History Wrestling / MinistryOfDarkness

The '''Ministry of Darkness''' was a PowerStable in Wrestling/{{WWE}} during the Wrestling/AttitudeEra. It was a satanic-like cult led by Wrestling/TheUndertaker. The cult abducted people and perform sinister "rituals" on them, and turned a few wrestlers into new followers.

It started in October of 1998 when Wrestling/TheUndertaker reunited with his former manager Wrestling/PaulBearer and [[FaceHeelTurn turned against his brother]] Wrestling/{{Kane}}. Undertaker referenced a "Ministry of Darkness" and admitted that [[SelfMadeOrphan he started the fire that killed his own parents]] and [[CainAndAbel burned Kane because Kane was weak]]. Taker continued feuding with Kane as well as Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin. During his feud with Austin he tried performing satanic-like rituals on him and even killing him. Undertaker's threat was seemingly ended when Austin and Kane buried him alive.

** The whole Higher Power angle is basically one massive VillainousBreakdown by [[spoiler: Vince [=McMahon=], as his hatred of Austin drove him completely insane to the point he formed a satanic cult from behind the scenes with himself as the [[{{Satan}} Higher Power]] that they worshiped and had them stalk and kidnap his own daughter as part of the plan to get revenge on Austin. It reached its peak during TheReveal, SlasherSmile and all.]]

->'''—Undertaker's Ministry Of Darkness entrance theme'''

The Ministry Of Darkness was a PowerStable in Wrestling/{{WWE}} during the Wrestling/AttitudeEra. It was a satanic-like cult led by Wrestling/TheUndertaker. The cult abducted people and perform sinister "rituals" on them, and turned a few wrestlers into new followers.

It started in October of 1998 when Wrestling/TheUndertaker reunited with his former manager Wrestling/PaulBearer and [[FaceHeelTurn turned against his brother]] Wrestling/{{Kane}}. Undertaker referenced a "Ministry Of Darkness" and admitted that [[SelfMadeOrphan he started the fire that killed his own parents]] and [[CainAndAbel burned Kane because Kane was weak]]. Taker continued feuding with Kane as well as Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin. During his feud with Austin he tried performing satanic-like rituals on him and even killing him. Undertaker's threat was seemingly ended when Austin and Kane buried him alive.

Undertaker's ultimate opinion of the gimmick when interviewed on his "This is My Yard" DVD was that, while he enjoyed the Ministry Of Darkness and was happy that it brought lesser known wrestlers like Wrestling/{{Edge}}, Wrestling/{{Christian}} and Bradshaw into the spotlight, he regarded the Corporate Ministry angle as a low point in his career because his character was a part of something "not derived from The Undertaker".

* EvilVersusEvil: Ministry Of Darkness versus Wrestling/TheCorporation, until the merger.

* [[MistreatmentInducedBetrayal Mistreatment-Induced]] MookFaceTurn: The Brood defected from the Ministry Of Darkness for the sake of Wrestling/{{Christian}}, whom Wrestling/{{Edge}} and Gangrel were ordered to help nail to the "symbol" after he [[YouHaveFailedMe failed]] Undertaker.

!!!"Accept the Tropes of Darkness as your saviors.":

!!'''Tropes associated with The Ministry Of Darkness include:'''

It was then revealed that The Undertaker's goal was to take control of the WWF from [[Wrestling/VinceMcMahon Vince [=McMahon=]]], [[EvilVersusEvil starting a feud with]] Wrestling/TheCorporation, as well as reveal that he was taking orders from a [[TheManBehindTheMan "Higher Power"]]. The Ministry then threatened Vince's daughter [[Wrestling/StephanieMcMahon Stephanie]], prompting Vince to go into PapaWolf mode and eventually a HeelFaceTurn. The Ministry then abducted Stephanie and The Undertaker [[IHaveYouNowMyPretty attempted to marry her]], but [[BigDamnHeroes this was thwarted by]] Vince's own ArchEnemy, Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin. After this it was revealed that Vince's son Shane (who had taken over the Corporation) was in cahoots with The Undertaker the whole time, and the Corporation merged with the Ministry to become the Corporate Ministry. It was then finally revealed that the "Higher Power" who masterminded the whole thing was none other than....... Vince [=McMahon=], and [[HijackedByGanon it was all part of a plan to get the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-h.html WWF World Heavyweight Title]] off of Austin once more]]. [[note]] Vince wasn't planned from the beginning to be the Higher Power, as should be obvious. The ShockingSwerve was due to no one else really being able to fill the role at the time ''but'' Vince. One possibility was to have Wrestling/MickFoley be the Higher Power, but he backed out.[[/note]]

