[1996-05-28-WWF-Beware of Dog] Undertaker vs Goldust (Casket Match)

[cactus]

Before the match, we see replays from Raw from the night before where Goldust gives an unconscious Ahmed Johnson the kiss of life. That angle is infinitely more entertaining than the following match.

Watching these 90s Undertaker matches has really killed my fandom for the guy. He's all style and no substance. He has a great aura, but he's rather drab to watch when the bell rings. Goldust isn't much better here, he botches his sliding throat thrust and hits the weakest looking Tombstone. This is a very slow affair, only saved from total mediocrity by the memorable ending of Mankind appearing from the casket and costing The Undertaker the match, setting up one of the greatest feuds from 1996.

★½

[DMJ]

I thought this was actually pretty darn good - not "must see" and definitely flawed - but there's enough going on to make it fun. I didn't find it slow and, as was mentioned in the Savio Vega/Steve Austin thread from this same PPV, I like JR and Perfect's commentary as they do a great job selling how impressive Goldust is.

And he is impressive here. 

It really does seem fresh to see this version of the Undertaker (the unbeatable Deadman) taking so much punishment from Goldust, a relative newcomer and not really a "made" WWE guy.. At one point, Goldust even gets a visual pin on the guy. As the OP mentioned, Goldust hits a Tombstone piledriver (but not a great one) and attempts an Old School too, which is also something I'm not sure we'd seen many guys attempt. There's a great spot where Taker tries to clobber him with a chair and Goldust kicks him right in the mush. Goldust doesn't bother with any of the homoerotic flourishes (which is kind of a missed opportunity to add another layer to this match), but at least Goldust isn't a scaredy cat heel either - he came into this match to fight and fight he does.

The biggest flaw in the match (aside from the botch mentioned above) is the layout. Again, there are some cool moments/ideas sprinkled throughout this match but they happen at weird times. For example, Goldust hitting the Tombstone should've been a big deal but its tossed away in the first third of the contest. The visual pin also makes little sense where it happens (and probably shouldn't have been done at all). 

Overall, though, I enjoyed it. Goldust looks like a legit tough guy going toe-to-toe with one of the WWE's most established main eventers and the Undertaker gets to portray vulnerability and work a match with some actual back-and-forth rather than the awful slogs he'd had in 95' against the rapidly-declining Yoko, Mabel, and Kama. Extra credit for the finish, which I totally forgot about and thought was executed quite well.