THE DEADMAN ERA; A LOOK BACK AT THE DECADE OF DESTRUCTION-BY ANTHONY CALI
~I. CONCEPTION~
It was November 22, 1990, a dark and dreary Thanksgiving evening, and a morbid chill hung in the air. For the unsuspecting thousands gathered at the Hartford Civic Center, a spiritual revolution was about to occur. A solemn bell tolled, signifying something, but what? Fans' emotions quickly moved from security to uncertainty to fear, as funeral organ music played and an ominous stranger slowly made his way to the ring. A decade of destruction had begun.
He was cold, somber and unflinching-the portrait of darkness. Led to the ring by Brother Love, he was the mystery partner of Ted Dibiase's "Million-Dollar Team." Apparently, even the dead had a price, and Dibiase had found a way to lure the Grim Reaper himself into WWE. As he stepped into the ring for the first time and stared straight into the eyes of Bret "Hit Man" Hart, it became apparent that this was a competitor like no other. This was Undertaker.
Within seconds, Hart found himself on the recieving end of a Chokeslam from Hell, and when Jim "The Anvil" Neidhard sprang into the ring to make the save, he soon found himself on his back as well. Koko B. Ware entered the confrontation believing that with his speed he could outmaneuver Undertaker. However, he instead became the first-ever victim of the Tombstone Piledriver. Without missing a beat, Taker made short work of Dusty Rhodes and hurled the "American Dream" out of the ring and onto the arena floor. But, "the Man from the Dark Side" wasn't finished. Unsatisfied with the carnage, he followed Rhodes to the outside and continued to pummel him back to the locker room while the referee counted to 10. Despite the countout loss, Undertaker proved all he needed on that one night.
~II. A DECADE OF DESTRUCTION BEGINS~
As his path of destruction continued, Undertaker experienced a change in management. The Phenom called upon Paul Bearer, a being he'd known since his days working at his parent's funeral parlor. This high-pitched voiced, enigmatic man wielded a mysterious urn that, when raised in the air, seemed to have the mystical power of rejuvenating a downtrodden Undertaker. Immediately after taking the managerial reigns, the crafty Bearer led Undertaker to an impressive string of victories.
After destrying several overmatched opponents, Taker hungered to bury a true Superstar. He got his wish when Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka agreed to face him and Wrestlemania VII. The ledgendary Snuka believed he'd show the newcomer that there was no substitute for experience. But, as the match commenced, it quickly became evident that the Fijian had underestimated his opponent. Snuka was unable to muster any offense, and Undertaker quickly dropped the future WWE Hall of Famer on his head witt a one-way ticket to Tombstone City.
As if his impressive victory over Snuka wasn't enough to catch the attention of the WWE brass, Bearer and Undertaker's next plan was guaranteed to raise a few eyebrows. For weeks, Bearer insulted WWE Superstars, challenging them to be guests on his Funeral Parlor talk show. Eventually, Ultimate Warrior stormed the set and was presented with a custon-made casket featuring his logo on it. An enraged Warrior began to roughhouse Bearer until Undertaker attacked him from behind. The beating continued until Warrior was unconscious and then stuffed into the casket, which Undertaker promptly closed and locked. A group of referees had to pry open the casket and release Warrior before he suffocated.
After seeing what had happened to his good friend, Hulk Hogan decided to appear on the Funeral Parlor to stand up to the Deadman. While Hogan was occupied in a face to face confrontation with "Nature Boy" Ric Flair, Undertaker appeared from behind and struck the WWE Champion with his urn. As Hogan lay motionless, it became apparent that a meeting between the Immortal One and the Phenom was inevitable.
On November 27, 1991, Undertaker received a title shot against Hogan at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan, in the main event of Survivor Series. The match was electric, Hogan battled back from Undertaker's unrelenting assault, even managing to kick out of a Tombstone piledriver. As the match went on, Hogan used the momentum of the fans to rally an offensive attack against the Deadman that led the "Nature Boy" to ringside for a closer look. Distracted by Flair's presence, Hogan rushed outside the ring to level Flair, allowing Undertaker time to regroup. Once back between the ropes, Taker attacked Hogan and set him up for his second Tombstone. Just then, Flair snuck a chair under the Hulkster's cranium and gave Taker the victory.
