That Was Then 5.25.2007: The Undertaker's Wrestlemania Streak

Posted by Sam Caplan on 05.25.2007

The Undertaker has competed at fifteen Wrestlemanias, and has compiled a perfect 15-0 record. This week, I take a look back at each of his Wrestlemania matches and give my thoughts on each, plus my opinion on whether he should eventually lose on the biggest show of the year.

I was shocked at how great the response to last week's column about Ric Flair's World Title wins was. Clearly it's something that people really dug, and I got a good demand for doing more like it. I'm definitely going to do title lineages for more wrestlers down the line (suggestions welcome), but I figured I'd do something similar, yet slightly different this week, so what I decided to do is take a year-by-year look at the Undertaker's undefeated streak at Wrestlemania and give my thoughts and any interesting background on each year's match.

Wrestlemania VII: "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka

This was the one that started it all, and Snuka never had a chance. Superfly was a pretty big deal in the early to mid-80s, but by this point had slid pretty far down the card and was now little more than a glorified jobber whose name value was being exploited to elevate the people he was putting over. Who better to put your new monster heel against in his first PPV singles match? Snuka's offense was totally ineffective against the Undertaker, who would take Snuka's best shots and then just stand there staring at him. The finish was slightly botched, but squashing Snuka so badly just helped to get the Undertaker even more over than he already was, and in fact by this time the following year he had gotten so popular that they really had no choice but to turn him face.

Wrestlemania VIII: Jake "The Snake" Roberts

In mid-1991, Undertaker found himself in an alliance with Jake Roberts as they tormented "Macho Man" Randy Savage and his newlywed wife, Elizabeth. That alliance fell apart after only a few months and, though we didn't know it at the time, Jake was on his way out of the WWF after this match. This was similar to the Snuka match in that you had an established name throwing everything he had at the Undertaker to no avail, but the difference is that unlike Snuka, Roberts hadn't been booked to look like a chump for years. On the contrary, he was coming off one of the headline feuds of 1991 against a former WWF Champion, so this win helped elevate Undertaker a lot more than the Snuka win did. Nobody had ever gotten up after taking the DDT, but Roberts gave Undertaker two, yet the Undertaker still did his zombie situp and came back to Tombstone Jake on the floor, then roll him back in the ring for the win.

Wrestlemania IX: Giant Gonzalez

One of the things that drew people to the Undertaker character during the early years was the fact that you had this huge guy at 6'10" and 328 lbs who was basically indestructible, and no matter what anyone had ever thrown at him, nobody had been able to put him down. Now here he was faced with a guy who was even bigger and seemed even more indestructible than the Undertaker, and in fact had laid him out and eliminated him from the Royal Rumble. The problem they came to discover was that Gonzalez was largely immobile and extremely limited in what he could do in the ring, and was certainly nowhere near as agile as the Undertaker. The awe that Gonzalez inspired was completely destroyed by the Undertaker basically beating Gonzalez up for the entire match until Gonzalez had to use an ether-soaked rag to knock the Undertaker out, getting himself disqualified in the process. The shitty finish sealed the deal, and any hopes they might have had for Gonzalez were killed by this match.

Wrestlemania X: N/A

Undertaker missed Wrestlemania X, with the kayfabe reason being that he was killed by Yokozuna at the Royal Rumble (another story entirely). What actually happened was he was given a few months off by the WWF, though he did take some other dates during his break and I believe was working a show in Japan the day of Wrestlemania X.

Wrestlemania XI: King Kong Bundy

The Million Dollar Corporation, of which Bundy was a member, had stolen the Undertaker's urn at the Royal Rumble, so Undertaker was fighting to regain possession of the urn here. At this time in WWF history, big fat monsters like Bundy were supposed to be considered unstoppable, but by this point we'd seen Undertaker beat Kamala, Giant Gonzalez, and Mr Hughes, and Undertaker had still only suffered a handful of losses, so nobody really expected Bundy to win. It was unusual that Undertaker beat him with a flying clothesline instead of at least giving him a chokeslam or something, but at the end of the day the result was the same.

Wrestlemania XII: Diesel

I thought the Undertaker was going to lose here, but it was kind of a matter of principle because I had this forever running debate with the guy who ran the comic shop I bought my TMNT comics from over whether Diesel or the Undertaker was better. I also considered Diesel a much tougher opponent than anyone else Undertaker had ever faced with the possible exception of Hogan. What I didn't know was that Diesel had already given notice, which pretty much made the result a no brainer to anyone who knew. Anyway, Diesel was pissed that Undertaker got a WWF Title shot at the Royal Rumble instead of him, so he interfered and cost Undertaker the title. Then Diesel got a shot at the title in a cage, but Undertaker cost Diesel his title shot in return, so this was kind of the revenge match for both men. Benoit fans wouldn't much care for this match, but it was fun watching Diesel throw everything he had at Undertaker, including two Jackknife powerbombs, only to see Undertaker come back to Tombstone Diesel for the win.

