10 DUMB WWE Booking Decisions (We Didn't Want To Admit Were GENIUS!)
8. Ted DiBiase Finds “The Undertaker”
Surprised to see this here?
According to Bruce Prichard, the original plan for 'Undertaker vs. Underfaker' wasn't that Ted DiBiase was creating his own 'Deadman'. No, the multi millionaire braggart believed he'd found the actual 'Taker and converted him to his own particular dark side. A darker side than the dark side the character was already on then.
Yep, this makes Ted look pretty stupid, but that was supposed to be the story told. The WWF tweaked things to acknowledge that DiBiase went and found his own Undertaker, one he claimed was superior to Paul Bearer's buddy. That led to an admittedly duff main event at SummerSlam 1994, but the thought of Ted turning an estranged 'Taker's head was interesting on paper.
Think of this way: DiBiase was so drunk on power that he believed he could buy his own version of an established WWF act. Before that, he also thought he'd succeeded in perverting The Undertaker against Bearer and the fans. Brian Lee got a tasty payday out of it too.