The Undertaker – The Streak. The WWE released this DVD set commemorating ‘Taker’s 20-0 WrestleMania streak this year (I believe they also released one a few years back when he was 15-0… look for another one in a few years when it’s time to cash in again!), and I thought it would be worth a look.
This DVD is currently available on Netflix Streaming, for those who want to play along at home.
WrestleMania VII: The Undertaker v Jimmy Snuka: Crowd doesn’t quite know what to make of UT yet. Big staredown to start, until ‘Taker jumps him. Kick, kick, choke, choke. Jumping clothesline impresses the crowd, and then we go back to choking. Suplex, but an elbow drop misses. Snuka tries to mount a comeback, but ‘Taker’s just not having it, and dumps him to the outside. Tombstombe, and we’re 1-0 at 4:20. DUD, but historically significant enough, of course.
WrestleMania VIII: The Undertaker v Jake Roberts: What a difference a year makes! ‘Taker was coming off of a WWF Title feud with Hogan, and this was actually a pretty big deal at the time. Jake tries to jump him to start, and that goes about as well as you might imagine. Slugfest on the floor, and Jake eats post, but catches ‘Taker with a knee coming back in. He tries to capitalize, but, well, you know. Choke, choke, choke. Elbow drop actually connects this year, and there’s the jumping clothesline, as ‘Taker’s just literally running out of moves he can do within the confines of the character at this point. Tombstone, but Jake counters with the DDT! He doesn’t even manage to cover before ‘Taker does the sit up, and NOW the crowd is really going. 2nd DDT, and this time he goes after Paul Bearer on the floor instead of, you know, the pin. That gets him a tombstone out there (that misses by about 3 miles, give or take), and we’re 2-0 at 6:36. Total burial job, sending Jake to hell (see: WCW). DUD.
WrestleMania IX: The Undertaker v The Giant Gonzalez: Oh, fuck. Look, I see why they did this shit as feuds for ‘Taker. It was the kind of 90s junk they built a large part of the company on… but fuck dude. Who wants to sit through it 20 years later? Gonzalez with a choke to start, so ‘Taker runs (well, slowly walks) the ropes to gain leverage, and grabs a choke of his own. God forbid someone usurp The Undertaker in the choking department! God forbid! Ropewalk forearm makes its WrestleMania debut, but ‘Taker eats boot on a charge. Gonzalez with what sort of looks like a hip toss (it was more of a ‘hip directional suggestion’), and then a chinlock so loosely applied I can actually see people in the crowd pointing it out. Power of the Urn saves him from submitting to it (or, you know, logic), but the jumping clothesline fails (!!), and they brawl on the floor. UT no sells some tosses into the steps, and back inside, no sells some headbutts with the sit up. Slugfest gets Gonzalez to his knees, but Harvey Wippleman (the Giant’s manager) tosses a rag into the ring. Gonzalez gets a hold of it, and smothers ‘Taker with the chemical soaked rag, giving us a DQ 3-0 at 7:33, and a chance for a re-match at SummerSlam! Holy God was this bad! As I said, I understand why they booked these type of feuds for ‘Taker during this period, but at least blow it the fuck off. If I were in the crowd (or buying the PPV), I would have felt insanely ripped off by that lazy excuse for a match (you’re not good wrestlers, fine, but that was LAZY wrestling, and there is a difference), and the non-ending that settled literally nothing. -****.
WrestleMania XI: The Undertaker v King Kong Bundy: During the many ‘heel steals the urn’ feuds ‘Taker was in during the 90s before the Mankind stuff changed everything. Bundy tries to squash him (in the more literal sense), but misses, and gets the ropewalk forearm. UT turns his attention to Ted DiBiase at ringside (Bundy’s manager) who has the urn, and goes to the floor to steal it back, which pops the crowd more than anything they’ve done in the ring so far. Well, um, that kinda kills the whole point of the match doesn’t it? Back inside, slugfest ensues, as DiBiase summons Charles Wright (playing Kama, the Supreme Fighting Machine) to steal the urn back. Yes, because this shit can’t be blown off at WrestleMania with a simple negative-star Undertaker/Bundy match. It needs to continue, into a feud where a large black man takes the container housing the remains of a mans parents, and fashions himself a necklace. Great. Plus, forgetting the moral implications, imagine the various issues Kama would eventually run into when trying to sell that necklace to the Pawn Stars. Anyway, that distracts ‘Taker long enough for Bundy to slam him around. Nothing sucks more than your dead parents’ remains being stolen by a man calling himself the ‘Supreme Fighting Machine,’ than if it happens to occur directly before a 400 pound dude decides to stand on your head! Bundy grabs a chinlock (hey, but better than Gonzalez’s, at least!), and the Avalanche looks to finish, but UT no sells. Bodyslam (which looked like a failed attempt at the tombstone), and the jumping clothesline (there it is!) puts us at 4-0 at 6:36. -*.
