Triple Threat Theatre - The Undertaker ( Return of The Deadman Era)

The career of one of the greatest performers, and undoubtedly the greatest character in the history of professional wrestling has finally come to an end. Despite the obvious being that it was coming, Mark Calaway’s proclamation that his career is over at the finale of The Last Ride series is still an extremely hard pill to swallow for many die-hard fans. In light of this news, we felt it was appropriate to celebrate the legendary career of The Undertaker with a Triple Threat Theatre we highlight his three best matches from the following three eras:

• The Original Deadman - (1990 - 2000) - Covered Wednesday

• The American Badass - (2000 - 2003) - Covered Yesterday

• Return Of The Deadman - (2004 - 2020) 

Today brings the final, and arguably greatest era of his career, The Return Of The Deadman.

3) WWE WrestleMania 29 – 04/07/2013 – The Undertaker Vs. CM Punk

By 2013, CM Punk had become one of the biggest stars in the company and it was almost inconceivable that he had not main evented a WrestleMania. The long-standing rumour is that The Rock and John Cena, who would main event this show in a rematch of their ‘Once In A Lifetime’ main event from the year before, were all for a Triple Threat main event with Punk included, but Vince McMahon put the kibosh on that. As somewhat of a consolation prize, CM Punk was booked to face The Undertaker and at the time, strongly looked to be the man who could potentially end Undertaker’s legendary WrestleMania undefeated streak, something that Paul Heyman was strongly advocating for. While it would not come to be, it was clear that both Undertaker and CM Punk had a chip on their shoulders and were out to steal the show, something they did with aplomb. As great as the match was, it may be overshadowed by the storyline leading into the match, as the real-life passing of Paul Bearer was turned into part of the storyline, with Punk desecrating the legacy of Undertaker’s longtime friend and manager. Despite that, the two men went out and tore the house down in what would end up being Punk’s final WrestleMania, and the last match before the Streak would be broken the following year.

2) WWE No Way Out 2006 – 02/19/2006 – WWE World Heavyweight Championship – The Undertaker Vs. Kurt Angle

Following the return of The Deadman in 2004 at WrestleMania XX, The Undertaker seemed a man without a ship for some time, with only his feud with Randy Orton being notable. While much of 2006 would be spent feuding with The Great Khali, Taker was given an opportunity to challenge the best all-around talent on the roster at the time, Kurt Angle, for the World Heavyweight Championship. While the two had worked sporadically before during the American Badass era, it would never click like it did on this February night. Much like he had done when he worked with Bret Hart in the past, Taker came with his working boots on and ready to show what he was truly capable of. The story of Undertaker’s size and strength versus Angle’s technical prowess came together beautifully, with both men hitting many of their signature moves, and a great finish with Taker locking in the Hell’s Gate triangle choke but Angle using his smarts to roll up Taker and retain the Championship. One of the finest matches in both men’s careers.

1) WWE WrestleMania 25 – 04/05/2009 – The Undertaker Vs. Shawn Michaels

As if there was any doubt about this one. Without hyperbole, this is the greatest match of The Undertaker’s 30+ year career, and maybe even the best HBK match, in addition to being considered the best WrestleMania match of all-time. It’s hard to figure out where to even begin with this one, as this was one of the rare occasions where every last part comes together to create a masterpiece. Except for Taker’s dive to the outside that Sim Snuka was supposed to catch and missed, everything about this match is perfect. The constant back and forth and near falls where it truly seemed that the vaunted Streak might come to an end. In fact, I turn to our leader Chris to describe his thoughts on this match being number one on our list, to which he said:

“What makes this match undeniably special is the fact it was simply a perfect storm of unique circumstances that will never be duplicated again. The Streak vs Mr. WrestleMania. Two incredibly established veterans who squared off on a handful of occasions, but never on the grandest stage of them all. Only these two were capable of telling this specific story at WrestleMania 25 and that's what made the aura surrounding it so extraordinary.”

Honourable Mentions

• WWE WrestleMania 21 – 04/03/2005 – The Undertaker Vs. Randy Orton

• WWE WrestleMania 23 – 04/01/2007 – WWE World Heavyweight Championship – The Undertaker Vs. Batista

• WWE WrestleMania 24 – 03/30/2008 – WWE World Heavyweight Championship – The Undertaker Vs. Edge

• WWE WrestleMania 26 – 03/28/2010 – The Undertaker Vs. Shawn Michaels

• WWE WrestleMania 28 – 04/01/2012 – The Undertaker Vs. Triple H