We start with the goon squad. Mr.Fuji waves his Japanese flag in his kimono, Cornette is wearing his Sunday best, and Yoko is in his usual attire. The lights go off, and Paul enters, wheeling in the coffin as Taker follows suit. They stand nose to nose, well technically nose to forehead before Yoko backs off. He tries to go at Taker but immediately gets walloped. Yoko gets clothes-lined and jumped on several times by Taker. Yoko then runs into the ring post, and I can't tell if it was on purpose or accidental, but he does it, in Taker's slowness, he grabs him and rams him into the stairs. Taker, as he has done previously, immediately rises and darts his head towards Yoko. He stands there shocked before Taker grabs him by the throat and rams him into the stairs. Taker gets him pretty easily. They get back into the ring, and he lands more swipes and kicks; Yoko looks exhausted as he visibly pants. Taker, I don't know if it had a name at that point, but it's now called "old-school" old-schools Yokozuna; you can see Paul on the side ward off Cornette, and he raises the urn, and with his old-school, he disorients Yoko. He stands dazed in the Middle of the ring, but Taker misses a kick and rolls out of the ring. Yoko follows and grabs a chair, only for Taker to catch it mid-hit; he takes it and hits him with it. He hits him on the head and throws the chair, throwing one of the officials on the sidelines off of another chair to pick it up and hit Yoko again. Yoko grabs salt and throws it in Taker's eyes. Taker bats and grabs at the air, completely missing Yoko. He gets the upper hand, walloping Taker with his hands and a chair, and Taker gets back into the ring and is unsteady on his feet.

He gets clothes-lined again, knocking him down. Paul is visibly upset, motioning towards the urn and slapping the ring as Yoko rolls Taker into the coffin. Taker is about halfway in, his upper body still on the ring as Paul reaches the urn towards him. He's talking, but you can't hear what he says over the "U-S-A" chants. Taker grabs Yoko's ankle, and Paul slaps the ring, egging him on. Taker and Yoko share hits back and forth before Taker gets the choke slam, and he wobbles. With a running start, he slams Yoko, and Yoko slams him. They're both down, Cornette slaps the ring, and Paul raises the urn, and he rises. He raises his arms, telling the referee to open the casket. He rolls Yoko into the casket, and just before he can close the lid, he gets mobbed by the peanut gallery. The peanut gallery, in order of appearance, consists of Kona Crush, Kabuki, Tenru, Bam Bam Bigelow, Adam Bomb, and for some reason, Jeff Jarrett jumps Taker and maneuvers him towards the coffin as Yoko climbs out and assists. Paul, on the sidelines, argues with the ref as more and more of these secondary characters fill the ring; fed up with the nonstop flow of the peanut gallery, Paul goes towards Mr.Fuji and kicks him in the breadbasket as well as railing him with the urn. He also knocks Cornette with the urn. Paul, now closer to Taker, reaches his hand out and beckons him, holding the urn. Taker, now reinvigorated, moves Kabuki off of him like he weighs nothing. Bomb enters the fray and grabs the salt barrel, hitting Crush instead of Taker. Taker grabs the salt barrel and starts railing each guy with it. Samu and Fatu also join, and these eight men go to town on the downed Taker. Paul climbs onto the apron and gets on his knees, holding the urn out towards Taker, which makes him rise, but Diesel joins the fray and starts railing on him as well. They get him into the coffin, and he rises once more, swiping at the throats of all comers, before Yoko swipes the urn and hits Paul. He pulls the lid off of it, and a green smoke slowly pours out. They get him in, and Yoko wins. Leading the ten other men away as they roll the casket down the aisle.

"GONG"

The casket oozes the same green smoke, frightening the men. Another "GONG" and the lights go off.

The visuals are super fun! The lights go off, and the monitors go black. The body of Taker inside the coffin is shown on screen; it zooms in closer, and he looks straight at the camera, eyes wide. He speaks,

"Be not proud. The spirit of The Undertaker lives within the soul of all mankind. The eternal flame of life that cannot be extinguished. The origin of which cannot be explained. The answer lies in the everlasting spirit. Soon all mankind will witness the rebirth… of The Undertaker~"

Another "GONG" the camera zooms in on his pupil-less eyes.

