After debuting as part of the “Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase’s Million Dollar Team at the 1990 Survivor Series, the Undertaker became a force of nature within World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). To celebrate the Deadman’s illustrious career, I’m looking back at his WrestleMania matches against the future members of the super-stable Evolution.
The Date: 17 March 2002
The Venue: SkyDome; Toronto, Ontario, Canada
The Commentary: Jim “J.R.” Ross and Jerry “The King” Lawler
The Referee: Charles Robinson
The Stakes: No disqualification singles match
The Build-Up:
Following his debut, the Undertaker went on to become a true phenom within the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). He faced off against a who’s-who of wrestling’s biggest names and amassing the greatest winning streak in wrestling history with 21 WrestleMania wins between 1991 and 2013. By WrestleMania X8, an event as infamous for its “Icon vs. Icon” match as it was its main event, legal issues would saw the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) rebrand to the WWE. The company was also on the cusp of creating their own competition with a brand split after buying out rival companies World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). The first steps towards this happened when, the night after the infamous “Invasion” storyline ended, legendary WCW and wrestling icon “Nature Boy” Ric Flair returned to the WWF and revealed he was now co-owner of the company! This caused friction between Flair and WWF Chairman Vince McMahon but McMahon finally ousted Flair from his authority when the Nature Boy’s issues with the Undertaker saw him strike a fan. Flair and the Undertaker butted heads because the former didn’t approve of the latter’s recent heinous actions. The Undertaker would regularly attack other wrestlers if he felt disrespected and delighted in tormenting Flair by attacking his friends and family to force him into agreeing to a match at the Showcase of the Immortals.
The Match:
I’ve mentioned before that I’ve never really been the biggest fan of Ric Flair since he’s a little before my time and I find his matches a little too samey and repetitive, but even I remember being astounded when the Nature Boy returned to the WWF after an eleven-year absence. It’s a shame, though, that guys like Flair, Eric Bischoff, Rey Mysterio, Goldberg, Scott Steiner, and the New World Order (nWo) didn’t appear in the WWE until well after the WCW Invasion angle was over as we really were robbed of some potential dream matches as a result of them choosing to sit out their big money contracts. Still, it was fun seeing him tangle with McMahon and later get a career resurgence as part of Evolution, even if he was well past his prime even in 2002. Yet, I would wager that even prime Ric Flair would’ve had an uphill battle against the Undertaker. At this time, the former Deadman was rediscovering his mean streak as “Big Evil”, a more callous and vindictive extension of his sadly underappreciated “American Bad Ass” persona that saw him cut his hair and eventually ditch the motorcycle and Limp Bizkit theme song. The Undertaker would also go around kicking the crap out of other wrestlers for disrespecting him and, while this didn’t exactly land (people wanted to cheer the Undertaker no matter how badly he beat up beloved icons like J.R. or plucky newcomers like Maven), it again gave the Undertaker a chance to show off more personality and mix things up a bit with some fresh new faces. He even captured the Hardcore Championship from Rob Van Dam during this run! Considering how personal the Undertaker made this feud, Flair didn’t waste any time with frivolities. As soon as the bell rang, he went after Big Evil, striking with some ungainly punches and spilling the action to the outside and tackling over the announce tables in a flurry of aggression!
Staggered and surprised by the assault, the Undertaker eventually turned the tables by catching Flair off an uncharacteristic mid-air dive and ramming him spine-first into the ring post. However, neither this or a smack off the steel ring steps slowed Flair’s assault. It wasn’t until Big Evil hefted Flair into the corner and unloaded with some strikes that the Nature Boy found himself physically overwhelmed, to the point where he initially couldn’t even perform his signature cartwheel bump when tossed into the far corner. A second toss was more successful and “Booger Red” pursued Flair back to the outside to deliver more punishment by busting the living legend open. The assault continued in the ring but, when Flair dropped with his trademark face flop, the sight of his blood was apparently enough to motivate a brief comeback with some knife-edge chops, which the Undertaker immediately shut down with a running clothesline in the corner. Battered and helpless, Flair was sent crashing to the canvas with an uncharacteristic superplex, but Big Evil maliciously pulled Flair off the mat as the referee’s hand was coming down for the three count. Slowly, methodically, the Undertaker continued to target Flair’s blood-splattered head, landing his patented apron leg drop and again interrupting his own pin attempt to keep beating on his foe and knocking him down and again and again to the mild interest of the restless crowd. After dodging a leg drop, Flair tried to mount another comeback with some more chops and looked to be getting himself back in the game after jerking Big Evil off the top rope when he went for his “Old School” ropewalk strike. However, Flair was immediately shut down with a big sidewalk slam for another two count, though this time, Flair kicked out of his own accord.
