The Undertaker's always been essential to WWE, but by 1994 he was a cornerstone of the company. The Phenom was arguably the most popular star on the entire roster, and his feud with WWE Champion Yokozuna positioned him as WWE's top babyface. The two squared off in a casket match at that year's Royal Rumble, but when Undertaker lost the bout, something strange happened - he ascended up to the top of the Titantron while a bizarre video played, essentially making it look like he'd made it to 'heaven'. This puzzling scene was intended to inform the viewing audience that, while The Phenom would be back, it might take a while. There was no mention of Undertaker as WrestleMania X drew near and, sure enough, the event happened without The Phenom present. It was the first of only two WrestleManias without Undertaker during his tenure, and while the show was already a success thanks to Bret Hart versus Owen Hart, the Shawn Michaels versus Razor Ramon ladder match, and The Hitman's emotional title win in the main event, The Undertaker could have contributed something and was still missed.
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
