The grand and pathetic journey of the Undertaker at WrestleMania

[El-P]

Well, if we can be sure of something this year of uncertain times still, is that there won't be another Taker match at Mania. I wanted to do this for a while now, and since I'm living in "almost-lockdown" (I mean, why go out when everything is closed and there's a curfew after 6pm anyway), I figured this was the perfect time to revisit Taker's infamous Mania Streak and beyond. And try to decipher what was so special and fun about it, or maybe what was actually pretty bad about the whole thing too, as it's quite a bumpy ride to say the least despite a narrative that would make you think Taker at Mania was always that awesome event it became in the later years. Also, like I said before I basically became a pro-wrestling fan 30 years ago and the timeline begins a few months before the debut of the Undertaker in 1990. And I stopped being a fan of WWF (then) in 1999, about at the time the Undertaker, who had been from the very start one of my absolute favorite characters, really became kinda unbearable because of the booking aspects of you-know-who. Over the years I have seen all these matches already, I'd say the first third as they happened, the second third after the fact and the last third as they happened again as I slowly went back to at least watch Mania again at the turn of the 2010's. I have tried to watch this with the most open mind possible (and that include not being clouded by whatever my feelings may be about the politics of Mark Calaway), like it was a discovery, or at the very least a re-discovery. I realized I totally undersold some of this stuff. I realized some was even worst than I remembered. I was pleasantly surprised by some and pretty underwhelmed by others I thought were better. And since it's all about Taker at Mania, I'm going to have my own little streak consisting on rating whether it worked (win) or not (loss). So. 

GONG !!!!!!!!!!!!

Chapter 1 : Mean Mark Callous is a zombie

WrestleMania VII (1991) : Undertaker vs Jimmy Snuka

Hey ! Everybody’s favorite girlfriend murderer Jimmy Snuka is already in the ring. You know what that means : JTTS. Interestingly enough, Gorilla was calling him the Phenom still, which is how Taker was gonna get called in the futur. I don’t see what was so phenomenal about Snuka in 1991, apart from the fact the wasn’t in prison for homicide.

And so there it is, Taker’s first Mania appearance, redhead as hell and looking like Mean Mark in a Western movie undertaker gimmick. Walking a bit too fast compared to his mortuary pace later on. Honestly, for all the talk about the Fiend being ridiculous, Taker in 1991 was cartoony as fuck, especially with Paul Bearer making completely ridiculous over the top facials and evil wails and moans. Tons of reaction shots from kids who are supposed to be scared, although some look bored instead. We’re still deeply in the 80’s Hulkamania aesthetics. The gimmick is great though and Calaway does a terrific job with the way he moved and carried himself. There was this interesting contrast between his immobility and the way he delivered his offense, in a very sudden, snappy way, which really was unheard of for a huge guy like him.

And this match was all about getting over the gimmick still, although we’re months after his debut on a PPV, so it’s a bit odd they did not have something more interesting for him. I mean, he did beat Dusty Rhodes during Survivor Series already. Snuka gets jackshit, as Taker barely registers anything he does. The flying clothesline comes off as a super impressive spot, again, almost shocking for a guy his size. On the other hand, no rope walk, no chokeslam (he was doing kind of a Big Boss Man version of it then, grabbing people as they ran into him), which is kinda odd as he was already doing all this in regular squash matches, so although Snuka bumps around quite a bit (and pretty well too), it’s a less impressive outing than a usual Superstar squash honestly. They also manage to screw up the spot where Snuka gets catched from a springboard dive (which they were doing on house shows) and Taker actually has to put him down before getting him up for the Tombstone, so there goes the big highspot of the match.

So there, basically a less impressive squash than usual on a guy who had been a JTTS for a while now, six months after his much more impressive debut two PPV’s before (and that's in the era of only four a year)... with the big highspot pretty much blown. Can’t really call that a success.

0-1

[Ricky Jackson]

Ha, this should be fun. Gotta be more L's than W's, even with that 10-year or so stretch of epics (some of which were really bloated and dont hold up) 

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

Yeah, I'm looking forward to this.

Take apart Shawn's Mr. WrestleMania reputation next.

[Robert S]

6 hours ago, El-P said:

And this match was all about getting over the gimmick still, although we’re months after his debut on a PPV, so it’s a bit odd they did not have something more interesting for him.

I don't know, 1991 was still snail-pace WWF with 4 PPVs a year and TV shows with 90% squash matches with an angle every couple of weeks. Back then - unless you were a big name coming in - it took some time until you got moved away from squashes. By that point the only non-squashes that made TV were two matches against Tugboat on Prime Time and on the MSG network and one against Snuka on the MSG network, i.e. nothing on syndication. So Taker was still very much in the introduction phase.