WrestleMania XII: The Undertaker v Diesel: “I’m not afraid of the dark!” Big, proper slugfest to start, won by Diesel. He takes ‘Taker to the corner, but eats boot on a charge, but UT misses his elbow drop spot. He’s, like, 50/50 with those. They spill to the floor, and Diesel eats stair. Back in, early tombstone attempt pops the crowd (seriously guys? You thought it was over two minutes in?), and when that fails we get the ropewalk spot. To the floor again, ‘Taker grabs a chair, but misses, so Diesel dumps him into the rail, and then the post a couple of times for good measure. He then does the best thing one could do in that situation – walk back in the ring and stick both arms up in the air like he’s already won. Right, way to capitalize, Nash. Back in, ‘Taker is still… dead… and Diesel pounds away, so maybe I shouldn’t question his brilliant arm thrusting strategy. Sidewalk slam gets two. More arm thrusting, and he takes him into the corner for some abuse, but again gets caught on a cross corner charge. Neat double big boot spot puts both guys down, and you can guess what happens when Paul Bearer starts screaming about the power of the urn. Unfortunately, no amount of sitting up can save us from a rest hold, in this case, Nash grabbing a bearhug. Come on, dude! You just literally laid on the mat for a good two minutes – get it together, or go to WCW. ‘Taker comes back with a side suplex, and gets his elbow drop (50/50!). Flying clothesline gets two, but he stupidly goes for a backdrop (come on! When do you ever even use a backdrop? And on a guy Diesel’s size? And when his finisher is a powerbomb?), and, yeah, gets powerbombed, popping the hell out of the crowd. Diesel, of course, just stands there instead of actually covering, clearly learning nothing from Jake Roberts. 2nd powerbomb, and after a full minute, bothers to go for a cover – only to be met with UT sitting up into a chokehold, like some horror movie villain. Slugfest again, and ‘Taker gets his jumping clothesline. Chokeslam, and the tombstone puts him at 5-0 at 16:46. Well, a lot less choking! Nash actually wrestled a very smart match here, as he took his sweet time to do anything after his powerbombs, and never actually let UT kick out of them. He didn’t get buried, like Jake did. As for the match – I remember liking it a lot as an eleven year old mark. Doesn’t hold up as well today, though still solid, if unspectacular. ** ½.
WrestleMania 13: No Disqualification WWF Title Match: Sid v The Undertaker: Bret Hart comes down during the obligatory staredown to insult everybody, including Shawn Michaels (doing guest commentary, as he had recently injured his smile). Sid finally gets sick of him, and powerbombs him. I know this led to one of Bret’s best periods, but I personally hated this stuff, as I had gotten hooked on wrestling during the Hart Brothers feud in 1994, and seeing Bret acting like, frankly, an asshole, wasn’t what I wanted to see. Anyway, we finally start, as UT jumps Sid, in a turnaround from the standard operating procedure. Slam gets two, and it wouldn’t be the first two minutes of an Undertaker match without the ropewalk forearm. He misses an avalanche (why even try that?), and Sid grabs a bearhug way, way, way too early into the bout. It goes on for a long while, too. ‘Taker finally breaks it, and they go to the floor, where Sid drops him on the rail a couple of times. Slam on (but not through) the Spanish announce table, and then he posts him. So much of this feels like I could just copy-and-paste from the Diesel match the year before. Back inside, Sid grabs a camel clutch, because, why not? Sid with a sloppy looking powerslam for a series of two counts (a spot I love), and he hits his big, big legdrop for another series of twos. Choke, choke, choke – but with a Sid variation – BITING! ‘Taker comes back with the jumping clothesline, but misses his 50/50 elbow drop. Sid grabs a chinlock, because, again, why not? It’s just the WrestleMania main event. There’s a guy in the front row literally falling asleep! ‘Taker comes back with a gorgeous powerslam for two, and applies a nerve hold he must have learned from his classic producing series with Yokozuna in 1994. Double big boot spot, as I again wonder if I can just copy-and-paste a bunch of this from last year. Is ‘Taker going to try a backdrop next? Sid actually makes it up first, and hammers away with a flying axehandle. 2nd rope flying clothesline (in the loosest sense of the word, as it barely connected) gets two, and a slam. Sid goes all the way up, but ‘Taker crotches him, waking the crowd up, and slamming him off. ‘Taker with a flying clothesline for two, and he looks to finish. Tombstone, but Sid reverses for two. Bret Hart runs in, and nails Sid with a chair during a slugfest, allowing ‘Taker a chokeslam for two. Criss cross, but ‘Taker misses the jumping clothesline. Oh, he’s a’gonna be pissed! Sid goes for the powerbomb, but here’s Bret Hart again. He gives Sid a stunner, and one tombstone later we’re 6-0, and have a new WWF Champion at 21:23. A few nice spots, but badly booked, too long, and ‘Taker looked horribly weak, as he needed Bret Hart to win the title. ½*.
