The Undertaker began his career at World Wrestling Entertainment (then the World Wrestling Federation) in November 1990, when he debuted at the Survivor Series as the mystery partner of the Million Dollar Man Ted Dibiase’s team. He decimated Koko B. Ware and Dusty Rhodes before he was counted out. His career was off to an amazing start, and it only got better from there.
The Beginning of the Streak
At Wrestlemania VII, The Undertaker faced Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka for his Wrestlemania debut. Although Snuka was already a legend at that point and known for his high-flying wrestling skills, The Undertaker defeated the Superfly in less than five minutes. Although his debut was impressive, no one had any way of knowing at that point that it was the beginning of a never been done winning streak.
In the early days, Undertaker was a heel, but he turned an abrupt face when he prevented Jake “the Snake” Roberts from hitting Miss Elizabeth, a dainty valet, with a steel chair. Fans embraced the Phenom immediately, and this new feud between Undertaker and Roberts paved the way for Taker’s Wrestlemania VIII match. Undertaker beat the Snake handily, thus ending their feud.
Wrestling Giants
By Wrestlemania IX, Taker had begun a feud with Giant Gonzalez, a man who towered at 7’7” and weighed around 400 pounds, making Undertaker (a legitimate 6’8”, and a little over 300 pounds) look tiny by comparison. The giant was not able to defeat Undertaker on his own merits, so when his manager Harvey Wippleman tossed him an ether-soaked handkerchief, the Giant used it to render Taker unconscious.
Undertaker was awarded victory by disqualification, and carried away on a stretcher, but he staggered back to continue fighting with the giant. Taker proved he would not go down easily. The same occurred at his next Wrestlemania bout against King Kong Bundy at Wrestlemania XI, where he easily beat the 400-plus pound man. At Wrestlemania XII, he took on another giant, the seven-foot tall Diesel. It was a hard-fought match, but ultimately the Deadman prevailed.
Undertaker as World Heavyweight Champion
While Undertaker had enormous success in his career, by 1997 he had only one world title claim to his name, when he won the belt from Hulk Hogan at Survivor Series 1991. The Phenom was determined to become world champion again. At Wrestlemania 13 (XIII), Undertaker faced Sycho Sid, who was champion at the time. Although Bret Hart interfered by distracting Sid, Undertaker was able to pin him and gain the Heavyweight Championship.
Brother Vs Brother
At Wrestlemania XIV, Undertaker took on his estranged and previously presumed dead brother Kane. He had sworn that he would never fight his brother, but Kane gave him no choice. It took three Tombstone piledrivers, unusual for most Taker matches, but in the end Undertaker was able to best his sibling.
Evil Undertaker
By 1999, however, The Undertaker was no longer a fan favorite, as he had become the leader of the Ministry of Darkness and had vowed to take over the World Wrestling Federation, garnering minions along the way. He had been feuding with the Big Boss Man, and so they faced each other at a Hell in the Cell match at Wrestlemania XV.
Since they were enclosed in an enormous steel cage, theoretically no one would be able to get inside to interfere on Taker’s behalf. But the Brood, who were then members of the Ministry, found a way in by coming down from the ceiling in harnesses and tearing open the top of the cage to slip the Undertaker a noose, where he proceeded to hang the Bossman in a very controversial move after he defeated him.
American Bad Ass and Big Evil Undertaker
By 2001, the Undertaker had found a new gimmick, refashioning himself as a biker (according to him, much closer to who he is outside of wrestling). He met against Triple H in a brutal match at Wrestlemania X-Seven that had them fighting all over the arena and using plenty of weapons against each other. Undertaker became 9-0 after defeating Triple H.
By Wrestlemania X-8, Taker was known primarily by his nickname of Big Evil, and feuded with Ric Flair. He even beat up Flair’s son David when Ric refused to fight him. Taker defeated the legendary Flair easily. By Wrestlemania XIX, the Phenom was supposed to tag with Nathan Jones against A-Train and Big Show, but Nathan Jones was attacked before the match and thus Undertaker had to face his opponents alone in a handicapped match.
Not surprisingly, Taker was able to win (with an assist from Jones), proving that he could take on two big men at once and still be victorious. But things took a surprising turn when he was seemingly buried for good by his angry brother Kane at Survivor Series in 2003.
The Return of the Deadman
Undertaker surprised fans when he went back to his Deadman roots and quickly defeated Kane for the second time at Wrestlemania (XX, in this case). With the return of his Deadman persona, Undertaker has gone on to defeat huge names in the business such as Randy Orton, Mark Henry, Batista, Edge, and most recently, Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania XXV.
Taker’s bout with Michaels is considered by many wrestling journalists and commentators to be a match of the year contender, and fans agreed, as they chanted “This is awesome!” during the match. That match put Taker at 17-0, and although the next Wrestlemania is several months away, speculation as to who Undertaker’s next opponent will be is rife. Fans are eager to find out whether it will be 18-0, or a shocking 17-1.
 |
