10 "Buried" Wrestlers Who Weren't Actually Buried

Is "buried" the most overused word in professional wrestling? To cut a long story short, yes, yes it is.

The actual number of buried wrestlers in modern history is pretty small, all things considered. This game is about ebbs and flows, of ups and downs, comings and goings. If you're looking for actual burials, the list doesn't extend far beyond 'Spirit Squad being put in a box and sent back to OVW' and 'Zack Ryder in a wheelchair'.

Still, there are plenty of misunderstood cases in wrestling history, matches that were lost decisively to the point of fans screaming 'burial'. 'However will he recover from this?!' they cry, as someone who should have won somehow contrives to lose. When people say 'burial', they usually mean 'the wrong person won'.

It ain't going to change though, not anytime soon, so we can all look forward to this being reevaluated in a decade or so. The irony is that moments of supposed burial have often acted as the catalyst for real character development, for career-defining runs and eventual moments that stand tall in collective wrestling memories. Shovels be damned...

He's gonna franchise your ass! If anything was a burial of Shane Douglas, it was his decision to use that as a catchphrase.

Many fans like to think that the Dean Douglas character was a burial but that only takes one side of the story. The gimmick drew plenty of heat, especially as Douglas was feuding with Razor Ramon, a genuine big star in the company at the time. That feud came to a head at WWE In Your House 4, on the night Douglas was scheduled to win the Intercontinental Championship from Shawn Michaels.

Of course, Michaels had no intention of dropping the title (he rarely did), instead forfeiting the title thanks to a mixture of injuries and immaturity. Douglas was awarded the title but he instantly lost it to Razor. That doesn't look great on paper, but it is important to remember that this was WWF in the mid-'90s; heels actually got their comeuppance back then. As far as the audience was concerned, Douglas had weaselled his way into the championship. He had no right to it.

It wasn't a burial, it was simple pro wrestling booking. The arrogant heel had been handed the title, only for the heroic babyface to come out and win it for real. That Douglas didn't experience any other success in WWE is a far more convoluted question than 'because he lost the IC title minutes after winning it'.