https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JODV1xJNlrU Things could have been very different for Mark Calaway -- upon his entrance to the WWF, a different character was proposed for the Phenom. If you'll recall, The Undertaker's debut wasn't the only one that took place at Survivor Series 1990 -- there was also a tremendous egg, shown on TV leading up to the event, that hatched at the show. We all know that it was WrestleCrap legend The Gobbledy Gooker who emerged -- to dance briefly with "Mean" Gene Okerlund and never be seen again -- but, as Dave Meltzer initially reported, the original idea was to see a fearsome grappler called "The Eggman" hatch at the event. You can probably guess who was to play The Eggman. According to legend, Calaway refused to be The Eggman (thus saving Paul Bearer from playing "The Walrus," presumably), and the rest is history. Another interesting story, though one that's primarily rumor -- by 1996, The Undertaker was established as a cornerstone of the WWF. He met his match, though, in a brutal feud with the deranged Mankind. The newcomer seemed to have The Undertaker's number, besting him in a series of brutal brawls in the summer and fall. At October's In Your House: Buried Alive, the two clashed in the first-ever match of the type, and it was Mankind who committed Undertaker to the grave. He was set to make his comeback at Survivor Series, but would it be The Undertaker who returned? Rumors swirled that he would come back in all-white, adopting a different, "risen-from-the-grave" persona. Of course, that didn't happen -- the closest we'd get is Shawn Michaels's kick-ass white trenchcoat/hat combo leading up to WrestleMania XXV.
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