WrestleMania XIV: The Undertaker v Kane: The first of thousands of meetings between these two. I was actually so disinterested with this show at the time (and the WWF in general, after Montreal), that I remember actually turning it off sometime during this match. The suck that was WCW would eventually lead me back. Obligatory staredown to start. ‘Take wins a slugfest, but Kane no sells it all anyway, and won’t even play along with the ropewalk spot! Kane hangs him in a tree of woe, and, um, woe ensues. Kane dumps him, and abuses him with the ring steps, including just launching them off of his ribs like a basketball in one cool spot. Suplex back in, and a chokeslam off of a criss cross gets two. Chinlock (see, Sid, it’s a resthold, but it’s not two minutes into the damn match!), and Kane continues the offense with ‘Taker’s own 50/50 elbow (which hits)! Unfortunately, he then goes right back to the chinlock, but I appreciate the effort. ‘Taker dumps him, but a dive over the top misses, and Kane guides him right through the Spanish announce table. See, Sid, we go through the table. Back in, Kane with a flying clothesline for two. Kane with the tombstone, but it only gets two, and he gets desperate, unloading on ‘Taker with punches. Slugfest won by ‘Taker, and he gets the chokeslam. Tombstone, but Kane kicks out – which was pretty crazy shit at the time. ‘Taker with another, and he still kicks out! ‘Taker with a flying clothesline, but Kane no sells, only to eat a 3rd tombstone – and that does it at 16:48, to make him 7-0. They must have had insane confidence in Kane at the time to let him kick out of not one, but TWO tombstones – which was pretty much unheard of at the time. The match was perfectly fine, and seemed like the completion of Vince’s dream of what he imagined the Undertaker v Undertaker match from SummerSlam ’94 would be – only with more developed movesets, as ‘Taker had advanced beyond the strictly ‘deadman’ moves by this point. ** ½.
WrestleMania XV: Hell in a Cell Match: The Undertaker v Big Boss Man: Bossman wins a slugfest to start, but quickly eats a clothesline (from hell?!) for two. ‘Taker tries a backdrop (again, why?), and takes a neckbreaker for two. They brawl to the floor, and into the cell. Bossman grabs the handcuffs, and cuffs ‘Taker to the cell, leaving him helpless to nightstick abuse. Oh, but so it would seem! Before Bossman can adequately abuse ‘Taker with his stick, he breaks free, and he has to settle for choking him with it. Finally back inside (though, I’m not sure how that’s really better… other than that the match can end there, I guess) and ‘Taker hits the jumping clothesline. Ropewalk forearm, but Bossman crotches him. Slugfest ends when ‘Taker returns the ballshot favor, and a tombstone puts him at 8-0 at 9:48. Brutal. In the wrong ways. -*. Interestingly, this wouldn’t even be Bossman’s worst Hell in a Cell match.
