STW - The Undertaker 1999 [Show Notes] (Patreon)

On today’s Something to Wrestle, we join Mark Callaway’s career as the Undertaker in 1999!

Taker returns in a classic Taker fashion in Houston, TX on Monday Night Raw on January 11th where he kidnaps Dennis Knight and sacrifices/transforms him into Mideon. How did he do this? He starts his promo in tongues while Knight is laid out in front of him and Taker CUTS HIS OWN WRIST WITH A KNIFE and then SLICES OPEN KNIGHT’S CHEST. From the Observer…”The idea on paper is to take Bradshaw, Faarooq and Knight, none of whom are over because the public doesn't want to see big guys who aren't pushed as monsters and aren't good workers. By hooking them in a group with a guy who is over, maybe they'll get the rub.”

We’ll see how members of the Ministry grow; it really ends up being a lot of Undertaker’s “boys.” Was that a coincidence or was this per Taker’s request...also what in the fuck are y’all doing cutting yourselves with knifes and shit?

We get to the Royal Rumble were a sacrifice is promised and kind of happens after Mabel returns against Mankind and loses and he’s kidnapped and will eventually become Viscera. Why Mabel here?

Taker is doing house shows but doesn’t wrestle at the Rumble. Was he not needed for what really is one of the lower star Rumbles in its history?

As the Ministry is gaining members, was there any talk to adding other “satanic” characters who are on TV at the time like the Brood or were you always going to go there and just needed time to build up the stable?

Undertaker and the Ministry begin feuding with the Corporation and Taker goes after Vince. Who’s the babyface in this situation? The satanic guy or the owner of the company who’s feuding with the top babyface Steve Austin? Or shades of gray Bruce?

Taker kidnaps Shane to deliver a letter to Vince. With this directly involving Vince, McMahon has to be the one spearheading the creative does he not?

Taker and Kane do an INFERNO MATCH on Raw where Taker gets the victory. Kane is a member of the Corporation for those trying to keep track. This leads to the infamous burning of the teddy bear handed to Vince. Who was pushing to get Stephanie involved on TV at this point?

Taker gets arrested when attempting to sacrifice someone but as his handcuffs are put on he lights the Taker symbol on fire. Yup.

Is Taker enjoying all this? What is your feeling on his career at this point?

Taker does an angle where he acts like he’s outside Vince’s home to kidnap Stephanie but he’s really at Raw because...he’s magical and stuff.

Any idea at this point what the payoff for Vince & Taker is supposed to be or was it all to put them together? Any talks of putting Linda with Taker to go against Vince & Shane?

We’re gearing up for WrestleMania and the classic Hell in a Cell match between Taker & Bossman. Did Taker have any reservations about this match ahead of time or was it a honor for him to work someone like Bossman on the grandest stage of them all?

We’ve covered the Hell in a Cell match before so check out the Big Bossman episode in the archives but from Undertaker’s point of view on the match...how unhappy was he?

On Raw the Ministry surrounds Vince’s meal ticket Sable to coax Vince out of protecting Stephanie who was backstage being guarded by Shane. Stephanie is kidnapped but then returned.

Undertaker the next week “crucifixes” Ryan Shamrock to lead to a singles match between Taker & Ken Shamrock at the Break Down PPV. But in an odd promo Shamrock challenges Mark. It’s being established that the Undertaker character is a TV persona created by Vince but now Taker really believes he’s the character. Yup.

We get to Break Down and an interesting wardrobe note for the time. Taker does not have his trenchcoat like robe due to the shooting at Columbine. Do you know who made that decision?

From the Observer…

“7. Undertaker pinned Ken Shamrock in 18:50. The crowd was dead. This was actually a really great match had it been held in another place. The story of the match was that Shamrock continually made smooth moves into submissions on the leg to keep Undertaker on the ground. Shamrock used the belly-to-belly and went for a tombstone piledriver, but Undertaker reversed it for the pin and left him laying. *¾”

Different setting...different time...what a match this would be don’t you think Bruce?

At the end of this show Stephanie gets into a limo to escape the Ministry and the iconic...WHERE TO STEPHANIE? Happens. Who thought of that line and how fucking awesomely hokey is it in his delivery?

Next night on Raw is the marriage of Stephanie McMahon & the Undertaker. Not for nothing but the sheer amount of times Stephanie has had a wedding on Raw is impressive. At least the one with Hunter stuck right Bruce?

