For 11 years, the circumstances surrounding Undertaker's first WWE title win tortured him. His name was in the record books, but fans always viewed the victory with a hint of suspicion.
Rather then mellowing as the years passed, the discontent grew within him. Each landmark he achieved made Taker more zealous to cleanse the slate of the controversial win-and subsequent loss-in 1991. There was only one way to achieve this end: by once again crossing paths with Hollywood Hulk Hogan and righting the perceived wrong.
In early 2000, there was little likelihood of that collision ever taking place. Hogan was under contract to rival organization WCW, and Undertaker was struggling to overcome injuries, and regain his former status. In the spring, there were eerie hints of a return. A group of little girls was seen on the TitanTron at WWE shows, chanting nursery ryhmes in eerie, sing-song voices, amidst flames and disturbing symbols. Then, at Judgment Day, WWE titlist The Rock clashed with Triple H in a 60 minute Iron Man Match. With the clock running out and the two men tied at five pinfalls apiece, Triple H's allies stormed the ring and savaged The Rock. On the TatanTron, the image of the little girls appeared again as Undertaker blazed to ringisde on his motorcycle.
Gone was the atire associated with the afterlife. Instead, Undertaker sported a blue bandanna, biker vest and an even more elaborate array of tattoos than in times past. He was no longer "The Phenom" or "The Man from the Dark Side," but the "American Bad Ass."
"I may not dress like Satan anymore." he'd later say. "But, I'm still down with the devil."
Undertaker unleashed his pent up fury on Triple H, chokeslamming him and following that up with a Tombstone Pildriver. However, the intervention worked in Triple H's favor. Special referee Shawn Michaels-knocked unconscious earlier in the bout-finally snapped to his senses, spotted the huge intruder and awarded the final fall to Triple H via disqualification. The "Cerebral Assassin" was the new WWE Champion.
Not surprisingly, The Rock was livid. Eager to see two of his enemies neutralize each other, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon exploited the situation, and quickly signed the "People's Champion" to a lumberjack match with the newly resurrected "Deadman." But, before they had the oportunity to lace into each other in the contest, McMahon's allies attacked both combatants. Standing back to back, Undertaker and The Rock fought off the threat with help from Kane.
"This is my yard," Undertaker warned all future foes. "And, I'm the baddest in it."
By the 2000 King of the Ring, Undertaker put himself in contention to once again acquire the biggest prize in sports entertainment. He joined with The Rock and Kane against Shane McMahon, Vince McMahon, and Triple H in a six man tag team battle wiht a special stipulation: whoever scored the decisive pinfall would leave with the WWE crown.
To many observers, Undertaker was the favorite in the contest. However, the old rivalry between he and Kane resurfaced during the match. As they fought each other instead of their opponents, The Rock managed to pin Vince McMahon and recapture the WWE title.
On the surface, Kane and Taker appeared to make peace after the match. The American Bad Ass focused on other pursuits, defeating Kurt Angle at Fully Loaded in July. Then in August, as Undertaker was tangling with Chris Benoit and Shane McMahon during RAW, Kane resurfaced, lifting up his brother and chokeslamming him through the ring.
Out for revenge, Undertaker waged war against his sibling at SummerSlam 2000. Raging at what he saw as a deep, emotional betrayal. Undertaker dug under Kane's mask and cut him open before scoring the win.
Eventually, Undertaker and Kane would reconcile, heralding a peacful chapter in their often tempestuous relationship. In the interim, Taker found himself entangled in the machinations of another unusual family. While wrestling Kurt Angle at the 2000 Survivor Series, the American Hero fled the ring, disappearing under the canvas, and was apparently pulled out by his heels by Taker. Undertaker quickly pinned the man in the patriotic singlet, but on close inspection of the man's features, referee Earl Hebner refused to log the victory. Undertaker had pinned an imposter! As the American Bad Ass argued, the real Kurt Angle snuck into the ring and rolled him up for the pin.
The next night on RAW, Angle revealed the imposter to be his brother Eric. Rather then chuckling along with the joke, the Deadman threw Kurt from the entrance ramp, and introduced Eric to the "Last Ride"-a lethal powerbomb variation.
The next several months were a blur for the American Bad Ass. On December 18, 2000, he captured the WWE Tag Team Championship with The Rock, only to lose it the next night to the team they defeated, Edge and Christian.
Meanwhile, the animosity between Undertaker and Triple H, which had been brewing from their pervious encounters, still lingered. As Undertaker mounted his bike before a scheduled match, he was assaulted by "The Game" who dropped the bike on his rival's leg. When the American Bass Ass atempted to mete out revenge with a lead pipe, Triple H alerted the authorities and had his foe arrested.
