WRESTLEMANIA 8

1992 was a pretty lousy year overall for WWE and Vince McMahon; the
first rumblings of the forthcoming steroid and sex scandal was brewing,
and numerous workers were on the way out by WrestleMania VIII. Indeed,
this show was the swan song for Roddy Piper, Sid Justice and Hulk Hogan,
who would be off WWE television for most of the rest of the year. On the other hand, there was the Undertaker, who was making a fast rise.

A set-up was done a few weeks prior to the match, in which Roberts
appeared on the ‘Funeral Parlour’ segment. Roberts trapped Undertaker’s
hand in his own casket, planted Paul Bearer with a DDT, and nailed
Undertaker with a chair shot to the back. Pre-match promos were done by
each, with Roberts obviously being the superior; he was in great form
verbally. At the time, Roberts was on his way out of WWE, so the match
outcome wasn’t exactly a mystery.
This was basically a glorified squash match, with Undertaker no
selling everything Jake threw at him, including two DDT’s, from which
Undertaker did his ‘sitting up’ horror movie monster shtick. The finish
came when after Roberts nailed his foe with a DDT, went to ringside,
levelled Paul Bearer with a right hand, trying to wrestle the Urn away
from the pasty-faced one, until Undertaker sat-up, rolled to the outside
spun Roberts around and hoisted him up for a ringside Tombstone
Piledriver on the “concrete”, as Gorilla Monsoon put it.

Undertaker simply rolled Roberts in the ring, and covered him for the
three count. The match did it was supposed to; get the Deadman over, at
the expense of Roberts, but he was heading out of the WWE,
so that matters not. And so as one WWE career started,
another finished.
Winner at 9:26 via pinfall, Undertaker

WRESTLEMANIA IX

Taker gets his
first epic Mania entrance entering on a Funeral Chariot. That would be
the only thing that was epic about this encounter. Gonzalez towers over
Taker and delivers some forearms to no effect. Taker hits an uppercut,
but Gonzalez locks a choke on Taker. Taker goes to the second rope to
answer the choke. Low blow breaks that, but Taker comes right back with
an uppercut. Old school is delivered by Taker and followed up with a
series of kicks. Taker charges into the corner and runs into a foot.
Big boot is followed by a hip toss. Gonzalez locks in side headlock and
Taker begins to fade. He gets a second wind and fights out of the hold
with a series of elbows. Gonzalez fires Taker out to the floor, and
follows after him. Chops on the floor are delivered and Taker is fired
into the ringsteps. Back inside Gonzalez delivers a pair of headbutts,
but Taker keeps sitting up. They trade blows, and Taker gets the better
of it with a series of blows knocking Gonzalez to one knee. Whippleman
gets on the apron and slips Gonzalez a chloroform soaked rag. After a
headbutt to Paul Bearer Gonzalez smothers Taker with the cloth, which
draws the DQ, ending this abortion at 7:33. Taker gets stretchered out,
but comes back seconds later and sends Gonzalez packing with a series
of clotheslines. God awful match with a ridiculous ending. To think
they also had a rematch at Summerslam, which may have been worse.

WRESTLEMANIA XI

This is one of those matches that sounds like a dream match on paper,
but isn't something you'd ever want to actually see. Undertaker was in
the midst of a seemingly never-ending feud with Ted DiBiase's Million
Dollar Corporation at the time and King Kong Bundy as the latest ringer
that the Million Dollar Man tried to bring in to defeat the Undertaker.
The special referee here is an MLB umpire named Larry Young. I guess
he's in need of work considering the baseball strike at the time. This
match is just as slow and plodding as you'd expect, consisting mainly of
punching and kicking for the first few minutes. Undertaker slips
outside and simply takes his urn that DiBiase stole right out of his
hands. Well that's one way to end your "feud" rather quickly. DiBiase
calls Kama Mustafa down to the ring who takes the urn back from Paul
Bearer, distracting the Undertaker long enough for Bundy to hit an axe
handle on his back. The offense doesn't last long however as 'Taker
quickly smashes his head into the corner. Jim Ross interviews Kama in
the aisleway with the urn while the match is still going on. Kama claims
he's going to melt it down into a chain or something, who knows. We're
tortured for an additional minute or so with a sleeper on the
Undertaker before the dead man finally hits a jumping clothesline on
Bundy for the 3 count at 6:36. Awful, awful match that was
simply an excuse for 'Taker to continue to squash people while not
being involved in any meaningful angles or feuds. Just terrible.

