In 1991, WWE was building a major feud between two wrestlers slated to be among WWE’s top stars: The Undertaker and The Ultimate Warrior. A recent arrival in the company, the supernatural “Deadman” seemed like the perfect rival for the potential new face of WWE, and their rivalry was shaping up to be a major one.
Unfortunately, their feud was cut short thanks to backstage issues detailed below, but it’s still one worth knowing about. Let’s take a look at everything fans need to know about this all-too-brief rivalry between Warrior and 'Taker, starting with the context for both men’s careers at the time.
10 Followed The Undertaker’s First Feud In WWE
Following a run in WCW, The Undertaker made his in-ring debut as part of Ted DiBiase’s Survivor Series heel team in the fall of 1990. Following that, ‘Taker got into a feud with the veteran “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka, leading not only the Dead Man’s WrestleMania debut at WrestleMania 7, but also the first of an impressive winning streak at WWE’s biggest show of the year. From there, The Undertaker became a staple of WWE television thanks to his manager Paul Bearer’s talk show segment, The Funeral Parlor.
9 The Ultimate Warrior Was Already A Former WWE Champion
While The Undertaker was a rising figure in WWE, The Ultimate Warrior had already reached the pinnacle of the company. Flagged to become the new face of the promotion, Warrior scored an impressive victory when he defeated Hulk Hogan in a winner-take-all title match for Warrior’s Intercontinental Title and Hogan’s WWE Championship at WrestleMania 6. While Warrior lost the belt after 293 days, he was still a popular star who moved on to an impressive feud with Macho Man Randy Savage, defeating Savage in a Career Ending Match at WrestleMania 7.
8 The Undertaker Locked Ultimate Warrior In A Casket
Weeks after WrestleMania 7, The Undertaker and The Ultimate Warrior officially kicked off their feud when Warrior appeared as a guest on The Funeral Parlor. During the segment, The Undertaker not only attacked Warrior, but locked him in a casket.
More than just a thematically appropriate attack, the incident proved traumatic for The Ultimate Warrior, as WWE officials had to use tools to free Warrior, who had clearly tried to claw his way out of the casket.
7 Jake Roberts Prepared Warrior To Take On The Undertaker
Following the Funeral Parlor incident, The Ultimate Warrior was determined to get revenge on The Undertaker, but needed some help. Jake “The Snake” Roberts, at the time a babyface with a dark past, offered to prepare Warrior to enter the world that ‘Taker inhabited. As a result, Roberts subjected Warrior to several tests that forced him to face the darkness, starting with Warrior once again being locked in a casket, and then being buried alive in the second test.
6 Jake Roberts Was Working With The Undertaker All Along
Jake Roberts’ third test for The Ultimate Warrior was the one where Roberts’ true nature was revealed. This final test involved Warrior entering a chamber crawling with snakes and with a chest inside that was purported to contain the solution that The Ultimate Warrior sought. However, there was no answer in the chest — opening it revealed a cobra, which attacked and bit Warrior. That’s when Jake Roberts revealed that he was actually aligned with The Undertaker the whole time, turning heel yet again.
5 Fought At Various House Shows
The first match between The Ultimate Warrior and The Undertaker happened at a house show in Michigan in mid-April 1991, with Warrior winning by disqualification. From then until August of 1991, Warrior and ‘Taker clashed in numerous house shows, with Warrior often scoring DQ victories in the process. One of these house show bouts was made available on the Coliseum Video release Rampage ‘91, which saw The Undertaker putting Warrior in a bodybag after The Dead Man lost by DQ.
4 Warrior Abruptly Left WWE During The Feud
Fans watching WWE television at the time may have been expecting a huge match involving The Ultimate Warrior, Jake Roberts, and The Undertaker, perhaps on pay-per-view. However, following a pay dispute about his SummerSlam match, Warrior abruptly quit WWE, and the storyline came to an abrupt halt.
Not only did this screw over Jake Roberts, who was in line for a big feud with The Ultimate Warrior, but the Warrior/Undertaker rivalry never concluded on WWE television in any major way.
3 Body Bag Match
In addition to the myriad house show matches and the Coliseum Video release, there was one televised bout between The Ultimate Warrior and The Undertaker, and it was a big one. In July of 1991, Warrior and Undertaker clashed in a Body Bag Match at Madison Square Garden, which aired on the regional program WWF on MSG Network. With a goal of placing one’s opponent in a body bag — a precursor to the Casket Match — Warrior managed to score a victory over The Undertaker, zipping The Dead Man up after hitting him with Paul Bearer’s urn.
2 The Undertaker’s First Defeats Happened During This Feud
After getting eliminated by countout in his debut match at Survivor Series, The Undertaker pretty much dominated the competition in the following months — that is, until he faced The Ultimate Warrior. As they feuded on the house show circuit, The Undertaker experienced not only his first DQ loss, but also the first traditional losses of his career. About two months before his above-mentioned Body Bag Match — ‘Taker’s first televised loss — The Ultimate Warrior defeated The Undertaker in a previous Body Bag Match, marking the character’s first-ever non DQ or counout defeat.
1 Later Teamed Up
Despite leaving WWE under contentious circumstances in 1991, The Ultimate Warrior was invited back to the company about a year later, as the company was on the cusp of losing Hulk Hogan to WCW. At the time of Warrior’s return — which happened at the end of WrestleMania 8 — The Undertaker was now a babyface, and even teamed up on a few occasions. As Warrior entered his weird feud with Papa Shango, he actually teamed up with The Undertaker to combat WWE’s latest supernatural heel.
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