Aiding his brother's cause, Kane lifted Stephanie McMahon-the former wife of Triple H-and threatned to throw her down a staircase if a match between his brother and the "Cerbral Assassin" wasn't signed for WrestleMania X-7. Fearing for Stephanie's safety, then WWE Commissioner, William Regal agreed.
"Triple H", Undertaker vowed, "I WILL make you famous."
The Encounter at Houston's Reliant Astrodome was a wild brawl. Triple H used his signature sledgehamnmer to batter his opponent, While Undertaker chokeslammed his adversary from the production platform, following up with a flying elbow. In the end, Undertaker scored the win with the Last Ride, extending his unbeaten streak at WrestleMania to the year 2001.
Other triumphs soon followed. On April 17, 2001, he won his fifth WWE Tag Team Championship, teaming with Kane to dethrone Edge and Chrisitan. At Summerslam that August, the two unified the WWE and WCW Tag Team titles with a win over Chris Kanyon and Diamond Dallas Page. Although both reigns were short lived, Undertaker's "Decade of Destructioin" was in full gear.
But, in the midst of the fanfare, Taker found himself swept up in one of the most unsettling events of his entire career. His wife Sara was being victimized by a stalker who folowed her everywhere, videotaping her most private moments and broadcasting them on WWE programs. When Diamond Dallas Page revealed himself as the stalker, the American Bad Ass proclaimed that his antagonist had "a death wish," and he would do his best to make that wish come true. During the next few months, both Undertaker and Sara took turns beating DDP mercilessly.
The altercation with DDP deeply affected Undertaker. Just as fans took his first title win lightly, he came to believe that a large percentage of the poplulation was denying him the respect his accomplishments warranted. Otherwise, why would a fellow gladiator mess with his wife? The anger percolated within the American Bad Ass until he could no longer contain it, releasing it in the most unexpeted ways.
On November 26, 2001, Vince McMahon demanded that Stone Cold Steve Austin join his "Kiss My Ass Club." Not surprisingly, Austin refused. From the announcers' table, Jim Ross chuckled at the proceedings. When McMahon noticed the behavior of the vernerable announcer, he demanded that Kurt Angle bring J.R. into the ring as Stone Cold's replacement.
As J.R. was forced into the ring, Taker interceded. While most expected him to immediately put an end to what was happening, he instead asked J.R. if he planned to kiss the owner's posterior. When Ross replied with a resounding "Hell, no," Undertaker looked at him coldly.
"Is that because you think you're better than me?" he challanged, before turning on J.R., and assisting Angle in jamming the announcer's face into McMahon's backside.
The Amercian Bad ass had made a life altering decision. Now, he was going to live by a lawless code. At December's Vengeance, "Big Evil" won the Hardcore Championship after slammimg Rob Van Dam off the entrance stage and through a pile of tables. Eight days later, he delivered the Last Ride to both Jeff Hardy and Lita from the entrance ramp, sending the duo to the hospital. Three days after that, he injured Jeff's brother Matt by ramming a chair into his throat.
At the 2002 Royal Rumble, Undertaker was being doubleteamed by the Hardyz in the 30 man elimination match when fiery rookie Maven surprised the veteran by dropkicking him out of the ring. The humiliation by a newcomer caused something inside Undertaker to snap. Before returning to the showers, the American Bad Ass dragged Maven through the audience, beating him bloody at every stop. (Maven received a measure of justice on February 5, when he captured Undertaker's Hardcore Championship, thanks to an assist from The Rock.)
No one knew it at the time, but Undertaker was working his way back to Hogan.
At WrestleMania X8, two giants of the mat world squared off at Toronto SkyDome, when Undertkaer battled "Nature Boy" Ric Flair. Taker had prepared for the clash by toying with Flair's mind, pulverizing his son David and best friend Arn Anderson. In the WrestleMania X8 confrontation, Flair tried living up to his reputaiton as the "dirtiest player in the game" but Undertaker proved that he was even dirtier. When Anderson tried interfering, Big Evil met him with a spine buster. Flair smashed his rival with a chair, but the American Bad Ass rebounded, vanquishing the "Nature Boy" with a Tombstone and making his unbeaten streak at WrestleMania to a record setting 10-0.
Having disposed of Flair, Undertkaer was ready for the other icon of sports entertainment. Hollywood Hulk Hogan.
After a long hiatus, the Hulkster had returned "home" to WWE, winning the WWE Undisputed Championship from Triple H at Backlash. After simmering for more then a decade, the American Bad Ass finally had the opportunity to correct the past.
Hogan was well aware of the psychological tactics of the Deadman, and tried mind games of his own before their title match, like running over Big Evil's motorcycle with an 18 wheeler. Instead of sulking, Undertaker astonished his foe with an act of unconscionable brutality, binding Hogan to his own motorcycle, then hopping on and dragging the Hulkster across the floor of the arena's backstage area.