"I will not rest in peace."

He falls unconscious. Thunder rumbles, and electricity zaps. The screen flickers to black and white as the camera zooms back out. On the screen, the interior of the coffin explodes, leaving his white form on the black screen. His body moves upwards and off of the screen as the funeral march plays. His shadow is shown levitating out of the coffin and is shown in the fog covering the arena. Paul looks towards the sky, raising the urn, and raises it to the cheers of the crowd. He rolls the coffin out with his usual giddy expression.

By the way, it's incredible to me that out of the entirety of the annals of wrestling history, the only two people in this match that really made life-long, publicly known names for themselves, names that headlined PPVs and sold tickets were Taker and Jarrett.

SummerSlam: Ted Dibiase and The Fake Undertaker

So, for the past several months after the fact, WWF started doing this bit that Taker had, in fact, gone missing after his burial. Interviewing "random" people on the street, they exclaim their amazement at seeing such a massive man be so quick and good on his feet. Superstars (05/28/94) We re-introduce ourselves to Ted DiBiase, the guy who "bought" Taker in the 1990 Survivor Series. Remember he did that? So we have Ted in front of an open coffin, and he treats us to his usual shtick. He pretty much says his theme song,

"Everybody's got a price, even The Undertaker."

He claims that he has, in fact, bought Taker, as he fans several hundred dollar bills. Saying that Taker will be his property and does his signature laugh. (06/11/94) On one of the most…unique talk show segments of the '90s, Shawn Michaels and Diesel welcome Ted to "The Heartbreak Hotel." Ted dashes into the ring and into the microphone of Shawn, who is wearing a leather corset tank top with frayed bedazzled sides. Sorry, I had to mention that. He yells about Taker being his, once again, mentioning that he brought Taker to the WWF and notably sticks it to Paul, who was mentioned to be looking for Taker. Taker surprisingly enters, and he must have lost some weight because-

that is literally not The Undertaker. Who is that? You might be wondering. Why this is Brian Lee of course, don't worry I also thought this would have been Glenn Jacobs. After a repeat viewing, I now understand how lanky this dude is and how bad my eyesight is. But for the rest of this, I will be referring to him as Faker. Shawn congratulates Ted as Faker moves into the ring by the sex bed. Faker stands dead still and crosses his hands. Ted repeats himself, really pressing that he found and bought Taker. And informs us that Faker, in fact, has something to say. I will give Faker props; he's got the voice down,

"There's nothing… to fear… but fear… itself. And the wrath The Undertaker… rests in peace~"

Ted laughs maniacally, and the camera zooms out, ending the promo. We see Faker work on (06/25/94) entering with Ted. You realize that, yeah, it is kind of easy to mistake who's who; these arenas are dark! But it's interesting to see how inherently wrong he is; he just has a completely different way of movement in contrast to Taker. The way Faker just walks stiffly instead of Taker's monstrous lumbering is interesting to watch. They also have tattoos on the same arm, but looking closely, they're clearly different. Faker has his moves down pat; he swipes, chokes, and moves just as quickly. But you'll quickly notice that Faker does better kicks in comparison to Taker, but he doesn't do anything on the ropes. He tombstones the jobber and looks face down and then up again, attempting to do the hair flick, but with his face revealed, you can tell that he clearly isn't Taker, so he quickly looks back down, getting the three count. Faker stands with his arms wide, doing a reverse turning on the lights pose, turning the lights off. He goes to strike the downed jobber before Ted stops him, waving a wad of money to ward him off the way Paul would the urn. (07/02/94) We find ourselves back at the "The Heartbreak Hotel." Shawn introduces us,

"Ladies and gentlemen, "The Heartbreak Hotel" was tailor made for my next guest, for his poor heart has been broken in a million pieces. Ladies and gentlemen, the former manager of The Undertaker, Paul Bearer!"

Paul walks out, making a plethora of strange faces, while Ross and Jerry Lawler argue with each other on commentary. Shawn takes jabs at him, but Paul simply looks down at his hands, frowning. Lawler comments that he looks dejected. Shawn speaks,

"You've had a rough streak as of late haven't you my friend?"