WrestleMania X-7: The Undertaker v Triple H: We don’t even make it into the ring, starting on the floor, with Trips casually going through the makeshift Spanish announce position (the regular one had been broken earlier, and they had a little flimsy table in its place). Inside, ‘Taker with a big backdrop (it finally worked!), and a cross corner clothesline. Powerslam, but the 50/50 elbow fails. Criss cross, and UT’s jumping clothesline finds the mark. Oh, shit! He better slow down! We’re only a few minutes in, and by my count he only has, what, ropewalk, chokeslam, tombstone, and maybe, flying clothesline left. Oh, and choking, of course. And, indeed, he goes for the ropewalk next, but gets slammed off. HHH with a straight neckbreaker for two, and he pounds away. Swinging variation gets a series of two counts, and he gets into a shoving match with the referee about it, in a cute spot. He grabs his sledgehammer from ringside (because why wouldn’t it be there? Actually, in high school, that was one of my friends constant rips on wrestling. The weapons under the ring, or in random places around ringside. He found this ridiculous, and would always bring it up any time I would try to broach the subject of wrestling with him. Can’t say he didn’t have a point). Anyway, the ref pulls it away from him, but Trips still sets up the Pedigree, only to get countered, as UT hits a slingshot, right into the uppity referee. Chokeslam, and the ref actually recovers quickly enough to count two, so ‘Taker beats the piss out of him to show him how to properly sell a ref bump. Okay then. UT dumps him, in an impressive bump from HHH, and backdrops him into the crowd. Man, he is ON with his backdrops tonight! They brawl through the crowd, over to the production area, and up various levels of scaffolding like they’re at WCW Uncensored. HHH grabs a random chair (the placement of which actually makes sense!) and just unloads on poor ‘Taker, but gets caught, and chokeslammed off of the scaffold onto the area floor. Actually, onto a big giant mattress, but it looked really cool. ‘Taker follows him down with a flying elbow, and they brawl back through the crowd. Back in the ring, we see the ref is somehow STILL down, so ‘Taker grabs the sledgehammer, and whips the crowd into a frenzy. Unfortunately, he can’t get a move in on HHH, as Hunter gets in a well time ballshot. Main event style slugfest won by HHH, and he goes for a tombstone, gets reversed, but there’s no referee. ‘Taker calls for a powerbomb (he was using one as a finisher around this period), but Triple H counters it mid-air with a sledgehammer shot for two. Yeah, the ref should be a vegetable at this point – and in no way should he be trusted with officiating any sort of sporting events. HHH into the corner with a ten-punch count, but ‘Taker pulls him off into the powerbomb to make it 9-0 at 18:19. Not as good as I remember it being when I was in high school, but definitely a solid match. ***.
WrestleMania X8: No Disqualification Match: The Undertaker v Ric Flair: This is the first year I remember them really trumping up ‘The Streak,’ though it definitely wasn’t as big of a thing as it is these days. They waste no time with staredowns, going right into a brawl, and spilling to the floor, where Flair takes control, until ‘Taker posts him. Back inside, Flair botches the Flair Flip, but manages it on the 2nd try, and eats boot. Kinda weird to think he seemed like he was finishing his run THEN (not even being able to pull off moves named after him, and all), and he’s still going strong a full ten years later. Flair does a noteworthy bladejob (which is… why I’m noting it), and ‘Taker hits a superplex for two. Odd transition there, as UT actually physically put him on the top for the superplex, when it looked like he was supposed to end up there on his own, but another attempt at a Flair Flip failed. 50/50 elbow misses, and Flair chops away. ‘Taker no sells, and it’s ropewalk time, but he gets slammed off by the man who knows more about that than anyone. More chopping, but ‘Taker catches a sidewalk slam for two. Big boot misses, and Flair dumps him. On the floor, Flair uses a piece of ‘Taker’s motorcycle, and a piece of the ring set. Back in, Flair gets the figure four, but ‘Taker chokeslams his way out. That gets two, so ‘Taker abuses the ref (‘cause, yeah, that’s the appropriate response when you fail – beat on someone smaller than you who had nothing to do with it!). ‘Taker looks to finish Flair with the motorcycle pipe, but Arn Anderson runs in out of nowhere, and nails ‘Taker, giving Flair a two count. Undertaker grabs poor Arn (who actually bothered to blade!), but Flair saves with a chair. It doesn’t last long, however, and it’s powerbomb time. They botch it, however, but they cover nicely by saying Flair was ‘countering’ it. Tombstone makes him 10-0 at 18:47. This would have been well served to lose ten minutes, and trim all the punchy-kicky stuff I glossed over that made up a good bulk of the match. * ½.
WrestleMania XIX: Handicap Match: The Undertaker v The Big Show & A-Train: Chokeslam right away on Albert to start for two, and the heels bail to regroup. Back, ‘Taker catches him with the ropewalk, drawing Show in, and allowing Albert a sitdown powerbomb. Show posts him for good measure, and a press slam onto the rail allows Albert to get two. Show tags in, but ‘Taker counters the chokeslam with an arm bar, only to get jumped by Albert. He counters HIM with a cross arm breaker, but Show drops a big leg to break it up. Abdominal stretch by Show, which I may normally bitch about, but he does make sure to use Albert for leverage. I do complain, however, as Albert tags in, and then does the exact same fucking thing. Come on now guys. Mix it up a little. I like blondes just fine, but sometimes I’ll fuck a redhead at the strip club. Variety, that’s all I’m saying. ‘Taker comes back with a jumping DDT, and then brings Show in, too, for the jumping clothesline. He walks right into Show’s chokeslam, however, but Nathan Jones runs in, and one tombstone on Albert later makes him 11-0 at 9:45. Having two guys carry the load certainly helped pacing issues, but this was nothing special. ½*.
