on the figure four. The Undertaker’s shoulders are flat on the mat and I question why the ref isn’t counting him down? That’s just poor officiating. Bearer makes it to the apron and for some reason Valentine uses the ropes for leverage. He has to break the hold and now he’s distracted by Bearer. So Undertaker Tombstones him to finish this at 5:26. Valentine just wrestled a poor match, that’s all. This was your formula Undertaker vs. Jobber to the Stars Match. *1/2.
-Undertaker vs. British Bulldog-
This is a Home Video match from November 11th, 1991, or just before Taker won the WWE Title. I would think Undertaker would go over Bulldog here because of that. Taker starts off with some punches but misses a blind charge in the corner. Bulldog clotheslines Taker to the outside but Taker lands on his feet. He drags Bulldog to the outside but can’t send him face-first into the steps. Instead, Bulldog blocks and its Taker that is introduced to the steps. Taker makes the apron and Bulldog tries to bring him in only to get stunned over the top rope. As Bulldog is choked, Sean Mooney mentions that this is on the “Crunch Classic” video. Taker sends Bulldog outside and this time he’s able to send him into the stairs. We get to the ring and Bulldog tries to slam Undertaker, only to have Taker fall on top of him for two. Taker follows with the flying clothesline and more choking. Bulldog tries another bodyslam and again Taker falls on top of him for two. Taker telegraphs a back drop and Bulldog boots him in the face. Bulldog suplexes Undertaker but Undertaker just sits right up. Bulldog hits his running powerslam and covers, but Bearer gets on the apron to stop the count. Undertaker grabs the urn while the ref is distracted and lays out the Bulldog with it. That’s enough for the pinfall at 7:08. That ended a lot differently than I thought it would. I thought it would be a clean win with a Tombstone, but nope, Bulldog went over strong here. Bulldog clotheslines Taker out of the ring to get some of his heat back. This had an interesting finish, but was still boring. *1/4.
-Undertaker & Ultimate Warrior vs. Papa Shango & Bezerker-
This is another Home Video match and it took place just prior to the match below; from June 3rd, 1992. This just put two feuds (Warrior/Shango and Taker/Zerker) together into a tag team match. I remember the Bezerker/Undertaker feud, mostly due to Bezerker trying to impale Undertaker with the sword. Of course, the Warrior/Shango feud is best remembered for Shango making Warrior bleed black goo during a TV interview. Papa Shango would eventually become Kama Mustafa and in that gimmick he would steal Undertaker’s urn. Kama would then become the Godfather before disappearing into obscurity. Warrior and Taker stare down before the match, something that Hayes credits as giving the force to each other. The bad guys try to attack from behind but both are booted down and clotheslined to the outside. It looks like we’re on the verge of a stall-fest. Undertaker and Bezerker start this off, with Taker getting some early shots in on the Undertaker. However, if reading Northlanders has taught me anything, it’s that even Vikings can’t beat death. Taker misses a charging elbow and he gets dropkicked over the top to the outside. Taker lands on his feet and drags Bezerker out with him. Bezerker gets his head smacked into the steel steps before Taker brings him back in. Taker makes the tag to Warrior and he starts hopping around like an idiot. Warrior bodyslams Bezerker and clotheslines him in the corner. He follows with shoulderblocks. He goes off the ropes again, but this time Shango knees Warrior in the back to stem the tide of the Ultimate one. Shango is tagged in and Warrior is stuck in the heel’s corner. Bezerker is tagged in and he headbutts the Warrior’s gut. Warrior runs into a big boot and man, these two are moving really slowly. Warrior blocks going into Shango’s boots but he can’t make the tag to Taker. Warrior ends up double-teamed in the corner. Bezerker charges Warrior and he’s backdropped to the outside. Taker is tagged in and you can hear the proverbial fat woman sing. Taker ducks a big boot and knocks Bezerker aside. He brings in Shango to hit the flying clothesline. The heels try a double clothesline and they are caught in a double choke. Taker shoves them into a Warrior clothesline and Warrior ends this with a flying shoulderblock and a big splash at 7:50. Was there a tag to the Warrior there? I’m not even joking here, but even in 1992 the Undertaker was the best worker in this match. When it’s 1992 and Taker was the best worker in a match, you know you have a stinker, and that’s what this is. ½*.