Shawn puts his hand on Paul's shoulder. Paul quickly moves back and dusts off his shoulder. Shawn really rubs his face in it, gloating about how skilled Ted is because he found Taker and how he brought Taker into the WWF. He also digs at how Paul apparently screwed Taker's career after taking the reigns as his manager and mentions the Yoko coffin match.

"Well Mr.Michaels, I want you to understand-"

He looks at the camera and points accusingly,

"And you~ Ted Dibiase! I want you to understand! That I have regained contact with MY Undertaker!~"

Shawn throws his hands up in disbelief.

"Wait one second. What you're telling me, and all the World Wrestling Federation is that now, you have spoken with The Undertaker, correct?"

"No.~ That is not correct. I didn't say I've spoken to my Undertaker. I had contact! With my Undertaker!" He jitters, wringing his hands.

Shawn questions him yet again. Affirming that Taker will be working for these next two weeks.

"For once you are correct. And yes, I will be on Monday Night Raw to get a great side view of Ted Dibiase!~ And-"

He looks at the camera.

"The Undertaker. Cause, you know, I don't think Ted Dibiase understands… what he actually has! Oh no!~ Just remember, the final words of my Undertaker, he said, he would never rest in peace.~"

Shawn berates him for constantly talking about resting in peace, saying that he and Diesel don't buy it. The lights begin to flicker, finally going black except for the neon sign. The funeral march plays and a light shines on Paul. He grabs the mic, manic with glee.

"Yes!~ Yes!~ Cant you feel it!~ Cant you feel it!~"

Shawn and Diesel quickly leave the ring. The camera zooms in on his sweat-covered face.

"Cant you feel my Undertaker! Can't you feel it!~ Can you feel the power of my Undertaker?! I feel him!~ I feel my Undertaker!"

He looks into the mirror on the set.

"My Undertaker! Can you feel the presence of my Undertaker?~ OOH YES!~"

RAW (07/04/94) We have Ted and Faker yet again. Gorilla Monsoon and Randy Savage provide a good recap on how Taker came to be with Paul. I was, in fact, dead serious about him being adopted in that last post. They once again reaffirm that Ted did bring him into the WWF; Monsoon explains,

"-and then sold him to Mr.Fuji for a lot of yen. Fuji turning him over to Brother Love, then eventually Paul Bearer ended up with him." Randy responds,

"Undertaker's changed teams more than Fernando Valenzuela. Kinda like a man without a country."

They chatter about baseball as Faker goes to town on this jobber. Once again, landing more kicks than anything, something Taker only did a little of. He can also do the sit-up, shown as he lands an elbow drop on the downed jobber. He does walk the top rope this time, but you can tell he's being really careful and taking quick steps to get it over with. Ted laughs and smiles each time Faker lands a hit. I like what Randy says about him,

"He's gloating. And I hate it when he's happy. I get no vicarious thrill through his happiness."

Faker tombstones and gets the three count. Paul comes out and watches as Ted and Faker prepare the body bag. Faker notices and stands stiff, watching Paul. Paul beckons Faker, and to Ted's dismay, he takes a step towards him. Paul pleads,

"Come on!~ Come!~" You can barely hear him over the crowd.

Faker takes another step, and Ted yanks him back by his hair. Faker pivots and Ted falls on his knees, also begging. It cuts to Paul holding his hands up in anticipation, but he continues to beckon Faker, finally moving close enough to the corner where Paul is. Ted pulls a wad of cash out of his pocket, getting Faker's attention for a moment, but he goes back to staring at Paul. Paul waves his hands giddily, quickly beckoning Faker to get out of the ring. Ted waves a larger stack of cash, and Faker turns around, losing interest in Paul. His eyes are wide with shock, looking back and forth with disbelief as Faker goes back to Ted. Paul is a bundle of emotions; he frowns as he takes his leave, shivering and pointing back at the two in the ring, vehemently mouthing, "No!"

We see Paul again in a promo (07/18/94), and he warns Ted.

