Reviews

TJR Retro: WWE In Your House 11 – Buried Alive (October 1996) Review

By John Canton • Published 4th May 2021

The main event of WWE’s In Your House 11 pay-per-view as the first-ever Buried Alive match between The Undertaker and Mankind. It was a follow up to what happened at SummerSlam 1996 when Paul Bearer turned on The Undertaker after nearly six years together and sided with Mankind. That would set up the Buried Alive match as the main event. That meant there was no WWE Title match featuring Shawn Michaels although there was a number one contender’s match between Sycho Sid and Vader that Michaels was a part of.

In Your House: Buried Alive did a poor number on pay-per-view with 100,000 buys. There were two PPVs that did worse that year, so it wasn’t a big draw or anything like that. I think the lack of a WWE Title match on the show might have played a part in why the buyrate was lower. The good thing is that In Your House shows were still around $14.95 cost at this point, so it wasn’t too expensive.

This show followed In Your House Mind Games in September 1996 and led us to Survivor Series in November 1996.

Here is the synopsis on WWE Network:

“In Your House: Buried Alive features The Undertaker vs Mankind a Buried Alive Match. Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Triple H. Sycho Sid vs Vader and much more.” PG (V)

The VHS/DVD looks like this:

Check out the full list of my WWE PPV Review archive right here. Let’s get to the show.

WWE In Your House: Buried Alive
From Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, Indiana
October 20, 1996

The opening video package focused on The Undertaker’s match with Mankind.

The crowd was vocal inside the arena as some pyro went off. The announce team of Vince McMahon, Jerry “The King” Lawler and Jim Ross were at ringside to call the action. JR was doing his heel gimmick where he complained about everything including not having a microphone in his hands while Vince and Lawler had microphones with them.

Hunter Hearst Helmsley entered with a blonde woman on his arm. They went backstage to “Stone Cold” Steve Austin saying that there was nothing wrong with Savio Vega, so he gives Hunter Hearst Helmsley credit for stepping up to face him. Austin said that he hopes Bret Hart is coming back on Raw to retire. Austin said if anybody has a problem with his language, they can kiss his ass and Vince spoke up to put an end to that. That led to “Stone Cold” Steve Austin making his entrance to some cheers when Austin posed on the ropes.

Analysis: This was also the first time Austin used the classic Stone Cold theme music that became a legendary theme song in WWE history.

“Stone Cold” Steve Austin vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley

Pre-match notes: This was originally going to be Austin vs. Savio Vega, but Vega was out with an injury, so Hunter was taking his place. Both guys were heels at the time although Austin was getting cheered sometimes. This was their first PPV match against eachother.

Hunter with an armdrag takedown followed by a bow. Vince noted early on that they were not fan favorites, which was his way of saying they were both heels. The match began with JR’s headset not working properly, so JR was complaining about it. Austin with his own armdrag takedown and then two middle fingers leading to cheers. Hunter with a back elbow to the face that rocked Austin a bit. JR was still complaining about his headset. The fans were chanting “Perfect” because Mr. Perfect was returning on Raw against Hunter (the match would never happen). Hunter with a shove to the chest, so Austin decked him with a hard slap to the face and the fans cheered. Austin with a clothesline followed by a knee drop along with an armbar. Austin delivered more knee drops, JR did some comments, then it went away and JR complained. Hunter with an eye gouge, Austin sent into the buckle, Austin with a boot up leading to a clothesline with Vince shouting his “Fuggetaboutit” (“forget about it”) line that was one of Vince’s signature calls. Hunter with a running knee. JR called Connecticut an “overpriced hellhole” during his commentary, which was pretty funny. Austin came back with punches, then a charge and Hunter hit a back body drop. Hunter with a knee drop for two. JR kept complaining about his headset not working as Hunter hit a belly to back suplex for two. They battled over a sleeper, Hunter was able to apply it for a few seconds and then Austin hit a jawbreaker for two. Austin with a stun gun into the ropes that he used as a finisher and then Austin hit a diving elbow off the middle rope for two. Hunter came back with a jumping knee smash to the face. Hunter delivered a fist drop off the middle rope. Austin ran the ropes leading to a double clothesline spot that knocked both guys down. That led to Mr. Perfect making his way down to the ring in a blue suit and the fans popped big for Perfect.

