The Undertaker's Deadliest Matches review (DVD) ★★★

Survivor Series '92 – Coffin Match: vs. Kamala ?
Again, here you see the evolution of the Casket Match. Whereas in that match you have to shut the lid of a casket on your opponent to claim victory, a Coffin Match apparently meant that you had to beat them first via pinfall or submission, and then put them inside a ringside coffin. So... it was never really a Coffin Match perse then, was it? Just your standard wrestling bout where the theatrics happened after the bell. Something kind of gave me the inkling that it was never actually meant to end the way it did, though a possibly botched finish does little to affect its overall quality – which is very, very low.

SummerSlam '95 – Casket Match: vs. Kama ??
Here we go – the first Casket Match of the set, and although it's the first fairly decent match of the release, it's still far from 'good' territory. Here you'll see Charles Wright in his “shoot fighting” Kama persona, one of his weaker gimmicks in between his WWE runs as Papa Shango and The Godfather, on the losing side, as you would expect, in this gimmick bonanza made complete by “Rest in Peace” cornily written on the casket in the Tales from the Crypt font.

In Your House 5: Seasons Beatings – Casket Match: vs. King Mabel ?
This was quite an atrocious match and put together simply as a blow-off for Mabel's meteoric rise. He was enjoying a rather monstrous push until he injured the Deadman's orbital bone with a botched leg drop, forcing him to compete after surgery with a Phantom of the Opera-like mask. I actually quite liked the masked look as it, along with his ultra-long hair at the time, made him look like a really creepy version of Rob Zombie. Or is Rob Zombie just generally really creepy? Also, an interesting note: not that I can confirm it as no source online seems to have realised, but a pre-fame Matt and Jeff Hardy were the front two who carry Mabel's throne down to the ring.

King of the Ring '96: vs. Mankind ???
Although this isn't a gimmick match and just your everyday wrestling bout rules-wise (and I use that term loosely), this was a heated battle in the simmering stages of one of The Undertaker's greatest feuds. Between a few referee distractions, chair shots, extreme Cactus elbows and back body drops to the concrete floor, this was pretty brutal, and lengthy, enjoyable warfare at that.

SummerSlam '96 – Boiler Room Brawl: vs. Mankind ????
The object of the Boiler Room Brawl was for the Phenom and the most bizarre face of Mick Foley to do battle in the boiler room of the arena as per the match's title, then to make their way to the ring and take possession of the mysterious urn from the hands of Paul Bearer. Lasting 25 minutes and echoing the same kind of destruction and editing as WrestleMania 12's Hollywood Backlot Brawl between Goldust and Roddy Piper, except without the ridiculous highway car chase, this no holds barred chapter of SummerSlam was a sizzling slobberknocker that absolutely tore the boiler room up, proceeded to wreak havoc in the hallways of the arena, and then finished up in controversial fashion in the middle of the squared circle, with Paul Bearer's infamous turn against The Undertaker. There are a few moments of inactivity in the boiler room that could have been cut since the backstage warring was taped the day before the actual event, but there are enough big bumps here to make it a thoroughly entertaining fight.

Rock Bottom: In Your House – Buried Alive: vs. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin ??
The first disc of this DVD set bumbles along with weak opponents and pretty boring matches until Mankind rears his ugly head, but then unfortunately it dwindles back down into a world of average. This could have been a lot better than it was given the participants. Most of the offense in this Buried Alive bout seemed to revolve around Austin and the Deadman fighting over steel crowd barriers up until the finish. They each get thrown into the open grave about once each and so there's no suspense. And when Austin gets the victory? Wow, it's lame. He doesn't even bury 'Taker and is declared the winner by Earl Hebner after a digger drives up and pours in one load of dirt that doesn't even cover the Phenom up. The driver then proceeds to have difficulty with the controls, Austin shovels a small amount of soil onto The Undertaker, and that's it. A horrible ending.