The Ministry collapsed after Vince was "banished" from the WWF (he came back), though a few members continued to follow the Undertaker until he took time off to heal injuries, then came back with his Biker gimmick. The Brood ultimately went their separate ways to varying degrees of success, and the Acolytes continued to exist as a tag team in the form of the APA (Acolyte Protection Agency) for a few more years. However, the group briefly resurfaced in 2004, when former member Bradshaw (now called Wrestling/JohnBradshawLayfield with a [[RichBitch Rich Bastard]] gimmick) hired Gangrel and Viscera to attack the Undertaker. They were simply known as The Ministry. They didn't last long at all, as The Undertaker took both of them out quickly, though Viscera did linger on for a time before changing his gimmick. Undertaker referenced the gimmick again a couple weeks later by [[UnwillingSuspension making a sacrifice of Orlando Jordan on his symbol]] to play mind games with JBL.

* AndNowYouMustMarryMe: Undertaker attempted to marry [[Wrestling/StephanieMcMahon Stephanie [=McMahon=]]], [[BigDamnHeroes but this was thwarted]] by Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin.
* AscendedExtra: A few of the Ministry's Mooks went on to become stars in their own right, such as Wrestling/{{Edge}}, [[Wrestling/JohnBradshawLayfield JBL]], and Wrestling/{{Christian}}.

* BigBad: [[spoiler:Vince [=McMahon=], [[HijackedByGanon aka The Higher Power]]]].

* BigBadDuumvirate: At first, Shane and Undertaker. At least it seemed this way until [[spoiler: TheReveal]]
** [[spoiler:CoDragons: To [[Wrestling/VinceMcMahon Vince [=McMahon=]]].]]

* ContinuitySnarl: Somewhat in 2004, when JBL brought back Gangrel and Viscera as the Ministry, there was no mention of JBL being a member of the Ministry in the past. In fact it was simply just said he paid them off, most likely to help sell JBL's [[RichBitch rich bastard]] gimmick. Though a couple of years later while on commentary JBL [[ContinuityNod referenced that he was part of the Ministry.]]

* DistressedDamsel: Undertaker was fond of kidnapping women during this era, such as Ryan Shamrock[[note]]The Ken Shamrock's [[UnrelatedBrothers "sister"]][[/note]] and [[Wrestling/StephanieMcMahon Stephanie [=McMahon=]]]. Mideon was practically a GenderFlipped example too until he was sacrificed.

* [[HijackedByGanon Hijacked by ]][[Wrestling/VinceMcMahon Vince [=McMahon=]]]

* LightIsNotGood: The Brood, who were [[BlondGuysAreEvil blonde]] [[Film/TheLostBoys Lost Boys-inspired]] vampires in white clothing, in stark contrast with the [[DarkIsEvil all black garb of the rest of the ministry]]. [[spoiler: Later on subverted in that The Brood defected from the group, but they were still blood sucking vampires.]]

--> "Where to, Stephanie? [[EvilLaugh Ahahaha]]!"

* [[TakeOverTheWorld Take Over the WWF]]: Wrestling/TheUndertaker revealed that his goal was to take control of the WWF from Vince [=McMahon=] ([[spoiler:though it was subverted when it was revealed Vince himself was the Higher Power, whose REAL goal was to get the title off of Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin]]).
* TheManBehindTheMan: The Undertaker's "Higher Power" who turns out to be [[spoiler:[[Vince [=McMahon=]]]].
* TheReveal: [[spoiler:Vince [=McMahon=]]] was the Higher Power.