Mr. Perfect walked down to ringside to seek out the blonde woman at ringside. Hunter left the ring, Austin beat up Hunter with punches and sent him back into the ring. Austin and Perfect argued, so Austin threw some water in Perfect’s face. Austin was back in the ring with Hunter punching him repeatedly. Perfect walked to the back with Hunter’s lady friend. Hunter was about to hit a Pedigree, but then he saw Mr. Perfect in the aisle with the blonde woman. Austin got back up and knocked down Hunter in the aisle. Hunter suplexed Austin on the floor while Perfect went to the back. Austin came back with a catapult sending Hunter face first into the ring post leading to another “Fuggetaboutit” from Vince, which I love. The fans popped for that move. Back in the ring, Austin charged at Hunter against the ropes, Hunter moved and Austin hit the ropes, but Austin braced himself for it and did a double middle finger salute to show he was just fine. Austin hit the Stone Cold Stunner for the one…two…and three. In future years, Austin did a kick to the gut before the Stunner, but this was just a Stunner. The fans popped for it and Vince said it was an unbelievable match.

Winner by pinfall: “Stone Cold” Steve Austin

Analysis: ***1/4 This was a pretty good match between guys that were early in their WWE careers and would go on to be two of the biggest names ever. Even though they were both heels, the fans were solidly behind Austin and this would be a sign that Austin would work very well as a face. Austin winning made sense since he was against Bret Hart at Survivor Series, so it was important to keep building him up. I liked the final few minutes of the match after Mr. Perfect showed up, then the moves on the floor and back in the ring with Austin managing to finish off Hunter to win. I think maybe they could have had a few more spots where it looked like Hunter might win, but this was all about putting Austin over in a big way.

Austin celebrated the win with Hunter rolling out of the ring and grabbing his throat to sell the Stunner.

Analysis: Austin would go on to face Bret Hart at Survivor Series in what was a fantastic match. As for Hunter, he would go on to win the Intercontinental Title the next night on Raw. It was thanks to Mr. Perfect and Hunter fooling people into thinking they were against eachother, but instead they worked together.

Here are some tweets from Austin and Hunter earlier this year talking about that match.

A video package aired about how the Smoking Gunns lost the Tag Team Titles at the previous PPV Mind Games because Billy Gunn was infatuated with Sunny. After the loss, Sunny fired the Smoking Gunns. They lost the titles to British Bulldog and Owen Hart, so now they have the rematch.

The Smoking Gunns were interviewed by Dok Hendrix. Billy said when “I” win the Tag Team Titles he knows that Sunny will be by his side again. Bart said when “we” win the titles.

The Gunns made their entrance. The announcers talked about the situation with JR saying Sunny was overrated and then JR had technical difficulties again. The British Bulldog and Owen Hart entered as the WWE Tag Team Champions with Clarence Mason as their manager.

WWE Tag Team Championships: Owen Hart & The British Bulldog (w/Clarence Mason) vs. The Smoking Gunns (Bart & Billy Gunn)

Pre-match notes: Hart and Bulldog were heel champions that were brothers-in-law while The Smoking Gunns duo were fictional brothers were supposed to be the faces. Bart was more of a traditional face while Billy was acting like a heel.