Actually it is quite interesting that he already got put into a top program shortly after Mania (being married to Warrior on house shows from mid April until the end of August before switching to Sid for a month and settling with Duggan the rest of the year).

[cactus]

As I'm making my through all the Wrestlemanias, one of the things shocked me was how bad some of the early streak matches were. His matches with Bundy, Gonzales and Bossman are some of the worst matches put on PPV. He wouldn't have a match that wasn't the drizzling shits until his one with Diesel at 12. The first one that's a potential MOTYC is with Orton at 21, his 12th Wrestlemania match! 

[El-P]

49 minutes ago, Robert S said:

So Taker was still very much in the introduction phase.

Still, that goof Snuka is a match where he does less than a regular Wrestling Challenge match... Super weak for a Mania match. He could have gotten Tito at least and the match would have been much better even in zombie mode.

46 minutes ago, cactus said:

As I'm making my through all the Wrestlemanias, one of the things shocked me was how bad some of the early streak matches were. 

Indeed. One reason being is that they weren't "streak" matches, which is what I intend to demonstrate by doing this little project.  

[El-P]

3 hours ago, Yo-Yo's Roomie said:

Take apart Shawn's Mr. WrestleMania reputation next.

It would actually be quite fun to do, and although I'm not the biggest Micheals fan (well, I was, until I wasn't...) I'm pretty sure I would watch much better good pro-wrestling by doing so. 

[flyonthewall2983]

4 hours ago, Robert S said:

Actually it is quite interesting that he already got put into a top program shortly after Mania (being married to Warrior on house shows from mid April until the end of August before switching to Sid for a month and settling with Duggan the rest of the year).

They actually teased this before WM when he came out during a contract-signing segment between Warrior and Savage

 

[ButchReedMark]

10 hours ago, cactus said:

As I'm making my through all the Wrestlemanias, one of the things shocked me was how bad some of the early streak matches were. His matches with Bundy, Gonzales and Bossman are some of the worst matches put on PPV. He wouldn't have a match that wasn't the drizzling shits until his one with Diesel at 12. The first one that's a potential MOTYC is with Orton at 21, his 12th Wrestlemania match! 

They lucked into the streak didn't they? Wasn't Mark "GOAT" Henry meant to go over him until they realised he had a streak? 

[ButchReedMark]

9 hours ago, El-P said:

It would actually be quite fun to do, and although I'm not the biggest Micheals fan (well, I was, until I wasn't...) I'm pretty sure I would watch much better good pro-wrestling by doing so. 

Considering he's called Mr Wrestlemania I don't really rate much he's done at it. Him vs Flair raises ire for his hammy "acting", something he built upon vs Taker. 

 

Him "showing emotion" vs Ric Flair reminds me of Rik Mayall doing his tongue in cheek over egged acting bits in the Bottom Live shows. 

[Coffey]

There are genuinely only two things that I ever remember about The Undertaker's Wrestlemania match with Snuka: 1. Snuka was wearing fucking boots. I remember thinking "WTF, Snuka never wears boots" because as a kid, a big part of his appeal, was that he wrestled bare foot & 2. the Tombstone finish looked like shit. 

I'm also interested in when the first on-air mention of his Wrestlemania streak is. I know it was already a thing by the time he wrestled Ric Flair at X-Seven.

[cactus]

4 hours ago, ButchReedMark said:

They lucked into the streak didn't they? Wasn't Mark "GOAT" Henry meant to go over him until they realised he had a streak? 

I'm not sure if that's completely accurate. The streak was first mentioned as a throwaway line when he faced Bundy, but it featured heavily in video package when he faced Orton. 

[Richeyedwards]

I think it was at X8 vs flair when afterwards he held up his fingers one by one to count off his victories was the an early mention of it, but yeah the orton match is the first one where it is an important point in the build up. what is that 2005/6?

[NintendoLogic]

I believe the announcers mentioned in passing that Taker was undefeated at Mania during the HHH match at WM17. Speaking of which, I once read that original plan was for HBK to cost Taker the match by interfering, but that went out the window after he showed up in no condition to perform on the go-home Raw.

[El-P]

Well, I see you're all in for this. Yeah, I'm sure there will be more talk about Micheals acting and when did a streak became the Streak...