WrestleMania XX: The Undertaker v Kane: Classic staredown to start, and ‘Taker just unloads on him. We spill to the floor, and ‘Taker lays him across the edge of the ring for a legdrop. Cross corner clothesline by Billie Joe Taker, and he goes for the powerbomb, but Kane stunguns him (or, well, at least in theory does, as they miss it by a mile). Sidewalk slam, and a flying clothesline gets two. Slugfest, and ‘Taker catches him with a big boot/legdrop combo. Ropewalk forearm pops the Garden, but Kane catches him in a choke coming down, which Undertaker promptly counters with his own choke! Again, ‘Taker does not like people stealing that one from him. Sequence ends with Kane hitting his chokeslam, and that’s gotta piss ‘Taker off. And, indeed, that kind of disrespect causes the sit up. Jumping clothesline, chokeslam, and the tombstone put him at 12-0 at a brisk 7:45. The entrances took up as long as the match. * ½. This is the pacing/booking that UT/Flair needed.
WrestleMania 21: The Undertaker v Randy Orton: This was the first year where they made a really big deal about ‘The Streak.’ Orton tries to dodge him, sticking and moving, and catches him with a dropkick off of a criss cross for two. Backdrop, and he tries another criss cross, so UT simply decks him this time. ‘Taker misses a cross corner charge, allowing Orton a cradle for two, and he tries for the RKO early, but ‘Taker throws him to the floor like a child. Well, that is one counter. The lay out apron leg drop leaves Orton dazed, and he follows with the ropewalk. Corner charge misses, and Orton hits a nice, Hennig-style dropkick. Lariat for two, but a backdrop fails, and UT DDTs him for two. Bad looking sidewalk slam (it looked incredibly phony) gets two, and he hits a few corner charges to make up for all the ones he misses. Snake eyes, and ‘Taker grabs a dragon sleeper. Orton reverses into a DDT for two, and hits the chinlock. Side suplex stops that effort, as the crowd rallies. Jumping clothesline misses, as Orton turns it into a powerslam for two. Ten punch count in the corner, but he gets cocky, thrusting his cock into Undertaker’s face, so ‘Taker turns it into the powerbomb (identically to the spot with Triple H at X-7, only gayer), however, Orton fights out, and tries for the RKO, which ‘Taker counters, bumping the referee in the process. He tries the powerbomb again, but Orton counters, and with the ref still down, Bob Orton runs in and whacks ‘Taker with his cast (nice), and tosses Randy on top. It gets two, giving the crowd a near heart attack. Chokeslam, but Orton counters with the RKO for two. He tries for a tombstone, and gets reversed for 13-0 at 14:14. Well booked match. ** ¾.
WrestleMania 22: Casket Match: The Undertaker v Mark Henry: Henry jumps ‘Taker, but gets caught with the jumping clothesline! It has no effect, however. Another, and still nothing, so ‘Taker goes for a third, and gets shoulderblocked down. Henry controls, and even stops a ropewalk attempt with a gutpunch. He tries for the casket, but no dice. Avalanche, but ‘Taker feeds him the boot, and now we see the ropewalk. Henry gets dumped in the casket, and we have a slugfest in the box, won by ‘Taker knocking him back into the ring – which sort of defeats the purpose. Henry gets a powerslam back in there, and actually goes for the cover, establishing that there ARE NO PINFALLS! For the stupid people! Yeah! He rolls ‘Taker in the box, but it goes nowhere. Ten punch count in the corner, and you can guess what happens to him from there. ‘Taker dumps him ONto the casket, instead of into, oddly not understanding the very match he invented. But it’s all just set up, so that he can bust out his tope, getting some terrific distance, as he passes the casket, and nails Henry in the aisle. Tombstone, and a casual roll into the casket puts us at 14-0 in 9:28. This was fine for what it was, and much better than some of the past Undertaker/Big Fat Heel matches of his career (see: Yokozuna, King Kong Bundy, Kamala). *.