Wrestlemania XIII: Sid

Undertaker originally wasn't even supposed to be challenging for the WWF Title at Wrestlemania XIII, but he ended up getting the title at the end of the night. How did this happen? Well, he can thank the Bitching, Battling Buzzards themselves, Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart, for taking themselves out of the title picture, because Shawn (who was the WWF Champion) was supposed to defend against Bret in a rematch of their Wrestlemania XII Ironman Match and Shawn was supposed to drop the title back to Bret. Problem was that Shawn didn't feel like returning the job, so (depending on who you ask) he either made up or totally exaggerated a knee injury that would necessitate him giving up the WWF Title and bowing out of Wrestlemania completely. Meanwhile, the Final Four match which was to determine Shawn's top contender for Wrestlemania turned into a WWF Title match and was won by Bret. But then, Bret defended the title against Sid one night after winning it and Steve Austin (with whom Bret had been feuding) interfered and cost Bret the title, setting up the Bret Hart vs Steve Austin Submission Match at Wrestlemania, which probably ended up being at least as good as a Bret-Shawn match would have been. But now Sid needed a challenger for Wrestlemania, and Undertaker got the nod and, with Shawn Michaels sitting at ringside doing commentary and Bret Hart interfering, beat Sid to win his second WWF Title. 1997 was such a fun year.

Wrestlemania XIV: Kane

Kane was another of those monster opponents that Undertaker had spent years slaying and most people expected Undertaker to win, but there were some people who had doubts because of how strong Kane had been booked. At that time, Kane had been pretty much doing Undertaker's zombie schtick from when he first debuted, meaning that he mowed over everyone and nothing could hurt him. He even did the zombie situp and the Tombstone. Nobody had been able to do anything with Kane up to this point, but of course his entire character was created specifically for a showdown with the Undertaker, so he wasn't going to be losing to Los Boricuas. Kane beat the crap out of him the entire match and gave him the Tombstone, but Undertaker kicked out and it took three Tombstones of his own to put Kane away. I really liked the finish, because not only did it make Undertaker look great for somehow beating Kane, but Kane still looked strong because it took three Tombstones to beat him, and even still he nearly kicked out. Now people were saying "Yeah, he lost, but look what it took to beat him. How is anyone else even going to have a chance against this guy?" This is one of those matches that shows that you don't have to win to get over.

Wrestlemania XV: Big Boss Man

This match was a Hell In A Cell match, was the worst Hell In A Cell I've ever seen, and is the earliest I ever remember anyone noticing that the Undertaker was undefeated at Wrestlemania. As I recall, it was Rick Scaia who pointed it out when he was doing his annual Wrestlemania statistics gimmick column and he pointed out that both men had perfect records at Wrestlemania. However, nobody in their right mind gave Boss Man a snowball's chance in hell of beating the Undertaker, who was in the midst of a pretty big push that led to him getting the WWF Title a couple of months after this. The one thing I always remember about this match that always makes me laugh was when Michael Cole, who was the lead announcer for this show if you can imagine that, said something to the effect of "These guys better be careful, they could get a finger caught in the Cell!" And Lawler couldn't resist being like "What the hell are you talking about? I think they've got a lot worse things to worry about in there than getting a finger caught!" So of course Undertaker goes on to win, but now the real fun starts, because down from the ceiling comes the Brood, which for those who don't know, consisted of Edge, Christian, and Gangrel. Just as an aside, I think it's funny that both Edge and Christian are now multi-time World Champions while their leader is nowhere to be found. Anyway, they lower a noose into the ring and the Undertaker hangs the Big Boss Man, who struggles for a moment before he stops moving, having apparently expired. Of course he was fine the next night on Raw, and you really have to love the way Vince Russo books wrestlers to be as indestructible as Looney Tunes. This was probably the lowlight of Undertaker's Wrestlemania career.

Wrestlemania XVI: N/A

This was Undertaker's second and final absence from Wrestlemania. He had, in fact, been off of TV for about six months by this point because he had suffered a groin injury and was written out by having him simply walk out of the company. By the time Wrestlemania rolled around, he was very close to making his return, and was probably healthy enough to work the show. Instead, they decided to hold off on his return for a couple more months, and his return would mark his first appearance with the American Badass biker persona, and the long-running Deadman gimmick would be shelved for several years.

Wrestlemania XVII: Triple H

Of all the people the Undertaker could have lost to at Wrestlemania, this was probably the one that would have been the most realistic possibility. By the time this Wrestlemania rolled around Triple H was easily the Undertaker's equal and it would not have been out of the question for him to have gone over the Undertaker on his way to another WWF Title win, especially since he had already beaten Austin, Rock, Foley, Angle, and everyone else worth mentioning, which was actually the angle this match was built around. They really teased Triple H going over after he gave Undertaker a shot with the sledgehammer, and he also kicked out after the Tombstone, but in the end the Undertaker gave him the Last Ride to pick up another win, and probably his biggest non-title Wrestlemania win at that. Triple H would go on to eventually beat Undertaker later on, but they haven't crossed paths in years, and this is the one match between the two that everyone remembers.