"The Undertaker, the man chosen to protect the innocent from the evil of darkness.~ And everyone knows~ that money, is the root of all evil. Now once again, my Undertaker rises from the depths of darkness! At SummerSlam Ted Dibiase, your Undertaker will be destroyed! And you will both, rest in peace. Oh~"

Still on RAW (08/15/94), unfortunately, we find ourselves on Lawler's talk show segment, "The King's Court," where Paul and Ted are set to dish. Ted is already in the ring, and as heels do, they get along great with Lawler. Lawler strokes his ego the same way Shawn did, gloating about Ted returning Taker to the WWF and sticking it to Paul for not believing him. Ted retorts that Paul hasn't provided any proof and only gives hot air. Lawler insults his appearance, being one to talk, and calls him out. Unlike previously, Paul strides out and gets in the ring, clasping his hands. Lawler jabs;

"Paul Bearer I want to ask you one question. Was the ground cold when you crawled out of it this morning?"

There is little to no reaction from the crowd. Ted guffaws anyway. Lawler says that Ted has provided evidence to prove that Taker is with him and Paul has nothing.

"Oh yes, Ted Dibiase~ I'd seen the evil that you have purchased. The evil that you call The Undertaker. And oh yes~ you're having fun aren't you? Trying to tarnish the name that took years for my Undertaker to build. Well. I have a message for your so-called Undertaker. My Undertaker will DESTROY him at SummerSlam!" The crowd cheers wildly. Lawler moves the mic away, and you see his mouth. "Oh yes~" but Ted grabs the mic, pointing at Paul,

"You have a message for MY Undertaker? Why don't you tell him yourself! That's right! I give you once again, the one, the only, The Undertaker!" Faker enters, his face clearly visible through the bright neon lights of the entranceway. "Now, what are you going to say, huh Paul Bearer! You can face him yourself! Face to face, and you tell him what's gonna happen at SummerSlam!" Paul averts his eyes from Faker as he enters the ring. He raises his arms to turn off the lights, and yet he also turns them back on. Paul watches him like a hawk, but he frowns deeply.

"Take a look! Focus those beady little bloodshot eyes of yours on The Undertaker." Lawler heckles, Paul leans into the mic, and he looks at Faker with scorn.

"Oh yes~ I see the evil in your eyes. But you know, at SummerSlam those eyes will be closed, forever!~" The crowd cheers again.

"Because my Undertaker. The TRUE Undertaker! Will DESTROY you! OH~ YES!" Ted doesn't take that lightly.

"Did you hear that Undertaker? He says you'll be destroyed at SummerSlam. Why don't you show Paul Bearer, right now, what's gonna happen at SummerSlam!"

Faker grabs him by the throat and starts choking him out, pushing him onto Lawler's throne. He looks at Faker the whole time as he does it. Ted yells at him,

"Where's your Undertaker now Paul Bearer?!" The lights start to flicker.

"GONG"

Purple lights light the ring; Lawler, Faker, and Ted stand in the ring, confused, while Paul looks into the camera. You are unable to see his face until the lights slowly return,

"YES!~ My Undertaker! He's here! OH YES! He's here! Can't you feel him?! MY UNDERTAKER IS HERE! YES!" He's hysterical; he's climbed out of the ring to look at the floor camera. "YES! He's here…SummerSlam is all-*"

*The organ of the funeral march blares very loudly at this point.

The segment ends, and we get one final tidbit before SummerSlam. Superstars (08/27/94) It's yet again the same promo we had with Lawler, except we do it with Shawn and, by proxy, Diesel at "The Heartbreak Hotel." The same bullet points of Ted bringing Taker back in and Paul providing no evidence are recapped. But the zapping of electricity we heard at the end of the Rumble plays, and the lights start to flicker,

"GONG"

Paul shows up on the monitors. He's in front of a coffin.

"Oh yes! Ted Dibiase~ yes you! The Million Dollar Man! Listen to me! The time is near, SummerSlam this Monday night. Oh yes!~ My Undertaker will destroy whatever demon who claims in front of him.* Don't worry though, the mystery if you will, will be solved Monday night for I have not only contacted my Undertaker. I have summoned him, I have talked with him! He has promised me nothing but a victory! Now it's time for him to talk to you!"

