Undertaker has had two distinct eras in his WWE career. The first was when he was purely a gimmick performer having one star matches from 1991-'96 with Kamala, Jimmy Snuka, Jake Roberts, Giant Gonzales, Hulk Hogan, Yokozuna, Evil Twin Undertaker, I.R.S., Mabel, Kama, Goldust, The Executioner (Terry Gordy), and Sid. Then in 1996 along came Mankind and Shawn Michaels, two wrestlers who moved Taker to a new level in the ring. Then came a string of very good matches with Bret Hart, Steve Austin, The Rock, Triple H, Kurt Angle, and Brock Lesnar (with few stinkers against Ken Shamrock, Kane, and Hunter thrown in along the way). Although not often cited as one of the better workers of the last five or so years, few WWE main eventers have had as many three star or better PPV matches in that time. With yet another chance to add to his resume of good PPV matches this Sunday, I rank Taker's best 12 PPV matches so far...
(12) Undertaker vs. Rob Van Dam, Hardcore Title match: Dec. 9, 2001, Vengeance PPV (11:08, ***1/4, 4th in Best Match Poll). Not one of his most memorable matches, but worth mentioning because he had a good match against an opponent with such a different style than his own. That doesn't mean Taker did flips off the ropes, but it did mean Taker had an opponent who could take some of the craziest bumps for him since his matches against Mick Foley. Jason Powell wrote: "They delivered an entertaining hardcore match."
(11) Undertaker vs. The Rock, WWF Title match: June 27, 1999, King of the Ring PPV (19:10, ***1/4). Taker's best singles match with Rock, although nothing particular grand. Hunter interfered with a Pedigree to help Taker score the pin. "Good" was the superlative most often used by reviewers describing this match.
(10) Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar in a Hell in a Cell match: Oct. 20, 2002, No Mercy PPV (27:15, ***1/2, 2nd in Best Match Poll). This won't be remembered as one of the great Hell in a Cell matches because it took place inside the cage without any big bumps that Mick Foley made famous years earlier. Nevertheless, it was a solid, believable, brutal brawl that grew more intense as it progressed. In the end, Undertaker did a clean job to Brock, and because Taker doesn't do clean jobs often, this finish helped propel Brock's credibility up another notch during his formative build into a credible main event draw. I wrote: "Methodical at times, but never boring."
(9) Undertaker vs. Triple H: April 1, 2001, WrestleMania X-7 (18:27, ***1/2, no. 3 in Best Match Poll). This ended with Taker pinning Triple H after the Last Ride. I wrote: "Good match. They filled quite a bit of time with brawling in the crowd, but the content was strong overall. The clean finish helped." Bruce Mitchell wrote: "Triple H carried Taker to a very good match." Jason Powell wrote: "Triple H vs. Undertaker turned out to be a strong match." The match was originally slated to be Triple H vs. Hulk Hogan, but a deal couldn't be worked out for Hogan, so Hunter instead worked his only WrestleMania singles match ever against another WWE legend and had a memorable semi-main event.
(8) Undertaker vs. Bret Hart, WWF Title match: Aug. 3, 1997, SummerSlam (28:02, ***1/2, no. 1 in Best Match Poll). Shawn Michaels helped carry the long match as special referee. Bruce Mitchell wrote: "A well-wrestled, well-booked main event. The dynamic between Bret, Taker, and Michaels was played out beautifully and the wrestling work was better than I expected. The finish was just about perfect, keeping Bret and Michaels bitter rivals while believably getting the belt off of Taker. Shawn's facial expressions were crucial in getting the story over at the end. Great stuff."
(7) Undertaker vs. Steve Austin, WWF Title match: August 30, 1998, Summerslam (20:53, ****, no. 2 in Best Match Poll). I wrote: "Very good match in terms of energy level, execution, diversity of moves, pacing, and psychology." Austin won after a low blow and a Stunner to retain his title. The wrestlers weren't happy with the match, mainly because the crowd at MSG had lost steam by the time their match came on. They had to follow another four-star match, between Triple H and The Rock, and the crowd was just drained. Also, Taker was nursing a sore ankle, which makes his performance all the more remarkable.