Billy was in control of Owen with a side headlock while JR continued to complain about his headset problems. When Owen broke free, Billy hit a clothesline and went up top. Gunn jumped off the top, Owen hit him with a punch to the ribs and Bulldog tagged in with a leg drop to the back of the neck. Billy avoided a corner charge and then Bart hit a clothesline that the referee didn’t see. Sunny was shown walking on a TV backstage and she was looking great as the Gunns hit a double team knockdown on Bulldog. Bart received two shoulder tackles, but then he came back with a powerslam on Bulldog. Bart went up top, he jumped off with a cross body block, Bulldog moved and Bulldog hit a cross body block for two. Owen tagged back in with a missile dropkick for two. Bulldog and Owen hit a double team clothesline. Bulldog with a hard whip on Bart into the turnbuckle. They showed Sunny watching again, which was great as Owen hit a leg drop on Bart leading to a chinlock. Billy was on the apron arguing with Bulldog, Owen sent Bart into the ropes and Bart knocked Billy off the apron to the floor. Billy was upset about it. Billy snapped Owen’s neck against the top rope while the referee was looking at Bulldog. The Gunns hit a double Russian legsweep for two. Billy with a body slam and elbow drop on Owen. The fans were quiet as Billy hit a neckbreaker. Bart was back in with a swinging neckbreaker for two. Bart sent Owen into the turnbuckle, Billy got the tag and hit a corner splash on Owen. Bart set up Owen for a double team move, Billy jumped off the ropes and Bulldog pulled Bart away, so Billy hit the mat. That led to Owen running off the ropes with a spinning heel kick on Billy for the pinfall win at 9:17.

Winners by pinfall: Owen Hart & The British Bulldog

Analysis: **1/4 Just an average tag team match. The heel champions got the win thanks to some creative double team work with Bulldog pulling Bart back leading to Billy hitting the mat hard. I thought it was a clever finish that isn’t that common, so it worked pretty well. The Gunns were going through issues at the time, which is why Owen and Bulldog keeping the titles made a lot of sense.

They showed Hunter Hearst Helmsley talking on the WWF Superstar Line.

Jim Ross was in the ring doing a promo complaining about the microphone problems. Ross said he’s not going into the story of how Vince fired him twice and ruined his life. Ross said that thanks to JR, he promises us that Bret Hart will be on Raw in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Ross said he’s the one that went to South Africa to talk to Bret. Ross said that Bret was going to come back with a shovel because he’s going to bury some people and he had things to say to Vince McMahon. Ross said that Bret will be uncensored tomorrow night. JR said that since the “egotistical maniac” screwed up his microphone all night, he’s gone for the night and JR will see us on Raw. JR left.

Analysis: This was around the time when they were starting to mention that Vince was the owner of the company. I can remember learning that years earlier, but a lot of fans had no idea.

They showed interview highlights of Faarooq and Ahmed Johnson doing promos about having a future match. That led to a locker room scene with Johnson standing over Johnson with a 2×4 piece of wood. In other words, Faarooq is out of action with an injury.

Mr. Perfect made his entrance to join commentary for the next match to watch the Intercontinental Title match.

Goldust made his entrance with the lovely Marlena. There was a backstage interview by Intercontinental Champion “Wildman” Marc Mero saying it was unfortunate what happened to Faarooq, but tonight he’s focused on beating Goldust. That led to Mero making his entrance with Sable by his side.

Analysis: The original match was Mero facing Faarooq, but he was out with a hamstring injury. The storyline injury was the attack from Johnson on Faarooq earlier in the night.

Intercontinental Champion: “Wildman” Marc Mero (w/Mabel) vs. Goldust (w/Marlena)

Pre-match notes: Mero was the babyface Intercontinental Champion while Goldust was a heel challenger. Mero and Goldust each had their wives at ringside. Both marriages ended up in divorce. Stay single, kids.

