Taker and Kane finally face off

1998 didn’t start too well for the Undertaker. At the Royal Rumble, he was defeated by Shawn Michaels in a casket match, after his brother, Kane, who earlier had seemed that he was siding with the Undertaker, turned on him during the match. Kane interfered, and allowed Michaels to earn the victory. After the match, Kane locked the Undertaker in the casket and lit it on fire.

After that, the Undertaker vanished from the Federation for over a month. In February, Taker finally returned much to the surprise of Kane and Paul Bearer. For months, the Undertaker had vowed he would never fight his brother, but upon making his return that February, the Undertaker said he would indeed face off against Kane for the very first time at WrestleMania XIV.

At WrestleMania XIV, the Undertaker took on Kane for the first time. The older brother prevailed in the match, as he tombstoned Kane three times for the win. The Undertaker had won the first of the battles to come. At "Unforgiven" In Your House, Taker and Kane battled once again, this time in an "Inferno Match." In this match, the Undertaker actually set his younger brother on fire to earn the win. Kane certainly had flashbacks of his childhood disaster, but this time, the Undertaker didn’t feel bad for him.

In the second-ever "Hell in the Cell" match that June at King of the Ring, the Undertaker took on Mankind in probably the most unforgettable match in Federation history. The Undertaker absolutely destroyed Mankind, as he threw him off the 15 foot high cell and then chokeslammed him through the top of the cage! If that wasn’t enough, Taker choke slammed Mankind onto thousands of thumbtacks in the ring. It was brutal, with the Undertaker prevailing.

After going through a hellacious one-on-one battle with Mankind, the Undertaker was forced to team up with Stone Cold Steve Austin as they took on and defeated Kane and Mankind to become Tag Team Champions at Fully Loaded. Their title reign did not last too long, as they soon dropped the belts in a four-way match to Mankind and Kane.

At Breakdown, the Undertaker and Kane simultaneously pinned Federation Champion Steve Austin. They both were awarded the victory. Mr. McMahon forced the two brothers to face each other at the Judgment Day Pay-Per-View. The Undertaker and Kane then turned against Mr. McMahon. This new feud between Taker/Kane and Mr. McMahon would continue for the next couple of months.

Stone Cold was the guest referee for the Undertaker/Kane match at "Judgment Day" In Your House for the vacant Federation Championship. The match ended in a no-contest, but more importantly for the Undertaker, at Judgment Day, he reunited with Paul Bearer.

At the Survivor Series, the Undertaker takes on Kane in the first round of the "Deadly Game" Federation Title Tournament. Undertaker won this match over his younger brother, only to lose to The Rock in the semi-finals by disqualification, due to Kane’s interference.

At the end of the year, the Undertaker took on Stone Cold Steve Austin in a Buried Alive Match at "Rock Bottom" In Your House. In this match, Kane got some revenge on his brother, appearing out of a grave and tombstoning his older brother into it, allowing Austin to bury him alive. The year did not end on a good note for the Dead Man!

Hell unleashed!

As 1999 started, the Undertaker changed his look and personality. He formed a group that would become one of the most powerful and dominant the Federation has ever seen - the "Ministry of Darkness." His first three members were Mideon and the Acolytes. Soon after, Taker added Edge, Christian, Viscera and Gangrel. Taker’s "Ministry" was all based around the doing the bidding of the so-called "Greater Power."

As the alliance gained more momentum, the Undertaker immediately went after the two people he hated most, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Mr. McMahon. At WrestleMania XV, he took on and defeated one of Mr. McMahon’s top hands in the Corporation, the Big Boss Man, in a "Hell in the Cell" Match.

At "Backlash" In Your House, Ken Shamrock was out to get revenge for Mr. McMahon. Shamrock fell short in this match, as the Undertaker’s strength and power prevailed. That night, the Undertaker kidnapped Stephanie McMahon in a limousine and the abduction began. The following night on RAW, the Undertaker tried to abduct Stephanie in a black wedding, but she was saved by Stone Cold Steve Austin. Three days later on SmackDown!, the Undertaker’s "Ministry" joined forces with Shane McMahon’s "Corporation." Both wanted to get revenge on Mr. McMahon. This newly formed "Corporate Ministry," was created and was an extremely powerful force in the Federation for the next few months. On June 7, the "Greater Power" was finally revealed. It was Mr. McMahon himself.

In May, it was history once again for the Undertaker, as he defeated Stone Cold Steve Austin to become Federation Champion for the third time in his career. However, it would be a short title reign for the Dead Man, as he was defeated by Austin on June 28 at RAW.

At Fully Loaded in July, Taker once again lost to Stone Cold, but this night was historic because it started the alliance of the two most powerful men in the Federation - the Undertaker and the Big Show. Over the next few months, this powerful duo took the tag team field by storm. They defeated X-Pac and Kane to win the Tag Team Championships at SummerSlam, only to drop the belts eight days later on RAW to Mankind and The Rock. This would not be the last time these two teams met, as Undertaker and Big Show won the belts back on September 7 at SmackDown! in a buried alive match.

Two weeks later, in a "Dark Side Rules" match, Taker told Mideon and Viscera to take his place. They both teamed up with the Big Show to defend the titles and lost the match to Mankind and The Rock. As a result of refusing to wrestle Triple H that Thursday on SmackDown!, Mr. McMahon took Taker out of the "Six Pack Challenge" match at Unforgiven. Taker then said that if Mr. McMahon was going to take him out of the match, then he’d walk out of the Federation.

The American Bad Ass

The Undertaker returned with a bang at Judgement Day in May 2000! As Triple H battled The Rock in an Iron Man Match, a biker-clad Undertaker rode his Harley to ringside! The look had changed, but the Taker was back! The American Bad Ass cleaned house of the McMahon-Helmsley Faction -- and by chokeslamming Triple H, the Taker inadvertently helped the Game to win the World Wrestling Federation Championship!

The following month at King of the Ring, the Taker teamed with Kane and The Rock to take on Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon and Triple H. One of the most spectacular moments of the match came when the Undertaker chokeslammed Triple H from the top rope, through a ringside table!

The Undertaker would then cross paths with Kurt Angle. Through a series of mishaps and slip-ups, Angle drew the wrath of the Taker. At Fully Loaded, the American Bad Ass met the American Hero, and it was the Bad Ass who emerged victorious.

Just weeks later, Kane turned his back on the Undertaker. Kane claimed to be a monster, and he said he would destroy his brother. At SummerSlam, it was instead the Undertaker who dominated -- even unmasking Kane for the first time ever.

The brothers would meet again at Unforgiven in September, as the Undertaker and Kane were participants in a Fatal Fourway

Match for the World Wrestling Federation Championship. Chris Benoit and The Rock were also involved in the bout, which

saw Rock successfully defend his title by pinning the Rabid Wolverine.

Kane would have the last laugh at Unforgiven, however, as he chokeslammed his brother, injuring the Dead Man. The Taker

was out of action for over a month before returning just prior to the Survivor Series. When he finally did return, he opened up

"Dead Man Inc." and vowed to take the World Wrestling Federation Championship from Kurt Angle at the Survivor Series.

Angle would retain his title at the Survivor Series, tricking the Undertaker by using his brother Eric Angle to confuse the Dead

Man.

At the Survivor Series, the Undertaker celebrated a "Decade of Destruction," as it was 10 years prior -- at the 1990 Survivor

Series -- that the Taker made his World Wrestling Federation debut!

In December 2000 at Armageddon, the Undertaker vowed to make someone famous in the Six Way Hell in the Cell bout.

That competitor turned out to be Rikishi, as the Taker threw the 400-pound giant off the top of the cell!