** The whole Higher Power angle is basically one massive VillainousBreakdown by [[spoiler: VinceMcMahon, as his hatred of Austin drove him completely insane to the point he formed a satanic cult from behind the scenes with himself as the [[{{Satan}} Higher Power]] that they worshiped and had them stalk and kidnap his own daughter as part of the plan to get revenge on Austin. It reached its peak during TheReveal, SlasherSmile and all.]]
* VillainTeamUp: With their former enemies Wrestling/TheCorporation, probably has to do with the fact that [[spoiler:both {{Power Stable}}s were controlled by VinceMcMahon behind the scenes]].
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: [[spoiler: VinceMcMahon before TheReveal of him being the Higher Power.]]

* OurVampiresAreDifferent: The Brood.

* BecomingTheMask: Ken Shamrock accused The Undertaker of letting his character take over who he really was, referring to him by his real name, Mark, in order to try to get him to come back down to Earth.

That turned out not to be the case. [[ThoseTwoGuys Bradshaw and Faarooq]] (a.k.a. Wrestling/RonSimmons), as the Acolytes, kidnapped Dennis Knight, and it was revealed that they were now henchmen of the returning Undertaker, who performed a ritual and Knight became "Mideon" and a new member of the Ministry. That same night Undertaker announced his plans to [[TakeOverTheWorld conquer the WWF]]. They later did the same with Mabel, who became Viscera, and the Brood (Gangrel, Wrestling/{{Edge}}, and Wrestling/{{Christian}}) joined as well.

* LightIsNotGood: The Brood, who were [[BlondeGuysAreEvil blonde]] [[Film/TheLostBoys Lost Boys-inspired]] vampires in white clothing, in stark contrast with the [[DarkIsEvil all black garb of the rest of the ministry]]. [[spoiler: Later on subverted in that The Brood defected from the group, but they were still blood sucking vampires.]]

It was then revealed that The Undertaker's goal was to take control of the WWF from [[Wrestling/VinceMcMahon Vince [=McMahon=]]], [[EvilVersusEvil starting a feud with]] Wrestling/TheCorporation, as well as reveal that he was taking orders from a [[TheManBehindTheMan "Higher Power"]]. The Ministry then threatened Vince's daughter [[Wrestling/StephanieMcMahon Stephanie]], prompting Vince to go into PapaWolf mode and eventually a HeelFaceTurn. The Ministry then abducted Stephanie and The Undertaker [[IHaveYouNowMyPretty attempted to marry her]], but [[BigDamnHeroes this was thwarted by]] Vince's own ArchEnemy, Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin. After this it was revealed that Vince's son Shane (who had taken over the Corporation) was in cahoots with The Undertaker the whole time, and the Corporation merged with the Ministry to become the Corporate Ministry. It was then finally revealed that the "Higher Power" who masterminded the whole thing was none other than....... Vince [=McMahon=], and [[HijackedByGanon it was all part of a plan to get the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-h.html WWF World Heavyweight Title]] off of Austin once more]]. [[hottip:*: Vince wasn't planned from the beginning to be the Higher Power, as should be obvious. The ShockingSwerve was due to no one else really being able to fill the role at the time ''but'' Vince. One possibility was to have Wrestling/MickFoley be the Higher Power, but he backed out.]]

** [[IncrediblyLamePun Hijacked by McMahon-on?]]

** Although, one could've called it a ''[[RuleOfThree tri]]''[[RuleofThree umvirate]] by factoring in Triple H, no pun intended. His role in entrances, promos, and fights seemingly mirrored Undertaker's.

** Although, one could've called it a ''[[RuleOfThree tri]]''[[RuleofThree umvirate]] by factoring in Triple H's operational role in the team, no pun intended.

** Although, one could've called it a [[TheRuleOfThree triumvirate]] by factoring in Triple H's operational role in the team, no pun intended.

-> "Accept the Lord of Darkness as your savior. Allow the purity of evil to guide you."
->-- Undertaker's Ministry Of Darkness entrance theme

* TheManBehindTheMan: {{The Undertaker}}'s "Higher Power" who turns out to be [[spoiler:[[Vince [=McMahon=]]]].

