WWE History Vol. 11: The many deaths of The Undertaker

#6 The 'Underfaker'

Brian Lee, Undertaker's real-life cousin, portrayed the fake Undertaker.

The Undertaker's back injury wound up being worse than originally thought, meaning he would miss over six months of in ring action at the minimum. WWE officials faced a conundrum. How could they keep Undertaker fresh in the fan's minds during such a long absence?

The answer came in a series of vignettes where people claimed to have seen the Undertaker lurking about. At Wrestlemania X, Ted Dibiase re-introduced fans to the Undertaker, but fans were quick to realize that this was not the same man who'd been sealed in a casket by Yokozuna.

The new Undertaker was Brian "Chainz" Lee, the real life cousin of Mark Calloway and a journeyman wrestler in his own right. Brian Lee didn't fool the fans, but he didn't have to. The idea was to build up anticipation for the eventual return of the 'real' Undertaker.

That return took place at SummerSlam 1994. To avoid confusion, the real Undertaker switched out his gray gloves for purple ones, and for the first time announcers referred to him as 'the Deadman.' This was also unequivocally a baby face, super hero Undertaker who fought for truth and justice even if he used evil spiritual powers to do so.