The Undertaker not being at WrestleMania 35 isn’t the worst thing

Photo: WWE.com

Face turn

Undertaker was a heel for more than a year until several incidents came into play that turned him into a babyface. Although intended to be a monstrous villain going against heroes like Hulk Hogan and Ultimate Warrior, the fans began gravitating towards Undertaker, cheering him on even when he committed nefarious acts. Even pairing him with one of the biggest heels of all time, “Nature Boy” Ric Flair, didn’t seem to stop Undertaker’s popularity from rising.

So when Undertaker turned in 1992 it wasn’t that surprising, but it most likely wasn’t the original plan. Jake “The Snake” Roberts had been setting up a program with The Ultimate Warrior. Through a series of vignettes Roberts had been instructing Warrior how to defeat the seemingly unbeatable Undertaker. In the final vignette Roberts turned on Warrior, saying “never trust a snake.” They were meant to begin a program, but Ultimate Warrior departed the company before that could come to fruition.

Scrambling for a reset, the creative direction for Roberts and Undertaker saw them attacking “Macho Man” Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth at their wedding reception following the broadcast of their wedding at SummerSlam. Roberts would go on to have a lengthy feud with Savage while Undertaker tangled with Hogan. Following a loss to Savage, Roberts stood backstage with a steel chair intending to hit whoever walked through the curtain, be it Savage or Elizabeth. The Undertaker stopped him, severing ties with Roberts.

This would culminate with a match at WrestleMania VIII, where Undertaker wrestled as a babyface against Roberts. The match itself would prove to be Roberts’ demise, as he took a tombstone outside the ring and then the loss. Roberts would leave the WWE after that, while The Undertaker was just getting started.