WRESTLEMANIA 12

The Undertaker was 4-0 at WrestleMania. When Undertaker was on the verge of winning the WWE Championship, Diesel screwed him out of it. This match culminated at WrestleMania 12, the same WrestleMania Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels famously stole the show at with the 60 minute ironman match.

They trade blows in
the center with Diesel getting the better of it to start. Irish whip
sends Taker to the corner, and its followed in with a clothesline and an
elbow. Diesel whips Taker to the other side, and charges meeting a
boot from Taker. Taker hits a clothesline and goes for an elbow drop,
which misses. Diesel delivers a clothesline that sends Taker over the
top to the floor, but he lands on his feet. Taker pulls Diesel out to
the floor and they brawl outside. Taker blocks an attempt to send him
into the steps, and fires Diesel into them instead. Back inside and
Diesel delivers a kick to the rips. Taker hits the ropes and delivers
an open handed upper cut. Taker goes for a tombstone, but Diesel is
able to slide out of it. Taker hits the ropes and delivers a flying
crossbody for two. Taker goes for old school, which connects, and a
second crossbody attempt from Taker misses when Diesel dives out of the
way. Diesel grabs Taker who is on the apron, but Taker drops down
clotheslining him on the top rope. Punches from Taker send Diesel over
the top to the floor, and Taker follows. Taker rams Diesel into the
ringpost, and grabs a chair. He swings at him, but Diesel moves out of
the way. Diesel whips Taker into the guardrail, and then rolls in the
ring to break the count. He goes back outside and again drives Taker
back first into the ring post. Diesel again picks up Taker and rams him
into the post. He heads back inside, and Taker soon follows to the
apron, but gets kicked off back to the floor. Back inside and Diesel
sends Taker into the ropes and delivers a big boot. Sidewalk slam from
Diesel gets a two count. Diesel picks up Taker and delivers a snake
eyes as Taker drops down on the second rope. Diesel hits the ropes and
comes down on Taker straddling his neck on the rope. In the corner
Diesel delivers a series of knee lifts and right hands. An Irish whip
sends Taker into the opposite corner, but her fires back with an elbow.
They charge at each other and both deliver big boots putting them both
down. Both guys get to their feet, and Diesel beats Taker to the punch
with a double axe handle to the back. Irish whip sends Taker to the
corner, and he comes out into a bearhug from Diesel. Taker comes free
with a bell ringer, and Diesel grabs a side headlock. Taker counters
out of that with a back suplex, and drops an elbow. Taker goes to the
top rope, and delivers a flying clothesline for a two count. Knee lift
to the gut connects for Taker and he sends Diesel into the ropes for a
backdrop. Diesel stops short and delivers a forearm to the back of the
neck and then hits the jackknife out of nowhere. Diesel doesn’t cover
instead choosing to taunt Taker. Taker sits up so Diesel sets him up
and delivers another jackknife. Diesel taunts for a while before
finally going to make the cover. Taker reaches up and grabs a choke,
but Diesel punches out of it. He goes for the cover again, and is met
with a choke that Diesel hammers out of. A third try and Taker grabs
the choke and stands up with it, but Diesel is able to suplex out of the
choke. Diesel again calls to the crowd, and Taker sits up. Taker hits
the ropes and delivers a flying clothesline. Chokeslam connects for
Taker, and that is followed by a tombstone, which finishes at 16:44 as
Taker goes to 5-0. Really good big man match here. Started out
phenomenal, and slowed a bit down the stretch, but still better than
your average Nash match.