RAW – Inferno Match: vs. Kane ??
With the first ever Inferno Match in WWE history happening at Unforgiven 1998 between Kane and The Undertaker, this was the sequel held ten months later and seen on free TV around the world. I enjoyed the original contest as I thought it made good use of the stipulation, but the rematch was disappointing when it should have been superior. The cameras were far too focused on Vince McMahon after he opened a gift box given to him by Paul Bearer to reveal a symbolic teddy bear. His vocal surprise and confusion as he stood at the bottom of the entrance ramp was all that the director in the production truck seemed to want us to see, yet there was a high profile gimmick match and fire blazing in the background. It certainly wasn't the time nor place to work such an angle on television. Regardless, the action in the ring couldn't hold a candle (no pun intended) to the inaugural Inferno Match. The only highlight for me was seeing Kane slip off the top rope as he leaped for his signature flying Clothesline to the outside, and he plummeted face-first onto the announce table, roaring all the way down. Funny stuff. It was also quite amusing seeing the camera cut away to Vince as some crew member was greasing up Kane's boot with fire-resistant gel in preparation for the fiery finale.

RAW: vs. The Big Show ?
What can I say about this match? Not a lot. It lasts about a minute and contains nothing that could be associated with “deadly” except maybe, at a stretch, a strike from the Phenom to Show with a baseball bat. What this is doing on the disc I genuinely have no idea.

RAW – WWE Championship: vs. The Big Show ??
Again, not a gimmick match and quite uneventful aside from the rather cool spot where The Big Show gave the WWE Title-bearing legend a Chokeslam right through the ring, after promising earlier in the night to send him all the way to hell.

The Great American Bash '04 – Concrete Crypt Match: vs. The Dudley Boyz ?
This should simply never, ever appear on any DVD again. It can be left to rot on the event's release, but I'd be totally fine with it never being mentioned again. It's just embarrassing to watch, much like the entire show was. Paul Bearer encased in a glass “crypt” that would be filled with concrete if The Undertaker didn't obey Paul Heyman's commands? No thanks. A stuntman was actually within the glass and the cameras were carefully positioned as not to let his face appear on screen. Bearer wasn't even in the arena. Clips of him in the case were shot some time before the event even took place and the live crowd never got to see them, only those watching on TV. When The Undertaker decided to entomb 'Bearer' in the 'concrete', in many markets, a recording of a rehearsal from the day before was accidentally shown, to further the embarrassment of the horrendous 'main event'. And let's not forget that the match received many complaints as television audiences reacted to what was depicted as a murder on live pay-per-view. Only the live crowd got to see EMTs rush to the aid of 'Bearer' and whisk him away on a stretcher. Just horrible. Skip this!

Royal Rumble '05 – Casket Match: vs. Heidenreich ??
This match against flash-in-the-pan Heidenreich is passable, but nothing too exciting happens. It features Kane shockingly emerging from the casket to attack Gene Snitsky when he comes to the aid of ally Heidenreich, but other than that it's forgettable, yet not quite atrocious. This feud never really took off as the fans couldn't invest fully in Mr. H as a heel of the monstrous variety, and with his look, what could you expect? The Undertaker didn't seem too happy with his opponent's performance, either, shaking his head when Heidenreich botches taking a Chokeslam. It was nice to see the Deadman drop his signature leg drop on the back of H's neck as it was sandwiched between the casket, though.

No Mercy '05 – Handicap Casket Match: vs. Randy Orton & Bob Orton ??
Oh why did Cowboy Bob have to be involved in this? As a one-on-one contest between The Undertaker and the Legend Killer it could have been decent. Back in 2005, Bob was a good few years past his wrestle by date, so this Casket Match degenerated into a sloppy spectacle very quickly. While there are a couple of interesting spots and a good finish, it's mainly just a slugfest as per the in-ring limitations of the Hall of Famer.