WrestleMania 23: World Heavyweight Title Match: Batista v The Undertaker: The story here is that both men were pissed off at getting shunted down the card despite having a World Title match, and decided to try and steal the show. Batista spears him to start, and takes him to school in the corner. Lariat, and we go to the floor, where ‘Taker eats stair, in a weak bump. Back inside, Batista with a flying shoulderblock for two, and a lariat gets two. Slugfest goes ‘Taker’s way, and he hits the cross corner clothesline. Snake eyes follows, and the big boot/legdrop combo gets two. That spot always looks good. Hogan may not have been a technical master, but he knew how to go with what worked. Ropewalk, but the chokeslam is blocked, so he goes back to the old favorite: the jumping clothesline. Super sloppy version this year, too. Some jabs put Batista on the floor, so we can do the apron legdrop, and then the tope. Dave reverses an Irish whip into the rail, however, and hits a running powerslam through the announce table. Back inside, that gets two, so Batista goes to the more conventional way of doing damage: mounting him and just slugging away. Another powerslam for two. He makes the mistake of trying a ten-punch count in the corner (seriously, does no one actually bother to study the tapes of their opponents before they battle anymore?), and, yep, eats a powerbomb. At least come up with a new transition into that move, God. It’s a POWERBOMB, even Sid had 100 ways he could hit it. Batista quickly comes back with a spinebuster, but walks into the chokeslam for two. Tombstone, but Batista counters with a spear, and the Batista Bomb, but it only gets two. He tries another, but takes a backdrop, and one tombstone later we have a new champion at 15:48, making him 15-0. Well booked, aggressive match, in the WWE Main Event Style, but nothing to go out of your way to see. ** ¾.
WrestleMania XXIV: World Heavyweight Title Match: Edge v The Undertaker: Edge tries to outsmart him during the opening slugfest, but walks right into a lariat, and then a stungun. Shitty looking jumping clothesline (he gets worse at that with every passing year!) gets two, and he changes up the ropewalk by turning it into an armdrag. Edge spears him out of the ring, and into the rail to mount a comeback, and then follows with a baseball slide. Reverse neckbreaker right across the top rope cuts ‘Taker down to size, and a bodyblock gets two. Standing dropkick, and Edge goes up top, but UT shoves him off, all the way to the floor. He follows up with a tope (that has officially replaces his 50/50 elbow drop in the WrestleMania arsenal), and the apron legdrop gets him two. Powerbomb, but Edge wriggles free, and catches him with a big boot (seriously? From Edge?) for two. To the floor, Edge side suplexes him over the rail, and into the front row, in an impressive spot. Back inside, that gets two. It was a nice spot, but it played awkwardly, as they were in the ring, had to leave specifically to do the suplex, and then Edge had to physically drag ‘Taker back to do a pinfall attempt. I get what they were going for, but it doesn’t come off very smoothly, and works far better if they’re already on the floor for other reasons, and transition in that manner. Edge with a half crab, but ‘Taker powers out, and we have a Main Event slugfest. Uh, yeah, Undertaker wins that. Snake eyes, but Edge catches him coming back for two. Jumping DDT gets two. Spear, but ‘Taker counters by simply kicking him in the face, and then chokeslamming him for two. Ropewalk, but Edge crotches him, and hits a super-duperplex for two. Oh no, he’s going for the ten punch count in the corner. And, yep, powerbomb, though Edge counters with a reverse neckbreaker for two. He proves he IS a moron, however, trying a backdrop next, and eating the powerbomb for two. Proper ropewalk finally hits, but the referee gets bumped, as Edge hits his reverse DDT. He gets a hold of a TV camera, and levels the challengers with it, but there’s still no referee. He actually has the balls to try his own tombstone (because that’s… physically possible…?), but gets reversed, and another referee sprints down the aisle to count… two. Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder run in, but ‘Taker quickly and violently dispatches of them, only to eat a spear from Edge for two. Another spear, but ‘Taker counters a pin attempt with his Hell’s Gate submission for the title at 23:50, putting him at 16-0. This had issues, but overall was very solid. *** ¼.
