3 times WWE Superstars "died" in a storyline

WWE is a weekly soap opera, whose sole purpose is to provide year-long entertainment to its fans. Throughout the year, WWE comes up with complex storylines, promos, and segments that lead to PPV matches, marking the end of feuds.

Over the course of the past several decades, WWE has changed its content on several occasions. The product was made edgy in the mid-90s to cater to a new breed of fans, kick-starting the Attitude Era. After the Benoit tragedy, WWE steered towards a toned down product, complete with a PG rating.

WWE has gone on to "kill" several Superstars for storyline progression in the past. Let's take a look at 3 instances when WWE Superstars "died" on Live TV in order to add more intrigue to the storyline and boost ratings.

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#3 Paul Bearer is buried in cement

Paul Bearer was buried in cement at The Great American Bash 2004

At The Great American Bash PPV in 2004, the main event was a handicap match pitting The Undertaker against The Dudley Boyz. A bizarre stipulation was set for the match by Paul Heyman, stating that he would bury Paul Beared under mounds of cement, if The Undertaker "didn't do the right thing".

A cement truck was set up near the ramp, with Paul Bearer trapped inside a glass box, with an opening to fill it with cement. The Undertaker fought with everything he had, and went on to defeat the duo.

This didn't sit well with Heyman, who threatened The Phenom that he'd bury his manager in cement. The Undertaker used one of his "magic powers", raining down a jolt of lightning on Heyman, who sprinted away from Taker in fear of his life.

The Deadman finally bowed down in front of his mentor, Paul Bearer, and it seemed that the worst was over. This was far from the truth though, as The Undertaker proceeded to drop the lever down and "bury" Paul Bearer under tons of cement to end the PPV.

Taker seemed to have turned heel at this moment, but the storyline didn't go anywhere and he immediately began feuding with JBL, leading to a WWE championship match at Summerslam.

#2 Vince McMahon's limo blast

A storyline that never reached a conclusion

In mid-2007, Vince McMahon began behaving erratically on TV. He gave a bunch of heart-wrenching speeches and even went on to fire Ashley after an awkward incident with her.

Finally, on an episode of Raw, Vince addressed the crowd and proceeded to head towards his limo. As he walked towards the vehicle, a string of WWE Superstars watched him with confused eyes.

Vince opened the door to his car, and as soon as he sat inside and closed the door, the limo exploded and went into flames! The sea of fans watched in horror as Raw went off the air. Apparently, Vince staged the entire fiasco to bring in another McMahon into the fold: his brother Roderick McMahon.

In a shocking turn of events, the Chris Benoit tragedy happened soon after, and Vince canceled the storyline altogether. Nevertheless, the incident went on to become one of the most notorious moments in the history of WWE, cementing the fact that Vince McMahon could go to any lengths for the sake of the business.

#1 Vince buries The Undertaker

Vince took a lot of punishment in the match

At No Mercy 2003, Vince McMahon screwed The Undertaker in his match against Brock Lesnar for the WWE title. Taker forced Vince to fight him in a Buried Alive Match at Survivor Series.

Vince came down to the ring, holding in hands together and sporting a sick smile on his face. It took a single punch for Taker to bust open Vince. For the next several minutes, The American Badass mauled the boss and proceeded to bury him in the grave that was set up near the ramp.

As Taker opened the door to the grave filling machine, it blasted, knocking him unconscious. To the astonishment of everyone inside the arena, Kane appeared and threw The Undertaker into the grave. A bloody Vince McMahon filled the grave, as Kane let out a maniacal laugh. The Undertaker, like multiple times in the past, was "killed" again.