On October 19th, 2002, Brock Lesnar defeats The Undertaker in Hell in a Cell. The Undertaker and Brock Lesnar have had a storied rivalry. Lesnar is the man that defeated the Undertaker’s undefeated streak at WrestleMania.
These two superstars are two of the greatest ever to compete. In 2002, The Undertaker was already a sure-fire WWE Hall Of Fame Legend.
He was WWE Champion on three occasions, Undisputed Champion, Hardcore Champion, and multi-time tag team champion. He had done it all.
Brock Lesnar was a rookie in 2002. However, as a rookie, he was the WWE Champion. He defeated the Rock at Summerslam to claim the title. Lesnar and The Undertaker had been on a collision course for quite some time.
Dead Man Bleeding
Unlike a lot of the storylines today, WWE went all out to make sure this rivalry was personal. Hell in A Cell is a match that ends the most brutal rivalries. This was no exception.
At the last PPV Unforgiven, Brock Lesnar and The Undertakers match was declared a no-contest after both combatants started brawling with referees. Both superstars were busted open but still came back for more.
The next week on an episode of WWE Smackdown Brock Lesnar was being interviewed by Funaki.
Indeed, Funaki added fuel to the fire by showing the WWE Champion the steel chair that the Undertaker bent on Brock’s head at Unforgiven. This was a bad move by the ace reporter. Brock literally threw him from one end of the ring to the other.
That same night, after The Undertaker gave Matt Hardy his last ride, Lesnar attacked the phenom repeatedly with the WWE Championship.
You could hear Paul Heyman in the background mock the Undertaker saying “Look at that Deadman bleeding.” The Undertaker had never been beaten down like this in his entire career.
Here Comes The Pain
Undertaker found himself in another match with Version 1 Matt Hardy. This was a falls count anywhere match. Mr. Mattitude lured Undertaker to the backstage area. There, Brock Lesnar again attacked the phenom.
He F5’d The deadman onto a wooden pallet. Hardy covered The Undertaker for the win. Brock Lesnar just cost The Undertaker a match with Matt Hardy. Lesnar picked up a propane tank and broke Undertaker’s arm with it.
The Undertaker screamed in pain as he held his right arm. Undertaker may be a deadman bleeding but Brock Lesnar truly was a dead man walking. His Judgment Day was coming.
Making People Famous
As Paul Heyman and his client began to leave the arena. Smackdown General Manager Stephanie McMahon informed them that the stipulation for the match at No Mercy was approved.
The match will be for the WWE Championship inside Hell in a Cell. Lesnar had never been in Hell in a Cell before. The Undertaker was the judge, jury, and executioner of those matches. Brock Lesnar was about to face the death penalty.
The next week on Smackdown Big Evil waited for Lesnar in the parking lot. His arm was taped with the words “No Pain” written on it.
Matt Hardy walked to the ring and talked about his big win over the Undertaker. Arguably that win gave Matt Hardy recognition he hadn’t received yet. That win made him famous.
Matt’s fame was going to his head. This upset the Undertaker left the parking lot and went after Hardy.
The Undertaker took all his frustrations out on the Mattitude founder. The Undertaker beat Matt Hardy with his cast. Undertaker was so enraged that he made a crucial mistake.
He went to hit Matt Hardy, but he ducked and Takers injured hand struck the ring post. The Undertaker reinjured his arm.
Hell in A Cell heats Up
As The Undertaker sat in the trainers’ room, Brock Lesnar, Paul Heyman, and a special guest headed to the ring. The special guest was a woman named was Tracy. Undertaker made a beeline to the ring after Lesnar. Tracy stopped him and asked;
“How could you Mark, how could you cheat on your wife with me.”
She further apologized to Sarah (Undertaker’s wife at the time) that her husband was a cheater.
That night Brock Lesnar defeated Tajiri and Rey Mysterio in a 2 vs 1 match. The Undertaker attacked Brock. He hit Lesnar so hard with the cast, the Beast bounced out of the ring.
The following week, the Undertaker said he did know who Tracy was, but it was years before he married his wife.
During a match with Chuck Palumbo, Undertaker attacked Lesnar. He busted Lesnar open with a few well-placed rights. Lesnar demanded that Stephanie McMahon make the Undertaker take the cast off before the Hell in a Cell Match, however, Stephanie disagreed.
Brock then threatened her but Undertaker saved the day. Lesnar caught Undertaker with a spinebuster and proceeded to stomp his injured arm. Heyman, feeling confident Undertaker was injured tried to kick the deadman.
However, Lesnar’s advocate was caught. The Undertaker drove his cast into Heyman leaving him a bloody mess. Brock Lesnar was guilty. Guilty of destroying the Undertaker’s professional and personal life. At Hell in the Cell, he will be sentenced.
Brock Lesnar defeats The Undertaker in Hell in A Cell
The Match
WWE No Mercy 2002 was a very story-driven PPV. Raw and Smackdown had very personal rivalries that needed to be settled.
On Raw, Undertaker’s brother Kane was dealing with Triple H and the infamous Katie Vick storyline. Needless to say, both Brothers of Destruction had their hands full. No one had ever gotten this personal with the Undertaker.
As soon as the two were locked inside the cell, Lesnar went after the Undertaker’s arm. Undertaker screamed in pain as the WWE Champion pummeled his injured limb.
Finally, the Phenom caught Lesnar between the eyes with the cast. He rammed Lesnar’s head into the steel steps.
Brock bled all over. With Heymans belt, Brock tied up Undertaker and used a steel chair to further injure that arm.
The Undertaker was in immense pain but fought back. Eventually, he chokeslammed the beast from the top rope. Still, Brock wasn’t done yet. He picked up the steel steeps and drove them into the skull of the Undertaker.
Brock Lesnar defeats The Undertaker in Hell in A Cell
Both combatants were gushing blood. This truly was hell. Undertaker did what he does best and beat the odds by giving Lesnar the Last Ride.
However, that was not enough to slay the beast. As Undertaker signaled for the tombstone, Brock Lesnar reversed it into an F5. Undertaker’s body hit the mat with a thud. Lesnar covered the deadman and retained the title.
Little did anyone know Brock Lesnar would do the unthinkable twice. On this day in pro wrestling history, he defeated the Undertaker in Hell In A Cell and years later ended the single greatest streak in wrestling history.