WRESTLEMANIA 13

WWF Heavyweight Championship Sycho Sid vs. The Undertakerno DQ, no count out:
Match 6. Undertaker is wearing his original grey player one attire he
debuted in back in 1990 for this match. This is the first time the
Undertaker’s streak is mentioned at WrestleMania by Jim Ross. Pre-match Bret Hart arrives to complain and takes some inside jabs at Shawn Michaels,
Undertaker and Sid. See, who is the face and who is the heel? Everyone
is on their own side; it was sure as hell different back in 1997. Sid
gets annoyed and powerbombs Bret and yells back at him. Undertaker
attacks from behind; Sid counters but runs into Takers boot. Sid takes a
Stinger splash and the ropewalk forearm. Sid catches the Undertaker in a
bearhug. Shawn and Jerry Lawler trade insults on
commentary saving the match a little; feel bad for the live crowd
though. Sid clotheslines Taker over the top but, as always, he lands on
his feet. He tried to drag Sid out but he counters and kicks Taker over
the Spanish announce table and clotheslines Taker into the railing
twice. Sid slams Undertaker onto the announce table. Sid returns to the
ring and applies a Camel Clutch and a second rope double axe. Undertaker
comes back but a powerslam puts Sid on top once again. A huge legdrop
by Sid as the Hulk Hogan innuendos begin. Taker hits a
high jumping clothesline but Sid stays in control. Taker begins a
comeback but misses an elbow drop so Sid applies a reverse chinlock/face
rake. Taker punches his way back and hits a powerslam. Since Yokozuna
was not booked this year, Undertaker continues Yoko’s WrestleMania
tradition and locks in a trapezius hold. Thrilling. Sid tries to
comeback but meets a clothesline. They both go down off a double big
boot. Sid slowly hits another double axe and a second-rope throat
thrust. Sid tries again but Taker counters, Sid regains control with a
slam. Sid goes to the top rope? Taker revives and crotches Sid and then
choke tosses him off the top. Taker goes up and hits a flying
clothesline but Sid kicks out. Taker cut-throat gestures; Sid reverses
and Tombstones the Undertaker and tries to mock the Undertaker’s corpse
style pin; Taker kicks out. They brawl on the floor where Bret Hart
returns and kills Sid with a chair; Undertaker slams Sid back first into
the post. Undertaker chokeslams Sid but he kicks out. Sid avoids the
flying clothesline and sets up for the powerbomb but Bret Hart runs in
again as all the commentators have now turned on Bret. The distraction
allows Undertaker to scoop up Sid and Tombstone him for three and the
title. 4/10 Undertaker FINALLY gets his big moment at
WrestleMania after being kept on the back burner for years unfortunately
for him; it was a very boring match. The focus was a little on the Bret
Hart story a little too much as well.

WRESTLEMANIA 14

Pete Rose comes out
as special ring announcer and immediately turning heel on the Boston
crowd making fun of their shortcomings in baseball. That leads to Kane
coming out and tombstoning him starting a running gag for the next three
Wrestlemanias. The druids make their Wrestlemania debut during Taker’s
entrance. Famous staredown to start and Taker delivers a series of
right hands driving Kane to the corner. Taker charges into an elbow,
and gets thrown into the corner. Taker comes out quickly and fires away
again. Kane whips Taker into the corner, but runs into a big boot.
Taker goes for an Irish whip, but gets a clothesline from Kane. He sits
right back up though and goes back to the right hands. Taker hits the
ropes, but gets caught by Kane who sticks Taker in the corner upside
down and kicks away. Irish whip sends Taker across to the other corner,
and Kane follows in with a clothesline. Kane drops Taker on the top
rope, and delivers a springboard forearm off the top sending Taker to
the floor. Taker rolls back in, and Kane delivers an upper cut sending
Taker to the corner. Taker hits the ropes, and ends up on Kane’s
shoulders pounding him down, but Kane counters sending Taker crashing to
the mat. To the floor they go, and Kane drops Taker down on the
guardrail. Kane continues the assault firing Taker into the ringsteps,
and then throws the ringsteps down on the back of Taker. Kane places
Taker on the bottom half of the ringsteps and slams the top half on top
of him. Kane goes into the ring, and Paul Bearer delivers a few
cheapshots on the floor. Kane brings Taker back into the ring with a
suplex, and rams Taker’s head into the top buckle. Taker gets whipped
into the corner, and comes out with a clothesline to Kane. Taker hits
the ropes, but runs into a chokeslam from Kane. Kane covers but lifts
up Taker at two and goes to a side headlock. Taker fights out with a
series of fists and delivers an uppercut to break the hold. Kane comes
right back with a clothesline, and an elbow drop. Back to the headlock
goes Kane, but Taker counters out this time by lifting Kane up and
crotching him on the top rope. Taker sends Kane to the floor with a big
boot, and then goes out after him with a tope over the top rope, which
misses sending Taker through the Spanish Announce Table. Kane fires
Taker back inside, and heads to the top rope delivering a flying
clothesline for two. They trade blows in the middle of the ring, and
Taker gets the better of it. Taker hits the ropes and ducks a
clothesline. Taker goes for a tombstone, but Kane reverses into a
tombstone of his own. It only gets a two count however. Taker comes
firing back with a clothesline and a chokeslam. Tombstone connects for
Taker, but Kane is out at two. Taker delivers a legdrop and another
tombstone, but again Kane is out at two. Taker goes to the top rope and
delivers a flying clothesline. A third tombstone connects, and Taker
finally gets a three count at 17:02 to go to 7-0. After the match Kane
attacks and delivers a tombstone on a steel chair. Really good big man
match here. It was slow a bit in the middle, but did a great job of
getting Kane over as a monster and a serious threat to Taker, while
keeping Taker’s invincibility alive.

