The Undertaker is 53 years old and put up an absolute stinker of a match with Reigns last year, so in all likelihood his match with Cena this year will likely be his last. Of course, I was certain his match last year would be his last so who knows, but really how much longer could he go?
Anyway, there is no denying The Undertaker has had several great, good, and not so good WrestleMania matches. How would you rank them?
The Best
1. vs Edge (WM 24) - Phenomenal match propped up by a phenomenal story. Undertaker winning made all the sense in the world, but you still had a feeling Edge was going to sneak one out because he had always one-upped Undertaker throughout the last year.
2. vs Shawn Michaels (WM 25) - This match was super overrated when it happened. Still was a fantastic match, but not the "greatest of all-time" that people made it out to be.
3. vs CM Punk (WM 29) - This was a great match that could have been even better if we thought Punk had a legit chance of winning.
Very Good
4. vs Batista (WM 23) - Another match that gets underrated. These two had amazing chemistry and had one of the best steel cage matches in WWE history a couple of matches after.
5. vs Kane (WM XIV) - I always felt like this match got underrated. I loved it for what it was and it put Kane across as a beast.
6. vs Triple H (X-Seven) - This was a really good match with a solid build.
7. vs Shawn Michaels (WM 26) - Not as good as their match the year before, but it was HBK's final match.
8. vs Triple H in Hell in a Cell (WM 28) - This was much better than their match the year before. It told a good story, featured good action, and at one point I remember thinking Triple H was actually going to end the streak.
9. vs Randy Orton (WM 21) - This was a good match and if I recall, the first match that really put a focus on the streak. I enjoyed it.
10. vs Brock Lesnar (WM 30) - Another match that maybe wasn't very good (although better than people give it credit for) but gets a boost because it featured an historical moment.
Average
11. vs Kane (WM XX) - The match itself was just okay, but the Undertaker returning to his deadman gimmick after a little more than 4 years was awesome and gives this match a boost.
12. vs Ric Flair (WM X-8) - Honestly, I do not remember this match. I'm just gonna assume it was okay. I'm sure it wasn't bad.
13. vs Shane McMahon (WM 32) - I don't really remember this match, but I don't recall thinking it was terrible. Plus it had a cool spot. Better than I thought it was going to be.
Mediocre
14. vs Sycho Sid (WM 13) - Ditto.
15. vs Diesel (WM XII) - This was okay.
16. vs Bray Wyatt (WM 31) - Very much like Undertaker/Henry, this is a match that just happened. It wasn't bad but it wasn't good either.
17. vs Mark Henry (WM 22) - This happened. Truthfully it could have been a lot better than it was if it didn't have to work around the Casket match gimmick, which I think is as dumb as "_____ on a pole" stipulations.
18. vs Jake Roberts (WM VIII) - This should have been Savage vs Roberts.
Bad
19. vs Roman Reigns (WM 33) - This was just bad. It doesn't help that it closed out what felt like an 8 hour show.
20. vs Triple H (WM 27) - Without a doubt one of the most overrated matches ever. Different tastes and all, I get it, but I don't know how anyone was entertained by this. I'm tempted to put it lower because at least some of the matches before it didn't feature 8 hours of crawling.
21. vs King Kong Bundy (WM XI) - There is really nothing separating this from some of the aforementioned matches ie. vs Snuka. They were all bad.
22. vs Jimmy Snuka (WM VII) - Short and painful.
23. vs A-Train and Big Show (WM XIX) - Speaking of Nathan Jones... this was another terrible match. And to think, Undertaker could have been wrestling someone like Benoit or Guerrero instead.
The Worst
24. vs Big Boss Man in Hell in a Cell (WM XV) - Terrible with a finish that was disgusting even for Attitude Era standards.
25. vs Giant Gonzalez (WM IX) - There is no reason this should be ranked any higher than last. Not only did it not have a clean finish, it sucked. Undertaker, especially in his early days and mid-00s (who can forget his legendary work with Luther Reigns, Heidenreich, Nathan Jones, and Khali?"), always seemed to get saddled with some of the most garbage material and wrestlers. This is one of them.