-Undertaker vs. Repo Man-
This is from one of the WWE Home Videos and the match took place on June 29th, 1992. Jim Ross is calling the action here with Gorilla Monsoon, an interesting combination to be sure. We’re in Glen Falls, New York, home of Hacksaw Jim Duggan. I wonder how many of these Undertaker matches from the early 90’s I can watch in a row! Undertaker is mesmerized by the urn and follows it, which allows Repo to try and sneak up from behind. That fails miserably. Undertaker chokes away. He slugs Repo to the mat before bodyslamming him. Gorilla and Ross talk about Taker and how he doesn’t do anything half-heartedly. If he’s moving around the ring with his whole heart then we are in trouble from a work-rate point of view. Repo attacks Taker with a rope that has absolutely no effect on the Deadman. Repo is dumped to the outside, where he finds the hubcap he had brought out before. He whacks Taker with it and Taker no-sells it. The fans like that turn of events. Now we go old-school, but before it was old-school. We see the ropewalk, and the Tombstone follows to put Repo Man away at 4:22. Well, this was your formulaic Undertaker match from the early 90’s. No-sell the offense of whomever you face and Tombstone him after about 4 minutes of work. Let’s call it *1/2, and I will add a note to that saying I was always a big Undertaker fan and there me be a slight bias there.
---Week Two---
-Undertaker vs. Razor Ramon-
This is a Home Video battle from September 1st, 1992. Razor is still undefeated at this point. Gorilla calls this Undertaker’s biggest challenge to date. I think winning the WWE Title was a bigger challenge than fighting Razor Ramon. Ramon tosses his toothpick at Undertaker and that goes over as well as a fart in church. Ramon tries fighting back but fails, because how could you hurt a dead guy already? Taker bodyslams Ramon after a pointless segment outside the ring but he misses the follow-up elbow drop. Undertaker is clotheslined to the outside and lands on his feet. Ramon tries pulling Taker back in but Taker stuns him over the top rope. Undertaker tries the ropewalk only to get armdragged off. Ramon hammers away and dumps the Deadman. He follows and slams Taker’s head into the steps with no real results. So Razor Ramon starts using a chair and drives it into the back of the Undertaker. That briefly puts him down. Razor grabs Undertaker in an abdominal stretch and he uses the ropes for leverage. The referee catches him and Taker armdrags out of it. Taker misses a legdrop and Razor seems to be in control. He chinlocks Taker and you can see Razor is bleeding form his head here. Taker powers out and hits the flying clothesline. Taker goes for the Tombstone but Razor wriggles free and decides he’s had enough. He heads to the back and Undertaker follows. We get the ultra-cheap double count-out at 8:51 to protect both guys. This match had some interesting points, including Razor trying everything and not succeeding before just quitting. You could see the frustration as everything he tried had no real lasting affect on the Undertaker. **.
-Undertaker vs. Ric Flair(c) for the WWE Title-
Whoa, where did this one come from? This is a WWE Home Video battle from September 2nd, 1992.. This followed Undertaker’s face turn and wanting revenge on then-champion Ric Flair. Undertaker shoves down Flair to start before press-slamming him down. You don’t see Undertaker using maneuver too often. Flair tires to slug away at Undertaker but he gets nowhere. Taker sends him to the corner where Flair goes up and over to the outside. Taker rolls him back in and Flair begs off. Flair manages to duck the flying clothesline and Taker ends up outside where Mr. Perfect gets in a couple of free shots. Flair low blows Undertaker and back suplexes him, only to have Undertaker shoot right back up. Flair tries to escape to the apron but he’s suplexed in. The ref is distracted and Perfect tosses brass knuckles to Flair. Flair knocks out the Undertaker and locks him in the figure-four. Taker’s out but he sits up and chokes Flair to break. He chokeslams Flair and covers but Perfect pulls the referee out before he could get to three. Taker stalks Perfect on the outside which allows Flair to attack from behind. Flair chops away and Taker no-sells. He connects with the flying clothesline leading to Perfect coming in and whacking Taker with the chair. That immediately draws the DQ at 7:36. Taker no-sells and tombstones Flair anyway. **. This was a rare match between the two. Flair didn’t really get a chance to work his type of match with the no-selling of Undertaker.
