The Undertaker is a legend in pro wrestling history, spanning multiple different eras with WWE. Along with having the book in AAA and a backstage role in WWE, he is a key figure in the business today and will be for many years to come. With that length of time in WWE, there have definitely been some lowlights in his career. Here are the 10 things that WWE would like fans to forget about The Undertaker.
10. That Sara Tattoo
This is an obvious one. The Undertaker has a ton of tattoos on his body, and they’re solid works. The most famous one is his wife’s name, which is on his neck. Not the wisest idea to get a significant other’s name tattooed anywhere on the body. It’s never a good idea, because nothing lasts forever, except permanent ink. Undertaker learned that the hard way when he and his wife, Sara, divorced in 2007. He got the tattoo covered up, but it’s still an embarrassing reminder of the Deadman’s ex-wife.
9. His Threat To Shawn Michaels At WrestleMania 14
The Undertaker is often known as the locker room leader in WWE and was loyal to Vince McMahon. He wanted everyone to have success, but one person who has not been trusted to do business the right way is the heartbreak kid, Shawn Michaels. After all, with how Michaels ruined WrestleMania 13’s booking plan by “losing his smile”, it’s hard not to blame Undertaker.
At this point in his life, Shawn Michaels was at his lowest. He was an absolute trainwreck, was all pilled up, his back was knackered, and he was known to be a complete diva/politicker in the locker room. Apparently, Michaels was doing everything in his power not to put Steve Austin over in their championship match at WrestleMania 14.
Taker had had enough and decided to confront Michaels by giving him 2 options while taping up his wrists. Option 1 was to do the match as planned, or Option 2, he would give severe consequences by beating the ever-living heck out of Michaels. Obviously, Michaels chose option 1, the match went as planned, and he avoided a legit fight with Taker.
8. Choking Out Kurt Angle On A Plane Ride
There have been so many stories of wrestlers acting crazy on plane rides, it’s hard to keep track. One of the more notable ones happened in 2002 with Kurt Angle, Vince McMahon, and The Undertaker. Apparently, Angle and McMahon were play wrestling in the middle of a flight. Which already sounds like a brilliant idea to fight when 38,000 feet in the air, especially when the opponent is your boss.
The other wrestlers were apparently cheering on the flight, and that woke up The Undertaker, who thought Angle was attacking McMahon legitimately. Taker then decided to get in the middle of the fight and choked Kurt Angle to the point of unconsciousness to protect Vince. Once he realized it was all for a joke and not a legit fight, Taker went back to his seat to go back to sleep.
Taker’s loyalty to Vince was nice of him, but straight-up strangling a coworker in the middle of a plane ride in front of everybody is not cool at all. This story shouldn’t get mentioned, knowing the history of Pro wrestlers eventually causing chaos on Plane Rides.
7. Burying Paul Bearer In Cement
Even back in the day, this made no sense whatsoever. Undertaker was having a feud with Paul Heyman, who kidnapped Bearer and stole the urn. This all led to a match at the Great American Bash 2004 PPV where Undertaker faced the Dudley Boys, and if Undertaker lost, Bearer would have been buried in full cement in front of the crowd. Make that two crimes committed by Heyman in this storyline. WWE even had put Bearer in a box where a cement truck was behind him, and Bearer was filled up to his shoulder with kayfabe cement.
Undertaker actually did beat the Dudley Boys in the main event match of the show, but for some reason, he claimed that he had “no other choice” and decided to pull the cement truck lever, burying Bearer. There was no explanation for why Taker decided to do this, and he remained a babyface. WWE would later put out a statement saying Bearer survived, but he had a kayfabe “serious injuries” to write him off TV. Whatever plan WWE had was clearly abandoned as Bearer transitioned into a backstage role after this happened.
6. Hanging The Big Boss Man
There is a reason Dark Side of the Ring is doing an episode on Big Boss Man for Season 7. He had an awful Hell In A Cell match at WrestleMania XV against the Undertaker. It’s the aftermath where things get both dark and stupid. During the Attitude Era, Undertaker was the leader of his Ministry of Darkness, and in the aftermath, he decided to make a little sacrifice by getting a noose, wrapping it around Boss Man’s neck, raising the cage, and hanging him.
Remember, the E in WWE stands for entertainment. What’s even worse is that the Big Boss Man in real life passed away in 2004. It’s one of the lowlights of the Attitude Era, and WWE went way too far with that segment.
5. That WrestleMania 33 Match Against Roman Reigns
The Undertaker’s WrestleMania matches are phenomenal, and most of them are the best matches on the card. Unfortunately, some of the matches the Undertaker has performed were absolutely terrible. Some of the standouts include Big Show & A-Train at WrestleMania XIX (19), King Kong Bundy at WrestleMania 11, getting DQ’d by Giant Gonzalez at WrestleMania 9, etc.