WrestleMania XXV: The Undertaker v Shawn Michaels: Shawn uses his speed to stick and move at the ‘Taker in the opening minutes, but gets caught and thrown into the corner like a ragdoll. Shawn with a Flair Flip, and he tastes the ozone on a backdrop. Huge press slam follows, and an elbowdrop gets two. UT works the shoulder, setting up the ropewalk forearm, but misses a running knee into the corner. Shawn follows up with a kneebreaker, and a chopblock. Shawn keeps on the knee with his figure four variation, so ‘Taker counters by simply punching him in the face a bunch of times. Hey, whatever works. Snake eyes, and the big boot/legdrop combo gets two. Chokeslam, but Shawn counter with the Crippler Crossface. They work the spot well, with ‘Taker rolling through, and making pinfall attempts, but Shawn really wrenching it in. UT fights out with a sidewalk slam for two, but gets caught by Shawn’s jumping forearm on a criss cross. Shawn with a pair of atomic drops, and a jumping clothesline puts the big man down. Flying axehandle, but ‘Taker catches him in the chokeslam! Shawn counters into the Superkick, however, but ‘Taker sees it coming and hits the deck to avoid fire, which is a great strategy, admittedly. Undeterred, Shawn goes back to the figure four, but this time ‘Taker’s ready, and snags him in the Hell’s Gate. Shawn quickly dives into the ropes, and to the floor after the break. Apron legdrop actually misses, and Shawn with a baseball slide. Moonsault into the aisle, but ‘Taker sees it coming, and simply swats him away like a fly. ‘Taker with the tope, but Shawn sees THAT coming, and uses a camera man as a human shield. Shawn then spends the next five minutes verbally (and somewhat physically) blowing the referee (who had been bumped), trying to get him to count ‘Taker out and end this thing. He beats it (the count, not the refs dick), however, so Shawn warms up the band. Superkick walks him right into a chokeslam, but that only gets two. Tombstone, into superkick, into chokeslam, into superkick sequence, and Shawn gets two off of that. ‘Taker with the powerbomb (hey, no ten punch count!), but Shawn pulls out a sunset flip, only to get pulled off, and properly powerbombed for two. Flying elbowdrop misses (it’s like his 50/50 elbow – to the max!), and Shawn charges, only to get dumped. He skins the cat, and actually catches ‘Taker in a headscissors on the way back in, but ‘Taker counters with a tombstone for two. The look on his face there is just brilliant, and he pulls down the strap in frustration. Tombstone again, but Shawn counters with a DDT. He doesn’t even bother to cover, instead crawling up the ropes, and hitting a flying elbowdrop. Superkick gets another dramatic two count, and both men just utterly frustrated, they get into a staggering slugfest – ended by ‘Taker’s big boot. Cross corner charge misses, though, and Shawn with another moonsault. He gets caught in the tombstone, however, and we’re 17-0 at 30:40. Terrific match, but I think people tend to overrate this. While it managed to go around a lot of ‘Undertaker match’ clichés, and was well booked, it had a lot of down time (even when taking selling into account), as well as some issues with the psychology (Shawn’s work of the leg went nowhere. As did ‘Taker’s work of the arm). ****.
WrestleMania XXVI: Streak v Career Match: The Undertaker v Shawn Michaels: Shawn takes a Flair Flip and snake eyes right away, then eats ropewalk. He counters the chokeslam, however, but fails to hit the superkick early on, and both guys regroup. Shawn senses a weakness, and goes after the knee like a shark, pounding him into the corner. ‘Taker knocks him to the floor, and gears up for the tope, but Shawn runs in and spears him to counter, then goes right back after the leg. He tries for the figure four, but gets dumped, and posted. Apron legdrop find the mark this year, but he’s too slow to capitalize, and Shawn gets the figure four on. ‘Taker reverses, and hits the chokeslam for two. Tombstone, but Shawn counters with an awkward looking anklelock. The size difference just makes it look wrong there. I think they sense it, as they quickly switch it to a more appropriate mat based version. Cactus-clothesline, and a springboard dive to the floor, but Shawn gets caught, and tombstoned on the outside. Back in, that gets two, though I don’t think even the markiest mark was buying that as the ending, even with the ‘EMTs’ at ringside flipping out to tend to Shawn. Powerbomb, but Shawn counters with a faceslam, which looked sloppy. Flying elbow hits knees, in a great looking spot, and ‘Taker slaps on Hell’s Gate. Shawn rolls through it for two, and catches him with the superkick for two. He revs up the band for another, but gets so eager he shoots too early, and but gets powerbombed for his troubles. Hey, that’s happened to everyone now and again, though, usually, my girlfriends prefer piledrivers to powerbombs in that situation, but whatever. ‘Taker dumps him (hey, he did prematurely superkick…), and tries a powerbomb through a table, but eats superkick. Shawn upstairs, and a big moonsault puts them both through the table, as he finally hits it, in a nice call back to the year before. Inside, UT continues to sell the leg, and eats another superkick for two. He tries another, but gets chokeslammed. Tombstone gets two, and the straps come down. Undertaker has a change of heart, however, as Shawn crawls up his leg, begging. He crosses the line, however, when he slaps ‘Taker in the face. One tombstone later, and we’re 18-0 at 24:00, ending Shawn’s career (at least, for now). I actually liked the pacing better this year, and while the psychology didn’t lead to a finish, ‘Taker did sell Shawn’s legwork throughout the bout. ****.