The Ministry collapsed after Vince was "banished" from the WWF (he came back), though a few members continued to follow TheUndertaker until he took time off to heal injuries, then came back with his Biker gimmick. The Brood ultimately went their separate ways to varying degrees of success, and the Acolytes continued to exist as a tag team in the form of the APA (Acolyte Protection Agency) for a few more years. However, the group briefly resurfaced in 2004, when former member Bradshaw (now called Wrestling/JohnBradshawLayfield with a [[RichBitch Rich Bastard]] gimmick) hired Gangrel and Viscera to attack the Undertaker. They were simply known as The Ministry. They didn't last long at all, as The Undertaker took both of them out quickly, though Viscera did linger on for a time before changing his gimmick. Undertaker referenced the gimmick again a couple weeks later by [[UnwillingSuspension making a sacrifice of Orlando Jordan on his symbol]] to play mind games with JBL.

* EvilOverlord: TheUndertaker and his Higher Power, [[spoiler:Vince [=McMahon=]]]].

* YouHaveFailedMe: {{Christian}} suffered this from TheUndertaker after giving up Stephanie's location. It led to the Brood [[HeelFaceTurn turning against the Ministry]] after TheUndertaker tried to force {{Edge}} and Gangrel to flog him themselves. Nobody else ever jumped ship from the Ministry, by the way, before it dissolved.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Wrestling/MickFoley was supposedly intended to have been the original Higher Power, but backed out at the last minute, leading to the nonsensical ShockingSwerve.
** One definite rumor making the rounds at the time was that it would be Stephanie [=McMahon=].
** Also rumored, [[Wrestling/JakeRoberts Jake "The Snake" Roberts]].
*** It was Mick Foley himself who declined, feeling he was too injured to do a feud with Austin justice. Not to mention he was massively over as a goofy yet badass face and didn't even have a reason to feud with Austin and had been a major enemy of Undertaker for years, so it didn't make sense that WWE thought he would have been a choice for the role. And JakeRoberts wasn't even in WWE at the time, nor would they have hired him due to his personal problems (later that year he had his infamous "You wanna play 21?" incident).

** CoDragons: To [[Wrestling/VinceMcMahon Vince [=McMahon=]]]

* BlondGuysAreEvil: The Brood

* DarkMessiah: The Undertaker
* DiscOneFinalBoss: The Undertaker

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYYjoASNXB8&feature=related During the abduction of Stephanie]] cameraman apparently decided to make his holy mission to invoke this trope and make it looks like Undertaker is reciving a blowjob on the ring.

** The 500 lbs Viscera

* VillainousBreakdown: Vince [=McMahon=] after Wrestling/PaulBearer presented him with a teddy bear that was stolen from StephanieMcMahon's bedroom, and Undertaker set it on fire. [[spoiler: This turned out to be an act though]]
** The whole Higher Power angle is basically one massive VillainousBreakdown by [[spoiler: VinceMcMahon, as his hatred of Austin drove him completely insane to the point he formed a satanic cult from behind the scened with himself as the [[Satan Higher Power]] that they worshipped and had them stalk and kidnap his own daughter as part of the plan to get revenge on Austin. It reached it's peak during TheReveal, SlasherSmile and all]]

* VillainWithGoodPublicity: [[spoiler: VinceMcMahon before TheReveal of him being the Higher Power]]

* VillainousBreakdown: Vince [=McMahon=] after Wrestling/PaulBearer presented him with a teddy bear that was stolen from StephanieMcMahon's bedroom, and Undertaker set it on fire.

The Ministry Of Darkness was a PowerStable in Wrestling/{{WWE}} during the Wrestling/AttitudeEra. It was a satanic-like cult led by TheUndertaker. The cult abducted people and perform sinister "rituals" on them, and turned a few wrestlers into new followers.

* AndNowYouMustMarryMe: Undertaker attempted to marry Wrestling/StephanieMcMahon, [[BigDamnHeroes but this was thwarted]] by Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin.

* BigBad: [[spoiler:VinceMcMahon, [[HijackedByGanon aka The Higher Power]]]].

** CoDragons: To Wrestling/VinceMcMahon

* BlondeGuysAreEvil: The Brood

* ChewingTheScenery: [[spoiler: Wrestling/VinceMcMahon [[HijackedbyGanon revealing himself as the Higher Power]] is one of the most famous examples in wrestling. "IT'S ME AUSTIN!!!! IT'S ME AUSTIN!!!! IT WAS ME ALL ALONG AUSTIN!!!!"]]