And oh my! It's Taker! Paul wrings his hands with glee as Taker's voice fills the room.

"Ted Dibiase. I vowed never to rest in peace. This Monday night you bring whatever demon it is that you possess. For the time has come for The Undertaker to rise once more. Therefore the time has come for your Undertaker to be destroyed once and for all. To rest. In peace.~"

Alright. SummerSlam, Ted comes first to introduce Faker, poking at Paul one last time before Faker stiffly walks in. Howard Finkle introduces Taker as the "one and only" and being led by Paul. Paul enters alone before ushering in a group of people in black cloaks, which will later be known as the druids. Paul leads the group of druids as they wheel in a coffin; on the lid, it says, "Rest in Peace Undertaker," also sporting an image of Taker on top, and they push it towards the ring. Paul opens the coffin to reveal. I hate to say it, but it is a comically large urn. This is the second iteration of the urn, post-Yoko destruction. Paul hands it to the referee as he enters the ring. A beam of light emits from the top of the urn, lighting up the darkened room, and thunder sound effects rumble.

Here comes Taker. With a new, more orchestrated theme, he enters decked in purple. He raises his coat tails as he ascends the stairs, and then he raises his arms, and in an instant, the lights turn back on. Taker climbs into the ring and stares down Faker, to Paul's delight. They mirror each other, Paul removes Taker's coat, tie, and hat, and Ted does the same for Faker. Taker, spotting the ref holding the comically large urn, goes after it, only for Paul to swoop in and grab it. Faker stands motionless as Taker follows the urn. Paul climbs out of the ring, and the bell rings; Faker starts to inch forward, and Paul holds the urn up towards Taker. Taker turns and meets Faker to have a stare-down yet again. Taker does the throat slit, and Faker goes for a punch only for it to be caught, and Taker swipes him into the ropes. Faker goes back and forth in the ropes and bumps Taker to no reaction. Faker gets the upper hand and bounces him into the ropes, walloping Taker a few times. They go at it again, Taker clearly showing off as ducks and jumps over Faker as he runs back and forth. He wallops Faker, and without any balance or grace, he falls out of the ring. Taker goes after Ted, who is on the apron, but Faker goes after Paul. Paul wags his finger at Faker.

"It's all over for you~ It's all over for you!"

He repeats, and Taker notices, treading over and grabbing Faker by the top of his head and pulling him back into the ring, to Paul's delight. Taker headbutts him, walloping him as Faker stands stiff on the apron, taking every hit. Taker grabs him by the neck and suplexes him, which is something he doesn't do often. He immediately rises, and Faker lies motionless before sitting up. Taker kicks him, holds him by the throat, and stares at him; Faker grabs at his arm, trying to get out of his grasp before he gets thrown out of the ring. Taker grabs him by the hair and slams him into the ring. He bats at him a few more times before grabbing him by the head once more and pulling him into the ring. As he's being pulled, Faker pulls Taker's hair and pulls him into the ropes throat first, disorientating him. Faker gets in a few wallops and goes to do the rope walk, grabbing Taker's arm. Paul slaps the ring, and Taker grabs Faker by the throat and throws him into the Middle of the ring, only for him to sit up. Taker gets him into the arm hold and does the top rope walk, succeeding and knocking Faker down once more. Taker corners him and swipes at him before going back and forth in the ropes. Faker grabs him mid-run in an attempt to suplex but fumbles, landing Taker in the corner and earning him a jab in the throat. They continue to go back and forth with each other. Faker gets the upper hand and knocks Taker down. Faker goes in for the elbow drop, and Taker gets up; they're back at it again, and Taker misses his move, throwing himself out of the ring. Faker rams him into the post and continues to wail on him as he stumbles away. Faker rams him into the steps, and he's downed for the most part as he climbs back into the ring. Paul gets close to him; you can't hear what he says, but after that, Taker climbs back in as well. Faker has the upper hand as he swipes and kicks at Taker. Taker stands, and he swipes him in the side, knocking him to a knee before he stands again to the same results. Faker stomps his foot in anger, glancing back at Ted only to try once more. Taker picks up a little, and they go back and forth once more. He tries to go for a run, but Faker catches him and chokes him, slamming him and knocking him down. Faker kneels, going for the cover, only for Taker to get up once again. Faker gets him in the tombstone, but seeing how Taker is significantly taller than him, he has to do it quickly and drops him, downing Taker yet again. You'll never guess what happens next, but Faker gets him in the tombstone again, only for Taker to reverse it. Taker has him down, but Paul gestures at him, causing Taker to pick him back up and tombstone him again. Faker isn't moving, but Paul tells him to do yet another tombstone. Taker gets him into position, and at the drop of Paul's hand on the mat, he drops Faker.

