Jake Roberts vs. The Undertaker

 

Just to get this out of the way
The Winner: The Undertaker

Background Noise

This match took place on April 5^th 1992. Wrestlemania 8

Jake Roberts offered to help The Ultimate Warrior prepare for The Undertaker. He then turned on Warrior by revealing himself to be aligned with The Undertaker, when he tricked Warrior into be bitten by a Cobra. Jake “The Snake” Roberts, clearly an asshole, was planning to hit Miss Elizabeth with a chair (this after sicking a snake on Randy Savage and slapping Miss Elizabeth), when The Undertaker intervened and saved Liz. Roberts then locked The Undertaker’s hand in a casket, DDT’d Paul Bearer and hit The Undertaker with a chair.

The Undertaker was accompanied to the ring here by Paul Bearer. I remember this match happened but may have only seen it once. My VHS copy of this event was corrupt so I don’t think I have seen a clear version of this match since it happened.

The Bell

Roberts has the speed advantage and also the experience. He is able to avoid The Undertaker’s strikes. But when he hits his own, it does nothing. Undertaker spent a great deal of his time on offense choking Jake Roberts. Short of a toss into the post on the outside of the ring and a flying clothesline, its not that spectacular. Roberts reverses what presumably will be a tombstone piledriver attempt into a DDT. But The Undertaker sits up about 30 seconds later. A short arm clothesline and another DDT by Roberts follows. Roberts goes outside after Bearer and strikes him. Not paying attention to The Undertaker he is caught outside the ring and tombstoned on the concrete. Game over.

The Verdict

The Undertaker didn’t do a lot BUT this match did have a back-story unlike the WrestleMania 7 match. The tombstone on the concrete could even be explained as, while it really isn’t a “heroic” thing to do, he got a hold of him out there and was defending the honor of his manager.

The closest Jake Roberts came to winning would have been the DDTs. Nobody had ever kicked out of one but Roberts was too busy posturing/attacking fat morticians to go for a pinfall after either. Overally, I enjoyed this match. And it would be the best built up WrestleMania match for the Undertaker for several years. This would be Roberts farewell match from the WWF. Undertaker looked like the underdog. Roberts was a tremendous evil mastermind.

As far as alternate opponents, Jake Roberts could have faced Randy Savage. They were feuding and it was kind of the kicking off point for this feud, with Undertaker protecting Liz from a chair shot. Undertaker could have faced The Ultimate Warrior, had Warrior not been on a sabbatical at the time. Overall, this was the perfect opponent for The Undertaker.

The Undertaker vs. Jimmy Snuka

 

Just to get this out of the way
The Winner: The Undertaker

Background Noise

This match took place on March 24^th 1991. Wrestlemania 7

I had to research this. There is no rhyme or reason for this match to happen other than showing The Undertaker making an example out of someone. Entrances took 2 minutes to the bell. Snuka was already in the ring when my version started. The Undertaker was accompanied to the ring by Paul Bearer. I remember this match from my WrestleMania 7 VHS. I remember being scared of the Undertaker and Paul Bearer. Before the match, Gorilla Monsoon referred to Jimmy Snuka as “The Phenom”

The Bell

After the bell rang, Snuka stared at Taker. Walked towards him. Backed up. Snuka turned his back and Undertaker jumped him. Whipped ass for a minute or two. Hit a huge running clothesline. Choked him in the corner. Snuka reversed a whip into the corner and ran in. Was met with a knee which knocked him to the outside. A big suplex back into the ring by Undertaker. Undertaker missed an elbow drop, which gave Snuka his opening for the offense portion of the match. Headbutts and elbow shots which do nothing. He missed a running dive and bounced off the top rope to the outside. Snuka tried a slingshot back into the ring, was caught, tombstoned and finished.

The Verdict

Definitely important, as it was the first match of The Undertaker’s streak. It confirmed his dominance. I liked the way Snuka took the beating. His bounce off the top rope to the outside was a thing to marvel at. It came and went very quickly (with entrances, about 7 minutes).

This match was like the first scene in a movie where the villain is established, like Darth Vader battling some random Ewok during the first scene of a New Hope. (That scene got cut, but you see my point). It wasn’t even, it wasn’t pretty, but it showed “this guy is a powerhouse”. This wasn’t his debut match, he had been in the company for a while but it was the first match in a significant streak, that in all likelihood wasn’t planned.

The closest Jimmy Snuka came to winning would have to be his frequent (three of them; he hit about three of them) headbutts, those staggered The Undertaker. Staggering is all you could do to the man at this point. Had Snuka won here, it would have ended the greatest Professional Wrestling accomplishment before it started. Koko B. Ware could have been a good replacement for Snuka, as far as the position goes but they had already battled (albeit in team form) at the previous year’s Survivor Series.