* DistressedDamsel: Undertaker was fond of kidnapping women during this era, such as Ryan Shamrock and Stephanie McMahon. Mideon was practically a GenderFlipped example too until he was sacrificed.

* EvilOverlord: TheUndertaker and his Higher Power, [[spoiler:VinceMcMahon]].
* EvilPlan: VinceMcMahon sending the Ministry to abduct Stephanie just to screw StoneColdSteveAustin.

* EvilVersusEvil: MinistryOfDarkness versus TheCorporation, until the merger.

* [[HijackedByGanon Hijacked by ]]Wrestling/VinceMcMahon

* LoserLeavesTown: StoneColdSteveAustin successfully retained his title at Fully Loaded 1999. As a result per stipulation, VinceMcMahon was "banished" and could no longer interfere with WWE business, thus putting and end to the Corporate Ministry and the Austin vs [=McMahon=] feud, which had been the main storyline of WWE for over a year. This didn't last too long as Vince came back two months later.
* [[MistreatmentInducedBetrayal Mistreatment-Induced]] MookFaceTurn: The Brood defected from the MinistryOfDarkness for the sake of Wrestling/{{Christian}}, whom Wrestling/{{Edge}} and Gangrel were ordered to help nail to the "symbol" after he [[YouHaveFailedMe failed]] Undertaker.

* {{Satan}} / GodOfEvil: VinceMcMahon as the Higher Power

** TheUndertaker also "hung" the Wrestling/BigBossman at ''Wrestling/{{WrestleMania}} 15'', at the end of a Hell in the Cell match that most people found very disappointing. Of course, [[UnexplainedRecovery he got better]], and in fact nobody ever mentioned it again.
* VillainousBreakdown: VinceMcMahon after Wrestling/PaulBearer presented him with a teddy bear that was stolen from StephanieMcMahon's bedroom, and Undertaker set it on fire.

*** It was MickFoley himself who declined, feeling he was too injured to do a feud with Austin justice. Not to mention he was massively over as a goofy yet badass face and didn't even have a reason to feud with Austin and had been a major enemy of Undertaker for years, so it didn't make sense that WWE thought he would have been a choice for the role. And JakeRoberts wasn't even in WWE at the time, nor would they have hired him due to his personal problems (later that year he had his infamous "You wanna play 21?" incident).

* SelfMadeOrphan: TheUndertaker.
* SinisterMinister: TheUndertaker, obviously.
** Also, PaulBearer when he presided over Undertaker and Stephanie's "wedding".

* [[TakeOverTheWorld Take Over the WWF]]: TheUndertaker revealed that his goal was to take control of the WWF from VinceMcMahon ([[spoiler:though it was subverted when it was revealed Vince himself was the Higher Power, whose REAL goal was to get the title off of StoneColdSteveAustin]]).
* TheManBehindTheMan: {{The Undertaker}}'s "Higher Power" who turns out to be [[spoiler:VinceMcMahon]].
* TheReveal: [[spoiler:VinceMcMahon]] was the Higher Power.

** TheUndertaker also "hung" the Wrestling/BigBossman at ''Wrestlemania 15'', at the end of a Hell in the Cell match that most people found very disappointing. Of course, [[UnexplainedRecovery he got better]], and in fact nobody ever mentioned it again.

** TheUndertaker also "hung" BigBossMan at ''Wrestlemania 15'', at the end of a Hell in the Cell match that most people found very disappointing. Of course, [[UnexplainedRecovery he got better]], and in fact nobody ever mentioned it again.

It started in October of 1998 when Wrestling/TheUndertaker reunited with his former manager Wrestling/PaulBearer and [[FaceHeelTurn turned against his brother]] Wrestling/{{Kane}}. Undertaker referenced a "MinistryOfDarkness" and admitted that [[SelfMadeOrphan he started the fire that killed his own parents]] and [[CainAndAbel burned Kane because Kane was weak]]. Taker continued feuding with Kane as well as Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin. During his feud with Austin he tried performing satanic-like rituals on him and even killing him. Undertaker's threat was seemingly ended when Austin and Kane buried him alive.

