50 Greatest WWE Raw Moments Ever
12. Paul Bearer Reveals The Secret (July 7th, 1997)
At SummerSlam '96, Paul Bearer turned heel on The Undertaker to join forces with hated rival Mankind in a development that scanned as unthinkable. Yet, if you actually thought about it - and the promotion and performers involved constantly did - it was the most logical move anybody could have made.
Via Mankind's dominance in their programme and willingness to half kill himself to full kill 'The Deadman', The Undertaker character had been humanised. The real man behind the figurative (and briefly literal) mask was forced to emerge in order to beat a man who was far more dangerous than the monsters-of-the-week he'd encountered in the past. As we'd later learn, Bearer saw this as weak, and a betrayal of what had bonded them in the past. He wasn't the one turning - Undertaker had already turned.
Undertaker had changed, but reconnecting with reality was the missing piece of the puzzle. He focused up and aimed for the light, becoming WWE Champion at WrestleMania 13 in an almost-universally beloved moment of vindication. Almost, because Bearer realised he bet on the wrong horse and manipulated Mankind to use fire to try and claim it. When that failed and Bearer literally bore the brunt of the flames, he had no cards left to play but to blackmail his former charge with the grim truth behind their original union.
Undertaker initially acquiesced, but after being pushed to his limit once too often, he walked away and allowed the secret out. Through pained and gross recollection, Bearer told the tale of how he "helped" Undertaker through the fiery death of his family, caused in 'Taker's mind by himself and younger brother Kane, also deceased. It tethered together everything about why Undertaker embraced the dark and related so directly to death. All until Bearer - on the same episode - unleashed the most shocking of twists; younger brother Kane was alive.