5 Times The Undertaker returned from the dead in WWE

The Undertaker has had a very special career that very few can match up to. The Deadman's unique character and mystique is one of a kind and over the years, this enabled WWE to really delve into the supernatural with it.

There have been a number of times in WWE where The Undertaker has been buried alive or put in a casket only to return from the dead. With The Deadman announcing his retirement, we decided to take a look at the top 5 times he returned from the dead.

#5 RAW 1998

The main event of the 1998 Royal Rumble was not the Rumble match itself. Instead, the show closed with Shawn Michaels defending the WWF Championship in a casket match against The Undertaker.

The closing segment of the match saw The Undertaker roll Shawn Michaels into the casket. At this point, the New Age Outlaws and Los Boricuas (remember them?) came out and attacked The Deadman. Kane's music hit at this point as Chyna helped Shawn Michaels out of the casket. Kane cleared the ring before suddenly turning on his 'brother'.

Kane then rolled The Undertaker into the casket and with Paul Bearer's help, locked The Deadman inside the casket. The Big Red Machine then rolled the casket up the entrance ramp before setting it on fire with Undertaker still inside. If Kane and Paul Bearer thought that was the last they's see of The Undertaker, they were dead wrong.

Undertaker returned from the dead around a month later on an episode of Raw Is War. As Paul Bearer was cutting a promo in the ring with Kane next to him, the lights turned purple. Undertaker then appeared on top of a casket in the entrance ramp. The Deadman then got to his feet and sent a bone-chilling warning to Kane, saying that he would soon learn why The Undertaker was called the "reaper of wayward souls". Undertaker went on to face Kane at WrestleMania 14.

#4 Survivor Series 1996

1996 saw Paul Bearer turn on The Undertaker during that year’s SummerSlam. Mankind was facing Undertaker in a Boiler Room Brawl at the PPV. Mankind not only won the match but we also saw him align with Paul Bearer.

The Undertaker and Mankind went on to face each other in a Buried Alive match at In Your House 11: Buried Alive. Although The Undertaker won the match, it was Mankind who had the last laugh. As The Undertaker piled dirt onto Mankind, who had been chokeslammed into the grave, a number of Mankind’s allies including Triple H came out to attack The Deadman. They then put The Undertaker and started to pile in the dirt on top of him. As this was going on, lightning hit the tombstone and we saw one of Undertaker’s hands reach out of the dirt.

The Undertaker went on to make his return at Survivor Series later that year. Undertaker had his revenge that night as he beat Mankind pretty comprehensively on his return from the dead.

#3 SummerSlam 1994

The 1994 Royal Rumble saw The Undertaker face Yokozuna in a casket match. The finish to the match saw a number of heels come out and attack The Undertaker. Despite The Deadman’s best efforts, the numbers against him proved to be too much. During the beatdown, we saw green smoke coming out of the urn, which was probably meant so signify Undertaker’s spirit leaving. Yokozuna then booted The Deadman into the casket to win the match.

The heels then proceeded to cart away the casket but halfway up the ramp, we saw smoke coming out of the casket. Taker then appeared on the Titantron from inside the casket before disappearing.

The Undertaker did not return to WWE until SummerSlam that year after needing time off to heal a back injury. In the meantime, we got those classic vignettes of fans who claimed to have seen The Undertaker. We also got Ted DiBiase bringing in impostor Taker.

This led to The Undertaker returning from the dead at SummerSlam 1994 to take on imposter Undertaker. Unsurprisingly, The Undertaker beat the impostor.

#2 Survivor Series 2005

The year 2005 saw one of Randy Orton's best feuds in WWE - the one against The Undertaker. The duo first faced off at WrestleMania that year with The Deadman winning and taking the streak to 13-0. Taker and Orton faced each other once again at SummerSlam. Orton won the rematch with a little help from his dad 'Cowboy' Bob Orton. This led to a handicap match at No Mercy with Undertaker facing both Randy Orton and Cowboy Bob. The Ortons then set the casket on fire.

The Undertaker made his return later that year at Survivor Series, emerging from a burning casket while Orton was celebrating with the SmackDown roster after winning the tradition 5-on-5 Survivor Series match. Orton's facial expressions as the casket was brought out by the druids were just perfect and this is still one of my favorite Randy Orton moments. A bolt of lightning then set the casket on fire and the Deadman emerged from it. He proceeded to lay out the entire SmackDown roster as Orton scurried away and watched in horror from a distance.

This led to a Hell in a Cell match at Armageddon the following month, where The Undertaker beat Orton.

#1 WrestleMania 20

Survivor Series 2003 saw The Undertaker facing Vince McMahon in a Buried Alive match as one of the marquee matches on the card. Undertaker’s brother Kane was also in action earlier on in the night, beating Shane McMahon in an Ambulance match.

Moving back to Taker vs Vince, needless to say, the Deadman dominated most of the match. The Deadman pounded Vince McMahon and left him bleeding before finally carrying him over to the area where the grave was. It looked like The Deadman was about to bury Vince McMahon when his little brother Kane came out and attacked The Undertaker, throwing him into a grave. Kane then watched as Vince McMahon used a front loader to bury Taker alive.

Undertaker made his in-ring return at Wrestlemania 20 in a singles match against Kane where his entrance lasted around the same amount of time match itself. Taker dominated Kane in the match and beat him in under 8 minutes. This was also Undertaker’s return to being the ‘Deadman’ from the Biker gimmick. It's still one of the greatest entrances of The Undertaker's career.