Austin saves...Stephanie hugs...and now Steve Austin & Vince McMahon are on one side and Undertaker and his Ministry is on the other. Who came up with the surreal idea of Steve Austin saving Vince McMahon’s daughter after all this?

The pilot for Smackdown is taped and Taker & Shane come together to form the Corporate Ministry. Shane doesn’t care about his sister and his father anymore so it seems. What did Taker think of putting the two factions together?

Austin ends up finally getting one over on Taker on a Raw episode where he gets Taker on his symbol and crucified him.

This is obviously all leading to Over the Edge with Austin vs. Taker at the top but we know the PPV is really only remembered for the tragic accident of Owen Hart. What was Taker’s relationship like with Owen and how hard did he take it?

From the Observer…”Undertaker won the WWF title from Steve Austin when Shane McMahon fast counted Austin in the main event of the PPV show. Even the WWF recognizes at this point by almost ignoring the mention of its own title change on its PPV show the next night on Raw that nobody was ready to care about any pro wrestling angles just yet.”

Was the plan for Taker’s title reign changed because of Owen’s death and if so what was the plan?

The week after the Owen Tribute Raw the Higher Power finally appears to Austin’s face but not the audience and then the next week Vince McMahon finally takes off the hood and screams…”IT WAS ME AUSTIN. IT WAS ME ALL ALONG!”

This was the same storyline before and after Owen’s death correct? How did it feel doing this type of Higher Power angle right after Owen’s death? Is Vince doing the line one of your favorite Vince memories?

Big Show and Taker main event the same Raw for the WWF Title and Big Show chokeslams Taker THROUGH THE RING. Where did this idea come from and why was it ECW?

From the Observer in mid-June: “Undertaker has been bothered even more of late by an arthritic hip and his back cramping”

Were Taker’s current injuries leading to new injuries such as the hip and back problems?

Undertaker and Rock go 8th on King of the Ring for the WWF Title under...X-Pac and Road Dogg and Austin vs. the McMahons in a Ladder Match. 8th on the card seems weird here doesn’t it?

From the Observer…”8. Undertaker pinned Rock in 19:10 to retain the WWF title. HHH ran in and gave Rock a Pedigree and sort of put Taker on top. Ref came to and Rock kicked out. However, Taker then used the tombstone for the pin. *½”

There’s 6 ref bumps in this match. 6. Lots of smoke and mirrors here to get to *½ stars. Is Taker just completely gutting it out right now?

Next night on Raw Steve Austin regains the WWF Title from the Undertaker in Charlotte. Taker bloodies him up afterwards to set the stage for a First Blood match at Fully Loaded. This was a different time back then but there’s a lot of title changes going on on free TV compared to PPV. This wasn’t a time where WWE is making $250 million a year from TV and it was a PPV business. Do you think the title changes on TV helped the PPV business?

WCW goes off the air at 10:57 PM that night and an astounding 10 million people end up watching Austin defeat Taker to make it the most watched match in cable television history. How big a success do you grant that to Taker and Austin having the long time history that they do?

Undertaker & Kane are put back together again as we build to Taker bloodying up Austin on a consistent basis to prove that Austin is the underdog in their first blood match at Fully Loaded. Why team these two back up again here?

The stips for the Taker vs. Austin match at Fully Loaded on top of it being First Blood is if Austin doesn’t win he must disappear from the WWF and if Taker doesn’t win Vince McMahon disappears from the WWF. Do you think anyone actually believed either of those two would go away?

On the pre-show at Fully Loaded Taker attacks Austin and Austin bleeds already to show he was damaged goods. Is there an inherent fear in a first blood match of something happening where the guy who is supposed to win accidentally gets busted open and it’s all messed up at that point? Do you have any backup plans for that in case it does happen?

During the show Taker comes out and turns on his brother Kane again and joins up with Big Show in his 100th face/heel turn since joining the company. Why put Taker and Kane back together just to split them up so fast and just to put Show with Taker?