With that final slam, Taker gets the three count, and it's over. Taker treads after Ted, but Ted runs back into the entranceway. The druids return, and Paul beckons them to open the coffin. The lights go off, and in the darkness, Taker rolls Faker into the coffin.

Survivor Series: Yokozuna

We're back on track now that Faker is dead. Here's the deal, though: his feud with Yoko is just sort of, hate to say it, re-animated because he had unfinished business. So, there really is nothing new added to it. They started replaying the promos from earlier in the year on Superstars (09/03/94). We get a return. Technically, jobber fights for him on RAW (09/12/94). This guy's called Kwang, but he's actually Savio Vega, who really gets going in the next few years. They really start stroking the ego at this point, but he gets a massive pop (I don't know if it's artificial; the lights are off!) for every single appearance he makes. You'll notice that the urn is not comically large as these were filmed out of order, this actually being (08/15/94), as well as the specification of "Paul Bearer's Undertaker" being used to differentiate because this was pre-SummerSlam. It's a good fight; I always like the fights with a little guy against a big guy; it's a given that Taker is always the big guy, but Kwang gets him pretty good and corners him a few times. But you know what happens. Whippleman is Kwang's manager, so as Taker holds Kwang in an extended choke, Whippleman is up on the apron, heckling the referee; Paul taunts him from the sideline. Kwang mists Taker, but he shakes it off and mists him back, finishing him off. We also have his first return jobber fight on Superstars (09/17/94), and he eats this guy for breakfast. They seem to have improved their microphones; you can very clearly hear the moaning of the jobber in question as Taker throws him around the ring. It's a really cool shot here, by the way.

Together, they have something to say on (09/24/94) making a threat to Yoko. Yoko gets a surprise after a job match as on (10/15/94) the lights go off and turn red for his exit before they abruptly turn purple with a "GONG." Paul hurriedly wheels out of the casket and opens it. Yoko, with his back turned, walks towards it, and when he turns and spots it, he falls flat before he scurries away. We also have them together on RAW (10/31/94) once again on "The King's Court." Lawler talks down to Paul as usual, but in reference to history repeating itself at Survivor Series, Taker takes a step closer to Lawler. It turns out they're pushing a book. I wonder how many of them sold at the Scholastic Book Fair because there is a lot of colorful text and pictures that you see while Paul flips through it. I like the idea they have going here because Paul keeps pushing the book at Lawler, flipping the pages and pointing them out to him. He clearly doesn't care, but Taker just stares at him the whole time, which lets Paul keep talking. Lawler keeps pushing Yokozuna, and he turns to the Yoko page.

"OH YES!~ YOKOZUNA! The Royal Rumble... the casket match and yes Mr.Lawler I know the meaning of deja vu.~ And this time, at the Survivor Series, I promise you. It wont be deja vu, there wont be ten of Yokozuna's friends running down to save him from the casket! No there wont! And do you know why?"

Lawler heckles the crowd for cheering. Taker gets closer, but the camera is on the crowd. Lawler asks him why there is a special referee; it's Chuck Norris, by the way. Taker takes another step when Lawler treads too close.

"Once again Mr.Lawler~ you let your mouth run before your brain works. We didn't get Chuck Norris to come in to be the special referee, The World Wrestling Federation made the decision. Because they didn't want to happen-what happened at Survivor Series. They'll be no deja VU-"

He stops abruptly, looking up at Taker. Taker leans down to talk.

