When the Undertaker and Giant Gonzalez initially clashed at the Royal Rumble, many eyewitnesses thought that the Grim Reaper had met his match. After all, the Giant towers over the Undertaker by a foot and manhandled him with alarming ease.
The Undertaker encountered more problems when he and Gonzales clashed at WrestleMania IX. During the match, the Giant used a handkerchief soaked with a powerful sedative that some speculated was chloroform and attempted to smother the Undertaker. The trick worked. The Undertaker collapsed and had to be wheeled to the locker room on a stretcher. But the Giant and his manager, Harvey Wippleman, underestimated the unearthly powers of the "Dead Man." When all hope seemed lost, the Undertaker burst through the entrance and staggered into the ring where he blasted his colossal foe with a vengeance. We recently traveled to the Undertaker's favorite hangout-Paul Bearer's mortuary in Texas-and conducted the following interview.
Editors: Undertaker, it seems as if the Giant Gonzalez has been a thorn in your side ever since the Royal Rumble. Can you tell us your plans for the future?
Bearer: My Undertaker's figure lies inside the urn. We have opened the urn and have unleashed the souls of the Undertaker's previous victims. The Undertaker's reasoning is clean-yes, very clear. You see, to plan the future, my Undertaker has to examine his past. That's right. He has to feel the ashes of the beaten souls drip between his cold and blue fingers. He has to examine the epitaphs out in my graveyard. Then he will find all the answers to destroy the Giant Gonzalez and Harvey Wippleman. And they can be destroyed. Yes, I know that they can be destroyed.
Editors: How can you be so sure? Gonzalez manhandled the Undertaker at the Rumble and nearly entombed him at WrestleMania. How can you be sure, Paul?
Bearer: Because it's as simple as life and death. My Undertaker is already deceased, so he can't be destroyed again. Harvey Wippleman and the Giant Gonzalez must come to this realization. They must realize that my Undertaker possesses powers no mortals possess. They must realize this, and they must realize that they, like everyone else, are mortals and that they, like mortals, can be destroyed. My Undertaker-the Pal Destroyer of the World Wrestling Federation-has set his course and has sealed the fates of Giant Gonzalez and Harvey Wippleman.
Undertaker: I have collected the souls of many and have placed them all in my dark heart. But one space remains-one void has yet to be filled. And that space is reserved for the soul of the Giant Gonzalez.
Editors: That's a chilling description, Undertaker. Let's assume that you accomplish your goal. Do you plan to bury the Giant Gonzalez? Is there a coffin anywhere that is big enough to get the job done?
Bearer: For every body, there is a coffin. We have just returned from California, which isn't one of our favorite places. There's too much sunshine. There's too much warmth. But there are also many giant redwood trees-big, gigantic trees. Big enough, in fact, to make a perfect coffin for the Giant Gonzalez. My Undertaker and I have been working night and day here in my mortuary. We have been constructing the casket. We have cured the wood and bolted the doors with specially built nails. And we have selected our plot. Yes, it is way in the back, beyond the last mausoleum. It lies near a petrified tree that my favorite buzzard perches upon. The ground is soft and full of all my pets-maggots, larva, worms and even cockroaches. That's where Giant Gonzalez will spend eternity as soon as my Undertaker snatches his soul.
Undertaker: Giant Gonzalez, the netherworld is waiting for you. Do you hear me? I said that the netherworld is waiting for you right now. After you and I duel to the death the Reaper will be waiting for you at the netherworld's gates. Rest in peace… Editors: Paul, do you have any last comments regarding the Undertaker's imminent altercation with Giant Gonzalez?
Bearer: Giant Gonzalez and Harvey Wippleman have a date with the unknown and I know that date is coming very soon. But, before they travel into the darkness of the unknown, both of them have an important appointment to keep in my embalming room. Yes, my embalming room! My favorite room in my entire mortuary, a room I have been fond of since I was a child. I will lay them out and prepare the necessary chemicals. Then, it's off to the icebox, yes, the icebox! I will invite guests to my mortuary, and we will have a party, with plenty of cold ones for everybody-especially for my Undertaker! Yes.