Every WWE Casket Match Ranked From Worst To Best
18. The Undertaker Vs. Vader – Madison Square Garden Special (16 March 1997)
Early in 1997, WWE began pushing Vader as the one man who could seemingly stop The Undertaker. The 400-pound superstar had pinned him twice in a matter of months before they ultimately clashed in a Casket Match in the world’s most famous arena, Madison Square Garden. At the time, The Undertaker was the number one contender for the WWE Championship and was also embroiled in a long-term feud with Mankind – all of which made his mini-feud with Vader seem rather unimportant. Unfortunately, this match did little to change that.
The match itself was pretty decent, with a surprising amount of back-and-forth action in a short time. But the Casket Match stipulation was completely wasted, with no gimmicky moments whatsoever. In fact, the casket never came into play until the closing moments, which only amounted to a recycled finish with Mankind costing ‘Taker the match.
Considering the fact that The Undertaker was due to take on Sycho Sid for the WWE Championship a week later at WrestleMania 13, this booking was downright bizarre. There was no way he should have lost this, especially not by falling for the same trick a second time.