WrestleMania VIII (1992) : Undertaker vs Jake Roberts

I love the Hoosier Dome, maybe because it's the first Mania I saw. Jake’s heel theme was soooo great. But Jake is also on his way out, so there goes any hope of anything but a competitive squash. Taker just turned babyface, so that’s telling about how over the guy got as a heel, basically he was just too cool of a gimmick. The fact he’s a former WWF champ who beat Hulk Hogan (the only one alongside Warrior, except he did it as a heel) and is now low on the undercard at Mania shows an interesting side of how booking worked then. Basically, being a former heel World champ did not really mean a whole lot once you switched sides. Exact same look, a bit more makeup under the eyes maybe.

Taker works the exact same way, in full zombie mode, but he does a really good job of registering Jake’s offense without selling it. He does that really cool kinda "spring-sell" of every shot where he does register but his body turns back toward the opponent in kind of a, well, springy move. Since Jake's punches are great, it does look nice. Still, this is a whole load of nothing. The spot where he lands on his feet on the outside from taking a clothesline constitutes basically a cool babyface spot now, as opposed to a terrifying heel monster move... But that’s about it. No rope-walk. No chokeslam. Wow, don't overwork yourself at the biggest show of the year, Mean Zombie Mark... Jake gets his DDT in and.... doesn’t cover... and wastes a whole lot of time until the zombie sit up. Fucking Jake protecting his finisher on his way out ! So smart. It now occurs to me that Taker as a babyface was basically a new sort of Hogan character, the zombie sit-up was his Hulking-up and he was now gonna be fed a bunch of monsters (not to mention Taker using illegal chokes while the ref doesn’t even count him out, total Hogan asshole-babyface-gets-a-pass stuff). Another DDT, another no cover because Jake is not gonna hurt his finisher on the way out, what a master ! It does make the match quite aimless though. The ending was kinda bizarre too with the Tombstone on the outside, so he had to drag Jake inside the ring before the count... It either hurts Jake because there’s a time lapse before the actual pinfall but also kinda protects him because it was done on the outside, which is way more dangerous and a total death spot back then. In the end, I have no idea what it's supposed to accomplish. Feels like a burial (pun intended) though.

So there, barely more competitive than the previous year, full zombie mode match, odd finish.

0-2

[Robert S]

The no-cover thing was a staple for pre-96 (or maybe even pre-97) Undertaker. You rarely ever saw someone going for a pin. Usually it was hit your finisher - maybe hit the finisher one or two more times - pose - zombie sit-up. Maybe Jake was the template here, maybe it was just a coincidence, I don't know.

Now the suspense: will Giant Gonzales or 95 King Kong Bundy be able to break the (negative) streak?

[El-P]

17 minutes ago, Robert S said:

The no-cover thing was a staple for pre-96 (or maybe even pre-97) Undertaker. You rarely ever saw someone going for a pin. Usually it was hit your finisher - maybe hit the finisher one or two more times - pose - zombie sit-up. 

I don't remember because I obviously haven't re-watched anything other than the Mania matches, but it's quite interesting and I wonder if that's not because of the zombie sit-up, which demands for Taker to be laying down, not moving on the mat. If he kicks out, he can't really do the zombie sit-up. Never occurred to me before !

17 minutes ago, Robert S said:

Maybe Jake was the template here, maybe it was just a coincidence, I don't know.

Jake was his first opponent as a babyface, so maybe he was the template for the reason above or maybe like I said he wanted to protect his finisher and then figured it was a cool spot to do (hit finisher, wait for zombie sit-up).

Yeah, the suspense is gripping, I know...

[flyonthewall2983]

I want to say someone mentioned Undertaker being undefeated (he might have even said it in a promo) at WM in the build-up to 13, but nobody used the word "streak". 

This showed more promise into what a long-term feud between these two could have been. For much of the fall of '91 to the build-up to WM, Undertaker was in both the Jake/Randy angle and in the Hogan/Flair one too. It was kind of one big angle that involved lots of other workers in supporting roles (like Sid until he got hurt and Jim Duggan), but with the world title picture being somewhat separate. Whittling it down by this time and turning Taker face was the right thing to do. Hogan was about to leave and while Taker didn't fill that spot they probably did this as much to maybe groom him for such a position later.

This segment is great. People were cheering him for months, and this is in a sense cathartic to see him turn against one of their hottest heels but it also amped the heat up when Jake attacks him, but stalks after him with the casket locked to his hand. 

[Strummer]

9 hours ago, NintendoLogic said:

I believe the announcers mentioned in passing that Taker was undefeated at Mania during the HHH match at WM17. Speaking of which, I once read that original plan was for HBK to cost Taker the match by interfering, but that went out the window after he showed up in no condition to perform on the go-home Raw.