Due to the outside interference by Flair, then WWE President Jack Tunney declared that there would be an immediate rematch between the two Superstars six days later at a special event entitled Tuesday In Texas. Once again, Flair showed up to interfere, but this time he was confronted by Tunney himself, who was knocked out during the melee. Amidst the turmoil, Hogan used the urn's contents to blind Undertaker and regain his championship. Undertaker didn't receive a rematch against Hogan as Tunney declared the title vacant due to faulty finishes. But, his rivalry with Hogan only made him stronger. With his flame now burning brighter then ever, Taker was ready to embark on a career altering journey.
~III. THE EPIPHANY~
During the first few months of 1992, the "Man from the Dark Side" formed a partnership with Jake "the snake" Roberts, who at the time was one of the most sinister and demented athletes competing in WWE. Following in Jake's footsteps, Undertaker learned the craft of playing mind games with an opponent and wearing them down mentally prior to getting in the ring. But, one night Jake went too far.
Looking for revenge again Randy "Macho Man" Savage, Jake raised a chair above his head and prepared to strike Savage's valet Miss. Elizabeth. From out of no where, Undertaker appeared and stopped the attack by clinching Roberts' throat.
While some fans began cheering the silent Phenom, many still questioned whether his intentions were pure. Eventually, Roberts confronted the Deadman and asked him whose side he was on. Undertaker looked Roberts in the eyes and stoically replied, "Not yours." With the question finally answered, Undertaker was now embraced by the masses. Soon droves of fans who Taker referred to as his "Creatures of the Night" came to arenas dressed all in black to cheer his every move.
At WrestlMania VIII, Undertaker finally had his match with the slippery Roberts. While early on it seemed that Jake's experience had given him a clear edge, Undertaker proved that he was practically impervious to pain-taking two deadly DDT's, but quickly rising up. Eventually, he grabbed hold of Roberts and applied the Tombstone right on the arena floor. From there, Taker folded the lifeless Snake's arms on his chest and looked on as the referee counted to three.
~IV. THE GIANTS COMETH~
Undertaker's stunning victory over Roberts may have made him a hero in the fans' eyes, but it also made him a target. Because of the Phenom's ability to run roughshod over some of the company's toughest Superstars, Harvey Whippleman saw him as a major stepping stone to WWE title contention. He acquired the services of the Ugandan Headhunter Kamala, and sent the savage to stalk the deadman.
Planning to drive the barbarian out of WWE, Taker agreed to battle him at SummerSlam '92. Before ever stepping in the ring together, Undertaker already possessed an advantage over Kamala: the Ugandan was extremely superstitious and feared the dark side. Still Whippleman and Kamala's handler Kimchee tried to convince their charge that he had the necessary arsenal to overcome Undertaker and rid WWE of his morbid presence.
More then 80,000 of Taker's loyal British supporters converged on Wembley Stadium to watch as Undertaker continued his mind games by driving to the ring in an old fashioned British hearse complete with a coffin custom made to fit the Ugandan Giant. Just as Kamala had feared, Undertaker was simply too much for him to handle that night. Had it not been for Kimchee storming the ring and striking the Deadman with his pith helmet to cause an immediate disqualification, Taker would have finished off his opponent with a Tombstone. Yet despite the DQ, Kamala's team wasn't done. After the bell sounded, the savage attacked Undertaker and climbed to the top rope before delivering a devastating 300+ pound splash. Yet before Kamala could slap his stomach in exuberance, Undertaker arose and chased him and his handlers out of the arena.
The unfulfilling victory and post match attack left Undertaker seeking revenge. He issued a challenge to Kamala for Survivor Series '92-the first ever Casket Match, where the contest would end only when on opponent was locked inside a pine box. If the superstitious Kamala seemed crazed with fear in their previous encounter, he was one step from a padded cell after seeing the extra large, custom made coffin bearing the same quarter moon and stars design Kamala had painted on his torso. His handlers practically had to drag Kamala to ringisde and force him to compete.
