33 Forgotten Moments In The Undertaker's WWE Career

24. Phantom Of The Opera Run Saw First Match With Kane

Towards the end of 1995, The Undertaker suffered an injury to the orbital bone around his eye. This was after the useless 490 pound King Mabel dropped multiple leg drops on the Deadman's face. Unsurprisingly, Mabel got a ton of heat and was gone from the WWF within six months. Taker needed time off to heal, but the company couldn't afford to let one of their top stars be gone for too long. So they brought him back early at the 95 Survivor Series, protecting his injury by casting him in a Phantom Of The Opera style mask. It changed the nature of his gimmick somewhat, with more of a Phantom angle to his traditional deadman persona. During this time, he actually wrestled what was his first match with Kane! The big red machine was still stuck in the Dr Isaac Yankem gimmick at the time. It was the January 15th 1996 Raw, and of course, Taker won.