Armageddon '05 – Hell in a Cell: vs. Randy Orton ????
Somehow only the second match of the set to be given four stars by me, this encounter in the Devil's playground back in the close of 2005 was a real grueling war. Yes, it does unfortunately feature Bob Orton ringside in support of his son, but thankfully the only time he enters the steel prison he gets his you-know-what handed to him, even being sent for a rather hellish ride with a Tombstone Piledriver, much to everyone's manic applause. This was an entertaining car wreck full of blood and solid action from two of the greatest in the industry today - back in the days when Randy Orton still had hair.

SmackDown – Last Man Standing: vs. The Great Khali ???
A match where someone gets thrown off the stage and through a number of tables isn't going to get low marks from me. Okay, that's a lie, but still, it definitely adds points to a stipulation as barbaric as Last Man Standing, and especially a match involving The Great Khali during his first few months in the WWE, back when he was downright blooming awful instead of just awful (in the present). Surprisingly this was quite a good outing between the two, although it is obvious that The Undertaker carried Khali through the whole thing.

Survivor Series '06 – First Blood: vs. Mr. Kennedy ??
One of the chapters in their rivalry that culminated at the final super-card of 2006, this was Kennedy's first major feud in his rise to main event status, a road which would contain pay-per-view-headlining matches for the World Heavyweight Championship with Batista, as well as a victory in the Money in the Bank Ladder Match at WrestleMania 23, though it was a road that would abruptly end thanks to a plague of injuries and his eventual release. Anyway, focusing on this crimson-soaked clash at the same event where The Undertaker made his debut fifteen years prior, it was a short and not so sweet affair, bordering on bitter. Not a lot happens and the hazy finish just feels like it was thrown together at the last minute in order to further the feud to their rubber match at Armageddon.

Armageddon '06 – Last Ride Match: vs. Mr. Kennedy ???
I liked this bout a lot. Essentially The Undertaker's own personal incarnation of the Ambulance Match, he and Kennedy put on an action-packed ride, if you'll pardon the pun. The big fall that 'Taker took was an impressive spot, but why the cameras chose to show exactly where he landed – on a big old crash mat – is beyond me as that pretty much broke the illusion of The Undertaker splattering all over the floor. This Last Ride Match is definitely one of the better contests on the release.

Backlash '07 – World Heavyweight Championship Last Man Standing Match: vs. Batista ????
Following their classic collision for the gold at WrestleMania 23, which was one of if not the best performance in Batista's career, despite a loss, the Animal got his rematch later that month at Backlash under Last Man Standing rules and put on another clinic. Expect blood, chair shots galore, and an explosive conclusion with a Spear right off the stage. An intense match-up for the ages and the destructive highlight of the entire event.

SmackDown: vs. Big Daddy V ?
Once again I question why a bout was put on this DVD compilation of “Deadliest Matches”. This is a standard match-up pitting a legend against a morbidly obese behemoth that was given away on free TV and has no importance whatsoever. The only interesting thing about this one is that it was where The Undertaker debuted his Hell's Gate Gogoplata submission hold for the victory. I'm really clueless as to why it's been included.

SummerSlam '08 – Hell in a Cell: vs. Edge ?????
The build-up for this epic, brutal Hell in a Cell match was nothing short of brilliant. The Rated R Superstar's feud with 'Taker was absolutely hellacious on the run up to SummerSlam. They went through a devastating Tables, Ladders and Chairs clash in which The Undertaker was banished from the WWE for coming up short, only to be reinstated by Edge's vindictive wife Vickie Guerrero, and thus this match was born, Edge's very first time stepping inside Satan's structure. And what a magnificent story they told, revisiting all the instruments of destruction that have featured in their stories rivalry, from broken tables, ladders and bent steel chairs, to the addition of a camera used as a weapon ala Survivor Series 2007, when Edge returned from injury to cost the Deadman his Hell in a Cell match against Batista while dressed as a cameraman. There's even a Conchairto thrown in for good measure. With such chaos and carnage, this match really did push the WWE's PG rating to its limits, and the only blood seen was shed the hard way. This was not only one of the greatest conflicts of its kind inside the cell, but it's the best match of the set by a long, long way.