Shawn showed up in no condition to perform and HHH buried Shawn to Vince causing a real life split between DX.

and the interference was supposed to set up HHH and Shawn v Undertaker and Kane at the next ppv. Match didn't happen....until 17 years later

[sek69]

Taker's Mania matches were just supposed to be showcases of stars from yesteryear putting over the new hot gimmick, and at some point they realized he's never lost and it became A Thing. 

[Boss Rock]

10 hours ago, NintendoLogic said:

I believe the announcers mentioned in passing that Taker was undefeated at Mania during the HHH match at WM17. Speaking of which, I once read that original plan was for HBK to cost Taker the match by interfering, but that went out the window after he showed up in no condition to perform on the go-home Raw.

Yeah during the match they said he was 8-0 at Mania.

[El-P]

Chapter 2 : The Undertaker, the slayer of dragons

WrestleMania IX (1993) – Undertaker vs Giant Gonzalez

I love Giant Gonzalez droning theme. Maybe it's thanks to Giant Gonzalez than I love drone stuff like Earth or SunnO))). Or maybe I just always liked drone. This is about as much good I can say about Gonzalez though. He sure was tall and yet had no presence whatsoever, so the whole "makes you turn you head in an airport" bit is bullshit, ya know. So there it is, Face Taker was like Hogan (on the midcard) then, being fed big monsters to slay. The entrance on the chariot is very cool with the vulture and stuff, but damn that match has to be one of the worst Mania match ever. What were they thinking when they signed Jorge, didn't they watched him in WCW ? It’s actually a bit odd that with a guy who's gimmick is being a total no-sell zombie you transition to this booking trend of having a bunch of huge monsters forcing the zombie to bump and sell. Totally counter-intuitive and also exposed the limits of the gimmick itself (which would eventually have to be basically deconstructed a few years later when Taker would be put in more serious main-event feuds with more serious workers).

Gonzalez offense sure blows but his selling his even worst and hilariously godawful. Taker does nothing interesting either apart from taking one really good bump off a terrible clothesline. Of course, what could he do, really ? He's still a zombie and Gonzalez can't do anything. I mean, this match is shit, everything they do looks like shit and then it’s quickly going into full resthold mode until a nothing comeback and the total shit finish with the infamous rag poisoned with ether (fuck, was Cornette booking this shit ? It’s a rethorical question, I know he wasn’t but I'm sure he would have had the same idea). Fuck this shit, winning streak my ass, this is a lame DQ, Taker did not beat Gonzalez !!! This is a weak-ass W if you ask me. The highspot comes after the match ends as Gonzalez chokeslams referee (and his IRL handler) Bill Alfonso, who takes a great bump and who by default is the best worker of this whole debacle. Of course Taker comes back from the dead after the match is over for a shitty sequence leading to a shitty looking flying clothesline (Gonzalez being so tall made it look quite lame).

It's shit.

0-3

[El-P]

WrestleMania XI (1995) – Undertaker vs King Kong Bundy

So, Taker was not at Mania X, which ironically was also the first Mania without Hogan, and in a way the first "workrate" Mania with two matches that would eclipse the entire card, one of which actually changing the game for the long term. And I’m telling you, Face Taker was Hogan slaying monsters, expect he was doing it in the midcard. And here we are a year later and since we’re at it, might as well bring a washed up guy from the Hogan era, because yes, this is deep into the 90’s now (actually the really down period, as showed by the visible spots of empty seats in an already smaller building), New Generation and stuff with super modern lights effects. And by the way, the production is the most notable thing here, because it’s the first Mania occurrence of the classic Taker entrance he got at SummerSlam 94 upon his comeback, with the lights out, the classic theme,  the thunder and lightning and the purple glow (as Taker has the black and purple color scheme now, as he gave up the grey stuff to Brian Lee). Pretty awesome, really... and that's about it...