WrestleMania XXVII: No Holds Barred Match: The Undertaker v Triple H: Entrances eat up a solid ten minutes. Slugfest (whatever happened to a nice collar-and-elbow tie up?) spills to the floor, and ‘Taker gets speared into Michael Cole’s cube of emotion (a plexiglass cube at ringside). Inside, ropewalk forearm gets him slammed off, and Trips dumps him. He tries the pedigree onto a table, but gets backdropped off, onto the floor. I swear, Triple H’s kneepads say ‘AARP’ on them. ‘Taker with a tope, and he tries a tombstone on the stairs, but gets spinebustered through a table. Back inside (after we’re treated to some of HHH’s ‘I’ll hold my dick, and call it selling’ technique), and ‘Taker nails him with a chokeslam for two. Powerbomb, but HHH tackles him into the corner to counter. Ten punch count, and ‘Taker goes for it again, but Trips leapfrogs out, and tries the pedigree, but gets dropped with the snake eyes. Nice callback to X-7 there. ‘Taker charges, but eats spinebuster for two. Pedigree gets two after ‘Taker misses a chair shot. Triple H goes for a superplex, but ‘Taker counters with the powerbomb for two, in a nice spot. Tombstone gets two, so he tries one on the chair, but HHH counters by DDTing him onto it. Another pedigree gets two, as does a third. He lays into him with the chair, and then literally sits around instead of capitalizing in any sort of way. I mean, he actually goes to the corner and just sits there, and looks like a little lost boy. Or, like, maybe he shit his pants, and is hoping no one notices the stain. I know that he’s selling exhaustion and frustration, but at least cover the guy. Sulking isn’t going to help anything. Instead, he waits until ‘Taker has time to recover, and then goes over the taunt him. He hits a tombstone, but it only gets two. Hey, maybe if you did that, you know, right after you went all fuckin’ OJ with the chair on him, you might have actually got the pin – but, too little, too late. Now fully feeling the effects of his shortcomings, HHH retrieves his always faithful sledgehammer, but before he can perform, ‘Taker locks on Hell’s Gate and goes 19-0 at 30:30. A bit overlong, but this isn’t the type of match they could have wrapped up in twelve minutes. It had pacing issues, however, and could have used better booking. ** ¾.
WrestleMania XXVIII: Hell in a Cell Match: The Undertaker v Triple H: Shawn Michaels is the guest referee/old Italian mother for this match. Slugfest to start, and ‘Taker dumps him, into the stairs. Backdrop (he’s come so far over the years with that spot!), and he headbutts the shit out of HHH for a while, then goes back to the old standard – choking. Inside, ropewalk connects, and he dumps him again, this time to abuse him with the stairs. Apron legdrop, and he brings the stairs back in with him, but HHH catches him with a DDT. HHH with a pedigree on the steps, but UT counters with a backdrop. He charges, but eats a spinebuster right onto the steps. HHH tries to capitalize, but gets caught in Hell’s Gate. He powers out, however, slamming him for two, and goes searching for weapons. He lays into him with a chair again, until even Shawn gets in his face about it. You know when Shawn Michaels is getting in your face about being a dick – you might have problems. He gets two off of a series of chairshots (at least learning something from the year before), and then bails to regroup as Shawn checks on ‘Taker. He comes back with the sledgehammer, but Shawn won’t have it. He can’t actually stop it, however, and a big shot with it gets two. He tries again, and this time Shawn physically wrestles it away. He checks on ‘Taker, but gets caught in Hell’s Gate for his troubles, only to get saved by HHH, and the sledgehammer. HHH get’s caught, too, but Shawn is hurt, and can’t check the submission, as Hunter goes limp. Another referee runs in, but by then ‘Taker breaks the hold, and hits the chokeslam, only getting two. That earns the referee a chokeslam of his own, for reasons that make sense only to the Undertaker. Tombstone, but HHH shoves him into Michaels’ superkick, back into his own pedigree, and Michaels counts two, and then has an attack of conscious. He goes to the sledgehammer again, tossing Shawn aside, but eats big boot from ‘Taker, and a cross corner clothesline. Snake eyes, and the tombstone, but it only gets two, leaving Shawn cowering in the corner, literally in tears. Pedigree gets another two count, leaving them fighting to reach weapons. ‘Taker wins, getting to a chair, and exacting some revenge. HHH desperately grabs the sledge, but can’t even get it up before ‘Taker pulls it away, and goes to work. Shawn turning his back on the scene is a great touch. Tombstone, and Shawn puts him out of his misery at 30:52, leaving the Undertaker at a phenomenal 20-0. I actually preferred this years version to last years, as the pacing was better, as was the booking. Shawn Michaels also played his part very well. ***.
BUExperience: Hey, if you really, really like Undertaker matches, well, this set is for you! A few good matches, especially towards the end, but overall, I wouldn’t go out of my way to pick this up. *
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