(6) Undertaker vs. Ric Flair: March. 17, 2002, WrestleMania X-8 (19:00, ***3/4, no. 2 in Best Match Poll). Although overshadowed by Hulk Hogan vs. Rock four matches later, this was considered a better match in the ring, but missing some of the intangibles that Rock and Hogan produced in their magical match. Taker scored the win after a Tombstone piledriver. The two had the crowd in the palms of their hands in the final minutes, especially during the believable near falls Flair scored near the end. Taker sold believably and effectively to the smaller Flair in what might be Flair's last standout WrestleMania in-ring performance. Bruce Mitchell wrote: "I couldn't believe how good this match was." I wrote: "WrestleMania X-8 will be remembered as the night that the top two stars of the '80s (Flair, Hogan) were recognized by a new generation of fans for their impact on the business." Too bad Taker followed up this surprising above-expectations performance with a string of three horrible PPV main events against Steve Austin in April (1/4*), Hulk Hogan in May (DUD), and Triple H in June (*).
(5) Undertaker vs. Steve Austin, First Blood Match: July 25, 1999, Fully Loaded PPV (18:36, ****): Just a solid workmanlike effort for nearly 20 minutes during Steve Austin's peak as a top star. Neither were at their physical peaks during this match, and they did rely on some outside of the ring brawling and outside interference from X-Pac, Triple H, and The Rock, but in the end it all worked to create a thoroughly satisfying main event. The best PPV singles match he had with Austin.
(4) Undertaker vs. Mankind, WWF Title match: Apr. 20, 1997, In Your House: Revenge of the Taker (17:25, ****, no. 1 in Best Match Poll). This was the breakout match for Mick Foley, who finally had a four-star match in WWE. It was also the first sign of Taker's streak of having the ability to carry his end of a great match, growing beyond his formula matches that grew old during the first few years of his WWF stint.
(3) Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels: Sept. 7, 1997, Ground Zero PPV (19:15, ****1/4, no. 1 in Best Match Poll). The best pure non-gimmick singles match of Taker's career against Michaels at his peak. I wrote: "One of the better matches in the WWF this year."
(2) Undertaker vs. Mankind, Hell in a Cell match: June 28, 1998, King of the Ring PPV (17:08, ****1/2, no. 1 in Best Match Poll). The most memorable Undertaker match of all time, although mostly because of Mick Foley's two huge bumps off the cage and through the cage. Nevertheless, Taker played his part in this match just right, playing the role of the credible foe able to throw Foley around. "An awesome, yet disturbing spectacle," I wrote.
(1) Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels, Hell in a Cell match: Oct. 5, 1997, Badd Blood PPV (29:50, ****3/4, no. 1 in Best Match Poll with 100 percent of votes). I wrote: "An excellent cage match, one of the best of all-time on a number of levels." Unlike the Mankind match, Undertaker had a big role in the quality of this match. Bruce Mitchell wrote: "It was Undertaker's best ever match, in no small part due to his own performance." Kane's interference led to Michaels's win and unfortunately to a stretch of bad matches against Kane over the next two years.
Honorable Mentions: Shawn Michaels on 1/18/98 in a casket match (***1/4)� Three-way with Angle and Rock on 7/21/02 (***1/2)� Austin on 5-20-01 (***)� Six-Way Hell in a Cell on 12/10/01 (****1/4)� Angle on 11/19/00 (***)� Four-way with Chris Benoit, Rock, Kane on 9/24/00 (****)� Three-way with Kane, Austin on 9/27/98 (***1/4)� Austin on 5/11/97 (***1/4)� Mankind Buried Alive match on 10/020/96� Mankind on 6/23/96 (***1/4)� Goldust on 5/26/96 (***)� Diesel on 5/31/95 (***1/4)�
Worst Matches Ever? His worst PPV match ever came on Sept. 23, 2001 at Unforgiven when he teamed with Kane against Kronik (Bryan Clark & Brian Adams) in what I rated neg. ***. "One of the worst matches of all time," I wrote. "It was so bar, it was truly hard to watch." Taker, though, was the best of the four involved in the match. The worst match Taker actually was responsible for was his singles match at Judgment Day on Oct. 18, 1998. His main event match against Kane included a resthold from the 7:00 to 16:00 minute marks due to Taker's back spasms. I rated the match neg. **and readers voted it worst match of the night. His early matches against Giant Gonazales and Evil Undertaker were also terrible
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