The history of The Undertaker

A WWE mainstay and a household name throughout the world, the Undertaker has had a long and storied career. Standing 6ft 10 inches tall, dressed head-to-toe in black and grey, with a long coat and top hat, he debuted at the 1990 Survivor Series. His high impact offence and apparent imperviousness to pain made a huge first impression on WWE fans and he went on a long winning streak which included beating Jimmy ‘Superfly’ Snuka at WrestleMania 7.

Just one year after his debut, Undertaker was granted a title shot against Hulk Hogan at the 1991 Survivor Series. Shocking the world, ‘Taker became the new WWE Champion but because the match was shrouded in controversy a rematch was set a few days later and he dropped the belt. However, this win cemented the Undertaker as a top star and after turning on ally Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts, he started to get the fans behind him. The two battled at WrestleMania 8 with Undertaker getting the win. Over the next year he fought with Kamala at SummerSlam 1992 and then the Giant Gonzalez at WrestleMania 9. In his battle with Yokozuna at the 1994 Royal Rumble, Undertaker was stuffed inside a coffin and was not seen for many months. In the meantime, Ted DiBiase told the world that he had found the Undertaker but it was, in fact, an imposter. At SummerSlam 1994 the real Undertaker returned and sent the ‘Underfaker’ back into obscurity.

At Royal Rumble 1996, Diesel cost the Undertaker a WWE Championship Match and then ‘Taker returned the favour the following month. At WrestleMania 12 Undertaker had perhaps his biggest challenge yet, against Diesel - but came out on top. The very next night, ‘The Phenom’ was attacked by a newcomer known as Mankind. This led to a showdown at King of the Ring 1996 and then again in a Boiler Room Match at SummerSlam 1996. Undertaker lost both matches and even lost his manager, Paul Bearer. At In Your House: Mind Games he won a Buried Alive Match against Mankind and seemed to settle the score at Survivor Series 1996. The following year ‘The Deadman’ decided to get back in the WWE Championship hunt and won the title at WrestleMania 13 against Sycho Sid. He successfully defended the title against Mankind and Stone Cold Steve Austin at In Your House 13 & In Your House 14 and then Faarooq at King of the Ring 1997 and Vader at In Your House 15, proving to be a dominant and deserving champion.

At SummerSlam 1997 Undertaker lost the title to Bret Hart in controversial circumstances. The special referee Shawn Michaels hit the big man with a wayward steel chair and cost him the match. This led to a match between the two at In Your House 17 and then the first ever Hell in a Cell Match at In Your House 18. Months earlier Undertaker’s old manager Paul Bearer had revealed a family secret - that Undertaker’s younger brother Kane had been burnt badly in a fire and blames Undertaker for it and is coming for revenge. During the Hell in a Cell Match, Kane did make his first appearance and looked remarkably similar to his older brother. By making a grand entrance, ripping the door off the cell and Tombstoning Undertaker and costing him the match, Kane had made a huge statement. In the following weeks Kane ran roughshod on the WWE and even threw ‘Taker in a coffin and set it alight at Royal Rumble 1998.

After refusing to fight his own brother, this was the last straw for ‘The Phenom’ and he challenged his brother to a match at WrestleMania 14. In a colossal clash it was Undertaker that got the win and in the first ever Inferno Match the next month at In Your House: Unforgiven it was Kane who was set alight and lost the match. After this, ‘Taker’s old nemesis Mankind came back on the scene and the two fought in a Hell in a Cell Match at King of the Ring 1998. In arguably the most famous scene in WWE history Undertaker threw Mankind off the cell, and then through it. The following month Undertaker won the World Tag Team Championship with Stone Cold after winning at Fully Loaded 1998. At SummerSlam 1998 Undertaker took on Austin in the final stop in the highly anticipated and hyped ‘Highway to Hell.’

Despite coming out on the losing side of things Undertaker stayed in the title hunt and even aligned himself with his brother Kane in order to win the WWE Championship. After two controversial title matches at In Your House 24 & In Your House 25, Undertaker refocused and rejoined with Paul Bearer. Completely turning his back on the fans Undertaker debuted a darker look and a meaner, more edgy satanic character. He began to put together a stable of wrestlers called ‘The Ministry of Darkness’ and soon challenged and defeated Steve Austin for the WWE Championship. After Mr. McMahon was revealed to be Undertaker’s higher power, the group merged with ‘The Corporation’ but it wasn’t long until things went pear shaped. Undertaker split with the group in the summer and won the World Tag Team Championship with the Big Show at SummerSlam 1999.