Hogan was still sore when the two met at Judgment Day on May 19, 2002. But, he knew how to fight Undertaker's battle. In fact, it took an unscheduled appearance by Vince McMahon to even the score in favor of the American Bad Ass. At the end of the match, McMahon positioned himself on the ring apron, while the Hulkster covered his rival for a pinfall attempt. During the pin try, the referee rushed to the ropes to discipline McMahon. Irate, Hogan dragged the Chairman into the ring, punishing him with a legdrop. But, as the official's attention was diverted, Undertaker crahsed a chair over the head of his old enemy, executed a chokeslam, and covered him to win a fourth WWE Championship.
But, this wasn't enough for Undertaker. Placing the legs of a folded steel chair on the mat, the American Bad Ass drove his rival's head into the top of the object.
Undertaker's goal was clear: ending Hulkamania. Fortunately for millions of Hulkamaniacs, the strategy fell short.
His place on the top restored, Taker held a death grip on his championship. Triple H had risen again to the No. 1 contender's position, presenting Taker with a huge challenge at King of the Ring in June. Both men were distracted by the ringside presence of The Rock, who was there ostensibly to scout both men for a future championship battle. Big Evil took matters into his own hands, however, by launching a preemptive strike on The Rock and attacking him outsie the ring. The Rock sprung into action, laying out Taker with a chair. However, the Brahma Bull also inadvertently KO'd Triple H, leaving "The Game" easy prey for Taker to nail him with a Last Ride and retain the WWE Championship.
Angered by his failed attempt to cost Undertaker the title, The Rock positioned himself as the American Bad Ass' next challenger at Vengeance in July. Taker's posistion was made even more precarious by the insertion of a third man into the match-the ever dangerous Kurt Angle. Now Undertaker could lose his cherished title without being pinned-a worst case scenario that came to pass when The Rock pinned Angle to win his unprecedented seventh WWE Championship. Without his shoulders ever touching the mat for a three count, Undertaker had lost his title, but he vowed that there would be hell to pay.
Before he could resume his quest to regain the championship, however, Undertaker found himself distracted by the Un-Americans-Christian, Test, and Lance Storm. This faction of bright, young Canadian Superstars enraged him by delivering stridently inflammatory, anti-American speeches in the ring.
Undertaker has always been an extremely complex man. While at times heroic and at others vicious, there has been one constant in his life-his deep rooted pride in America. Has there ever been another man in sports-entertainment who truly epitomizes the freedoms in America? Taker has always enjoyed his freedom to the fullest, walking proudly to the beat of his own drum, living the free life of a man on a motorcycle with miles of open road ahead of him, and making his own statements and backing them up with his soupbone-like fists. The sight of the Un-Americans insulting his country and disgracing the American flag disgusted him beyond words.
The cocky and self-righteous Un-Americans then, unwisley decided to engage Big Evil in open warfare, attacking him and subjecting him to multiple three on one assaults. Test, a man almost as big as Undertaker, was particularly strident in his attacks, even going as far as openly mocking Taker by riding to the ring on his own motorcycle.
Hell came to visit test at this past SummerSlam in the form of a one on one match with Undertaker. Predictably, it became a three on one attack when Lance Storm and Christian joined the encounter. But, both interlopers were met with boots to the face from Taker, who recovered from a big boot from Test and destroyed the huge Canadian with a Tombstone for the win. After the match, the proud American mounted the corner turnbuckle and held Old Glory for all to see.
With the Un-Americans in retreat, Taker was once again able to set his sights on regaining the WWE Championship, which now rested in the massive hands of Brock Lesnar. After defeating The Rock at SummerSlam, Lesnar took his title exclusively to SmackDown, which is exactly where Undertaker followed him. After winning a grueling No.1 contender match against Chris Beniot and Kurt Angle, the Taker-Lesnar bout was set for Unforgiven in September.
With the devious agent Paul Heyman calling the shots, Lesnar engaged in the same psychological war fare that nearly got Diamond Dallas Page killed, namely, drawing Taker's wife Sara into the confrontation. This time the stakes were even higher, as it was revealed that Sara was pregnant.
To the uneducated eye, Taker's losses to Lesnar at Unforgiven (and later at No Mercy) were signs that the "Era of the Deadman" was over, and that Lesnar and other young warriors had taken control of WWE once and for all. But, that would be a foolish mistake to make. Undertaker's return is imminent, and if there is a man who has repeatedly reinvented himself and refocuse his laser like aim on the biggest prize in the world, it is he. History should stand as a clear lesson to anyone short sighted enough to underestimate one of the greatest and most legendary figures ever to step between the ropes: This is not the end of the story. Rather it is a new beginning and the start of another chapter of greatness.