-Undertaker vs. Bam Bam Bigelow-
This is another Home Video match, probably the last one of the month, from May 4th, 1993. Bigelow tries some rights and rightfully so, it goes nowhere. Taker corners Bigelow and slugs away. He charges but he hits the boot of Bigelow. Bigelow charges and Undertaker drop toe holds him. I don’t recall ever seeing Undertaker doing a drop toe hold. Bigelow escapes to the outside and induces a chase but Bigelow’s attack when Taker comes back in has no effect. The rope-walk follows. Taker tries his flying clothesline but misses and bails to the outside. Bigelow follows and sends the Undertaker to the post and into the steel steps. Bigelow drops a series of headbutts in the ring and Taker tries sitting up. Bigelow drops another one and Taker is down. Bigelow tries for the top rope headbutt and Taker sits up as Bigelow leaps down. Taker clotheslines Bigelow and Bigelow bails. He tries escaping but Tatanka wards him off and sends him back into the ring. Bigelow walks into a chokeslam to end this at 5:43. Bigelow was energetic here and his selling was done well. I still can’t believe Undertaker whipped out a drop toe-hold. **1/4.
-Undertaker vs. Bret Hart(c) for the WWE Title-
This is a Raw match-up that aired on my 14th birthday (February 5th, 1996). I didn’t watch this episode since this was during the run of 3 years I didn’t watch wrestling. We see Undertaker’s entrance and then a commercial. Oh wow, another black from the past. The WWE is not on air next week because of the Dog Show. That and the US Open always played havoc with the WWE’s Raw programming. Bret comes out and we go to another commercial. That’s two already. Diesel had interfered in these two guys previous match at Royal Rumble and Bret demanded that this match go on so he can beat Undertaker fair and square. Bret ducks under some Undertaker charges showing his quickness but he gets caught and slugged down by Undertaker anyway. Bret headbutts Undertaker but Bret just hurts himself. Oh, so Undertaker is Samoan now? Taker sends Bret into the corner and chokes away. We’re stuck in a broken record phase of choking. Diesel makes his way to the entrance ramp as Taker dumps Bret. Bret is sent into the steel barricade as Undertaker limps in the ring. It looks like Undertaker is nursing an injury to his legs and that is hurting his mobility a bit. Undertaker is a gamer and he still manages to hit the ropewalk. Diesel has made his way to the announce table and tells us that it is about -70 degrees in hell, truly making it a cold day in hell. Undertaker clotheslines Bret down and he tries for the Tombstone, but Bret accidentally kicks the ref down. Bret wiggles free and rolls up the Undertaker but the ref is down. Taker clotheslines Bret down but misses an elbow drop. Taker sits up but he’s not up for long. Bret kicks out his leg and posts the leg. The ref is still out so Diesel attacks Bret from behind and Bret is sent into the ringpost. Undertaker sees this and he goes out to attack Diesel. Diesel is sent into the stairs and Undertaker stalks his opponent, Bret. Diesel attacks Undertaker from behind with a chair and rolls him into the ring. Diesel follows and powerbombs the Deadman. Undertaker tries sitting up but he can’t quite make it. So Diesel powerbombs him a second time. Diesel leaves the ring and we’re out. Let’s call it the Sports Entertainment Finish at 8:50. It seemed that Undertaker was really hobbled in this match and possibly had a legit injury. I would hope that is why these two moved at that slow a pace. Let’s call it *. This match would set up their Wrestlemania match at Wrestlemania XII, which is featured this month, so I applaud the WWEClassics.com team for showing it.