Goldust tried to use some mind games early and Mero shoved Goldust down. Mero with a hiptoss followed by repeated armdrag takedowns and a drop toe hold. Mero with an armdrag, Goldust set him up against the turnbuckle and hit punches to the face. Goldust whipped Mero into the turnbuckle leading to more punches. Goldust spit in Mero’s face leading to Mero doing a double leg takedown into punches and a headscissors by Mero. There was a back body drop by Mero followed by a clothesline. Mero with a somersault dive over the top onto Goldust leading to a “fuggetaboutit” from Vince as Mero was favoring his leg upon landing. Back in the ring, Mero with a leg drop over the top for a two count. Mero with a back elbow to the head, then he went to the turnbuckle and Goldust slammed Mero down like a Powerbomb. Goldust tossed Mero out of the ring and then into the steel steps. Back in the ring, Goldust hit a “fuggetaboutit” clothesline from Vince. Goldust with a running knee and a fist drop for two. Goldust slapped on a chinlock, Sable smacked the mat to get the crowd going and Mero came back with punches. Mero ran the ropes with a cross body block for two. Goldust got back up with a “fuggetaboutit” clothesline from Vince. Goldust did a promo telling the fans to “shut the hell up.” Goldust said if you don’t shut up right now then he’ll stick his tongue down your throat and the fans booed. That’s some unique cheap heat. Mero came back with a belly to back suplex. Mero went up top and hit a moonsault press onto a standing Goldust for two. Goldust with a punch to the back and a Final Curtain tease, but Mero flipped out of it. Mero used his legs to hook the arms of Goldust for a two count. Goldust followed up with a back body drop over the top to the floor. Perfect was frustrated with the referee, so he checked on Mero and then Hunter Hearst Helmsley went down to ringside to face off with Perfect. Goldust went to hit Perfect, but Perfect punched Goldust on his ass. Back in the ring, Mero hit a Samoan Drop on Goldust. Mero went up top and hit a Wild Thing (Shooting Star Press) for the pinfall win at 11:38.

Winner by pinfall: Marc Mero

Analysis: ***1/4 This was a pretty good match with a hot finish and the fans were into most of it. Goldust had a few moments where it looked like he might pull out the win, then Mr. Perfect and Hunter got involved a bit to cause some chaos, so Mero was able to capitalize to get the win. Vince McMahon

Post match, Mr. Perfect went into the ring to raise the hands of Mero and Sable. Perfect shook the hands of Mero and Sable as well.

Analysis: The story was that Perfect got Mero to trust him. That would lead to Perfect not actually wrestling Hunter Hearst Helmsley on Raw. Perfect convinced Mero to defend the Intercontinental Title against Hunter and then Perfect turned heel by helping Hunter win the title.

They showed Jim Ross and the fake Razor Ramon and Diesel (hey Kane) chatting to fans on America Online.

A video package aired to set up Sycho Sid vs. Vader in a battle of the two men that were the Masters of the Powerbomb finishing move. Vader accused Sid of stealing the Powerbomb and then the video showed each man hitting Powerbombs on different opponents. Shawn Michaels, the WWE Champion, said he has taken both Powerbombs and he said they were both equally as effective.

Sycho Sid was up first and he got a pretty good ovation from the crowd. I sometimes forget how popular Sid was with the fans, but they did like him during his babyface run. When Sid posed on the apron, the fans were cheering. Vince was impressed: “Look at that reaction!” Vader was up next with manager Jim Cornette and they were booed by the fans.

The WWE Champion Shawn Michaels entered in street clothes without the WWE Title. The fans popped huge including the screaming girls that loved Shawn. When Shawn got in the ring, he shook Sid’s hand and told Vader that he was going down. Michaels took a handkerchief from Cornette, blew his nose in it and kicked Corny in the ass. The match began from there with Shawn on commentary.

Sycho Sid vs. Vader (w/Jim Cornette)

Pre-match notes: Sycho Sid was the babyface while Vader was the heel. The winner of this match will challenge for the WWE Championship at Survivor Series.

Sid with punches, then a running clothesline and a leg drop for two. Sid with punches, Vader with an uppercut, a poke to the eye and then forearms to the face. Vader with a “fuggetaboutit” clothesline as Vince called it. Vader with a running splash leading to a “fuggetaboutit” from Vince again. Cornette hit Sid with a tennis racket to the back while Vader distracted the referee. Sid to the apron, he fought back with punches and even tried a sunset flip, but Vader jumped on him to hurt Sid a bit. Vader with clotheslines. Sid came back with a belly to back suplex. The fans chanted “Sycho Sid” because having kids chanting for psychos is normal at wrestling shows. Sid with a running kick, then Vader ran right into a big boot with Vince doing the “fuggetaboutit” call again. Sid went up top, which was rare, Sid jumped off and Vader caught Sid leading to a slam. Vader with a running splash for two as Sid got his left arm up. Vader to the middle rope and he jumped off with a splash leading to “fuggetaboutit” from Vince again and Vader picked up Sid at the two count. Vader jumped off the middle rope with a Vader Bomb attempt, but Sid got the knees up to block. Sid with a running clothesline followed by a body slam. Sid saw Cornette on the apron, so he pulled the rope up to crotch Cornette. Sid wanted a Powerbomb, but Vader hit a low blow uppercut when the referee Tim White was looking at Cornette. Vader tried a Powerbomb, Sid blocked it and Vader did some punches. Sid bounced off the ropes, grabbed Vader by the throat and hit a Chokeslam for the pinfall win at 8:02.