WRESTLEMANIA 15

This was during the
Ministry-Corporation feud, which was basically heel vs. heel although
really McMahon was booked as the sympathetic figure. Of course it all
ended with McMahon being behind everything. Bossman takes control early
hammering away at Taker in the corner with a series of right hands.
Taker comes back with a choke and fires Bossman into the corner
delivering a series of fists. Irish whip from Taker sends Bossman into
the corner, but Bossman comes out with an elbow. Taker comes back with a
clothesline getting a two count. Bossman goes for the ride, but stops a
Taker backdrop attempt with a swinging neckbreaker for two. Taker sits
up so Bossman kicks him back in the face. Again, but this time Taker
grabs the foot and hammers Bossman to the floor. Taker goes out after
him and rams Bossman into the cell. Bossman reverses an Irish whip and
sends Taker into the cell. Bossman grabs a pair of handcuffs and uses
them to cuff Taker to the cell. Bossman gets a hold of his nightstick
and hammers away at Taker, but as Taker falls the cuffs break rendering
that entire spot pointless. Bossman chokes Taker with the nightstick as
Taker gets busted open. Taker comes back with a choke and fires
Bossman into the cell. Taker goes under the ring and grabs a chair and
hammers Bossman in the back with it. Taker fires Bossman face first
into the cell, and delivers a headbutt. Back inside they go as Bossman
is also busted open. Taker hits the ropes and delivers a flying
clothesline for a two count. Taker goes for old school, but Bossman
kicks Taker’s leg allowing him to crotch himself on the top rope and
fall to the floor. Bossman fires Taker back inside and they trade blows
in the middle. Bossman gets the better of it with a headbutt, but
Taker fires back with a low blow as the crowd starts to turn on the
match. Taker goes for the tombstone, but Bossman slides down the back.
Taker ducks a clothesline out of the corner and again goes for the
tombstone. This time it connects and Taker picks up the victory at
9:47. Worst cell match ever, by far. After the match the craziness
continues as The Brood repels from the top of the arena dropping a noose
into the cell. Paul Bearer hits the button that raises the cell and
hangs the Bossman from the top of the arena. I still don’t know how
they did this stunt, although I’m sure someone will let me know.

