After being buried alive, The Undertaker returned at Survivor Series again pitting him against Mankind, but with a unique stipulation; hanging above the ring was Paul Bearer, enclosed in a steel cage. If Undertaker won the match, he would be able to get his hands on Bearer. Even though The Undertaker won the match, interference from The Executioner enabled Bearer to escape Undertaker's clutches. It was also at this event that Undertaker had developed a more informal, casual "Deadman" incarnation than before. In this then-new form, he took on a Gothic, brash and rebelling persona (perhaps to better fit in with the then-budding, more adult-oriented Attitude Era). In this form, he proclaimed himself as "The Lord of Darkness". Following Survivor Series, The Undertaker briefly turned his attention to The Executioner, who had been interfering in his matches since his arrival. At , The Undertaker defeated The Executioner in an Armageddon rules match. He then moved on to feud with Vader, whom he faced in January 1997 at the Royal Rumble in a singles match, which Undertaker lost after Bearer interfered on behalf of his new protégé. The two then clashed in the Royal Rumble match itself as they made it to the final moments of the match, but both were eliminated by Stone Cold Steve Austin, who had crept back into the match after his elimination was unseen. He faced both Vader and Austin in a four-corners elimination match for the vacant WWF Championship at , but Bret Hart won. However, the following month, The Undertaker managed to win the WWF Championship for the second time by defeating Sycho Sid at WrestleMania 13.