The Streak Part 2: Gaining Momentum – 1993-95

Tiffany MC takes a look at the most legendary ride in wrestling history, The Streak! The Undertaker dominated WrestleMania for three decades, and he may not be done.

The years of 1993-95 were years of change for Taker and WWF. The wrestling world was going through a generational change from the stars of the 80s to the edgier 90s. During these years, Undertaker moved from being a spooky, unstoppable heel, to being a spooky, unstoppable babyface, though he was beginning to face opponents that were of comparable size to him. Moreover, though the Streak wasn’t a big deal, Taker was emerging as a top tier character in the early days of the New Generation.

WrestleMania IX: Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum, Giant Gonzalez 

The Undertaker vs. Giant Gonzalez: WrestleMania VIII

This match is largely regarded as one of the worst matches in the Streak. Jorge ‘Giant’ Gonzalez was not a wrestler, he was a 7’7″ basketball player from Argentina that had been trained at the WCW PowerPlant after his stint with the Atlanta Hawks ended due to injury and Ted Turner (who owned just about every sports franchise in Atlanta, including WCW) wanted to get his money’s worth. After being released by WCW, he was brought to WWF by Harvey Whippleman, who wanted to get back at Undertaker for ‘ruining’ the Ugandan Giant, Kamala in the first ever casket match, even though Whippleman had agreed to the match over Kamala’s obvious terror at the prospect. So, Gonazlez made his debut at the Royal Rumble by costing the Undertaker (who was the odds-on favorite) his chance to win the Royal Rumble. Needless to say, the Deadman was not happy about this and so, here we are.

Gonzalez and his slimy manager come out to an audible round of boos (WrestleMania IX was outdoors, to give you an idea of how loud they must’ve been booing). Gonzalez looks bizarre in a two-piece bodysuit that is airbrushed to make it look like he has muscles and fake hair strategically placed to cover some things up. It looked absolutely ridiculous, but having seen him in his WCW days, I can see why they did it. Gonzalez was very thin, and the suit at least gave him some perceived bulk,

Undertaker comes out to a loud round of cheers (again they were outdoors) on a Roman funeral chariot, pulled by attendants, complete with a vulture.

This match was not pretty by any stretch of the imagination. Gonzalez’s height really limited his ability to move quickly and his lack of ring skill really hurt this match. That said, he and Taker really tried to put on a good match, but there was no way of hiding how bad Gonzalez was. I can’t bring myself to say it’s the worst match in the Streak because it was clear that both men really tried.

Taker gets the win by DQ after Gonzalez blatantly uses ‘chloroform’ on him, the only match in the Streak to not be by pinfall, submission, or being stuffed in a casket. I think this is why people didn’t realize, other than the fact that it was never mentioned outside of WrestleMania, that Taker had NEVER been beaten at WrestleMania when Randy Orton mentioned it. If you see highlights of this match, you will see Taker being taken away on a stretcher and then coming back and would assume that Gonzalez had beaten Taker so badly, he needed medical attention, either making the match a No Contest or a Gonzalez victory.

Highlight: Taker’s entrance. The crowd reaction when Taker comes back and attacks Gonzalez.

Rating: 3/10 – This match wasn’t great, but it wasn’t from a lack of effort.

WrestleMania XI: King Kong Bundy Tries to Repo the Reaper.

The Undertaker vs. King Kong Bundy: WrestleMania XI

I have to say that this was one of the stupider feuds Taker had going into WrestleMania. King Kong Bundy, whose last WrestleMania match consisted of elbow-dropping a little person dressed like a Native American (yes, seriously) had returned as part of Ted DiBiase’s Million Dollar Corporation. At the 1995 Royal Rumble, Ted DiBiase was so incensed that IRS was beaten that he sent the Million Dollar Corporation to beat up Taker, and Bundy stole the sacred urn, seemingly controlling the source of Undertaker’s power.

Bundy and DiBiase come out first to a round of boos. DiBiase’s got the urn but everyone looks nervous, maybe the urn is the WWE version of a Horcrux.

Undertaker and Paul come out, looking grim and ghastly, as always, even without the urn. As they get into the ring, DiBiase drops the urn, which Vince McMahon immediately explains away as him being overwhelmed by the presence of the Undertaker and the power of the urn. (Commenter: Nice save, Vince). This match also marks the first time Undertaker being undefeated at WrestleMania was mentioned.

This match was, in my opinion, one of the worst of the Streak. Bundy was a great monster heel in the 80s, but it had been almost ten years since his WWF heyday and his slowness compared with Taker’s agility and quickness just made for a very awkward match up.

During the match, Taker managed to get the urn away from DiBiase and gives it back to Bearer, to the joy of the crowd, but DiBiase calls in Kama Mustafa, the Supreme Fighting Machine, who punches Bearer and takes the urn back. When confronted by Jim Ross over this, Kama declared that the urn was his and he was going to melt it down into jewelry.

Back to the match, Bundy slams Taker and goes for a clothesline that is one of the worst things I’ve ever seen. It looks like he barely tapped Undertaker with that clothesline, but Taker sold. Bundy looks winded and out of his depth.Will say that some of the fans were cheering Bundy, though whether it was because they didn’t like Taker or were doing it out of nostalgia is a mystery.

Bundy has a headlock on Taker and Larry Young(a MLB ump moonlighting in WWF due to the baseball strike) starts checking the arm, but the Deadman won’t stay down for long. Bundy goes for his signature Avalanche but Taker doesn’t fold like SD Jones did ten years before at the first WrestleMania, he comes back and BODYSLAMS Bundy, which isn’t as unheard of as getting up from two Jake Roberts’ DDTs, but it VERY rarely happened, even in 1995. A Leaping clothesline sealed the deal and Bundy rested in peace. The Creatures of the Night celebrate, but Undertaker still doesn’t have his urn.

Highlight: DiBiase dropping the urn and Vince McMahon covering for him.

Rating:  3/10. This was just bleh from start to finish.