Wrestlemania XVIII: Ric Flair

If this had happened ten or even five years earlier than it did, I would have given Flair a chance, but by 2002 he was way past the point where he could have believably gone over the Undertaker in any situation, much less at Wrestlemania. As it was, it was almost uncomfortable to watch the Undertaker beat up Flair in much the same way it is to watch someone's grandfather get mugged. In fighting for the honor of his family, Flair just succeeded in catching a hell of a beating, and the point was just driven home that much more when Arn Anderson ran in. Sure, he got a big pop, but then the Undertaker beat the crap out of both Horsemen and, with a big smile on his face, Tombstoned Flair for the win. Sad as it is to say, this was far from the Undertaker's toughest Wrestlemania win.

Wrestlemania XIX: Big Show & A-Train

Funny story about this match, it was originally supposed to be Undertaker teaming with Nathan Jones to take on Big Show and A-Train, but somebody somewhere finally realized that Nathan Jones sucked, so they did an angle where the heels attacked Jones the day of the show, taking him out of the match and leaving Undertaker 2-on-1. I guess that without a monster heel or top draw for Undertaker to wrestle that year, they had to throw him something that could be perceived as some kind of challenge. Then again, this WAS Big Show and A-Train we were talking about here, and even though Undertaker could have probably beaten them both on his own, Nathan Jones made his appearance at the end and knocked Big Show out with a spinkick, allowing Undertaker to Tombstone A-Train for the win.

Wrestlemania XX: Kane

With this show, Kane became the only two-time Wrestlemania Victim for the Undertaker. The story was that the Undertaker (still in his American Badass persona) was wrestling Vince McMahon at Survivor Series in a Buried Alive match, but Kane interfered and caused Undertaker to lose, after which he disappeared for months. Finally, his return was announced against Kane at Wrestlemania XX, and to the joy of all the fans who had been demanding it for years, he made his first appearance as the Deadman in almost five years. This actually mirrored their first match somewhat, as for the first time in years, Kane had been booked as an unstoppable monster after being unmasked the previous summer and hadn't been beaten since. However, unlike their first match, nobody gave Kane a chance in hell of winning this one, and this time the Undertaker had a much easier time beating Kane than he did the first time around. He made quick work of Kane, putting him away after about ten minutes with a single Tombstone.

Wrestlemania XXI: Randy Orton

I was a little uneasy about this one going into the show because, with WWE's bludgeoning insistence on pushing Randy Orton beyond all bounds of sanity, I really thought they were going to put him over Undertaker here. Though the Undertaker did go over in the end, they had what I still consider one of the Undertaker's better Wrestlemania matches. Orton actually pulled off a pretty cool spot when he hit the RKO out of the chokeslam, but that and interference from Cowboy Bob couldn't save him...Tombstone, pin, another year in the books.

Wrestlemania XXII: Mark Henry

I actually had to go look this one up because I honestly couldn't remember who he wrestled that year. Once I found out who it was, I realized why I couldn't remember. This was a total throwaway match, and Henry was in there for no other reason than to give Undertaker somebody to beat. It was also a Casket Match, and Henry might as well have crawled in there and closed the lid behind him the second the bell rang. One more notch on the belt for the Deadman.

Wrestlemania XXIII: Batista

This was another one I was a little nervous about because Batista's another one of those guys like Orton who they're determined to shove down our throats no matter how poorly received he is. I kind of figured they realized that Batista just wasn't working out and were going to put the Undertaker over, but I wasn't 100% sure, especially when they went on in the middle of the show. That's where they usually put a match that's going to have an outcome they know will be poorly received. Thankfully, good sense prevailed in the end and Undertaker went over in fairly short order for his second Wrestlemania World Title win and his fifth World Title overall.

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And as of right now, that leaves the Undertaker at 15-0 with two World Title wins and one main event. For all the PPV buys Hogan and Austin drew, for as many great matches as Bret, Shawn, and Angle had over the years, the Undertaker really is Mr Wrestlemania. But until he officially retires, the question will always remain: will anyone ever beat him at Wrestlemania? Though I think he should retire undefeated at Wrestlemania, there is always the chance that some young hot shot will come along and knock him off at the biggest show of the year.

I'd be interested to hear what you think, so shoot me an email at [e-mail] and let me know if you think he should eventually lose or not, or any other thoughts you might have about the Undertaker's Wrestlemania streak, and I'll run as many letters as I can in the Sunday news.

Okay, that's it for me, but I'll be back tomorrow with Friendly Competition. See you then.