... gawwd there’s a match.... but no one seems to care as Todd Pettengill sporting a mullet (my eyes are burning !) is interviewing some football player at ringside. Also there’s some baseball umpire as the special referee. Ok, whatever. No one gives a flying fuck, why should I ? King Kong Bundy certainly doesn’t. He still can do the wibbly-wobbly sell like he’s somewhere in Texas in the 80’s but hey buddy, since then we had already seen Vader having killer matches everywhere. His entire « powerful » offense consist of some of the worst and softest clotheslines ever that would make Lex Luger blush with shame (hitting the guy with his wrist, basically) and yeah, boring restholds because it worked for him in the 80’s when everything was so much better because of pSyCHoloGY, as they say... Bundy really brings jackshit to the table in 95 (if he ever did). Hey, a rope-walk spot (awful landing and bumping though, because Bundy is so lazy he can't even place himself at the right spot apparently)... Taker no-sells a bunch because he’s Hogan, fuck he’s actually doing the bodyslam spot now because he’s Hogan. Much drama about Bearer getting back the big urn with a flashlight inside (yeah, you know, maybe The Fiend is not *that* bad after all...) then the Million Dollar Corporation (remember that godforsaken stable ?) stealing back the urn with a flashlight inside (which leads to Jim Ross interviewing Kama, expert in MMA & hoes, while the match is going on... yeah, no one gives a fuck about THIS match, that’s so obvious). Not even a tombstone for obvious reasons (and yeah, guessed it, no chokeslam either), the match ends with yet another awful flying clothesline.

Terrible match and segment altogether once the classic introduction is over.

0-4

[El-P]

Chapter 3 : The Road to the main-event

WrestleMania XII (1996) – Undertaker vs Diesel

The first really big time Taker match at Mania, as Diesel had been the legit n°1 guy in the company for the last year and a half. Interesting as Nash was already on the outs yet he shows up as his best version of Diesel yet, displaying the snarky cool heel attitude that would basically make the nWo the hottest angle in the months to come.

The difference of pace with other Mania matches is obvious from the very beginning, as there is maybe more action in the first five minutes than in all Taker matches thus far combined, as they go for the familiarity approach and counter each other again and again, including on big spots like Taker’s flying clothesline and even teasing a finish (that's big match mentality right there). They pretty much establish themselves as equals, with is also a first as Taker was either the no-sell zombie earlier on either overwhelmed by a big monster. The rope-walk spot gets sold perfectly by Nash who just doesn’t go down like an idiot. They clearly do a whole lot early on to heat up the crowd until Nash takes over after Taker fucks up a chair spot outside.

From then, Nash slows down the pace but also uses his heel charisma a lot to keep the audience involved. The heat segment is slow but engaging and you can really feel Nash’s work on Taker’s back is leading toward his finish. Nice double big boot spot and it’s time for a selling transition, as this match as been quite good. By that point, even the zombie sit-up spot has nothing to do with Hogan’s hulking up anymore, as here he does it yet has to grab the ropes to really get up and Nash gets back on top... with a bear hug that kinda hurts the pace a bit. That being said, it doesn’t last too long, still makes sense (back work) and from there they work a side-headlock spot into a side-suplex from Taker, which is another new spot for him. I must say Taker’s incoming comeback is a little weak to me, as I do find his offense, outside of the big spot, to be a bit tedious, repetitive and to be perfectly honest, kinda sloppy. He punches a lot but apart when he does the super quick body shots, his punches are quite mediocre. He’s just not super compelling on offense during his comebacks and also kinda *looks* sloppy.

On the contrary, anytime Nash counters him, you can feel the *weights* of the shots, that’s something Nash is very good at, much better than Taker’s whose celerity worked better when it was a contrast to his immobility during the early days. I’d go so far to say this is more of a Nash match, especially towards the end when he does not one, but two jacknife spots where he *doesn’t cover* Taker and acts like a total douchebag, sure of his victory, taunting the fallen Taker. Kind of a masterpiece of protecting his finisher too (although it has been pointed earlier on that it happened a lot during Taker's matches then, but Nash really made it like a big moment here) as Taker is not gonna kick out of it. Another interesting twist is Nash going for the pin only for Taker to grab him by the neck so Nash has to punch him down, and they do this bit three times before Nash can’t counter anymore. Except he actually does by applying the same side suplex Taker used earlier on. Ok, this has gotten really good. Ending stretch sees the flying clothesline Taker had missed earlier on, the chokeslam and the Tombstone for the win. Quite interesting that they managed to have this big match feel without working any real nearfall at all (replaced by the taunting part after the jacknifes).

Tons of credit to Nash who had one of his best performances in WWF on his way out and finally gave Taker his first good match at Mania after five years.

1-4

[flyonthewall2983]

Then following it up with that great match with Shawn a month later. I'm sure there are equal examples to him in terms of guys going out strong, but I can't think of any offhand.

96 was definitely a solid year for Taker, overall. The next night on Raw they started the feud with Mankind, which helped the company out of those dreadful mid-90's doldrums, and really revitalized the character.