Mr. McMahon vs. Undertaker [Buried Alive Match] (Survivor Series- November 16, 2003)
This is my first Undertaker match and also my first Mr. McMahon match. For the second review in a row, I will review a match from Survivor Series. This Survivor Series was from 2003. I have the DVD for this Pay-Per-View because I noticed WWE Shop was selling it for a very low price. This was a solid PPV so I think I got a good deal. One of the reasons I purchased the DVD was because of this match. I had never seen it before. The Undertaker and Vince McMahon had a great feud in the late 1990s. If Vince McMahon wasn't feuding with Stone Cold in 1999, I think we would have saw Mr. McMahon vs. Undertaker at WrestleMania XV instead of Undertaker vs. The Big Bossman. It's great that those two finally had a match in 2003, but I think the match should have happened during the Attitude Era.
The Facts:
- This match took place at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas on November 16, 2003. The attendance was 13,487.
- This match had a 11:59 time length.
- Michael Cole and Tazz were the announcers for this match.
- This match was the end of the Undertaker's American Bad Ass/Big Evil gimmick. The gimmick started on May 21, 2000 at Judgment Day.
- After this match, the Undertaker would not return to the ring until WrestleMania XX in 2004.
The Match:
I don't know who holds the record for bleeding the earliest in a WWE match, but I think it might be Mr. McMahon. Undertaker delivered a punch to McMahon's head about 17 seconds after the bell rang and McMahon started bleeding! McMahon was bleeding a lot. Shortly after he started bleeding, McMahon was knocked down with his face on the mat. When McMahon lifted his head up, his blood was dripping out of his head and left many blood stains on the mat. McMahon lost a lot of blood and he's not even a real wrestler. How many owners would literally bleed for their company? The amount of blood McMahon lost was insane! Four minutes into the match, there has been no big spots yet, but Undertaker is dominating the match. There has been absolutely no offense from McMahon. This match doesn't even look like a wrestling match; it's a fight!
Undertaker got McMahon out of the ring and started beating him up near the announce table. Undertaker took one of the television monitors and hit McMahon's head with it. Near the six minute mark of the match, Undertaker tossed McMahon back in the ring which doesn't make much sense because this is a buried alive match. There is a mound of dirt with a big hole by the Titantron. The match ends when someone throws their opponent into the grave and dumps dirt in it which is why this match is called "buried alive". With McMahon in the ring, Undertaker walks towards the mound of dirt and grabs a steel shovel. Undertaker then walks back to the ring with the shovel. McMahon gets to his feet and Undertaker immediately whacks him on the head with the shovel! Sick head shot!! It made a sickening sound. It looked a lot more painful than a chair shot to the head. Vince McMahon is a crazy man! A lot of professional wrestlers wouldn't take a steel shovel to the head and he's the owner of the WWE!! If Mr. McMahon started his pro wrestling career as a wrestler instead of an announcer, I have no doubt he would have been recognized as one of the greatest wrestlers of all-time at the end of his career. Vince McMahon was 58 years old during this match! I can't imagine what he would have been willing to do if he was 28 years old. After hitting McMahon with the shovel, Undertaker brings McMahon outside the ring and hits McMahon's ankle with the steel ring steps! McMahon is getting destroyed in this match!
Undertaker carries McMahon to the mound of dirt. Once they get there, McMahon actually fights back for the first time in the match. First, he throws dirt in Undertaker's eyes and then he hits Undertaker with a low blow. McMahon picks up the shovel and hits the Undertaker with it. Undertaker falls into the grave! There is a pay loader by the mound of dirt and all McMahon has to do is get in there and dump dirt into the grave. But before any of that happens, Undertaker gets up and pulls McMahon into the grave. Undertaker gets out of the grave and goes to the pay loader. Undertaker opens the door of the pay loader and there is a huge fire explosion. Undertaker falls down and Kane appears! Kane knocks Undertaker into the grave and helps McMahon out of the grave. McMahon climbs into the pay loader and dumps dirt into the grave. McMahon wins! Undertaker is buried alive!
Rating: ***1/4
I liked this match. It wasn't a great match but it was enjoyable. The match might have been a little bit better with a few more violent spots and a little bit more offense from McMahon but I thought this was a good match to watch. It was a little bit boring, but it had a short time length for a Pay-Per-View match and the pace of this match was okay so this match was not hard to watch. This match has gotten poor ratings from other people probably because there was no wrestling in this match. Saying that this match was just Undertaker beating up McMahon for the entire match is a lazy way to describe this match. I enjoyed what happened during this match. I was amazed by the amount of blood McMahon lost. It really sold the beating and made it look more real. My only complaint about the blood is that it happened too early in the match. It should have started after McMahon got hit in the head with the television monitor or the steel shovel. That shovel spot was awesome and it was one of the most brutal head shots I have ever seen. It made a great sound too. Another reason I loved this match was because of the ending. Great ending with Kane coming out of nowhere to help McMahon defeat the Undertaker. I was amazing to see McMahon win the match after the beating he took. Undertaker would later get his revenge by defeating Kane at WrestleMania XX. I recently bought the WrestleMania XX DVD and I haven't watched that match yet. I'm looking forward to watching it and this match did a good job creating the storyline for that match.
I'll give Vince this. He can take a beating.
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