3. Did The Undertaker Really Eliminate Maven?
via: vox.com
This is one of pro-wrestling’s greatest and longest-running unanswered questions, and it just so happens to involve The Undertaker and a former rookie-wrestler and Tough Enough winner, Maven. It’s important to note that Maven was in the middle of a push at the time, and what better way to make an impact than by eliminating the biggest dog in the yard, Big Evil himself, from the Royal Rumble. After taking The Undertaker out of the match in arguably the greatest upset in the history of the tournament, the Deadman would get back into the ring and destroy Maven’s chances of winning the Rumble by eliminating the rookie from the match. The problem was that Maven was never legally eliminated.
For one, Taker was already removed from the match, so him throwing Maven through the second rope shouldn’t have qualified as an elimination. Second of all, Maven never went over the top rope, which means he should have been able to continue the match. By the rules of the Royal Rumble, Maven was never eliminated from the match, ever! Obviously, there’s a time-limit for the match and a winner was eventually crowned, but technically, Maven was never legally eliminated from the Royal Rumble by The Undertaker.
2. What Happened After “The Ultimate Betrayal?”
via: youtube.com
Back in 2004, Paul Heyman had gotten hold of the mystical urn and used it to torment The Undertaker. Then at the Great American Bash, Heyman captured Paul Bearer and held the latter hostage in a Cement Mixer Match. If The Undertaker didn’t do as Heyman suggested, Bearer would be submerged in a ton of cement. Although Taker managed to shoo Heyman away, he then proceeded to lower the cement lever himself, “ending” his longtime manager and ally in the process. Apparently Bearer had become a liability and weakness to the Deadman and he wasn’t prepared to let that happen.
It wasn’t exactly high-brow storytelling, but it was entertaining for the time. Fast forward a couple of years later, and in walks Paul Bearer again, as if nothing had ever happened! Bearer was once again embroiled in a heated Brothers of Destruction feud, and there was no mention of Taker’s betrayal and worse, no real explanation. While a lot of what happens between The Undertaker and Kane is left loose and hanging, you’d think that burying a guy in cement would at least have some minor implications and warrant some kind of explanation, however ridiculous.
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