The Undertaker was a phenom in WWE right from the start! Here’s a look back at The Deadman’s first feuds, ranked from worst to best!
The Undertaker was a huge star once he debuted at Survivor Series 1990, and he feuded with some of the very best early on in his career. Not all were great feuds, but they helped get The Deadman on the path towards greatness.
Undertaker is one of the most legendary figures to grace a WWE ring. The Demon of Death Valley’s career in WWE spanned 30 years, and he had countless memorable moments. However, Undertaker’s feuds with the likes of Triple H, Shawn Michaels, and Brock Lesnar are memorable and helped shape up his career.
Nevertheless, throughout 1990-1994, Undertaker transitioned from a scary heel to a loved babyface. He invented the casket match during this time frame and switched managers from Brother Love to Paul Bearer. Unfortunately, the majority of Undertaker’s early rivalries were with big men to stand up to Undertaker, which did more harm than good to Undertaker. He persevered and managed to make the most of the worst situation.
10. The Berzerker
1992 was one of the worst years of The Undertaker’s career, and the feuds weren’t the greatest either, Undertaker turned babyface early on in the year and he had a brief rivalry with The Berzerker.
It wasn’t the strongest of feuds that would have elevated Undertaker up the card. Nonetheless, it’s best remembered for The Berzerker trying to stab Undertaker with his sword in a match, and thankfully he narrowly missed as it could have been catastrophic.
9. The Fake Undertaker
At Royal Rumble 1994, Undertaker was attacked by several heels as he lost his WWE Championship casket match to Yokozuna. The Deadman took a well-earned rest as he had some nagging injuries, and he returned to action at SummerSlam.
However, in his absence, Ted DiBiase brought it in a Fake Undertaker who mimicked everything the real Undertaker would do. Again, it was a lackluster feud and Undertaker had a grand entrance at SummerSlam. He decimated his doppelganger with several jaw-dropping Tombstones for the win.
8. Giant Gonzalez
Undertaker continued his rivalry with Harvey Wippleman’s clients, and Giant Gonzalez was the latest adversary he had to face off with. Their feud was born when Giant Gonzalez debuted at the 1993 Royal Rumble, and he towered over Undertaker and eliminated him from the match despite not being an official participant in the Rumble.
The problem with this feud is that Gonzalez can’t wrestle, and the pace of their matches was slow and methodical. They collided at WrestleMania IX with Undertaker winning by disqualification, and their dreadful feud came to a halt at SummerSlam when The Deadman prevailed in a Rest in Peace match.
7. Sid Justice
At the start of 1992, Undertaker was still a heel, and he was an ally of Jake “The Snake” Roberts. Undertaker encountered Sid Justice, and they clashed in a few matches which were nothing special.
Moreover, Undertaker shortly turned face with Sid turned face. They battled in a few matches on live events, and Sid actually earned a win over Undertaker before he departed WWE.
6. Jimmy Snuka
Undertaker’s first significant feud in his WWE career came against “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka in early 1991. Snuka was unquestionably past his peak but he was a household name, who could get Undertaker over.
Inevitably, Undertaker dominated this brief rivalry, and Snuka was Undertaker’s first WrestleMania opponent at WrestleMania VII. The Phenom decimated Snuka at WrestleMania with ease, and he kicked off his legendary WrestleMania unbeaten record with a convincing victory.
5. Kamala
By the summer of 1992, Undertaker was an experienced campaigner but the feuds weren’t living up to the expectations. Undertaker and Kamala battled at SummerSlam, and they lacked chemistry together to make their matches worthwhile of watching.
Undertaker was victorious by disqualification, and at Survivor Series they collided in the first-ever Coffin match. It was one-way traffic from start to finish with Undertaker stuffing Kamala inside the coffin to bring this average feud to an end.
4. Jake Roberts
It’s strange to think that Undertaker and Jake “The Snake” Roberts were allies but they were in mid-1991. However, a significant moment in Undertaker’s career occurred when he turned face for the first time in his WWE career after he stopped Roberts from hitting Miss. Elizabeth with a steel chair.
Roberts was disappointed with Undertaker turning his back on him, and the two former allies clashed at WrestleMania VIII. Undertaker and Roberts put on a decent showing at WrestleMania, and it’s a shame that they didn’t have more matches together with Roberts leaving WWE.
3. The Ultimate Warrior
In 1991, Undertaker began feuding with former WWE Champion The Ultimate Warrior. Undertaker was still technically a rookie but to collide with someone of Warrior’s caliber meant that Undertaker was heading in the right direction.
They clashed in body bag matches which Warrior won, and whilst Warrior sought help from Jake “The Snake” Roberts, it was a ruse, as Undertaker and Roberts were in cahoots all along. Undertaker managed to lock Warrior inside an airtight casket with Warrior gasping for breath, once the casket reopened.
2. Yokozuna
At Survivor Series 1993, Undertaker’s latest rivalry with Yokozuna was confirmed. They clashed in a traditional Survivor Series elimination match in the main event, and both were double-counted out.
Despite Yokozuna being a big man, this was a feud that Undertaker finally could sink his teeth into as Yokozuna was also the reigning WWE Champion. Yokozuna was deathly afraid of caskets, and Undertaker created a double-wide, double-deep casket for Yokozuna. Although Undertaker failed to capture the WWE Title from Yokozuna at Royal Rumble 1994, they resumed their rivalry at Survivor Series 1994 with Undertaker gaining revenge in another casket match.
1. Hulk Hogan
Just 12 months after he debuted at Survivor Series 1990, Undertaker already had his sights set on Hulk Hogan’s WWE Championship. Undertaker and Hogan collided in a few backstage skits on Paul Bearer’s Funeral Parlor, and The Gravest Challenge was set for Hogan’s WWE Title at Survivor Series 1991.
Undertaker and Hogan’s matches weren’t the best, but the storytelling was second to none in their feud. The Deadman was a legitimate threat to Hogan’s WWE Championship which made things interesting. Undertaker dethroned Hogan for his first WWE Title run, which was a monumental moment in his career. Unfortunately, his reign was short-lived as Hogan regained the title six days later at This Tuesday in Texas. Nonetheless, both title changes were controversial, and Jack Tunney vacated the WWE Championship. They met once more in the 1992 Royal Rumble Match for the vacant title with Ric Flair prevailing.