"There comes a time. In everyone's life. Where they must be held accountable for their actions.~ Yokozuna. Your time has come."

The crowd cheers. He pauses; his sentences are a little too long, so the crowd thinks he's done. He continues, speeding up,

"The most heinous crime that you committed. When you had 10 of the top superstars of the World Wrestling Federation come down and aid you. Not only was it a crime against The Undertaker but a crime against all of my creatures of the night. These-these same creatures that would not let me rest, the ones that brought me back, to do justice. Yokozuna. The time has come, for you to pay. And at the Survivor Series, Yokozuna, when the call goes out, you will know when it is time to-to~. Rest. In peace."

The lights go off, and the two take their leave. Superstars (11/19/94). If you weren't aware, Owen Hart and Jim Neidhart have turned heel at this point, so they're going after all comers. So they pick Taker. The lights go off, and then they go purple. He slowly enters, Paul leading with the comically large urn. Taker climbs into the ring; this time, as he raises his arms, sparks shoot from the ceiling. He and Owen watch carefully outside the ring, and Taker lurks, following their every move. Taker gets out of the ring and starts following them, and Neidhart finally gets in the ring. He absolutely wrecks this guy, performing his signatures, his chokes, kicks, and swipes. He climbs the rope with Neidhart's arm, and he looks down at Paul holding the urn before he jumps Neidhart. Neidhart keeps trying and gets him down a few times, but as long as Paul isn't freaking out, you're not winning. You can't actually see it, but Paul leaves the area; you see Owen go after him, so it's assumed that he gets scared off. So Taker really gets it handed to him. Neidhart has him down, but Paul comes back, wheeling in the same coffin used at SummerSlam. They bounce back and forth until Taker knocks Neidhart into the coffin. Owen gets closer, his mouth open in shock, and Neidhart pops back up, realizing he's in a coffin. The two scurry away after that realization, and Neidhart gets counted out.

"GONG" "GONG"

We get some neat footage of a cemetery for his opener. The screen literally splits open, and Taker walks through; Paul pushes the coffin in from the side, and the two make their way to the ring. What I wouldn't give for a foam urn, but the bell rings. Taker motions the throat slit and points to the coffin causing Yoko to fall flat. Taker is very unhappy; he bats at Yoko and throws him around, landing him on top of the casket.

Paul looks at him and raises an eyebrow before Taker attempts to yank him back into the ring; Yoko sweeps his ankle, which pulls Taker out. Taker just eats this guy, ramming his head on the steps. They get back into the ring and rail on each other, a constant game of cat and mouse as Yoko attempts to get Taker down before he rises back up. At some point, he gets Taker by the neck and holds him by the ropes, only for Taker to drop him. Yoko takes a few steps backward, pawing for the ropes, but falls flat, and you see Paul beckon Taker to attack. Still cat and mouse, Yoko gets the advantage, but Taker continues to rise even though Yoko hits him with a barrage of drops and rolls him into the casket; halfway in, Taker grabs the lid, getting it open, and swipes at Yoko's throat, pulling Yoko into the coffin. They're both inside the coffin, and they wail at each other, but Mr.Fuji grabs Taker's hair, earning him a swipe, and Cornette, probably going for a hit with his tennis racket, also earns himself a hit. Back and forth yet again, and Yoko jukes Taker out of the ring. Paul has been speaking to the urn the entire time, and you can hear him as Yoko gets the upper hand.

"Oh no!~ Undertaker!~ No!~"

Taker paws at the ring and guard rail, attempting to stand. Yoko grabs him by the hair and rams him into the stairs. He continues his assault as Taker stumbles around in a daze. Yoko gets him back into the ring and rails him into a corner. Taker stumbles towards Paul and the urn, falling to a knee and reaching towards him before getting tied up in the ropes. Yoko holds him into the rope, but Taker has reached the urn. Yoko keeps railing, but Taker lands a few swipes in the throat. But Taker finally slams him. Cornette is fuming and slamming on the ring. Taker gets on the top rope and clothes-line Yoko yet again; you hear Paul when he hits it.

"Fantastic!~ Fantastic! Fantastic! Fantastic!"

