In 1995, following a feud with King Mabel, The Undertaker began wearing a Phantom of the Opera-style half mask. According to the story, a series of legdrops from the King of the Ring winner shattered Undertaker's orbital bone, forcing him out of action for a time. When he came back, he wore the mask to protect his injured face. The truth is almost exactly that, although it was an errant clothesline from Mabel that caused the injury. After a few days of working with a fractured orbital bone, 'Taker got checked out and was given the diagnosis. A yet-to-air Monday Night Raw already featured Mabel (and Yokozuna) giving Undertaker the beating, so it was used as the kayfabe reason for his injury. Undertaker would return the following month, sporting the famous mask. After leading his team to a victory over Mabel's at the Survivor Series, the two squared off in a casket match the following month -- where again, The Undertaker was victorious. At the Royal Rumble, Undertaker would face Bret Hart for the WWE Championship, and while he would win by disqualification and, therefore, not claim the title, it wasn't a total loss -- Hart would pull off Undertaker's mask during the match, ridding him of it forever.
Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried.
*Best Crowd of the Year, 2013