The most embarrassing one was WrestleMania 33 against Roman Reigns. Undertaker’s hips were knackered, and he was nowhere near in proper shape. In the Last Ride documentary, the man himself admitted that he shouldn’t have been in the ring and regrets wasting a Reigns match. To make it even worse, Undertaker would leave his hat, gloves, and jacket in the middle of the ring, which looked like a retirement segment. That retirement lasted barely a year until Undertaker faced John Cena in a squash match. It’s not the worst in his career; speaking of which…
4. Those Saudi Arabia Matches
Roman Reigns vs Undertaker was awful, mainly because of Taker being injured. The matches he had with Saudi Arabia were no excuse, and they were just depressing to watch. At least Rusev Vs Undertaker was serviceable, excluding creative burying the Rusev Day Gimmick.
On the Crown Jewel 2018 PPV, Undertaker and Kane faced Shawn Michaels and Triple H. This was the match Michaels came out of retirement for, and he absolutely regrets it with how bad it was. Everyone in this match looked slow, old, and there were way too many botches. Kane lost his mask mid-match, and Triple H even tore his pectoral muscle mid-match. What’s worse is Triple H hitting the worst pedigree in WWE history.
On Super ShowDown 2019, Undertaker had a single match with Goldberg, which was dangerous for the wrong reasons. Goldberg got concussed mid-match, and Undertaker was clearly not in his right mind physically & mentally. Undertaker dropped Goldberg on his head, doing a tombstone piledriver, and Goldberg did the same, dropping Undertaker on his head, doing a Jackhammer. Undertaker won the match, but he was visibly pissed off by how bad it was. Goldberg called the match a “debacle” in interviews.
Then came the Super ShowDown 2020 show, where Undertaker won the Tuwaiq Mountain Trophy Gauntlet. He wasn’t in the match from the beginning, yet he was added in the match, and he won the match in the dumbest way possible. It only took one chokeslam to beat AJ Styles, and Taker did not even take his coat off throughout the whole match. There is a reason WWE never did another Tuwaiq Mountain Trophy Gauntlet match.
The way Undertaker was utilized in the Saudi Arabia shows was horrendous. At least the Legend got some Sweet Saudi Money for the embarrassing performances.
3. Accidentally Getting Burned At Elimination Chamber 2010
This one almost had a real shot at killing Taker. At the Elimination Chamber 2010 PPV, the Undertaker was in a Chamber match defending the World Heavyweight Championship. Flames were always used during his entrance, but this time, they were positioned incorrectly. He was hit with the flames, which resulted in Undertaker breaking character by dashing through the flames, taking off his jacket, and immediately entering the pod of the chamber.
Undertaker had to compete throughout the match with 1st and 2nd degree burns on his chest. Trying to ease the pain, Taker poured multiple bottles of water all over his body, but that just made his chest bubble up. Luckily, Taker was able to finish the match, and the pyro guy in charge was fired, but WWE. Luckily, Taker was able to finish the match, but WWE definitely wants fans to ignore that they accidentally almost killed the guy and gave him severe burns.
2. The Entire Feud With Muhammad Hassan
It’s uncomfortable even to re-watch this feud. Muhammad Hassan’s gimmick was an Arab American complaining about the stereotyping of his people after the 9/11 attacks. It was an intriguing gimmick until WWE went too far and decided to turn Hassan into a terrorist.
The worst moments were with the Undertaker, and it got disturbing once Taker had that match with Hassan’s manager, Davari. It was a squash match where Undertaker defeated Davari, but Hassan wanted revenge. So after the match, Hassan got on his knees, did an Islamic prayer, and then 5 masked men came out to attack the Undertaker. They used piano wire to choke the Undertaker, Hassan did beheading signs, and later used the Camel Clutch while yelling praise Allah. Once Undertaker was knocked out, the 5 masked men decided to carry Davari out and make him a Martyr.
The worst part is that it was not hours before the London bombings happened, yet WWE still decided to air this segment. Not only that, but one year before a similar real-life incident occurred to a journalist named Nick Berg, who was beheaded by 5 masked men on camera, which is doubly horrible. This incident led to a bunch of bad PR for WWE, and with the threat of losing sponsors, it eventually led to the removal of the Hassan character. After a squash match against the Undertaker, the man portraying the Hassan gimmick was released. It’s just awkward, and WWE wants every fan to please not talk about.
1. He Kayfabe Killed His Parents
This one is creepy, weird, and definitely belongs atop this list. In 1997, the Undertaker was having a feud with his brother Kane, and WWE wanted to build some backstory between the two characters. In the middle of a promo, Taker talked about how their parents died in a fire at a funeral home and straight up confessed to murdering his parents.
Taker later admitted it was he who started the fire and did it because Kane was weak, and decided to blame him, which is taking it to a level so far, that it’s a miracle the Undertaker character was not pulled from TV, but that’s the Attitude Era. Ever since that revelation happened, it’s hardly been mentioned since. No murder charges were filed, and WWE wants every fan to focus on every other part of the feud, excluding this confession.
That Is The List
Those are the 10 things that WWE wants fans to forget about The Undertaker. This could have been a Top 20 list, but these are the 10 that stand out the most. Make sure to check out other combat sports content on Anubis Sports.