It was then revealed that The Undertaker's goal was to take control of the WWF from Wrestling/VinceMcMahon, [[EvilVersusEvil starting a feud with]] Wrestling/TheCorporation, as well as reveal that he was taking orders from a [[TheManBehindTheMan "Higher Power"]]. The Ministry then threatened Vince's daughter [[Wrestling/StephanieMcMahon Stephanie]], prompting Vince to go into PapaWolf mode and eventually a HeelFaceTurn. The Ministry then abducted Stephanie and The Undertaker [[IHaveYouNowMyPretty attempted to marry her]], but [[BigDamnHeroes this was thwarted by]] Vince's own ArchEnemy, Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin. After this it was revealed that Vince's son Shane (who had taken over the Corporation) was in cahoots with The Undertaker the whole time, and the Corporation merged with the Ministry to become the Corporate Ministry. It was then finally revealed that the "Higher Power" who masterminded the whole thing was none other than....... VinceMcMahon, and [[HijackedByGanon it was all part of a plan to get the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-h.html WWF World Heavyweight Title]] off of Austin once more]]. [[hottip:*: Vince wasn't planned from the beginning to be the Higher Power, as should be obvious. The ShockingSwerve was due to no one else really being able to fill the role at the time ''but'' Vince. One possibility was to have Wrestling/MickFoley be the Higher Power, but he backed out.]]

->-- Undertaker's MinistryOfDarkness entrance theme

The MinistryOfDarkness was a PowerStable in Wrestling/{{WWE}} during the AttitudeEra. It was a satanic-like cult led by TheUndertaker. The cult abducted people and perform sinister "rituals" on them, and turned a few wrestlers into new followers.

It started in October of 1998 when TheUndertaker reunited with his former manager PaulBearer and [[FaceHeelTurn turned against his brother]] {{Wrestler/Kane}}. Undertaker referenced a "MinistryOfDarkness" and admitted that [[SelfMadeOrphan he started the fire that killed his own parents]] and [[CainAndAbel burned Kane because Kane was weak]]. Taker continued feuding with Kane as well as StoneColdSteveAustin. During his feud with Austin he tried performing satanic-like rituals on him and even killing him. Undertaker's threat was seemingly ended when Austin and Kane buried him alive.

That turned out not to be the case. [[ThoseTwoGuys Bradshaw and Faarooq]] (a.k.a. RonSimmons), as the Acolytes, kidnapped Dennis Knight, and it was revealed that they were now henchmen of the returning Undertaker, who performed a ritual and Knight became "Mideon" and a new member of the Ministry. That same night Undertaker announced his plans to [[TakeOverTheWorld conquer the WWF]]. They later did the same with Mabel, who became Viscera, and the Brood (Gangrel, {{Edge}}, and {{Christian}}) joined as well.


It was then revealed that TheUndertaker's goal was to take control of the WWF from VinceMcMahon, [[EvilVersusEvil starting a feud with]] TheCorporation, as well as reveal that he was taking orders from a [[TheManBehindTheMan "Higher Power"]]. The Ministry then threatened Vince's daughter [[StephanieMcMahon Stephanie]], prompting Vince to go into PapaWolf mode and eventually a HeelFaceTurn. The Ministry then abducted Stephanie and TheUndertaker [[IHaveYouNowMyPretty attempted to marry her]], but [[BigDamnHeroes this was thwarted by]] Vince's own ArchEnemy, StoneColdSteveAustin. After this it was revealed that Vince's son Shane (who had taken over the Corporation) was in cahoots with TheUndertaker the whole time, and the Corporation merged with the Ministry to become the Corporate Ministry. It was then finally revealed that the "Higher Power" who masterminded the whole thing was none other than....... VinceMcMahon, and [[HijackedByGanon it was all part of a plan to get the WWF title off of Austin once more]]. [[hottip:*: Vince wasn't planned from the beginning to be the Higher Power, as should be obvious. The ShockingSwerve was due to no one else really being able to fill the role at the time ''but'' Vince. One possibility was to have MickFoley be the Higher Power, but he backed out.]]