Winner by pinfall: Sycho Sid

Analysis: ** It was just a decent match. Sid wasn’t known for having good matches unless he had the right smaller opponent. Vader was capable of good matches against anybody, but it was tough for him against Sid. Vader had the match won after the splash off the middle ropes, but then he picked up Sid. That led to Sid making the big comeback. I think it was smart to keep it under ten minutes to make it a big man match that was more about the hard hitting action than having a longer match.

Sycho Sid won the match to earn the WWE Championship against Shawn Michaels at Survivor Series. Michaels went into the ring to congratulate Sid on the win and Sid was laughing about it. Shawn and Sid shook hands with Shawn raising Sid’s hand as the pyro went off as well.

Analysis: The original plan was for Vader to win the title from Michaels at Survivor Series and drop it back to Shawn at Royal Rumble. However, that got changed because Michaels didn’t like working with Vader, so they had Sid go over here. It led to Sid becoming WWE Champion at Survivor Series after using a video camera to hit Shawn, so it was a way to turn Sid heel even though the fans in Madison Square Garden were cheering Sid a lot. It was a good match.

There was a commercial for WWE Hall of Fame on November 16 and then Survivor Series on November 17 at Madison Square Garden.

Sycho Sid was interviewed by Dok Hendrix. Jim Ross walked into the picture asking if Sid would do anything to beat Shawn Michaels at Survivor Series. JR mentioned Sid giving Shawn five Powerbombs when he turned on him in the past. Sid said that he’ll do anything he can to win to prove he’s the man and the master and ruler of the world.

The video package aired for the Buried Alive match between The Undertaker and Mankind. They showed the build up to the match with Paul Bearer turning on The Undertaker at SummerSlam and Bearer handed Mankind the urn. That led to moments where each man would attack the other and they had brawls all around the buildings they were in.

Mankind made his entrance first manager Paul Bearer as they walked by the gravesite full of dirt that was by the entrance area. Bearer gave Mankind the urn in the ring. The Undertaker got a huge pop from the crowd. It was a time in his career when The Undertaker wasn’t wearing a long jacket or a hat. The Undertaker was just in his ring gear as he approached the ringside area.

Buried Alive Match: The Undertaker vs. Mankind (w/Paul Bearer)

Pre-match notes: The Undertaker was the babyface while Mankind was the heel. It was basically a No Holds Barred match, so weapons were allowed.

To win the match, you had to bury your opponent in the dirt gravesite by the side of the entrance area.

