This post is a part of 14 Days of The Deranged Writer (2024 edition).
What is the reason The Undertaker lasted in WWE for 30 years? He has more than 1 look. He has the ability to evolve his character and look while retaining his dark, evil core, and you can tell what era he was in just by looking at his outfit.
Old Western Mortician with the grey gloves? 1990 to 1994. Rebirthed Deadman with the purple gloves? 1994 to 1996. Lord of Darkness with the gothic attire? 1996-1998. Hooded Ministry leader? 1998 to 1999. American Badass with the biker attire and bandana? 2000 to 2001. Big Evil with the short hair? 2001 to 2003. A hybrid of the Deadman and the American Badass with a long leather coat, black hat, and gloves? 2004 to 2019. A mixture of all his personas and his real-life self? 2020. All these eras and outfits made The Undertaker fresh and relevant for a long time until his retirement in 2020.
And today, November 22, 2024 (34 years after The Undertaker’s WWE debut), I will talk about my favorite Taker outfits: the ones from the Rebirthed Deadman, the Lord of Darkness, and the Hybrid.
Rebirthed Deadman
At the Royal Rumble pay-per-view in January 1994, The Undertaker (in his Old Western Mortician with the grey gloves) fought Yokozuna in a casket match for the WWE Championship. With the help of multiple heel wrestlers, Yokozuna placed Taker in the casket and slammed the lid shut, successfully defending the title in the process. But just when Yokozuna thought he ended Taker for good, smoke came out of the casket, and Taker appeared on the video screen, saying, “I will not rest in peace.” He rose to the arena’s ceiling afterward.
After a lengthy leave of absence (to heal a back injury in reality), The Undertaker returned to WWE at the SummerSlam pay-per-view in August 1994 (much to the delight of his manager, Paul Bearer) and fought the imposter Undertaker managed by Ted DiBiase. The Rebirthed Deadman looks different, ghoulish, and awesome—to match the blueish purple lights shining in his dark entrance, the grey accent colors in his black coat, necktie, gloves, and boot covers are now purple.
When I was young, one of the coolest things I have ever seen on television was The Undertaker’s silhouette appearing at SummerSlam 1994 and his slow walk to the ring. And when he raised his arms to light up the arena, and I saw his entire look (black coat, hat, gloves, and all), I was mesmerized. At that point, Taker became my childhood hero (other than Batman), and I got hooked on professional wrestling.
The Rebirthed Deadman stands out from all his other versions because of the purple accent color on his outfit, and as a graphic designer, the color purple fits The Undertaker’s mysterious being, and I love any pop of color on a dominantly dark or light design.
And I almost forgot… The Undertaker with a phantom mask? That looks awesome. He only wore it for a few months because of an orbital injury, but it also made him more ghoulish-looking.
Lord of Darkness
1996 was a dark time (no pun intended) for The Undertaker. Mankind, a deranged (yes, I said it) masked persona of Mick Foley, has been feuding with the Man from the Dark Side for several weeks, and it went ahead at the first-ever Boiler Room Brawl at SummerSlam. At that match, the unthinkable happened—Paul Bearer turned on Taker and struck him with the urn, giving Mankind the urn and the victory.
This led to another inaugural match—the Buried Alive match at In Your House 11: Buried Alive. The Undertaker fought hard, and he was able to bury Mankind alive in the grave and have the victory, but with the help of several heel wrestlers, Mankind escaped the grave and buried the Deadman alive instead.
But, of course, the night did not stop there. Lightning struck the tombstone, and The Undertaker’s purple glove surfaced from the soil, signifying that he lives. A month later, the Deadman resurrected at Survivor Series with a new look, descending in all-black attire with bat wings. Reinvigorated and with Paul Bearer trapped in a shark cage, the Lord of Darkness battled Mankind once more and gained victory via pinfall.
The Rebirthed Deadman is the first version of The Undertaker that I saw on TV, and I became a fan of pro wrestling because of that. But I was not an avid viewer yet. I started tuning in every week when Taker was the Lord of Darkness, and I love how majestic and gothic he looks.
The all-black sleeveless overgarment (sometimes with silver hardware and a high collar) gave the Reaper a dark, regal look. His inner ring attire—a black V-neck sleeveless top and tights with fingerless gloves—is truly iconic with or without the overgarment. This gothic yet more humanized Undertaker was the one I was rooting for when he fought Shawn Michaels, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Mankind, and his half-brother Kane in the Attitude Era.
Hybrid
Months after The Undertaker’s half-brother Kane helped Mr. McMahon his own flesh and blood (and his American Badass/Big Evil personas) alive at Survivor Series 2003, a new version of Taker emerged at WrestleMania XX in 2004. He walked through the torch-bearing druids as a new Deadman—a hybrid Deadman, that is. With this version, he defeated Kane and lifted his WrestleMania record to a perfect 12-0.
This hybrid version of The Undertaker lasted for more than a decade (more than any of his previous versions), and this is the version I love the most. Why? It represents the best of all his versions – the black hat, long hair, coat, and overall theme/color of The Deadman and the inner ring attire (at some points of this era) and MMA-style gloves (with matching fighting style) of The American Badass. This hybrid version looks back at the past while still looking fresh in the present.
And to make the Hybrid Undertaker fresher, he changes his entrance attire from time to time. In 2008, he reintroduced something I love about the Lord of Darkness: the long overgarment with silver details. In later years, he would wear a hooded robe with spiky, gothic details. He also wore a leather coat and hat with red accents at WrestleMania XXX. These alternate outfits, among others, make me love this version of The Undertaker more.
And that’s it! These are my favorite Undertaker outfits. I’m already working on a proper ranking of all Taker’s eras, among the other Deadman-related posts, so stay tuned for that.
And to you, what is/are your favorite Undertaker outfits? Please let me know in the comments section or on my socials (my Facebook, Instagram, and X).
‘Til the next post!
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Header and post images: WWE. Edited in Adobe Photoshop 2024.
Edits were made to the post title and the post itself on August 6, 2025 at 8:57pm.
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