My Deep Dive into 90s Undertaker
Alright, so I got this itch the other day, totally out of the blue. Started thinking about old-school wrestling, specifically the WWF back in the 90s. And one name just kept popping into my head: The Undertaker. Man, that guy was something else during that decade. So, I decided, why not just dive in and really revisit that whole era for him?
First thing I did was just hop online. Typed in the basic stuff, you know, “Undertaker 90s WWF,” “Undertaker debut,” stuff like that. Got the basic facts pretty quick – Survivor Series 1990 debut with Brother Love, then linking up with Paul Bearer. Remembered that creepy, slow walk and the whole mortician vibe he had going on. The grey gloves and tie phase felt like a lifetime ago!
But just reading wasn’t enough. I needed to actually see it again. Fired up the WWE Network – yeah, I still got that – and started hunting down old shows. Watched his debut match again. Then skipped ahead a bit. Looked for some key moments I kinda remembered.
- Finding his early matches, seeing how different he was. Slower, more deliberate.
- Checking out the feud with Yokozuna, the casket match stuff.
- Then, of course, the big ones. Had to rewatch parts of the Mankind feud.
Honestly, spending a few hours watching those old Raws and pay-per-views really brought it back. You forget the atmosphere of that time. Seeing him evolve from the almost supernatural deadman to the more demonic Lord of Darkness was wild. That shift towards the end of the decade, with the Ministry of Darkness stuff, was such a big change. He wasn’t just spooky; he was actively malevolent, leading that whole faction.
Then I got curious about specific matches everyone always talks about. Obviously, King of the Ring ’98. Hell in a Cell against Mankind. Had to watch that again. Even knowing what happens, it’s still insane. Just absolutely brutal. It wasn’t just about the big spot off the cell; the whole match was just relentless.
I also started digging into the Kane storyline introduction. Remembered how huge that was. The build-up, Paul Bearer’s whole reveal about Undertaker’s brother – it was peak wrestling drama back then. Watching their first few encounters again, the way they presented Kane as this unstoppable monster equal to Taker, that was really well done.
After soaking all that in, I just sort of sat back and thought about it. What really made him the guy in the 90s? It wasn’t just the wins or the titles (though he had those). It was the commitment to the character, the presence he had. Even when the storylines got weird (and boy, did they sometimes), he made it work. From the original Deadman to the leader of the Ministry, he kept evolving but always stayed intimidating and captivating. It was a cool trip down memory lane, just immersing myself in that whole period of his career again.