The match started as a slugfest in the ring. Mankind sent Taker into the turnbuckle, Taker tossed him back into the turnbuckle and punched Mankind. Taker kicked Mankind so that the back of Mankind’s head hit the barricade. Undertaker went up top and hit a diving clothesline on Mankind. Earl Hebner was the referee with them in the ring although with no pinfalls in the match, there really is no need for a referee. They went up the aisle towards the gravesite that was surrounded by dirt. Taker grabbed a shovel and then Mankind hit the top of the shovel into Taker’s throat. They went tumbling back down the hill of dirt. Mankind backed towards the ring, Taker went after him and punched him as they got back towards the ring. Taker sent Mankind back into the ring leading to a punch that sent Mankind out of the ring again. Taker used a microphone cord to choke Mankind. They went fighting into the crowd a bit, Taker with a whip over the barricade and then Taker jumped over the barricade with a clothesline at ringside. That was impressive. Back in the ring, Undertaker delivered a couple of headbutts, then he did a rope walk and Bearer grabbed the top rope to trip up Taker leading to Taker bumping on his groin across the top rope. Mankind did some choking to keep Taker grounded. Taker got back up, sent Mankind into the turnbuckle and hit an uppercut punch. Bearer gave Mankind some kind of object in his hand that he used to hit Taker repeatedly. The fans chanted “rest in peace” for Undertaker since it’s fun for kids to chant things about death. Taker hit a running elbow smash to knock Mankind down. Taker got the object in his hand and he hit Mankind in the head with it three times. Taker came back with a leaping clothesline. Taker hit a leg drop. Taker left the ring and stalked after Bearer around the ring while Mankind got a steel chair from under the ring. Taker kicked Mankind in the ribs, Bearer with an urn shot to Taker that led to Taker staring at Bearer and Mankind came back with a STIFF chair shot to Taker’s head to knock him down. That was a well-earned “fuggetaboutit” call from Vince. Mankind hit a running knee against the steel steps.

The action went back up the aisle towards the gravesite. Mankind and Undertaker were standing on top of the pile of dirt. Mankind with a kick that sent Undertaker into the hole. Undertaker fought back with punches, but then Mankind threw some dirt into Taker’s eyes. Taker gave Mankind a hiptoss off the pile of dirt onto the floor. They went back to the ring from there with Mankind up first and he hit a pulling piledriver. Mankind tried to cover for some reason, but then the referee Earl Hebner told him you had to put Undertaker in the grave. Taker fought back with punches, then he missed an elbow drop and Bearer slid a chair to Mankind. That led to Mankind hitting a double arm DDT onto the chair and Mankind rocked with the urn in his hand. Taker sat back up to a huge pop and Taker delivered a chair shot to the back. Taker hit a leg drop onto the steel chair on Mankind’s head. Ouch. Mankind with a neckbreaker across the top rope. Mankind pulled up some of the mat on the floor and teased a DDT, but then Taker had Mankind on his back and drove Mankind back first into the steel steps! Ouch. Undertaker brought the top half of the steel steps into the ring and Taker threw the steps into Mankind’s face along with the steps into the back of Mankind. Undertaker gave Mankind a Tombstone in the ring leading to a huge pop. Taker pointed to the grave to a big ovation for that as well.

Undertaker picked up Mankind over his shoulder and walked him towards the gravesite. When they got up there, Mankind applied the Mandible Claw. Bearer threw the urn to Mankind, then Undertaker reached up and gave Mankind a Chokeslam into the grave! Huge pop for that. With Mankind laying in the grave, Undertaker got a shovel and quickly poured dirt into the grave so that it covered most of Mankind enough that we couldn’t see him anymore. The referee Earl Hebner was watching as Undertaker kept on burying the dirt and then Hebner called for the bell to end the match. It went 18:27.

Winner: The Undertaker

Analysis: **** This was a great match that became a wild brawl with a hot crowd that was into everything. I had forgotten how well they worked together because I hadn’t seen this match in such a long time. I like how they utilized the weapons around the ring, they teased going to the grave several times early in the match and then Undertaker made the big comeback for finish him off. That spot with Taker giving Mankind the Chokeslam into the grave was really well done to end it on an emphatic note with a big move. There were several crazy bumps by Mankind as usual because we know Mick Foley was a wild man that had no problem taking big bumps on the back of his head or right on his knees. The Undertaker also did some impressive moves off the top as well. These guys always worked so well together. The result also was satisfying for Undertaker fans since he got revenge after losing at SummerSlam, but the story did not end there.

The Undertaker kept burying Mankind in dirt while referees like Earl Hebner and Mike Chioda tried to get him to stop, but Taker knocked both referees down. Undertaker kept on dumping sand into the grave. That led to a masked man (Terry Gordy who was later called The Executioner) hitting Undertaker in the back with a shovel. The masked men went into the grave and cleared some of the dirt off Mankind’s body and helped Mankind get out of the grave. The masked man dumped Undertaker into the grave.

