WWE Undertaker

The Phenom

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The Undertaker has been a long time favorite of mine. From the first time I saw him I have been a fan of his. His dead man routine is one of the most identified routines in the history of WWE. Born as Mark Calaway, he is however more famous by his ring name of ‘The Undertaker’ and his numerous other nicknames. He is considered as one of the most professional men in the World Wrestling Entertainment roster.

Although he became famous at the then WWF, he made his debut with their rival WCW. There he was an emerging star and even had a famous match against Lex Luger at the time. But he however truly blossomed at the WWF. Although he was initially introduced as Kane the Undertaker, he later on dropped the Kane part from his name and adopted the simpler name of “The Undertaker”. This character was on a mortician in the old western movies. The character‘s trademark was being supposedly impervious to pain and possessing supernatural powers.

He made his Wrestlemania debut in 1991 defeating the legend "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka. His popularity soared from there on and the rest as they say is history. He has an unbelievable win-loss record of 15-0 at Wrestlemania with the latest victory coming at the recently concluded Wrestlemania 23 at the expense of Batista and thereby winning the World Heavyweight Championship.

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He has had many famous feuds over the years and some equally great matches along the way. But in my mind he will always be remembered for two of the greatest Hell in the Cell matches of all time. In 1997 Undertaker had won the WWF Championship title a second time and was defending it against Bret Hart at Summer Slam. The tension in the match was intensified with the decision to make Shawn Michaels the guest referee, who was having a feud with Bret Hart at the time. During the course of the match Bret Hart spit on Shawn Michaels and the latter promptly tried to give a steel chair shot to Hart. However the Undertaker took the hit costing him his WWF championship.

This set up the first Hell in the Cell match between Michaels and Undertaker at the In Your House: Badd Blood in 1997. As an added incentive the winner was given the chance of becoming the number one contender for the WWF championship. The match was completely fresh and innovative. The creativity and originality that these two professionals whipped up was truly unbelievable. Undertaker dominated the match throughout with Michaels fighting back several times. At one point Michaels got the Undertaker tangled in the two top ropes, momentarily immobilizing him. However when Michaels tried to charge at the Undertaker the latter flipped him over the top ropes and on top of a cameraman and injuring the cameraman.

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While the injured cameraman was being taken out of the ring the two superstars took to the top of the cage and began to fight from the top. At one point Michaels was trying to outrun the Undertaker by climbing back down the cell. He was left hanging off the side when the Undertaker stomped on his hands, causing him to fall through the Spanish announce table at ringside from a height of around 10-12 feet. The fall he took is still spectacular to watch. Undertaker followed this up with two chair shots which seemed to have sealed the match. However Kane would come out on his debut and give the Undertaker a tombstone and allowed a bloody HBK to put his arm over the Undertaker and win the match. The match will not be forgotten by any who saw it.

If the first Hell in the Cell match was spectacular then the second one involving the Undertaker and the Mankind (Mick Foley) was absolutely horrific. It was held at the 1998 King of the ring tournament and Mankind wanted to upstage the first Hell in the Cell match and devised the plans for the notorious scenes to follow along with Terry Funk. The match will forever be remembered for the two falls that Foley took which most certainly curtailed his career and has left him injured for the rest of his life.

The match started off with both contestants going at one another from the top of the ring. Sections of the cage buckled and broke through under their weight. After a short battle, The Undertaker threw Mankind off the top of the cage through the Spanish announcers' table 16 feet below, narrowly avoiding monitors and other A/V equipment. Medical technicians quickly rushed to his aid and were wheeling mankind out of the arena. All the people there were genuinely concerned including Vince McMahon. But Mankind got up and despite having a dislocated shoulder came and climbed the top of the cage and continued the match

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What happened next was not planned by either the Undertaker or Foley. The Undertaker chokeslammed Foley on the roof of the cage and that that section of the cage gave way under the weight of it’s impact making Foley fall hard into the ring knocking him out cold for a full 2 minutes. To make matters worse, a steel chair lying on the roof of the cage fell through and struck Foley in the face, dislocating his jaw and knocking out one and a half teeth as well as creating a large cut beneath his lip.

The Undertaker himself was wrestling with a broken bone in his foot and he jumped through the hole in the roof on to the ring. Even in his heavily injured state Foley introduced some thumbtacks into the ring. It is a wonder that the two men were able to work the match for much longer after that. Thankfully the Undertaker ended the horror by giving mankind a chokeslam into the thumbtacks and finsihing him off with a tombstone. The match left Foley with a dislocated jaw, a dislocated shoulder, a bruised kidney, 2 broken ribs, one and a half missing teeth, a concussion, and 14 stitches for the cut beneath his lip. Both men defied the limits of physical torture to provide a truly classical and brutal match.