-Undertaker vs. Steve Austin-
This is a Raw bout from July 29th, 1996 and is a very early meeting between the two competitors. Steve hadn’t become the biggest star in wrestling just yet. In fact, his entrance isn’t even shown here. We see Mankind in a boiler room before we take a break and return with Austin trying to shake hands with Taker to start the match. Taker chokes away to start and the two exchange wristlocks. Austin sends Taker into the turnbuckle but that has no effect on the Deadman. Undertaker responds with a flying clothesline and damn, Mark is moving tonight. Taker follows with the ropewalk but Austin counters by shaking the ropes and crotching Undertaker. Austin stomps a mudhole but forgets to walk it dry. Austin uses the ropes to choke Undertaker before lowblowing Undertaker. Now he stomps a mudhole in Undertaker and this time he walks it dry. In fact, Jerry Lawler said that Austin just stomped a mudhole in him and walked it dry. Austin hits a second rope elbow, clearing about half the ring, for two. Austin shoulders Undertaker in the corner but Taker fights back and ties up Austin in the ropes. He charges with a boot to the gut and bodyslams Austin down. Undertaker misses an elbowdrop and Austin goes back to the choking. Mankind makes his way out of the boiler room as we head to break. We return with Austin holding a chinlock. Austin piledrives Undertaker and he heads upstairs. Undertaker sits up and falls back on the ropes, crotching Austin. Austin tries to climb back up but this time Undertaker catches him and chokeslams him off. Undertaker preps for the Tombstone but he sees Mankind at the entrance ramp and he charges out after him. The two battle it out and head to the back as the ref counts out Undertaker at 9:10. Undertaker comes back in and Tombstones Austin anyway. It’s amazing to see Austin move like this and how mobile he was before his injury at Summerslam. I was really surprised at how fast this match moved. ***.
---Week Three---
-Undertaker Introduces the Ministry of Darkness-
This is from Raw and it aired on January 11th, 1999. Ooh, this one is rated TV-14. Dennis Knight, career loser wrestler is flanked by the Acolytes (Farrooq and Bradshaw) and Undertaker’s music goes off. This would start the whole Ministry of Darkness period for Undertaker, where he was the leader of a cult, demonic, group. Here Undertaker makes Dennis Knight drink his “blood” and Knight is rechristened Mideon. The sacrifice stuff was definitely different than anything on WWE right now, and was very dark.
-Undertaker(c) vs. Rob Van Dam for the Undisputed WWE Title-
This style clash occurred on May 20th, 2002 on Monday Night Raw. RVD is sporting quite the shiner on his right eye that was Undertaker inflicted upon RVD earlier in the night. This is during the Dead Man Walking stage for the Undertaker. RVD dropkicks the legs of Taker as he makes it to the apron and follows with a slingshot splash from the top. RVD rolls Taker into the ring to start the bell. Taker charges at RVD on the apron with a big boot but RVD ducks and Taker crotches himself. RVD follows with a top rope kick for two. Taker goes for a quick Tombstone but RVD flips out and does a step-over heel kick. He clotheslines Taker to the outside and follows but walks into an elbow. RVD reverses an Irish whip to the barricade and legdrops Taker over the top of it. Taker returns to the ring and tries a Last Ride but RVD slugs out of it and falls on top of Taker for two. RVD comes off the ropes and runs into a big boot. Taker controls and sends RVD into an exposed turnbuckle. He stomps away at him and bodyslams him but misses an elbowdrop. RVD follows with a seated dropkick hat trick and covers for two. RVD has busted his eye open again, thus earning its TV-14 rating. Undertaker counters with his “educated fists” before he’s sent into the exposed turnbuckle. RVD hits Rolling Thunder and covers for the pinfall and the title at 5:57, but Undertaker’s foot was clearly on the ropes. Ric Flair comes out (I guess he’s the commissioner?) and tells the ref that his foot was on the ropes and that the match must continue. RVD doesn’t like this and slugs Flair down. This allows RVD to attack from behind and connects with the Last Ride to end this at 6:10. That was certainly a BS ending. I never cared for the Undertaker during his period, as he lost the cool elements from his early period and didn’t really seem to work well with those he perceived as underneath him. Sure RVD got the cheap victory but that didn’t last long at all. **.