WRESTLEMANIA 17

Motorhead plays
their version of HHH’s them as he heads to the ring. Taker was still in
his biker phase, and the extra long entrance ramp comes in handy as he
finally gets to open things up with the bike. This was the first
meaningful match between these two, and at does have a pretty big feel
to it. They immediately brawl on the floor before the bell rings, and
the remains of the Spanish announce table gets used. Poor guys can’t
catch a break. They head into the ring, and we get the opening bell.
Taker controls early with some soup bones, and elevates HHH with a high
backdrop. Taker staggers HHH with a clothesline and looks to set up
either the Tombstone or snake eyes, but instead he just hits a
powerslam. That was weird. HHH can’t get any traction in the early
going until he is able counter Old School by simply yanking Taker off
the top rope. The man’s called the cerebral assassin for a reason, you
know. HHH goes to work on the throat of Taker with multiple elbows.
The neck work continues with a nice swinging neckbreaker, but it only
gets two. HHH keeps trying for the cover, but Taker kicks out each
time. In a Flair spot, HHH gets in the face of the ref, and the ref
shoves HHH back. That gives Taker a chance to recover, but he sets too
early on a backdrop and eats a knee. We are just over 5 minutes in and
HHH goes for the sledgehammer. Sadly, Chioda disarms HHH, but he pays
for it as Taker reverses a pedigree attempt to a catapult, and it’s
Chioda who gets crushed. Taker snaps off a chokeslam, but HHH is able
to lift a shoulder at two. That’s pisses off Taker, so he takes out his
frustration on Chioda by punting him in the head. Nice! Now we get
the kick ass brawl we were hoping for as they brawl through the crowd.
They head to tech area as JR accidentally refers to HHH as Kane. I know
they fought a shit load of times, but how do you confuse those two?
The brawl continues to a nearby platform and HHH is able to get hold of a
chair. In a sign of things to come in the next match, HHH just beats
the hell out of Taker with the chair. HHH goes for one more shot, but
he gets goozled, and in a great visual Taker chokeslams him off the
camera tower to the “concrete” floor. The impact is kind of ruined when
Taker jumps down and you see the padding give way under the black
covering. The replays didn’t help things either, but still, the thought
was there. JR informs us the ref is still motionless, and Heyman asks
who gives a damn about a referee. Ha! HHH gets his ass kicked all the
way back to ringside, and both men head back into the ring. Taker spots
the sledgehammer, and that’s a bad thing for HHH. He does some high
quality cowering however, and it gives him just enough time to punt
Taker in his booger reds. Now HHH has his hands on the sledge, but he
runs flush into a boot from Taker. Both men struggle to their feet and
start exchanging right hands. Had this been a Cena match you would be
hearing “Boo, Yeah” right about now. HHH gets dumb and tries a
tombstone, and as expected, Taker easily reverses to one of his own.
Unfortunately for Taker he pays for punting the ref earlier as there is
nobody to count the fall. Taker goes for the last ride, but HHH is able
to grab the sledgehammer, and he fires off a shot as he was being
hoisted up. That gets a hot near fall, and it also splits Taker wide
open. Again, HHH gets stupid however as he mounts Taker in the corner
to fire off some right hands. It sucks for him though as he is prime
position for the last ride, and that’s exactly what happens to give
Taker the pin at 18:17.

WRESTLEMANIA 18

Taker rides out to Rollin’ looking mean and moody, Flair comes out in
full robe regalia and a lot of WHOO!s. Flair runs to the ring and goes
straight after Taker, and they head out the ring, and end up going over
the announce table, brawling all the way. More punches thrown, but Taker
gets control with a back elbow. Back inside the ring and Flair punches
away at Taker again, knocking him out of the ring, but his attempt to
dive on Taker from the apron sees him caught and sent back first into
the ring post. Back into the ring again, and it’s Flair back in hold
with some left and right hands. Taker throws Flair into the corner, and
he unloads some punches and a headbutt. Taker sends Flair into the
corner and he turns upside down. Back to the opposite corner for some
more punches, and back into the other corner where Flair flips to the
apron, and Taker hits a big boot to knock him to the floor. More right
hands, Flair being sat in the time-keeper’s chair as Taker unloads his
punches. Flair is busted open, but Taker doesn’t let up on his assault,
each punch deliberately placed on Flair’s cut. Back into the ring once
more, where Taker kicks Flair straight in the head, before Taker sends
Flair into the corner to punch him again. FLAIR FLOP! Flair fights back
with some of knife edge chops, but Taker reverses a whip and
clotheslines him in the corner. More right hands. Another whip to the
corner, another corner clothesline.