The Undertaker was in the grave as Mankind, the masked man and Bearer were dumping dirt onto Undertaker in the grave. There were flashing lights in the arena along with thunder noises. The fans chanted “Rest in Peace” to support Undertaker. More heel wrestlers went onto the grave like Goldust, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Crush, Justin Hawk Bradshaw and others so that there was more dirt poured on Undertaker. Since there were so many guys filling the grave with dirt, it was able to fill up near the top. Vince and Lawler were freaking out on commentary as they wondered what was going to happen. Bearer: “Oh yes, The Undertaker is gone forever. He’s gone forever!” There were some fans tossing trash and cups into the grave, so there were some Coca-Cola cups in there. Bearer: “He’s gone! The Undertaker’s gone! Yes!” The fans were chanting “Rest in Peace” again and as they kept showing the grave, you could tell that it was pretty full by this point. The heels stopped pouring the dirt on when they realized it was close to full. Vince: “Never seen anything like this before.”

There were more noises in the building as if it was like thunder during a thunderstorm. There were more flashing lights as all of the heels left the area to boos. Vince said he hoped we enjoyed this. Then there was a lightning bolt that shot towards the headstone of the grave. That led to The Undertaker’s right hand in a pink glove shooting up from the top part of the grave. The Undertaker did some hand motions. Vince: “He’s alive! The Undertaker’s alive! The Undertaker lives! He will not rest in peace!” The fans cheered at the sight of the hand. The show ended there.

Analysis: It was an ending to a pay-per-view unlike anything we had ever seen before. Seeing a guy get “buried alive” in a pile of dirt is rare, so you could say that WWE did live up to the name of the show. Even though Undertaker won the match, he ended up getting attacked with a cheap shot and then buried, but the final visual was the hand rising from the crowd. That was something out of the movie “Carrie” (the original was in 1976) and it was fitting for The Undertaker’s character.

The Undertaker would end up getting his revenge at the next two pay-per-views with another win over Mankind at Survivor Series and then Undertaker beat The Executioner at the December In Your House PPV as well.

This event had a runtime of 1:50:39 on WWE Network.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Show rating (out of 10): 7.25

This is a pretty good show with several matches that I liked including the Austin/Hunter opener (their first PPV match), Mero/Goldust for the IC Title was a lot of fun and that Undertaker/Mankind main event match was awesome. Even Sid/Vader was fine for a shorter match and Owen/Bulldog beating the Smoking Gunns furthered the split between the Gunns as a team. Even without Shawn Michaels in a match, it was an easy show to watch and enjoy in under two hours.

The ending of the show was memorable with Undertaker getting buried alive and having his hand shoot up from the grave was a cool way to end the night. It was from the movie Carrie, so it isn’t that original, but I think it was fitting for The Undertaker’s character. The fans loved that visual too. They were a good crowd all night long.

On a final note, somebody complained to me when I mentioned Vince’s commentary traits in the past. I love Vince’s commentary with his “fuggetaboutit” call and stuff like that. It’s hilarious to me. I’m just pointing it out to say I’m not making fun. I enjoy it.

As a bonus, here’s Mick Foley telling some stories to my friends at Inside The Ropes about this Buried Alive Match.

There were some things that Foley got wrong towards the end when he said New Rockers vs. Bushwhackers happened in front of the crowd. It was New Rockers vs. Godwinns, but it’s still good a story. They also did Shawn Michaels vs. Goldust in front of the fans as well, but it was not televised. That Michaels/Goldust match was released on DVD many years later.

FIVE STARS

  1. The Undertaker
  2. Mankind
  3. Steve Austin
  4. Marc Mero
  5. Hunter Hearst Helmsley/Goldust

OPINIONS

Best Match: The Undertaker vs. Mankind (**** out of 5)

Worst Match: Sycho Sid vs. Vader (**)

Most Memorable Moment: The Undertaker’s hand rising from the grave to end the show. That’s what I’ll remember most.

That’s all for me. Check out the full list of my WWE PPV Review archive right here. Thanks for reading.

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My contact info is below.

John Canton

Email mrjohncanton@gmail.com

Twitter @johnreport