-Undertaker(c) vs. Randy Orton for the WWE Title-
This is a SmackDown match-up from May 30th, 2002. Orton was still an up and coming “rookie” at this point. Undertaker offers a handshake to Orton. What a sport! Taker corners Orton and breaks clean. What a sport! Taker shoves the kid down on the next lock-up. Orton grabs a side-headlock before Taker whips him off and shoulderblocks him down. Orton hiptosses Undertaker and armdrags him down. He follows with a back drop and a clothesline that sends Taker to the outside. A slingshot splash follows and Orton is pumped. Speaking of pumped, he’s gained a lot of weight since this first match. Taker tries a suplex but Orton flips out and rolls up the Undertaker for two. Orton runs into a clothesline and Taker loses his sportsmanship card by untying one of the turnbuckles. Orton attempts a comeback with a dropkick only to run into a big boot. Undertaker covers but picks his head up at two. Orton reverses a whip to the exposed steel and follows with a Rocker Drop spinning slam type move for two. Undertaker follows with a big boot for two. Taker argues with the ref and this allows Orton to schoolboy him for two. Orton runs into a chokeslam and that’s all she wrote at 5:20. This was entertaining for what it was, the rookie Randy Orton showing his stuff in what is really only a step up from a total squash match. **.
---Week Four---
-Undertaker(c) vs. Jeff Hardy for the WWE Title in a Ladder Match-
This is from the July 1st, 2002 edition of Raw, and I'm pretty sure I've seen it before but I must've wiped it from my memory, much like everything else after 2001. This is TV-13, which means there is blood here. Taker cuts a promo (being interviewed by Terri) and he says he's gonna beat Angle, and then take out the Rock. Taker is not concerned with Hardy at all, btw. This is Undertaker's first ever ladder match. Hardy gets on Taker's bike before the match, drawing Taker to the outside. This allows Hardy to run into the ring and dropkick the ladder into Taker's face. He follows with a slingshot plancha and whacks Taker with a chair. Taker shrugs this off and clotheslines down the must smaller and thus, weaker, and double thusly, not as deserving as a main event slot, Jeff Hardy. Taker tries lawndarting Jeff into the Ladder but Jeff ducks out and Taker drives himself into the ladder. Jeff drapes it over Taker and connects with a dropkick off the steps. Jeff crawls into the ring as Undertaker casually stands up and trips up Jeff, and kicks the ladder into his side. Jeff is on the apron so Taker drives the ladder into Jeff and Jeff falls to the outside, landing on the announce table. Undertaker ascends the ladder but sees Jeff lying at ringside. Taker heads out and inflicts some more pain because he wants everyone to know that Jeff is beneath him. Jeff is tossed back into the ring and continues getting beat like a jobber. He even gets some token offense in before Taker fells him with a single punch. Taker sets up Jeff between the ladder and dangling off the apron and legdrops the top of the ladder, making a Hardy-Ladder sandwich. Taker brings Hardy back in and clotheslines him in the corner. The fans are really waiting for Hardy to make his comeback. Besides the first minute, this has been all Undertaker.
Taker charges at Jeff, who is propped up on the ladder in the corner but Hardy evades and follows with a corkscrew splash. Does Taker sell? Of course not. He quickly slugs Hardy to the outside. Hardy follows with a low blow and a somersault splash over the top rope. Hardy pulls out an even bigger ladder from under the ring. (Why was it under there?) And he sets it up in the ring. He scales the ladder but way too slow and Taker's right there. Taker sets up Hardy for the last ride and Jeff rana's him to the outside. Taker is up quickly and this he whacks Hardy in the back with a chair. Taker tries another Last Ride but Hardy slugs out of it, reaches down for the chair and whacks Taker with it. Taker takes a wicked shot to the face with the chair and Hardy starts his way up to the top. Taker whacks Hardy with a chair to stunt his progress and he starts climbing up the other side of the ladder. Taker chokeslams Hardy off the top of the ladder and calmly takes the title belt, ending this at 14:04. Taker gives Hardy a Last Ride for good measure at the end. Jeff taunts Taker, which wasn't too bright on his part, though Taker lifts Hardy's hand as a sign of respect. That was utterly pointless since Jeff didn't show in the ring he was able to stand up to the Taker. I wasn't a fan of Undertaker at this point, as he was not letting anyone get close to him in terms of main event status and did little, if anything, to make anyone he deemed beneath him look good in the ring at all. I remember an example of this was Fully Loaded 2000. In that PPV, Angle fought the Undertaker, Benoit fought the Rock and Jericho fought HHH. HHH and Rock made the other two guys look great while Taker basically squashed the guy who would become the WWE champ within a few months. It wasn't until he started doing more of the MMA influenced stuff that he would start to sell and have a career renaissance, putting out great matches with almost everyone he wrestled with. This was not one of those matches, and Taker was firmly in control the whole time and really never gave Hardy a shot. **1/2.
