WWF Magazine – May 1994
Today the Undertaker is remembered for incredible matches and unforgettable feuds, but that was not the case early in his career in the World Wrestling Federation. Anyone who had to sit through his battles with the likes of Giant Gonzalez, Kama, King Kong Bundy, and others would tell you, if they were being honest of course, that following the entrance, you kinda just wanted to find something, anything else to do until he picked up the inevitable duke.
His wars with Yokozuna honestly weren’t that great either. Yoko as well has gotten a lot of positive momentum from fans in recent years, but believe me a lot of times he also was no great shakes (although obviously he drank a lot of shakes). So when you paired these two up, you got stuff that was either passable or not so good. Of course there was the infamous casket match at Royal Rumble 1994 where Taker was attacked by approximately 34,987 men and was stuffed inside, only to “rise” to the top of the ceiling and vanish for the next few months.
Once that happened, there were tales of “Undertaker sightings”, like he was Bigfoot or something! And the WWF Magazine was quick to capitalize on that.
“Since he lost the Casket Match to Yokozuna at the Royal Rumble last January, the Undertaker has not been seen in the Federation. However, he – or a likeness of him – has been seen by millions of people (RD: MILLIONS???!!!) around the world.
For instance, a week after the Casket Match, this magazine received letters from people near Huntsville, Alabama (RD: was one of them Conrad Thompson?), who claimed they saw a huge man wearing a full-length overcoat and a wide brimmed hat walk into a convenience store. Other reports alleged that this same man, who many believe is the Undertaker himself, has been spotted near car dealerships.”
That is awesome and should have been a full length-story. Can you imagine the guy at the local Ford dealership haggling with Undertaker over a used Taurus?
I love that the magazine gives tips to readers if Taker should happen to show up in their town! “Keep your eyes sharp, sensitize your reflexes, keep mental (RD: KEEP MENTAL!!!!), and if at all possible, photographic notes. Then send us your findings.”
The lunacy continues: “We have even heard rumors the TV program Unsolved Mysteries will send an investigative team to search for the Undertaker.” Seriously, us not getting THAT cross-over is the biggest crime of all. Especially with Mark doing a 5k fun run with the local knitting club up in Sheboygan. At least it looks like he had some fun during his time off!