Taker starts to roll Yoko to Paul's vehement praise. Yoko's at the far end of the ring, so it takes a second to roll him. The second iteration of the peanut gallery appears to be King Kong Bundy, a guy from the late '80s who recently made his return, Bam Bam Bigelow again, and IRS. Bundy and Bigelow get stopped by officials, and Norris watches them as the last line of defense in the match. IRS gets into the ring and jumps Taker from behind. IRS puts Taker in a chokehold and then throws him into the coffin. Taker lies motionless in the coffin, and it cuts to Yoko attempting to stand back up. Cornette and Mr.Fuji yell at him to close the coffin. Right as he has the lid, Taker stands and grabs him by the throat. Taker pushes him back into the ring as Jarrett makes his return. Norris kicks Jarrett, and strangely enough, Jarrett does a handstand before falling flat and scurrying off. They land their last few hits on each other before Taker kicks Yoko into the casket. Mr.Fuji stands nearby, and Taker grabs the Japanese flag he'd been holding and breaks it over his knee. He throws the broken flag in and closes the casket, ending their feud. Mr.Fuji and Cornette freak out as the casket is wheeled away. Taker and Paul enter the ring, and Taker kneels to Norris's abject confusion. Paul removes the lid to reveal the light inside, and Taker reaches his hand towards it. They stand, Taker flips his hair back, and Survivor Series is over.

How did their characters change from 1993 to 1994?

1. 1993 was a character NIGHTMARE!: As you know, I'm a huge Owen Hart mark and watched a lot of it for him. Taker, being my second viewing, made me realize how the rest of it was absolutely god-awful. Doink the Clown still involved Jerry Lawler and all of the gimmick stuff with the race car driver and dump truck driver, Bastion Booger, and Giant Gonzales. I understand that this was a transition period for the company, seeing that a lot of their best guys just quit on them for WCW, but Taker absolutely carried. They had this guy doing house show after house show because he was such a worker that no one was as committed to the character as Taker was. A bunch of people couldn't get their gimmick off the ground because they didn't give it their all! Yeah, you had these wacky characters running around, but everybody sold Taker. The announcers said he made the air cold and reeked of formaldehyde, people sold the choke like death, and when he rose, people looked genuinely fearful. Yeah, the urn is comically large, but he's sick! He's awesome!
2. Care: Paul adores the Undertaker. It was a quick transition from "the Undertaker" to "my Undertaker" in 92. But you see how he got so worried with the 93 Rumble and how peeved he got at the Survivor Series. Not to mention the whole SummerSlam debacle. Shawn refers to him as being brokenhearted on (07/02/94), but he's smug and gleeful as Taker makes the light flicker. With RAW (07/04/94), he beckoned Faker to return to him before realizing it wasn't Taker. Also, his being snippy to Ted is great for tarnishing the great name of his Undertaker.
3. Taker's independence: Taker, as a guy at this point, was talking more and really proving himself in the ring. He's a great worker! As a character, it's pretty subtle and, once again, a majority of my interpretation, but he starts doing more. He talks more, Paul looking absolutely shocked each time he does. I also liked when he showed off on Superstars (06/12/93). He still tries to swipe at jobbers after he gets them, but Paul stops him each time. He also says "creatures of the night" to refer to his fans for the first time; it's an interesting thing to see him become more "human," liking the adoration of the fans while remaining loyal to the urn.

Overall, for him, these years were great. They both really got their characters down, although it's still in the air of whether they're good or bad, as Taker is killing these characters by shoving them into the casket. I get that Kamala came back reformed, but I'm pretty sure they killed Yokozuna. But he just looks so cool doing it; that's why he's so well-liked because no one did that! No one was a zombie, a monster doing dark bidding; Randy might highlight how he brings so much light to the wrestling audience, and Paul might say that he was made to protect the innocent, but boy, does 1998 throw that into the sun. He, alongside only a few others, saved these two years because they put all their eggs into that Hulk Hogan basket. Yeah, this guy is rough on the mic and can't throw the best kick but he stuck to it. This isn't Sparky Plugg or one of the many Doinks. This is a guy that's worth spending the time on because he's interesting.