WWE’s first attempt at one of the company’s iconic match stipulations was a complete disaster, according to John ‘Bradshaw’ Layfield.
In 1996, WWE introduced the Buried Alive match, with the first match seeing Mankind defeat The Undertaker at In Your House 11.
The conclusion saw several heels, including Bradshaw, aid Mankind in burying the Phenom, ending the first Buried Alive match.
On a recent edition of the “Something to Wrestle” podcast, JBL recalled his time being a part of the first Buried Alive match. He said,
“It was an absolute disaster. They had no idea it would take to fill a grave. This one of the dumbest things WWE did. Now, the finish itself was excellent. I believe they had something on a system when ‘Taker when in the grave and end up moving him out so obviously he wasn’t buried alive.
“But they thought at the time that it would be great for some heels to come out and get a little bit of a rub but also bury ‘Taker as we’re going off air before he does the hand-up gimmick through the grave.
“You know how long it takes to fill in a grave? It would’ve taken us about 7 or 8 hours, no one had any idea. Finally, Foley is just raking it in with his hands; we haven’t put a foot of dirt on top of the grave, nothing. We weren’t even close… It was the s—, it was so bad.”
In addition to Bradshaw, Goldust, Crush, Terry Gordy, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, and Paul Bearer all ensured the Phenom was buried.
In later matches, WWE would wisely use machinery to quickly transport dirt on top of a grave, rather than leaving the wrestlers to do it.
Eight years later, JBL would compete in a first-ever match, the first Last Ride match, where The Undertaker would again lose due to interference.
