Retro Wednesday: The Undertaker Faces The Undertaker At SummerSlam 20 Years Ago
SummerSlam has always presented some classic matches since its inception in 1988 at Madison Square Garden. From young guns Randy Orton and Brock Lesnar winning their first world championship, to Hulk Hogan triumphantly defeating Shawn Michaels and Randy Orton, respectively, at consecutive SummerSlam events, it has been a haven of memorable moments.
Twenty years ago, SummerSlam was headlined by a rather peculiar feud. At the Royal Rumble in 1994, Undertaker was forced into a casket at the conclusion of his match with Yokozuna. Names such as Adam Bomb, Diesel, the Headshrinkers, Crush, Bam Bam Bigelow and Jeff Jarrett came out to assist Yokozuna in his quest to annihilate the Undertaker. While they did manage to put the Undertaker in a casket, the Undertaker – in his casket – had a message for them and the rest of the WWE audience.
Surprisingly, there were rumors speculating about the return of the Undertaker with an old affiliation; the one who originally introduced him to the WWE – Ted DiBiase. While the Undertaker that returned after Royal Rumble had striking resemblances, something just did not appear right. Undertaker fans were shocked to see that he was being managed by DiBiase, and this alliance was hard to accept. Then, Paul Bearer returned to TV, saying that this Undertaker that we have been seeing is indeed an imposter. In fact, he promised to bring back the real one at SummerSlam. This set the stage for the Undertaker vs. Undertaker match at the pay per view. The suspense was feverish, as the authentic Undertaker returned with new ring gear and theme music, defeating DiBiase's counterfeit version.
While many over the years believe that this was not a very good feud, I beg to differ. Sure, the match was no where near spectacular, but the money is in the build. For this to be an angle that lasted seven months, the payoff was good enough, seeing two people portraying one mystical character standing toe to toe. "Prime Time" Brian Lee was as close as you could get regarding Undertaker similarities, and I believe that the anticipation for the real Undertaker to return was portrayed well in the preceding weeks leading up to the event.
What are your thoughts of this angle? Sound off below.