-Undertaker vs. Big Show vs. Brock Lesnar-
This is from SmackDown, airing on August 28th, 2003. I could see this being either very good, or a colossal train-wreck. This is a no-disqualification, triple-threat match to see who will become the Number One Contender for Kurt Angle’s title. Brock is young in his WWE career, and he hadn’t screwed the company yet to try out for the Vikings, fail, and become an even bigger star in the UFC before suffering some sort of intestinal injury that may threaten his career. I just realized that Undertaker is hailing from Houston, Texas and not Death Valley. Angle makes his way out before the match starts. It seems early on that Lesnar and Show are going to team-up against Undertaker. Everyone is so surprised that Angle is coming out to watch this yet; his seat is already set up! We take a commercial and return with Taker getting double-teamed by Lesnar and Show. Show suplexes Taker and Lesnar covers, angering Big Show. They agree to continue working over Taker and Big Show clotheslines him to the outside. This allows Lesnar to attack Show from behind. Big Show shrugs that off. Amazingly, Lesnar hits an overhead belly to belly suplex on Big Show and covers. Undertaker breaks up that pin and he slugs away at Lesnar in the corner before splashing both Show and Lesnar. Undertaker delivers a big boot to Lesnar and a flying clothesline to Show. Lesnar ducks a clothesline and sets up an F5 only to get booted in the face by Big Show. Big Show tries a chokeslam on Undertaker and Undertaker counters with a arm-bar. Lesnar breaks that up and the two square off in the center of the ring. Taker clotheslines Lesnar to the outside but he gets himself caught up in the ropes and he is nursing his hand now. Lesnar tries an F5 but Taker backs out and shoves Lesnar into the ringpost. Show attacks Taker with a chair but drops it after missing Lesnar with it. Lesnar charges with the chair and Big Show punches it into Lesnar’s face. We take a break and return with Show and Undertaker in the ring. Lesnar’s on the outside, having been laid out by Big Show earlier. Show boots down Undertaker and shoves Lesnar off the apron. Big Show drops a legdrop for two but Undertaker catches Big Show in another submission hold, an arm-bar/headscissor type move. Lesnar breaks that with an elbow drop. Taker chokeslams Lesnar and covers but Big Show pulls the ref out of the ring before he can count to three. Taker is angered by this obvious injustice and sends Big Show into the table. Undertaker is caught in a chokeslam inside the ring and this time Lesnar needs to break up the pinfall. Angle calls this match amazing and I will have to respectfully disagree. It’s okay, but definitely not amazing. Lesnar ducks a Big Show charge in the corner and suplexes the big guy. He covers and Undertaker breaks up that pin. Undertaker tries a Last Ride but he has to duck a Big Show clothesline. He slugs Show to the outside before walking into an F5. Lesnar covers and Show makes the save. Big Show chokeslams Lesnar and covers for two. Show doesn’t like that it only got a two so he sets up a chokeslam off the top. Taker prevents that from happening. Lesnar reverses an Irish Whip into the corner where Big Show is still crotched and Undertaker’s head is driven into Big Show’s elbow. Taker’s seated in the corner now. Lesnar tries a superplex of Big Show off the top but Taker gets up and Last Rides Lesnar down. Big Show falls to the outside and Undertaker’s able to get the pinfall at 12:54. I was mistaken before; this was a very good match. These three guys busted their asses out there and I think this was when Undertaker realized it’s okay to bust his ass and look the other guys look good. ***1/4.
