Can he continue the undefeated streak at WrestleMania 21?
"In this world, nothing is certain but death and taxes."
It's been more than 200 years since Benjamin Franklin made his observation in one of his many famous eloquent writings. Of course, Mr. Franklin passed away in 1970, and was thus unable to witness the rise of World Wrestling Entertainment and, more specifically, the spectacle that is WrestleMania.
If he was still alive, Franklin would likely have amended this statement by now.
With all due apologies to one of our nation's founding fathers, there actually seems to be three certainties in this work: death, taxes and Undertaker winning at WrestleMania.
Indeed, as one of the most successful, misunderstood and feared Superstars in WWE history, Undertaker will take a perfect 12-0 record into this year's extravaganza.
WrestleMania 21 will rake place at Staples Center in Los Angeles and be broadcast live on pay-per-view on Sunday, April 3. Undertaker will attempt to extend the streak in the same city where it started. Undertaker defeated WWE Hall of Famer Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka at WrestleMania VII at the L.A Sports Arena.
No list of WWE all-time greats can be considered complete without the Deadman. He's been a four-time WWE Champion, six-time World Tag Team Champion and a main-event level Superstar since the day "Million-Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase introduced him as part of his "Million-Dollar Team" at the 1990 Survivor Series. His dark, somber persona and often-sadistic mindset have been terrifying Superstars for nearly 15 full years. He has taken on WWE veterans, WWE Champions and even the WWE chairman.
It should be noted that Undertaker has twice missed WrestleMania. At the 1994 Royal Rumble, Yokozuna entombed 'Taker in a Casket Match. He rested in peace until August before returning, thus missing WrestleMania X at Madison Square Garden. Five years later, 'Taker walked out on Mr. McMahon in September 1999, claiming he didn't have to follow the company rules. He would return the following May, missing WrestleMania XVI in the process.
Otherwise, the Deadman is perfect on WWE's grandest stage. So let's take a match-by-match
look at the carnage Undertaker has left behind over the years at WrestleMania.
WrestleMania VII (1991)
Pins Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka
It all started brutally, enough against one of WWE's all-time greats. Undertaker was a
mysterious stone-faced newcomer who had made his debut just four months earlier at
Survivor Series. Accompanied by Paul Bearer and their trademark urn, `Taker, dressed
exclusively in black, made an example of Snuka. This was by far the easiest match of
the streak, as Undertaker hit Snuka with a ferocious running clothesline, a monster
suplex and then put the finishing touches on the high-flying legend with a Tombstone
Piledriver. The match barely lasted four minutes, as the stunned Sports Arena crowd
could hardly believe the evil this rookie, was unleashing. Clearly, the victory served
as a grave warning for any future Superstar who would face `Taker at WrestleMania.
WrestleMania VIII (1992)
Pins Jake "The Snake" Roberts
Roberts had earned 'Taker's wrath after an episode of The Funeral Parlor, in which Jake
slammed a casket on `Taker's hand and then beat him with a steel chair. Robert's cobra,
Lucifer, had been banned from ringside, not that t would have made any difference.
Roberts put up a better fight than Snuka; he even connected with a pair of DDT's.
Amazingly, Undertaker sat right back up after both finishers, stunning both Roberts
and the sold-out Hoosier Dome. Before the match, Roberts claimed he was scared of no
man, least of all Undertaker. His opinion may have changed in the final moments of the
match. An ill-advised Roberts went after Bearer, which left himself open to the
Tombstone, which closed the casket on the second win of the streak.
WrestleMania IX (1993)
Defeated Giant Gonzales by Disqualification
This was the only match of the streak, which didn't end with an Undertaker pin. Gonzales,
who stood 7-foot-7, came out in a startling body suit and was hell-bent on damaging the
growing aura of invincibility surrounding Undertaker. Gonzales had already made a
statement at Royal Rumble, where an illegal entry he eliminated Undertaker from the
match. At WrestleMania, he used a cloth soaked in chloroform to render the Phenom prone
and motionless. Gonzales was disqualified for using a foreign substance and WWE officials
swarmed the ring, placing `Taker on a stretcher and taking him from the ring at Caesars
Palace. Just when it seemed like Undertaker's WrestleMania legend had taken a major hit,
he would reappear from the bowels of the stadium, much to the chagrin of Gonzales.
Undertaker took Gonzales down with three consecutive running clotheslines to ensure he
got the final word. He would exact further revenge four months later at SummerSlam, when
he defeated Gonzales in a Rest in Peace Match.
WrestleMania XI (1995)
Pins King Kong Bundy
Both gigantic Superstars were making their fourth WrestleMania appearance, but this time
Undertaker would be without his urn. Three months earlier at the Royal Rumble, Irwin R.
Schyster, who was part of DiBiase's Million-Dollar Corporation, repossessed the urn after
he lost to Undertaker. During the Bundy match, Kama, the Ultimate Fighting Machine, would
storm ringside and steal the urn himself, claiming he would melt it down and make a chain
from it. Unfazed, the Deadman gathered his momentum and brought down Bundy, using
clothesline and emphatic bodyslam to finish him off and run the streak to four.
WrestleMania XII (1996)
Pins Diesel
Undertaker had been tormenting Diesel for some time, forcing this match to be made. At In
Your House VI, Undertaker hid under the ring during Diesel's Steel Cage Match with WWE
Champion Bret "Hit Man" Hart, than shockingly burst through the canvas and helped cost
Diesel the title. During ensuing weeks, Undertaker even spooked Diesel when he placed a
likeness of Big Daddy Cool in an open casket. But this match would be one of `Taker's
toughest at WrestleMania. They hit each other simultaneously with big boots before
Diesel seemed to take control. He connected on a clothesline from the top rope, and then
punished 'Taker with a pair of Jackknife powerbombs. He even taunted the Phenom as he
prepared for the pin. Nut like Jake Roberts four years before him, Diesel saw Undertaker
pop up from the damage no mere mortal could endure. With the Arrowhead Pond crowd
chanting "Rest In Peace," the Deadman rallied to chokeslam Diesel before sending him to
Tombstone City. The streak was now five matches and stronger than ever.