From the Observer regarding the First Blood match:

“9. Steve Austin retained the WWF title in a first blood match beating Undertaker in 15:31. Vince McMahon came out to do commentary. This was a really good brawl, in particular the work by Austin. Since it was first blood, they worked a style mainly of punching the head and trying to rip at cuts. Earl Hebner took a bump. Undertaker was tied up in the ropes. Austin grabbed a chair but Shane McMahon did a run-in and took a hard chair shot to the head. Undertaker came back with a high kick and a low (as in low, not leg) kick. Undertaker undid the padding on a turnbuckle but before he could put Austin's head in it, Austin hit the stunner. Austin then punched Vince McMahon when he got up and tried to interfere. Undertaker hit Austin with a chair shot to the back. X-Pac then did a run-in and did a Van Daminator type of move kicking the chair into Undertaker's face and he opened himself up. Austin then hit Undertaker with a television camera. Undertaker had Austin up for a tombstone (as if Austin was going to take that move) when Hebner saw the cut and signalled for the bell. Austin gave Undertaker and McMahon stunners after the match until Helmsley ran in and he beat on Austin, who ripped the tape off his forehead and he did a world-class job of bleeding all over the place. Rock ran in. Austin and Undertaker continued to brawl. Undertaker at one point hit Shane McMahon as well. It was a real wild finish with Austin and Undertaker, both soaked in blood by this point, brawling to the back. Austin came back, went to shake Vince's head, and gave him another stunner as the show went off the air. Really good post match brought the show to a strong finish. ***¾”

What an ending to what a match. This is all just super 1999 Attitude era stuff where there’s all these storylines coming together and these top stars all meshing together. Too bad Vince McMahon has to disappear now right Bruce?

The next night on Raw is headlined by Taker & Show vs. Kane in a handicap match that sets a record for head-to-head ratings against Nitro. It drew a 7.81 quarter hour with almost 6 million homes watching. What an amazing run here for the company and really a big part of it has been Taker has it not?

The Corporate Ministry disbands when Vince is “fired.” Was it just time at this point?

From the Observer regarding the Taker & Show pairing:

“Big Show is being put with Undertaker as a tag team to advance his learning and understanding and maybe have some dedication rub off on him, similar to a decade ago how they put Lex Luger in the Four Horseman hoping some of Ric Flair's attributes would rub off on him. It didn't work then and it's up to Paul Wight if it works this time. Wight's legit bodyweight is in the 440 range and they want him down to 400. He peaked at around 505 with WCW”

How important was the investment in Paul at this time and do you agree with the comparison point of Show/Taker to Luger/Flair?

We get to SummerSlam where Taker & Show are taking on X-Pac & Kane for the WWF World Tag Team Titles. From the Observer: “11. Undertaker & Big Show won the WWF tag titles from X-Pac & Kane in 12:01. The bronco buster spot was set up. X-Pac did it the first time to Show, but the second time Show caught him and choke slammed him. Show put his foot on X-Pac's chest for the pin but X-Pac kicked out. Undertaker got mad at Show for the arrogant cover, tagged in, tombstoned X-Pac and got the pin. They teased problems with the champs after the match. **½”

They’re just put together and they’re already showing problems. They win the tag team titles but it’s just a backdrop to that story already. What gives Bruce?

Undertaker injuries his groin around this time and is immediately taken out of the ring doing commentary while Show works handicap matches and then has Show replace him in subsequent matches. When did this happen and why was he kept on TVs at this point?

Taker & Show drop the Tag Team Titles to Mankind & Rock without Taker ever tagging in and leaves ringside when Paul Bearer shows him something in his pocket. You’d think Show would be pissed about this right? No idea because it’s never followed up on. Is this part of the Vince Russo things don’t need to be explained era bro?

On a episode of SmackDown a tag team buried alive match is made between Taker & Show versus Mankind & the Rock which Taker & Show win. Two weeks later Show & Taker drop the belts again to the Rock ‘n’ Sock Connection in a Darkside Rules match where Mideon & Viscera replace Taker to tag with Show...and still lose the titles. What in the fuck Bruce?

The SmackDown after this Taker refuses to wrestle Triple H in a Casket Match and Vince (who’s since returned…) tells him he has to so Taker...quits. The reality is Taker needs to heal up and rest some nagging injuries right Bruce?

Vince Russo quits right after this. What were Undertaker’s thoughts on Russo and was he happy or sad to see Vince go?

Undertaker doesn’t wrestle again in 1999 for the WWF but does work a IWA Puerto Rico show for Victor Quinones in December where he tags with Viscera to lose to Kane & the Godfather. Any idea why he did this show and nothing else for the WWF in 1999?

Undertaker is not seen again until his reemergence as the American Badass in May of 2000. But that’s a story for another day.