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Mark's Notes on WWF Home Video: Undertaker - The Phenom
All matches are clipped, none horribly so
Undertaker vs. Mankind from Summerslam 1996 (Boiler Room Brawl).
We're starting with this match?? Clips show them fighting all over the
arena. You have to get to the ring and grab the urn to win. Undertaker
has the match won but Paul Bearer, who was holding the urn, wouldn't
give him the urn. Bearer was SUPPOSED to be on the Taker's side at this
point. Mankind attacts the distressed Phenom and grabs the urn from
Uncle Paul. Of course, this would mark Bearer's turning on the
Undertaker. First time he did so, I think. Rematch a month later.
Undertaker vs. Mankind from IYH: Buried Alive (Buried Alive Match). I
think this might've been the first ever Buried Alive match, too. I
liked this match at the time. Mankind starts to bury the Taker but no
dice. He chokeslams Mankind into the grave. Someone nails the Taker
before he can bury Mankind though. This person knocks the Undertaker
into the grave and helps Mankind bury him. Lightning strikes the
gravestone and the Undertaker's hand thrusts up through the ground.
Great moment. These voiceovers are so cool. Yes! Yes! Hell in a
Cell! Next!
Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels from IYH: Badd Blodd, Oct 1997 (Hell in
a Cell). God this match is so perfect. Michaels of course gets beat up
all over the fucking world. Taker sits up from a superkick. They go to
the top of the cage. Michaels comes back down the hard way, through the
announcers' table. Tombstone try from the Undertaker, but the lights go
out. And through hellfire and brimstone, yes folks we've got Kane. His
very first, brand spanking new appearance. He Tombstones the
Undertaker, leaves. With the last bit of strength he has, Michaels
draps an arm across the Taker, getting the win. What an awesome match.
Rematch, however, at the Rumble.
Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels from Royal Rumble 1998 (Casket Match).
The storyline at this point was that Kane might, just MIGHT, be on the
Undertaker's side after all. He saved the Taker's butt from a DX
beating about a week prior to this match. It was a great moment when
Kane made that save. The match starts. Momentum swings back and forth
for most of the match. All KINDS of awesome moves: elbowdrop into the
casket, backdrop onto the casket (supposedly caused Shawn's
career-ending back injury), and the Tombstone into the casket. This is
the only reason I put Michaels ahead of Bret Hart in terms of working
ability; Shawn can work even better in a gimmick match than he can a
normal match. Well, IMODO he can, anyway. Bret hasn't demonstrated the
same prowess, although his cage match with Owen was something to behold.
About six or seven guys come in to help the champion stuff Undertaker
into the casket. Deja vu, anybody? Kane comes out. No one knows whose
side he'll be on, until he clears the ring of baddies. He's on the
Undertaker's side. Well, until he beats the Taker up and dumps him in
the casket, anyway. Announcers totally sold the whole thing. Kane then
sets the casket on fire. When officials open it up, it's empty. The
RAW before WrestleMania 14, Undertaker comes back. They recap the whole
feud before they start the WM14 match.
Undertaker vs. Kane from WrestleMania XIV. I wasn't much into this
match at the time. Part of it was knowing I was about to see Shawn in
his last match for a long while, the other part was that neither of
these guys is fantastic workers. Upon second and third viewings, it
doesn't suck so much as I thought. Undertaker's physics-defying tope
con hilo KILLS me every single time I see it. He did it better at the
April IYH though. Three tombstones get the win for the Original Phenom,
but only barely. Kane and Paul Bearer beat him up after the match.
Quotes from Dante's Inferno are read. How cool is that? And it's by
that guy with the cool voice, too. Specifically, the quotes are about
dying souls and their punishments, which is my favorite aspect of the
Divine Comedy. This gets major points from me.
Undertaker vs. Kane from IYH: Unforgiven, April 1998 (Inferno Match).
This was a bit too gimmicky for my tastes. Also, Big Japan does the
whole fire-around-the-ring bit much more realistically. Of course,
Matsunaga likes wrestling with third-degree burns. He must, anyway.
Kane tries to walk out of the match but Vader attacks him en route. The
Undertaker pulls out that terrific tope I mentioned a second ago, nails
both Kane and Vader. Undertaker and Paul stall while Kane gets the fire
resistant crap painted on his arm. Undertaker wins when it catches
fire.
Undertaker vs. Mankind from King of the Ring 1998 (Hell in a Cell II).
Well everyone knows what happens here. I summed it up in my Three Faces
of Foley notes, anyway. They do the standard recap of all the bumps.
Steve Austin vs. Kane from King of the Ring 1998 (First Blood Match).
Mankind has made his way into the ring, 20 minutes after trying to kill
himself using every method he could find. The Undertaker runs out,
presumably to try and hit Mankind with a chair. He hits Austin instead,
by "mistake", costing him the match. This touched off a very cool,
summer-long angle that everyone loved and wishes was happening right
now. I do, anyway. Hell, if we're going to go that route, bring back
the Hart Foundation.
Undertaker vs. Steve Austin from Summerslam 1998. I liked this match.
Kane walks out, but the Undertaker sends him back, wanting a clean
fight. Great spot with the Undertaker jumping off the top rope and
legdropping Austin through an announcers' table. The Undertaker tries
his walking-on-the-ropes bit, but Stone Cold lands a Flair uppercut.
Hits the Stunner for the CLEAN win. Nothing impresses me more than a
superstar putting another superstar over 100% CLEANLY.
Vince fires up the Undertaker and Kane by calling them both weak, etc.
They rampage all over the place for a few weeks, chokeslamming everybody
they can lift. Vince books a Triple Threat match heading into IYH:
Breakdown.
Undertaker vs. Steve Austin vs. Kane from IYH: Breakdown, September
1998. Undertaker can't pin Kane, and Kane can't pin the Undertaker.
They both want the belt, of course, so they end up attacking each other,
of course. The perennial triple threat storyline. They both then pin
Austin at the same time. Vince is pissed, since we don't really have a
champion, and just takes the belt with him when he leaves. On RAW, he
orders Kane vs. the Undertaker at the upcoming Judgment Day, with Steve
Austin as the special referee. He flicks both Phenoms off, and they
beat him up, crushing his ankle.
Undertaker vs. Kane from IYH: Judgment Day, October 1998 (Stone Cold
Steve Austin as the special referee). These three were getting old by
now. Austin is favoring Kane, I guess. Kane then chokeslams Austin,
for equally no apparent reason. Paul Bearer comes down (whose side is
he on?!?) and asks Kane to let him hit the Undertaker. He hits Kane
instead, who believes it a housefly. The Undertaker grabs the chair in
the meanwhile and waylays Kane. Austin grabs the chair, and nails the
Undertaker. The tape doesn't show this, though, or Austin declaring
himself champion and subsequently being fired. Guess it's not relevant.
Paul Bearer and the Undertaker have reunited. A new era of Darkness
has begun.
End of tape.
The Verdict: This is the first must-see tape I've reviewed yet. Any
fan of the WWF will enjoy watching this one, whether you've seen all the
matches on it or not. Get it just for the voiceovers, if you have to ;)
Mark Smith
Tape Review WWW Archive coming soon
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