In an act of desperation, Kamala attempted to finish Taker early by using chairs, ring steps and anything else he could get his hands on. But when Kimchee ordered him to use the urn against Taker, the frightened Ugandan refused to touch it. Quickly, Undertaker picked up the urn, smashed Kamala across the head, folded his arms, and rolled him into the casket before nailing it shut. Most of Undertaker's followers assumed that with the biggest threat to the industry demolished, he would refocus his energy on reclaiming the WWE title. They couldn't have been more wrong.
Undertaker was the odds on favorite at the 1993 Royal Rumble. He entered halfway through the 30 man contest and, as expected, dominated the other combatants. But, before he was able to build momentum, a siren sounded and Harvey Whippleman marched to the ring with his new charge. Standing nearly eight feet tall and weighing close to 460 pounds, Giant Gonzales was unquestionably the largest man ever to step foot in a WWE ring. With little effort, Gonzales sent Undertaker flying over the top rope, eliminating him from the Rumble. Gonzales wasn't through though. He continued to pummel Taker into unconsciousness before rolling him back into the ring and vanishing as quickly as he had entered. As Paul Bearer raced to ringside and used the mysterious power of the urn to revive the Deadman, fans wondered if this was the end of their pale faced hero.
After being manhandled by Gonzales, Undertaker turned his attention to seeking revenge and challanged the Giant to a match at WrestleMania IX in Las Vegas, Nevada. Again looking to play mind games with his opponent, Taker slowly made his way to the ring in a death chariot complete with a black vulture. Gonzales, however, was unfazed and remained focused on tearing the Phenom limb from limb. What started as a seesaw battle eventually turned in Undertaker's favor. As he had the giant reeling, Whippleman jumped onto the ring apron, causing a distraction. That was enough to allow him to toss the Giant a cloth soaked in chloroform. Gonzales covered Taker's face with the rag and watched him sink into unconsciousness. The referee recovered in time to disqualify Gonzales, but even with the win under his belt, Undertaker was not satisfied. As Gonzales and his crew were in the ring celebrating, a staggering, groggy Deadman rushed from the back and cleared the ring of his tormentors.
In hopes of settling the score, Undertaker challanged the leviathan to a "Rest In Peace" match at SummerSlam '93, where the only way to win was to score a decisive victory-meaning that count outs and DQ's wouldn't stop the action. During the match a bell began tolling as soon as Bearer came to ringside to cheer on his associate and score a measure of revenge against Whippleman-who had stolen his urn on an episode of WWE Superstars a month earlier. With Bearer and the urn back in his corner, Taker was unstoppable and, before long, he finished off the Giant and drove him from WWE.
In the time Undertaker was busy chasing Gonzalez, a new behemoth had climbed atop WWE and captured the title: the former Japanese sumo star Yokozuna. Soon, he would challange the Deadman.
Undertaker knew that he possessed skils necessary to finish off the 500+ plus monster, and specifically requested a casket match. Surprisingly, Yokozuna's manager, the devious Mr. Fuji accepted the challenge and set the date for Royal Rumble 1994.
Undertaker dominated the contest, eventually hurling Yokozuna's large frame into the double wide casket. But, just when it seemed that Taker was about to defeat his third giant in a row, something went terribly wrong. Fuji's hired assassins, Tenryu and Kabuki, stormed the ring and attacked the Grim Reaper. Before he could recover, several more WWE Superstars rushed to the ring and aided in the attack. Taker furiously fought off this ambush, but the odds were stacked against him. After the group wore out Taker, Yokozuna dropped him into the casket and closed the lid.
While the Deadman lay motionless in the casket, the top of his urn opened and a thick, green smoke billowed out, enveloping the arena in a mysterious mist. Moments later, a bell tolled and the arena went dark. Soon, Undertaker's face appeared on the TitanTron as he delivered a cryptic message to Yoko and his cohorts, assuring them that he would not "rest in peace." Still, this would be the last anyone would see Undertaker for a long time.