After leaving the WWE the Undertaker returned in May of 2000 with a totally different look. He was now a biker, clad in denim and soon took on old nemesis Kane at SummerSlam 2000. Undertaker then challenged Triple H at WrestleMania 17 and kept his undefeated streak alive. Soon after, he won the World Tag Team Championship, with now ally Kane. After beating off the challenge of Diamond Dallas Page in the summer of 2001, Undertaker’s next big feud was with Ric Flair- defeating him in a bloody battle at WrestleMania 18. The ‘American Badass’ as he was now known then defeated Hulk Hogan to win the Undisputed WWE Championship at Judgment Day 2002. After many title defences on both Raw and SmackDown ‘Big Evil’ dropped the title at Vengeance 2002.

Soon after he was embroiled in a feud with Brock Lesnar and took him on in a Hell in a Cell Match at No Mercy 2002. The following year the two battled again at No Mercy 2003 in a Biker Chain Match and Mr. McMahon ended up costing Undertaker the match. After Kane interfered in a Buried Alive Match with McMahon at Survivor Series 2003, ‘Taker disappeared from the WWE. However, Undertaker soon started sending cryptic messages to his estranged brother and at WrestleMania 20 the old Undertaker, clad in a black leather jacket, top hat and alongside Paul Bearer, took on and defeated Kane. Later in the year Undertaker was challenged by a newcomer by the name of Heidenreich but he beat him in a Casket Match at Royal Rumble 2005.

Soon after Undertaker was confronted by ‘Legend Killer’ Randy Orton, and although ‘Taker got the win at WrestleMania 21, Orton returned the favour at SummerSlam 2005. It all came down to Hell in a Cell at Armageddon 2005 in which Undertaker was victorious. Following this, ‘Taker battled Kurt Angle in a mat classic at No Way Out 2006 and then beat Mark Henry convincingly in a Casket Match at WrestleMania 22. After a short feud with The Great Khali, the Undertaker was challenged by young up-start Mr. Kennedy. After losing due to outside interference in their match at Survivor Series 2006, Undertaker got revenge by winning the Last Ride Match at Armageddon 2006.

Entering the 2007 Royal Rumble as number 30, ‘The Lord of Darkness’ became the first man to win it with that number and he went on to challenge Batista for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 23. In a classic showdown between two of the biggest stars in WWE, it was Undertaker’s that shone brightly as he took home the gold. The two battled to a draw at Backlash 2007 and then on SmackDown but Undertaker was injured at the hands of Mark Henry and ended up losing the title due to a conniving move from Edge, who cashed in his Money in the Bank contract.

After taking time out, ‘The Dead Man’ came back for revenge against Mark Henry at Unforgiven 2007 before re-igniting his feud with Batista in a Hell in a Cell Match at Survivor Series 2007. It was Edge that cost Undertaker the match and after winning the SmackDown Elimination Chamber Match at No Way Out 2008, Undertaker challenged Edge for the World title at WrestleMania 24. After a back-and-forth battle it was ‘Taker that picked up the win and the title, stretching his WrestleMania winning streak to 16-0. Following Mania, Undertaker took on Edge in a re-match at Backlash 2008 and after winning via submission with a choke, SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero stripped ‘Taker of the title. After winning via count-out at Judgment Day 2008 the two battled again in a TLC Match for the vacant championship at One Night Stand 2008. ‘Taker’s career was on the line and after a ton of outside interference it was Edge who came out winner and champion.

After Edge and Vickie Guerrero’s relationship began to fall apart, Vickie reinstated the Undertaker and two fought in a Hell in a Cell Match at SummerSlam 2008. After beating Edge and leaving him in a ring of flames, Undertaker tried to gain revenge on Guerrero. However she had a new piece of muscle to do her business for her- the Big Show. After one of the most successful careers in WWE history, the Undertaker is better than ever and not only is he a guarantee for the Hall of Fame, they should probably name a wing after him!