WWE History: 3 of the Undertaker’s most memorable resurrections

The Undertaker has been a decorated star for the WWE for over a quarter of a century. From the early years of his enigmatic presence to being the demonic lord of darkness, and then being the American badass, and back again, he has made sure the fans love and immortalize him. In nearly 30 years of his career, there have been many attempts to kill the Undertaker and finish him once and for all.

From being trapped in a casket and set on fire, to being buried alive, numerous superstars have come up against The Phenom. But each time, the Deadman would resurface from the dead. And he would take his revenge on those who planned to kill him.

Let us take a look at three times the Undertaker came back from the dead.

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#3 Royal Rumble 1994

Royal Rumble 1994 was the first time the fans got a taste of The Undertaker’s supernatural power

At Royal Rumble 1994, The Undertaker challenged Yokozuna for the WWE Championship in a casket match. So powerful was the Undertaker that even after the fight against sumo wrestler, Yokozuna, a mob of other wrestlers including Bam Bam Bigelow, Adam Bomb, and Crush brutalized The Phenom. After they beat up The Deadman, they put him in a casket and rolled him out of the ring, when lightning struck.

Lights were cut out and The Deadman appeared on the video screen throughout the arena vowing that his soul will never “rest in peace”.

The Undertaker would not return to professional wrestling for the next seven months until appearing at SummerSlam to take out his doppelganger.

Royal Rumble 1994 was the first time the WWE Universe got a taste of The Undertaker’s supernatural power, and it was from that moment on he was famously known as “The Dead Man”.

#2 Buried Alive 1996

The Undertaker’s hand came up from the grave

In this special pay-per-view in 1996, Undertaker was planned to be executed and buried by a number of superstars like Mankind, Goldust, and Triple H as a part of his ongoing feud with Mankind and The Phenom’s ex-manager, Paul Bearer.

After staying at his side since his debut, Bearer suddenly turned sides and joined the villainous, Mankind. These two had already faced each other in a Boiler Room Brawl in WWE SummerSlam 1996.

The end result of the match would have been one opponent burying the other in a dug grave beside the ring - technically burying him alive. Desperate for a victory, Mankind along with other superstars beat The Undertaker to the grave and started filling the grave with dirt when lightning struck and the unexpected happened!

The Undertaker’s hand came up from the grave, symbolizing a dead man’s hand.

The ring was struck with lightning as the superstars rushed towards the exit in fear. This was the shortest stint of The Undertaker being dead, as he put his hands up soon after the match, hinting his return.

#1 Randy Orton vs the Undertaker - 2005

The Undertaker Vs. The Legend Killer

Termed as “The Legend Killer” back in his debut days, Randy Orton started a feud with The Undertaker when he landed an RKO on SmackDown after The Undertaker had beat World Tag Team Champions, Big show and Kane out of the ring.

The Viper arrived out of nowhere and put The Deadman down. But The Phenom rose up and the two would start a street-side brawl before Orton crushed the Undertaker backstage with a car.

Justifying his title of “Legend Killer’, Randy Orton would come down to battle Matt Hardy on the next episode of SmackDown. After defeating him, the arena suddenly went dark as the voice of The Undertaker emerged from the dark.

Randy and his father, Cowboy Bob Orton Jr., tried to escape from the arena through various exits, but each time, The Undertaker prevented them from doing so. The Deadman finally showed mercy to Orton by challenging him to a Hell in a Cell match at SummerSlam.