WWE History: Buried Alive!
There are numerous rumors going around about what WWE superstar’s Daniel Bryan and Kane’s last match will be. According to an earlier report here on The Inquisitr, that match may be a “Buried Alive” match. Despite what kayfabe and storylines may say, it is now very hard to tell who will win this match. Outside of the WWE, Kane is an important figure in economics. As for Daniel Bryan, WWE has to be careful with him because of Bryan’s neck injury. What better way to give one or the other time off by having them buried alive.
Our readers who don’t know anything about this match may be wondering what exactly is a buried alive match? Well, it is just what it sounds like. The winner of the buried alive match is the WWE superstar that buries the other WWE superstar alive.
Normally, a grave dug for the occasion is located a short distance from the ring, with a pile of dirt next to the grave. One wrestler is required to beat the other into submission and drag him from the ring to the grave. They then must deposit their victim in the deep, dark hole and cover them with dirt, using a shovel the grave diggers conveniently left behind. The conqueror may, if they are in a particularly bad mood, also use the shovel to rearrange the wrestler’s face.
Although some wrestlers made the effort the fill the hole to the top, the defeated WWE superstar was technically buried alive when 20 scoops of shoveled dirt was thrown on top of them by the victorious WWE superstar.
More recently, WWE took Buried Alive to another level by providing an industrial payloader that allowed the triumphant WWE Superstar to pour tons of dirt into the open grave and thoroughly cover the unfortunate victim.
Now that you know how this match works, what is the WWE history with this specialty match that seems to fascinate and thrill so many fans. Unlike the Royal Rumble, Elimination Chamber and Hell in a Cell – other major WWE matches that have been given their own pay-per-views – Buried Alive is often a match the WWE uses to close a feud… though that may not actually be the case in general. So, without further interruption, here is some history of the WWE’s specialty match, Buried Alive!
#1 – This Match Is The Undertaker’s Specialty
Most WWE fans of the newer generation don’t know this is a favorite specialty match for the Undertaker. The very first Buried Alive match took place back on October 20, 1996. It pitted the Undertaker against Mick Foley in his “Mankind” persona. That match was brutal and in the end, the Undertaker won by shoveling the required 20 scoops of dirt on the WWE superstar. Unfortunately, the Undertaker would be overpowered by the majority of the locker room. They would follow up by completely burying the Undertaker alive. The grave could not hold him though as Undertaker’s hand powered through the confines of dirt to return from the dead.
Since that initial match, there were five more Buried Alive matches according to the Pro Wrestling Wikipedia. The Undertaker has been a part of all five of the matches.
#2 – Despite Being The Undertaker’s Specialty, He Has Lost Most Of Them
This is a very sad statistic for the WWE superstar most closely associated with the Buried Alive match. The other match the Undertaker is known for is Hell in a Cell, and his win/loss record is almost 50/50 in that style of match. Kind of strange when a WWE superstar’s win/loss record for their specialty matches is not in their favor. Undertaker has lost three of the five Buried Alive matches, and he’s been the one buried in four of them. The first one was mentioned above. The other three times were a complete burial with a payloader.
Even though Undertaker has been buried completely, he always returned no matter what. I guess that special Johnny Cash song used for the WWE Wrestlemania entrances for the Undertaker had a lot of truth in it.
#3 – The Most Brutal Buried Alive Match Was Undertaker Versus Mr. McMahon
There is no mistake about it. The buried alive match between the Undertaker and Mr. McMahon is probably the most brutal, nastiest, and probably the most violent out of all five of them. For starters, this wasn’t really a wrestling match. This was a WWE icon in the form of the Undertaker decimating Mr. McMahon. At one point, I was concerned because it seemed Mr. McMahon was busted open so badly, he might have passed out due to blood loss.
Just to let you know how ruthless Undertaker was during this match, this is some of what he did to Mr. McMahon.
- Beat Mr. McMahon into a bloody pulp.
- Smashed Mr. McMahon’s legs around ring posts.
- Smashed Mr. McMahon’s “grapefruits” into the ring posts.
- Crushed Mr. McMahon’s ankle.
Then there was, of course, that vile shot with the steel shovel. You had to be there, with the WWE universe, to see how diabolical that hit was to Mr. McMahon’s face. Still, Mr. McMahon won, which brings us to our final point…
#4 – Every Buried Alive Match Had Some Sort of Interference
No matter who was wrestling whom, this WWE specialty match has always had some sort of interference. In the first match, the majority of the locker room buried The Undertaker alive. Kane interfered in two of the Undertaker’s matches. Triple H interfered in the tag team Buried Alive match and the Nexus interfered in the last Buried Alive match. This means that the Undertaker would have won every match if it were not for outside interference.
Well, that wraps it up for WWE’s specialty match. If Kane versus Daniel Bryan does happen to be a Buried Alive match, it will be the first match that doesn’t include the Undertaker, and it may be the first match in which someone not associated with the dark side, like Mankind or the Undertaker, might get buried.
Daniel Bryan may be the first “non dark side” wrestler to get buried, just because of his neck injury. Or who knows, maybe the legendary Undertaker will appear to bury his kayfabe brother/ rival Kane and get his revenge for all the past interference.
Until more info is known, we can only speculate what may happen in the upcoming WWE event, WWE Payback. Someone may end up six feet under in a Buried Alive match!
[Image via WWE Screenshot]
