[1996-10-20-WWF-Buried Alive] The Undertaker vs Mankind (Buried Alive)

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[El-P]

Always thought the Buried Alive matches were a terrible idea. And at this point, Taker vs Mankind was getting old. Not to mention the finish sucked with the introduction of Terry Gordy as the Executionner (a gimmick that screams "jobber" as soon as you see a guy in random black attire with a random mask). What was the point of bringing Gordy anyway ?

[Loss]

This was a really good match, but it should have been the blowoff of the feud. A disappointing match at Survivor Series being the end felt anti-climatic. The burying went on forever and ever. The Carrie moment at the end was cool.

[tigerpride]

I always felt the Survivor Series match was the best in the series

[Tim Evans]

This wasn't as good as the King of the Ring match but I liked it. I always thought that Mankind won this match but he didn't.

[Zenjo]

An all new match type, and this feud saw the birth of an all new Undertaker. The dead man was allowed to tone down the zombie act and become a worker. The fighting was mainly in and around the ring with occasional forays to the grave. It had a nice balance of brawling, high impact moves and some weaponry. The duration was spot on and these two had great chemistry. Their feud led to an upturn in the careers of both men. Some sportz entertainment fun in the aftermath with multiple burials.

[PeteF3]

Having never seen this before, I found this quite good and maybe the Undertaker's career performance to this point. He busts out all kinds of new shit, like the Lucha Undertaker dive off the turnbuckle, and busting out a small package on the burial plot which was pretty awesome. Mankind takes one absolutely sick backwards bump into the barricade but mostly tones down the masturbatory Foley bullshit. The constant going from the ring to the grave and back was a little contrived, but you do have to make story concessions to please the live audience sometimes. They do manage to work some credible "near falls" with the burying before Undertaker finally gets the win. Earl Hebner and Mike Chioda end up taking two of the biggest bumps of the night after the match. Executioner debuts with a great shovel shot and then UT gets buried, which even with a bunch of other heels helping out goes on way too long, though the closing image is an effective one.

 

On a side note, seeing the old-school Coliseum Video column logo here was jarring, since I so closely associate it with the '80s.

[Mattsdmf]

This was one of my absolute favorite matches when I was younger and still is to this day. I would even put this in my personal Top 100. As someone who was a fan of comics, cult and horror films before getting into wrestling, this was a perfect bridge. I loved that Undertaker really upped the tempo and Mankind was still a very psychotic character at this point. The dive Taker took was nuts. I really loved the final shot of the match. I'm gonna rewatch this very soon.

[Exposer]

Great brawl. This feud isn't talked about enough for it's innovation, storytelling, & in-ring work. It's one of the best WWF feuds of all time. Foley takes some sickening bumps in this as always. The hip toss from the top of the cemetary is nuts, but I think the bump head first into the metal barricade is even nastier. Loved Mankind using his shank (don't know what else to call it). Seems like a fitting weapong for a lunatic. Foley did a lot of neat touches in this that a crazy person who doesn't give a shit would do like throwing dirt in Taker's eyes as a cutoff. Another great moment is the chairshot Taker takes to the head where the crowd pops at first but then remains in stunned silence because that kind of violence wasn't the norm at the time. I also popped for the cradle down the cemetary hill getting both guys covered in dirt. Finish is great with Taker avoiding an urn shot & sending Mankind in the grave with a huge chokeslam. Taker wins, but is attacked by the debut of The Executioner. The burying of the Undertaker took too long, but I still enjoyed this post-match. Fans got a bit bored with it & started chugging drinks & such at the grave. The final moment with Taker's hand popping out of the grave is tremendous. The production of this feud & The Undertaker in general can't be forgotten. Outstanding work by the WWF. I've loved this feud.

[soup23]

I really enjoyed this match and the way they segued from the gravesite back inside the ring while keeping up the intensity. They were able to keep that temper up throughout the match compared to the Texas Death Match from Havoc 93. Taker seemed spry and willing to try some new innovative moves and Foley as always was willing to bump his way to make the match sucessful. The hiptoss from the grave site, the back of the head into the guardrail, and the overall chair shots upped the intensity level. The actual burial does take forever but it creates an awesome visual at the end. A really strong WWF main event. ****

[Boss Rock]

The Mankind-Undertaker feud is one of my all-time favorites. While I think the Boiler Room Brawl was their best match, this was a really fun brawl.

[tim]

I think I actually liked this more than the Boiler Room match. Really good big guy slug fest, and the great build made it feel especially significant. Some cool dramatic moments and a couple big bumps up by the grave. I thought it was sort of stupid to have the guy who actually wins the match be the one who ends up actually getting buried, but the idea of everyone coming out to bury the Undertaker once and for all was cool.