Digging deep into his repertoire of dirty tricks, Flair crotched the Undertaker on the top rope and knock him to the outside again. This time, Flair grabbed a lead pipe from the Undertaker’s bike and bashed Big Evil right between the eyes, busting him open as well. Flair continued to bludgeon his foe but the Undertaker quickly regained control by running Flair into the ring apron and barricade, only for the Nature Boy to strike back with shots from a safety sign retrieved from the aisleway. Flair, his confidence growing, sneaked a couple of “Woo!”s and struts in and lived up to his reputation as the “Dirtiest Player in the Game” by kicking the Undertaker in the balls when Big Evil went for a Chokeslam. Flair then tied the Undertaker up in his signature Figure Four Leglock, finally waking up the crowd, but the Undertaker simply powered out and countered with a falling Chokeslam for a near fall. Frustrated by Flair’s defiance, the Undertaker took his aggression out on referee Charles Robinson but got drilled when Arn Anderson, the enforcer of Flair’s legendary Four Horsemen stable, rushed the ring and planted him with his signature Spinebuster! However, thanks to the referee being incapacitated, Big Evil kicked out (though this sequence well and truly got the crowd invested in the match). The Undertaker attacked Double-A and trapped him in the Dragon Sleeper (for my money, a far better submission move than his later Hell’s Gate) but Flair saved his friend by walloping Big Evil with a steel chair. Although the Undertaker easily shrugged it off, he struggled to hoist Flair up for the Last Ride so he settled for a Tombstone Piledriver to mercifully bring this to an end and bring his WrestleMania streak to 10-0. Sadly, this wasn’t the best match for either men; apparently, Flair was unsure if he should even be in the ring at the time and credits the Undertaker with renewing his confidence, but this was a chore to sit through. It was just the Undertaker beating up a defenceless old man for about half an hour; Flair barely got in any offense and, when he did, it was all chops and weapon attacks. The best part of this match is Arn Anderson’s surprise run-in. Watching this as a kid, at a time when the Undertaker’s winning streak wasn’t as big a deal as it would later become, I was certain that would be the finish but it wasn’t to be and that was probably for the best as this would’ve been a pretty lame match to go out on.
The Aftermath:
This match wouldn’t completely spell the end of the feud between the Undertaker and Ric Flair. Flair acted as the special guest referee for Big Evil’s number one contendership match against “Stone Cold” Steve Austin at Backlash the following month. The Undertaker won the match and would go on to capture the Undisputed Championship from Triple H, while Flair transitioned into a mini feud with Austin since he missed that the Texas Rattlesnake’s foot was on the ropes during the decisive pinfall. Otherwise, the Undertaker and Ric Flair stood at opposite sides of the ring later in 2002 for a tag team match but their time facing against each other came to an end after that as Flair’s career wound down and the brand split kept the two apart. However, the Deadman would make a point to honour the Nature Boy during Ric Flair’s emotional retirement segment in 2008 and Flair returned the favour by appearing at the Undertaker’s retirement celebration in 2020.
My Rating:
Could Be Better
What did you think to the Undertaker and Ric Flair’s no disqualification bout from WrestleMania X8? How would you rate it against the Undertaker’s other WrestleMania matches? Did you also find the match a bit dull and lifeless? Were you a fan of the Big Evil gimmick or did you think it was unsuitable for the Undertaker? Did you think the match was over after Arn Anderson hit that Spinebuster? How are you celebrating the Undertaker’s debut this year, what are some of your favourite matches and moments from his long and distinguished career? What dream match would you have liked to see him involved in? Whatever your thoughts, drop a comment below and go check out my reviews of other Undertaker matches across the site!
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