-Undertaker vs. John Cena-
This is another SmackDown, this time from July 22nd, 2004. I never really saw Cena wrestle. His time as a main eventer came after I stopped watching. I remember his first match against Angle on SmackDown but that’s about it. Cena is the US Title-Holder by this point. Introductions eat about 4 minutes of the 24 minute run-time. Taker slugs down Cena to start, but misses a blind charge and Cena fires away, getting pumped up in the process. Cena continues firing away but is dumped to the outside. Cena is suplexed back in and Taker covers for two. Taker goes old-school with the rope-walk and he has the audacity to cover Cena after that for two. Cena tries fighting back but he’s the recipient of Taker’s flying clothesline for two. Cena fights back and elbows Taker to the outside as we head to a break. We return with Cena clothesline Taker to the outside and following with some boots. Cena clotheslines Taker into the stands. Cena follows that by sending Taker into the steps and Taker seems to have split his arm open. Cena follows with a splash off the apron but Taker catches him and drives his back into the ringpost. Taker follows with a legdrop onto Cena as Cena is dangling off the apron and he covers him for two. Taker works the arm of Cena and we head into a slow part of the match. Taker slugs Cena down before setting him up on the top rope. A superplex follows for two. Cena is down but he pops up with a spinebuster (from the heart, according to Tazz) that sends both guys down. Cena and Taker make it up at the same time but Cena’s more energetic. He shoulderblocks Taker down and clotheslines him for two. Cena heads upstairs and connects with a double axe-handle. Cena hits his throw-back and the five-knuckle shuffle for two. Cena pumps up the shoes but Taker ducks out of the FU and boots Cena. A legdrop follows for two. Taker tries a Last Ride but Cena escapes. Taker goes for a clothesline but Cena ducks and the ref is knocked out. Taker is FU’ed but the ref is out. Cena tries to resuscitate the ref to no avail. Taker follows with a chokeslam and again there’s no ref to count. So Taker grabs the chains of Cena and nails Cena with them. The Tombstone is elementary at 18:13. This had a big portion in the middle that dragged but the beginning and the ending were definitely watchable. I like how Taker had to resort to cheating in order to win, giving a bit of rub to Cena. **1/2.
-Undertaker vs. Kurt Angle(c) for the Undisputed WWE Title-
This is from No Way Out 2006, held on February 19th, 2006. I usually steer clear of PPV matches but this is Kurt Angle so I couldn’t pass it up. Angle has a swank pair of black tights on. Tazz says it best when he says it’s the Striker vs. Grappler. Angle goes behind Taker and gets him to the ropes to the break and Taker comes out swinging, causing Angle to bail to the outside. He comes back in and gets caught in a side headlock. He breaks but he’s shoulderblocked down for one. Taker goes back to the arm, dropping a leg on it and stretching it out while seated on it. Taker tries for the ropewalk but Angle wiggles free. Taker catches Angle again and this time he hits it. Angle charges but is slammed down for two. Taker snake-eyes Angle but misses a big boot. Angle German suplexes Taker and cover for two. Angle chokes away at Taker in the corner. Taker tries a charging big boot but he gets himself crotched. He ends up on the apron and Angle charges, knocking Taker to the outside. Angle follows and sends Taker to the steps. Angle leaps off the apron but is caught by Taker and has his back driven into the post. That was the same exact spot from the Cena match. Taker props up Angle on the apron and connects with a leg-drop, another staple from the Cena match that I saw just before. Undertaker tries for a chokeslam but Angle kicks at Taker’s leg to prevent that. He clips Taker’s knee as a follow-up. Angle slams Taker’s knee into the ringpost and does the figure-four while Taker is still caught in the ringposts. Angle continues stalking Taker’s knee, driving an elbows into it before covering for one. Angle keeps at the knee but he’s caught and dumped to the outside. Taker tries another legdrop on the apron but Angle catches him and applies the Ankle Lock. They’re on the outside and Angle can’t win like that but he’s able to really do some damage. He breaks the count and he goes back to the ankle. That’s a sound strategy. Angle brings it back to the ring but he can’t get a submission. Angle keeps at the knee but gets caught in a Triangle Choke. Angle makes the ropes and Taker has to break. Angle is woozy and he wonders around to the announce tables. Taker takes the plastic covering off one of the table’s but nothing comes of that. Taker swings at Angle and Angle ducks, Angle-slamming Taker through the table. Undertaker is almost counted out but Angle stops up the count. He wants to beat Taker in the ring. Angle fires away on the outside but he’s sent shoulder-first into the steps, but also hits his throat on the table covering that Taker had taken off previously. That had to hurt. Taker heads upstairs but he’s crotched by Angle. Angle tries a superplex but Undertaker slugs him off. Taker heads up again but Angle does his pop-up belly to belly off the top and that gets two. Taker is up quickly and boots Angle down. Taker tries for a chokeslam but Angle grabs the leg and applies the Ankle Lock. Taker rolls through and grabs a Triangle Choke. Angle counters that with an Ankle Lock but Taker rolls out and chokeslams Angle for two. Taker tries a Last Ride but Angle rolls through with another Ankle Lock. Taker makes the ropes but he’s Angle Slammed down for two. Angle gets fired up and takes down the shoulder straps but is stunned when Taker sits up. Taker tries a Tombstone but (wait for it) Angle rolls through it and locks on the Ankle Lock. He lays down this time and Taker has nowhere to go. Taker gets on his back and boots away at Angle and that breaks the hold. Angle hits the Angle slam but Taker catches him with a Triangle Choke before Angle can cover. Angle is almost out but he rolls over Taker into a cover (while still in a choke) and Angle gets the pinfall victory at 29:37. This was an epic match, but the constant use of the Ankle Lock kind of took me out of the story, as did Undertaker’s spotty selling of the leg/knee. Still, this was a great match-up between the two. ***3/4.