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Undertaker from that point has gone on to change his gimmick as well as reinvent himself. So much so that he is the current winner of the Royal Rumble for the first time. He is also the reigning World Heavyweight Champion. Lot of new young superstars will be trying to challenge him for the title in the coming but what cannot be challenged will be his legacy.

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WWE Wrestlemania

WWE Wrestlemania Unforgettables

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Wrestlemania is often considered the crown jewel of the World Wrestling Entertainment calendar. It is the show piece event that WWE promotes above all other events. Even the prize for the winner of the Royal Rumble is a title shot at that Year’s Wrestlemania. This more than anything illustrates the importance an event that is considered to be the super bowl of WWE.

So what better tribute to Wrestlemania than to chronicle some of the best matches ever showcased at the event. The matches showcased in this post follow no particular order and the readers are welcome to rank them as they see fit in their comments. Also if I have forgotten any match that you have liked please feel free to mention it in your comments and those matches can be taken up as the subject of another post. So let’s cut the chase and set the ball rolling shall we?

“Macho Man” Randy Savage v Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat – Wrestlemania 3

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The match was a title match for the Intercontinental championship. There was some good build up to the match when Randy Savage crushed Steamboat’s larynx with a ring bell. Steamboat therefore was understandably looking for revenge. To this day many consider this as the greatest match ever at Wrestlemania. The two men put on a great show of athleticism that was truly heart pounding at the end of which Steamboat pinned Savage with a roll-up.

Shawn Michaels v Bret Hart - Wrestlemania 12

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This was an iron man match for the world championship belt where the man with the most falls within the time limit would be declared the winner. But the two were so good that they cancelled each other out. The two men put on a show so intense that they wouldn’t let the other score a fall. The match as a result spilled over into overtime making it the longest match in WWE history. In the end Shawn Michaels won with one of his trademark sweet chin music move. And who can forget Shawn Michaels’ descend into the ring on a zip line. Truly a timeless classic!!!

Razor Ramon v Shawn Michaels – Wrestlemania 10

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The match had a good build up when Michaels, who had earlier quit the WWF, returned claiming to be rightful holder of the Intercontinental championship. Razor Ramon had won the vacant title in a tournament held during Michaels’ absence. The resulting feud culminated with both men engrossed in a ladder match to decide who would ultimately win the title. This was the match that defined how a ladder match should be played out. Though there has been other ladder matches before and after this, none of them really matched the death defying and inhuman physical sacrifices that these two pulled off that day. Razor Ramon won the match when Michaels got entangled in the ring ropes. But it was Michaels who won in the long run as this match heralded his arrival as a star.

Bret Hart v Steve Austin – Wrestlemania 13

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Talk about a match being brutal and this one will surely come to mind. Probably we should have known that it would be that way when a match between two of the most intense performers of all time at the WWE was scheduled as a I QUIT match. The two men were feuding for some months prior to the match and they both went at it like men possessed. Stone Cold had his head cut open and he passed out from severe blood loss as Bret Hart squeezed him with a sharpshooter. The sight of the blood pouring from down Austin’s face will never be forgotten by whoever watched it. This match marked the beginning of the Stone Cold era and simultaneously assured in the attitude era of the WWF.

Hulk Hogan v The Ultimate Warrior – Wrestlemania 6

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This was supposed to be the ultimate passing of the torch match where the Ultimate warrior was supposed to lead the WWF’s next generation. The fact that the Ultimate Warrior tragically self destructed later on does not take way the sheen from this match. It was definitely not the most technical match ever. But it was the most hyped and electrically charged up matches of all time. It was one of those rare title against tile matches where both The Warrior’s IC championship and Hogan’s World Championship was on the line. Even rarer was the result where Hogan lost a match in a clean job. The match will be remembered more for the hype and drama than actual technique.

There have been countless other great matches over the years in Wrestlemania. But it would be a tough task to put them all under a single post. But take any number of great matches and the name of Bret Hart is bound to crop up more than once. And what about the Undertaker, who has had a phenomenal record of 15-0 at the grandest stage of them all. So let’s hope that we get to see more memorable matches in the years to come befitting the grandeur of wrestlemania.

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