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The era that defined the rise of Vince McMahon's WWEwas undoubtedly the Attitude Era. The generation is known for its edgier content, creative storylines, pool of talented superstars, and larger-than-life personas that contributed to its success and resulted in the subsequent defeat for WWE's rival competitor, WCW. Among those talented individuals, two of the biggest stars from the era who crossed paths on multiple occasions were The Undertaker and the poster boy of the Attitude Era, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.
The Undertaker is one of the most respected WWE legends, who prevailed as the evil Lord of Darkness during the mid-1990s. On the other hand, Austin was positioned to be the flagship star of the era, gaining massive popularity as an anti-hero defying every rule and obstacle put in place by the management and especially his evil boss, Vince McMahon.
Both superstars were key fixtures for WWE's television programming at the time and encountered each other numerous times during their careers. However, there was this one interesting instance that saw The Undertaker kidnapping "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and attempting to end his life for good. It is hard to believe, but yes, this indeed happened. So let's explore the events that led to The Undertaker committing this heinous crime and almost putting an exclamation point on the life of Steve Austin.
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The Undertaker Knocked Out Steve Austin With A Foreign Object That Landed Him In The Hospital
In the weeks leading up to the feud, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin was eyeing reclaiming the WWE Championship from The Rock, who defeated Mankind to win the title at the 1998 edition of WWE Survivor Series. This saw Austin exercising a contract in hand that guaranteed him a title shot against The Rock on the November 16 edition of RAW. During the match, The Undertaker came out and hit Austin with a long shovel as a measure of revenge for costing him the WWE title at Judgment Day a month prior.
This led to Vince McMahon scheduling a Buried Alive match between The Undertaker and Steve Austin at Rock Bottom: In Your House. However, that shot to the head by the shovel caused Steve Austin to suffer a concussion, feeling major effects of it at a house show. As a precautionary measure, Steve was admitted to a medical facility to seek treatment.
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin Was Abducted From The Hospital By The Undertaker
Austin was seen getting medical attention in the hospital during the RAW is War tapings. As the doctor suggested Steve take a rest, the next shot saw a black hearse pulling over at the hospital. To everyone's shock, it was The Undertaker and Paul Bearer who broke into the Bionic Redneck's hospital room and attacked him, knocking Steve out in the process. The duo was then seen dragging Austin and loading him into the hearse, driving off with an unconscious Austin in the back.
The next segment showed The Undertaker and Paul Bearer arriving at a graveyard site with a burial spot. It seemed like the duo would bury Stone Cold alive, much before their scheduled bout at In Your House. However, as The Undertaker began digging a hole for Austin, he seemingly regained some consciousness and tried to attack Paul Bearer, only to be overpowered by The Phenom. This prompted The Undertaker to make "Stone Cold" Steve Austin suffer even more, as he decided that he would embalm Austin alive.
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Steve Austin Was Almost Murdered By The Undertaker, But An Unlikely Ally Came To The Rescue
The Undertaker and Paul Bearer brought Austin to a funeral home to carry out their evil plans. The Deadman carried Austin on his back into the embalming room and placed him on a table. The Undertaker recounted all the actions that Austin did that sabotaged his plans to establish his reign of darkness over the entire WWE landscape.
As The Undertaker raised the ceremonial blade to finish off The Texas Rattlesnake and began chanting what looked like some evil wordings before a sacrifice, Paul Bearer heard some noise and went towards the door to check. As he turned away, his son Kane arrived at the scene to stop the proceedings and began attacking his brother, The Undertaker. Bearer, looking to finish the job himself, attempted to attack Stone Cold, who regained consciousness and stopped him, giving him a chance to escape. The segment ended with the brawl between Kane and The Undertaker as the screen went black.
This segment will always be memorable in the history of the Attitude Era and will also be remembered as one of the heinous crimes committed by The Undertaker, as he attempted to murder one of the greatest WWE superstars of all time.