-The Bottom Line-
I thought this was a great career retrospective featuring the Dead Man. I would’ve preferred if they didn’t show so many PPV matches, although I can certainly see why they would include his Wrestlemania Legacy. There’s literally an assortment of matches from every phase of the Undertaker. The only thing they were slightly short on was the late-90’s Undertaker, but that was probably due to blurring issues. They didn’t pass over anything too groundbreaking except for a few matches with Steve Austin. I really enjoyed the first two weeks especially. There’s tons of early and rare matches with some great opponents like Razor Ramon and Ric Flair. I didn’t watch too much from the last two weeks because it was mostly PPV matches and matches I didn’t care about but I still really appreciate the retrospective that was offered. If this were included in a DVD collection I would definitely be content.
Here’s a rundown of matches I didn’t watch this month.
--Week 1--
--Undertaker vs. Jimmy Snuka (Wrestlemania VII)
--Undertaker vs. Jake Roberts (Wrestlemania VIII)
--Undertaker & Legion of Doom vs. The Mountie & Beverly Brothers (Home Video – 05/19/92)
The first two were Wrestlemania matches I’ve already reviewed and for the last one well, I don’t like the two tag teams involved and the running time (18 minutes) definitely scared me off. I don’t know if I could watch the LOD going that long.
--Week 2--
--Undertaker vs. Giant Gonzales (Wrestlemania IX)
--Undertaker vs. King Kong Bundy (Wrestlemania XI)
--Undertaker vs. Diesel (Wrestlemania XIII)
--Undertaker vs. Justin “Hawk” Bradshaw (Raw 04/01/96)
--Undertaker vs. Sid (Wrestlemania 13)
--Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels (In Your House)
Everyone single one of these matches I’ve either A) reviewed already, or B) have on tape/DVD and will review. The Raw match with Bradshaw was actually on Before They Were Superstars.
--Week 3--
--Undertaker vs. Bret Hart (One Night Only 1997)
--Undertaker vs. Kane (Wrestlemania XIV)
--Undertaker vs. Big Boss Man (Wrestlemania XV)
--Undertaker & Kane vs. The Dudley Boys vs. Edge & Christian (No Way Out 2001)
--Undertaker vs. Triple H (Wrestlemania X7)
--Undertaker vs. Ric Flair (Wrestlemania X8)
These were all PPV’s, so I decided to skip since either A) I’ve seen them all already or B) plan on reviewing them in the future.
--Week 4--
--Undertaker vs. Kane (WM XX)
--Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels (WM XXV)
--Undertaker vs. Edge (One Night Stand 2008)
These fell under the Wrestlemania rule. I have ‘em on DVD, and I’m just waiting to get to them. I did catch the HBK match because I’ve heard so much about it and it is everything it’s made up to be. The Edge match was one I’d intended to review but ran out of time before the December videos were posted and I couldn’t find it archived on the site when I checked on Monday. Oh well, I won’t lose too much sleep over it!
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