The Undertaker’s scary and mysterious character was known in his early days for putting his opponents in body bags after he’d defeated them, and once stuffed the Ultimate Warrior into a casket. It wasn’t until 1996 that The Undertaker got the opportunity to literally bury alive his opponents. Mankind, who had been a thorn in his side for the past several months and stolen his manager from him, was a perfect start.
The Rules of a Buried Alive Match
The rules of a Buried Alive match are simple. The match cannot end by submission, pinning or count-out. Instead, the wrestler has to win by burying his opponent in a makeshift grave with the provided mound of dirt until the opponent is covered. It is a simple and unusual bout.
Undertaker vs. Mankind at In Your House: Buried Alive
The Undertaker’s biggest feud of 1996 was his rivalry with the deranged Mankind. The masked wrestler had pushed the Phenom to his limits, constantly interfering in his matches and using his dreaded maneuver the Mandible Claw to temporarily paralyze Taker. Things came to a head at Summerslam 1996 when Paul Bearer, the Undertaker’s long-time manager, betrayed his friend and protégé to align himself with Mankind.
Undertaker was determined to get revenge against his enemy, and he and Mankind met at In Your House: Buried Alive on October 20, 1996. Taker and Mankind had a hard-fought match in the ring, but eventually the Phenom was able to get his opponent over to the open grave in which one of them had to be buried. Taker got Mankind in the ground and covered him with enough dirt so that he won.
However, Taker’s victory was short-lived. The Executioner, another of Paul Bearer’s henchmen, attacked Undertaker with a shovel. Undertaker fell in the grave, and with Mankind, he, HHH, Goldust, and Justin Bradshaw filled the grave with dirt. Taker was buried deep enough that he couldn’t get out, and Bearer gleefully declared that Taker was gone forever. Then lightning struck the grave, and Undertaker’s hand shot up from underneath the grass. He would not rest in peace.
Undertaker vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin at Rock Bottom
On December 13, 1998, Undertaker faced Stone Cold Steve Austin in a Buried Alive match at Rock Bottom: In Your House. They had begun feuding when Undertaker grew incensed that Austin had been granted a World title shot when he felt that he deserved one instead. He had already begun turning heel at this point, so Undertaker attacked the fan favorite Austin with a shovel, thus beginning their feud.
Undertaker and Austin viciously attacked each other with chairs and fuel containers. When Undertaker got knocked into the grave, Austin dumped a wheelbarrow of dirt on him. Kane then interfered in the match and attacked Taker. With the Phenom incapacitated, Austin returned with a backhoe loader and a driver and proceeded to have the driver bury Undertaker alive.
Undertaker and Big Show vs. The Rock ‘n’ Sock Connection
On the September 9, 1999 edition of Smackdown, Undertaker and Big Show faced off against The Rock and Mankind, otherwise known as the Rock ‘n’ Sock Connection. This match was unusual because it was the first and so far only tag team Buried Alive match. Taker was still a heel, while by now Mankind and Rock were babyfaces.
The motivation behind this match was simple: Taker and Big Show wanted the Connection’s tag titles. The evil team was able to defeat the Rock and Mankind when Triple H interfered by attacking The Rock. He then buried Mankind himself, enabling Taker and Big Show to win the tag team titles.
Undertaker vs. Mr. McMahon at Survivor Series 2003
Mr. McMahon had been playing mind games with Undertaker for some time, due to Taker’s allegiance with McMahon’s estranged daughter Stephanie, who was the General Manager of Smackdown. Mr. McMahon vowed to have horrible things done to Undertaker’s wife and children, infuriating Taker to the point where he was determined to make his boss pay with his life (scripted of course, but very menacing even so).
The Phenom brutalized Mr. McMahon in this match, with very little offense coming from the Chairman of the WWE. Taker bloodied and bruised his boss and dragged him over to the burial mound. Undertaker was very close to defeating Mr. McMahon. There was a bulldozer near the mound, and Undertaker went to bulldoze dirt into the grave, where Mr. McMahon lay prone.
But then an explosion blinded Taker, and his estranged brother Kane emerged from the machine. He attacked Undertaker, threw him into the grave, and buried him. This allowed Mr. McMahon to win the match, since disqualifications were not valid in such a bout. Undertaker was seemingly destroyed, as Mr. McMahon had wanted, until he made his triumphant return at Wrestlemania XX on March 14, 2004 and defeated Kane.
Will Undertaker Have Any More Buried Alive Matches?
To date Undertaker has not had any more Buried Alive matches, but one never knows when he may have the next one. The PG-rated WWE may consider such a match too violent or disturbing while they continue to try to attract younger viewers. But nonetheless it will be regarded as one of Taker’s specialty matches in his long and storied career.
Sources:
Chambers, Chris, “History of the Buried Alive Match”, Online World of Wrestling
Buried Alive Match, World Wrestling Entertainment
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