The Ministry collapsed after Vince was "banished" from the WWF (he came back), though a few members continued to follow TheUndertaker until he took time off to heal injuries, then came back with his Biker gimmick. The Brood ultimately went their separate ways to varying degrees of success, and the Acolytes continued to exist as a tag team in the form of the APA (Acolyte Protection Agency) for a few more years. However, the group briefly resurfaced in 2004, when former member Bradshaw (now called JohnBradshawLayfield with a [[RichBitch Rich Bastard]] gimmick) hired Gangrel and Viscera to attack the Undertaker. They were simply known as The Ministry. They didn't last long at all, as TheUndertaker took both of them out quickly, though Viscera did linger on for a time before changing his gimmick. Undertaker referenced the gimmick again a couple weeks later by [[UnwillingSuspension making a sacrifice of Orlando Jordan on his symbol]] to play mind games with JBL.

Undertaker's ultimate opinion of the gimmick when interviewed on his "This is My Yard" DVD was that, while he enjoyed the MinistryOfDarkness and was happy that it brought lesser known wrestlers like {{Edge}}, {{Christian}} and Bradshaw into the spotlight, he regarded the Corporate Ministry angle as a low point in his career because his character was a part of something "not derived from TheUndertaker".

* AndNowYouMustMarryMe: Undertaker attempted to marry StephanieMcMahon, [[BigDamnHeroes but this was thwarted]] by StoneColdSteveAustin.
* AscendedExtra: A few of the Ministry's Mooks went on to become stars in their own right, such as Wrestling/{{Edge}}, [[JohnBradshawLayfield JBL]], and Wrestling/{{Christian}}.
* BecomingTheMask: Ken Shamrock accused TheUndertaker of letting his character take over who he really was, referring to him by his real name, Mark, in order to try to get him to come back down to Earth.

** CoDragons: To VinceMcMahon

* CardCarryingVillain: TheUndertaker was this in spades during this era. Right before TheReveal of the Higher Power, VinceMcMahon (via titantron) demanded that the "evil demonic SOB show his face to the world now". Right after this [[spoiler:Vince revealed himself to be the Higher Power in an over-the-top villainous, gloating manner. So he basically called himself evil and demonic and was proud of it.]]
* ChewingTheScenery: [[spoiler: VinceMcMahon [[HijackedbyGanon revealing himself as the Higher Power]] is one of the most famous examples in wrestling. "IT'S ME AUSTIN!!!! IT'S ME AUSTIN!!!! IT WAS ME ALL ALONG AUSTIN!!!!"]]

* DarkMessiah: TheUndertaker
* DiscOneFinalBoss: TheUndertaker
* DistressedDamsel: Undertaker was fond of kidnapping women during this era, such as Ryan Shamrock and StephanieMcMahon. Mideon was practically a GenderFlipped example too until he was sacrificed.

* FatBastard: PaulBearer, of course.

* [[HijackedByGanon Hijacked by ]]VinceMcMahon

* LightIsNotGood: The Brood, who were [[BlondeGuysAreEvil blonde]] [[TheLostBoys Lost Boys-inspired]] vampires in white clothing, in stark contrast with the [[DarkIsEvil all black garb of the rest of the ministry]]. [[spoiler: Later on subverted in that The Brood defected from the group, but they were still blood sucking vampires.]]

* VillainousBreakdown: VinceMcMahon after PaulBearer presented him with a teddy bear that was stolen from StephanieMcMahon's bedroom, and Undertaker set it on fire.
* VillainTeamUp: With their former enemies TheCorporation, probably has to do with the fact that [[spoiler:both {{Power Stable}}s were controlled by VinceMcMahon behind the scenes]].
* WhatCouldHaveBeen: MickFoley was supposedly intended to have been the original Higher Power, but backed out at the last minute, leading to the nonsensical ShockingSwerve.

** Also rumored, [[JakeRoberts Jake "The Snake" Roberts]].

The MinistryOfDarkness was a PowerStable in WorldWrestlingEntertainment during the AttitudeEra. It was a satanic-like cult led by TheUndertaker. The cult abducted people and perform sinister "rituals" on them, and turned a few wrestlers into new followers.