Ranking All 5 Buried Alive Matches in WWE History

2. The Undertaker vs. ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin (Rock Bottom: In Your House, 12/13/98)

Mr. McMahon wanted to keep ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin as far away from the World Wrestling Federation Championship as possible. With the “Royal Rumble” event just around the corner, the Chairman of the Board declared that if Austin wanted a spot in the 30-man Battle Royal, he’d have to earn it.

The only way Austin would be one of the 30 participants is if he could defeat the Undertaker in a ‘Buried Alive’ match at “In Your House: Rock Bottom.”

With shovel in hand, Undertaker sat next to the mound with Austin nowhere to be found. Fire shot up from the nearby grave as Undertaker’s brother Kane popped out to attack his sibling.

“The Big Red Machine” delivered a tombstone piledriver to Undertaker, dropping him in the grave. Austin then appeared with a bulldozer, signalling the driver to dump dirt over his opponent.

Austin opened up a couple of steveweisers as the bulldozer continued dumping dirt. His ticket to the “Royal Rumble” match was officially punched.

Result: ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin def. The Undertaker (21:33)

 

1. The Undertaker vs. Mankind (In Your House 11: Buried Alive, 10/20/96)

This was the first ‘Buried Alive’ match in WWE history. Paul Bearer had recently turned on Undertaker to align himself with Mankind, making the feud between the two even more personal.

Undertaker and Mankind had been waging war for months. The only way to settle things once and for all was for man to be out of the picture for good.

Mankind went to strike Undertaker with his infamous urn, but “The Deadman” reversed the blatant act and delivered a chokeslam to the deranged one right into the grave. The referee attempted to raise Undertaker’s hand in victory, but all he wanted to do was continue burying Mankind.

The Executioner (Terry Gordy) nailed Undertaker in the back of the head with a shovel as Mankind crawled his way out. Lights in the arena began to flicker as Mankind, Bearer and the Executioner pushed dirt from a nearby mound into the grave with Undertaker out cold below. Goldust, Crush, Justin Bradshaw and Hunter Hearst Helmsley all lent a hand as well.

A bolt of lightning came down from the rafters, striking the tombstone. Undertaker’s purple glove came up from the grave, signifying to the crowd that he was not going to rest in peace.

Result: Mankind def. The Undertaker (18:25)