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If you're a fan of professional wrestling, you've seen just about everything used as a weapon inside the ring. A ladder, a chair or a table are all common place these days, but what we're here to celebrate today is the casket.
When you have a wrestler named the Undertaker, you're inevitably going to see the appearance of a coffin, a casket or a body bag. But the only logical conclusion to a wrestler who's managed by a man named Paul Bearer was for the coffin to eventually find its way into the match itself.
It's sort of a ridiculous concept, but what wrestling matches aren't in someway? The winner of the match is the person who puts their opponent in a casket and slams the door shut. Does that mean the other person died? Usually, no. But it is often a way to end a feud, write a wrestler off TV or give a show an elaborate spectacle.
And so, here are the five best casket matches I've seen.
5. The Undertaker vs. Yokozuna (WWF Royal Rumble 1994)
Anybody who knows me knows I like my wrestling a little silly sometimes. As long as the wrestlers involved are taking the whole thing seriously, I think the whole thing can embrace how silly the entire concept is and still work. So let's take a look at the first time the WWF Championship was defended in a casket match.
Yokozuna was the defending champion, having defeated Hulk Hogan the year prior, and would face off against the Undertaker. There were reasons to think that neither man could win this match. The champion was a 600 pound monster and his opponent was a walking, talking nightmare. Neither would go into a coffin easily.
While some would argue that the events of the match are too much, not me. As the Undertaker is seemingly gaining the upper hand to win the match, a cascade of wrestling villains arrive to prevent him from being a world champion. Crush, Bam Bam Bigelow, Jeff Jarrett, and Adam Bomb are just a few of the 11 men who try to help Yokozuna defeat his enemy. Even the Undertaker can't defeat that many opponents!
And so the Undertaker loses the match and the casket is wheeled up the aisle. As they do, a gong sounds and the casket begins emitting green smoke. The lights go out and on the jumbotron, the Undertaker appears. His eyes open and he calls out, "Be not proud, the spirit of the Undertaker lives within the soul of all mankind. The eternal flame of life that cannot be extinguished. The origin of which cannot be explained. the answer lies in the everlasting spirit. Soon all mankind will witness the rebirth of the Undertaker. I will not rest in peace".
Hell yeah.
4. Darby Allin vs. Ethan Page (AEW Fyter Fest 2021)
When your finishing move is called the Coffin Drop, it seems only inevitable that you'll eventually find yourself competing in a coffin match.
Darby Allin has always been a wrestler who seems to have little regard for his own personal safety. Whether he's throwing himself off ladders, crashing through tables or landing on steel steps, he's taken some of the most unimaginable bumps in AEW history. Allin has made a career of putting his body through absolute hell.
Darby Allin and Ethan Page developed a bitter rivalry that actually predated their time in AEW. The match was suitably violent considering their history. There was chaos to go around, with Scorpio Sky and Sting getting involved and Page delivering an Ego's Edge onto the steel steps.
But the finish is what makes it special. After driving Page into the coffin with a skateboard-assisted stomp, Allin slammed the lid shut to secure victory. But that wasn't enough for Darby.
With Page inside the coffin, Allin climbed to the top rope and delivered a Coffin Drop onto the casket, crashing through the lid. It's the kind of ridiculous, dangerous spectacle that amazes me, but also makes me wonder why I even watch this sport. So yeah, I have to have a Darby match on this list.
3. The Undertaker vs. Randy Orton and Bob Orton (WWE No Mercy 2005)
I think we can all relate to having to fight off a supernatural demonic figure with your dad, can't we?
By 2005, Randy Orton had established himself as "the Legend Killer", a cocky young up-and-comer determined to make a name for himself by taking down some of the biggest names in wrestling history. But there was one wrestler who proved difficult to kill: the Undertaker.
After failing to defeat "the Deadman" at WrestleMania 21, Orton enlisted the help of his father, WWE Hall of Famer "Cowboy" Bob Orton, to finally put an end to the Undertaker's reign of terror. That led to a handicap match that fall at No Mercy, where the father-and-son duo had the number's advantage over their imposing enemy. The match is extremely fun as the Ortons are sort of the hapless schmucks you'd find in a horror movie as the Undertaker refuses to stay dead.
Eventually, the Ortons stuff the Undertaker into the casket thanks to smacking him over the head with a fire extinguisher and a steel chair. The pair lock him inside, hit it with an axe, pour gasoline over it and set it ablaze.
Surely Randy and Bob would never have to deal with the supernatural undead figure for the remainder of the career and were charged with first degree murder.
2. Shawn Michaels vs. the Undertaker (WWF Royal Rumble 1998)
There are few rivalries that match the heights of "the Heartbreak Kid" and "the Deadman", especially not one with quite as many all-time classics as they had together. From WrestleMania to Hell in a Cells, they have done it all.
A few months after their initial meetup inside the first ever Hell in a Cell match, Michaels and Taker would meet at the 1998 Royal Rumble where the former would defend his WWF World Championship in a casket match. The match itself is fantastic, though it's unfortunately remembered for a spot where Michaels lands back-first on the edge of the casket causing him to have relentless back injuries that would eventually see him retire for a number of years. The fact that Michaels continued wrestling for another 15 or so minutes beyond that moment is remarkable.
The ending is what makes the match sing, though. With Undertaker seemingly on the verge of victory, D-Generation X and other wrestlers interfere, only for Kane to save his brother. In true brotherly fashion though, Kane betrays his sibling and chokeslams him into the casket, allowing Michaels to retain his championship.
And because this is pro wrestling, winning wasn't enough. Kane and Paul Bearer lock Undertaker inside, wheel it up to the entrance ramp and set it on fire. While it's not the first time a casket with Undertaker in it has been set on fire, nothing beats the original.
1. Mil Muertes vs. Rey Fenix (Lucha Underground, 2015)
I really do think this is my favorite wrestling match of all time. Lucha Underground was a company developed by Mark Burnett and Robert Rodriguez in which it took a cinematic approach to wrestling. It leaned into the kayfabe of pro wrestling by creating its own universe that felt more like a comic book than WWE.
To begin, you have Mil Muertes, a supernatural, monster-like figure whose name tranlsated to "A Thousand Deaths." His manager is Catarina, his mysterious and seductive manager. Opposing him was Rey Fenix, a heroic luchador who represented life and resilience.
When Rey Fenix was the first wrestler to defeat Muertes, Catarina aligned herself with the hero. She encouraged him that he could defeat Muertes once and for all by burying him in a coffin, so the two men had a violent and bloody match known as Grave Consequences.
But the fun of it all? This was Catarina's plan all along. If Muertes could be killed, he could be brought back from the dead even stronger than before. Catarina needed someone to do the dirty work, and she found it in Rey Fenix. Muertes returned months later, attacking Fenix and eventually beating him in a brutal Death Match. Catarina's plan was a success.
It's hard to say that anything was better than this match of literal life vs. death.
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