Taker sets Flair up on the top rope, and hits some more right hands,
before coming off the top with a superplex. Taker covers, but only gets
two before he picks Flair up to stop the three. Taker grinds his forearm
into Flair’s face; Flair tries to fight back with a chop, but gets
another kick to the head. Taker elbows Flair in the head with Flair
lying on the apron, and then delivers a leg drop to the back of the
head. Another two count, again Taker picks Flair up. Another hard right
hand, before Taker comes off the ropes, but misses an elbow drop. Flair
chops back, but Taker drops him with another punch. Time for some old
school, Taker heads to the top rope, but Flair drags him off the top to
the mat. More chops from Flair, but he runs into a sidewalk slam, but
only gets two. Taker charges but gets his leg caught on the top rope,
allowing Flair to punch him out of the ring. Flair rakes Taker’s eyes,
then gets the lead pipe from Taker’s bike, and smashes Taker over the
head with it. Two more shots to Taker, then one more to the mid-section
and Taker is busted open as well. Taker drives Flair into the security
wall, but Flair fires back with two shots from a sign. Taker back into
the ring and Flair follows, punching away at the jaw of Taker, but Taker
reaches up and grabs Flair by the throat, only for Flair to kick Taker
right in the family jewels.

Flair trips Taker, and locks in the Figure Four! Taker lasts 30
seconds in the hold, before grabbing Flair by the throat again. Flair
releases the hold, and Taker delivers a Chokeslam! Taker covers, but
only gets two! Taker’s rage means that he assaults the referee, and we
get a ref bump (WHY? IT’S NO DQ!!) Flair chops Taker and whips him off
the ropes, wait a second, ARN ANDERSON is in the ring! DOUBLE A
SPINEBUSTER ON TAKER! Arn rolls out of the ring, that one move seemingly
causing him a load of pain (so kudos to him for doing it), Flair
covers, but only gets two. Taker sends Flair out of the ring, and turns
his attention to Anderson, slugging him down and busting him open,
before kicking him in the head. Taker applies the Dragon Sleeper, but
Flair comes up behind him and levels him with a steel chair five times,
but Taker bounces off the ropes and catches Flair with a big boot. Taker
sets up for the Last Ride, but Flair is too tired to go up for it. So
Taker goes to Plan B, and nails a TOMBSTONE PILEDRIVER! That was more of
a shock back in 2002, as it was a banned move. The referee raises his
hand, and Taker slugs the referee down as well. That’ll teach him. The
Undertaker raises both his hands, as he’s now 10-0 at WrestleMania.

WRESTLEMANIA 19

Limp Bizkit performs Rollin’ live for Taker’s entrance. This was initially scheduled as a tag team match featuring Taker and Nathan Jones against Show and Train, but
Jones was so bad they didn’t even want to put him on the show so they
took him out in the aforementioned pre show angle. Show tries to attack
from behind, but Taker pulls down the top rope and sends him to the
floor. Train tries to sneak in, but gets met with a chokeslam. Show
pulls Taker off during the count and brings him to the floor. Taker
delivers a right hand and heads back inside, but Train also bails. Show
heads in to start the match. Show fires Taker into the corner, but
Taker fires out with a big boot and gets a series of blows to both men.
Train tags in and hits the ropes delivering a shoulderblock. Train
hits the ropes again, and this time after a leapfrog gets an armdrag.
Taker delivers old school to Train, and knocks Show off the apron.
Taker turns around and hits the derailer, but instead of covering he
throws him to the floor. Show rams Taker into the ringpost, and then
press slams him into the barricade. Show sends Taker back inside, and
Train slingshots him into the second rope getting a two count. Show
tags in and stomps at the knee of Taker. Taker fires back with a back
elbow, but runs into a chokeslam attempt. Taker reverses that into a
Fujiwara armbar. Train tries to break it up, but Taker locks him in a
cross armbreaker. Show breaks that up with a legdrop and the heels put the boots to Taker. Show delivers a trio of
headbutts, and locks in an abdominal stretch. Tag to Train who comes in
putting the boots to Taker, and then locks in an abdominal stretch of
his own. Taker delivers a right hand, and then reverses the abdominal
stretch. Train breaks that, but Taker delivers a back suplex. Train
comes back with a clothesline [color:45cd=blue !important][color:45cd=blue !important]after Show delivers a cheapshot from the apron. Taker comes hammering
back with a series of fists, and delivers a DDT off the ropes. Show
breaks up the count at two, and Taker delivers a series of blows to him.
Taker delivers a series of splashes to both men, and goes for a
chokeslam on Show. He lets go and delivers a big boot to Train, and
follows up with flying clothesline to Show. Taker turns around into a
big boot from Train, and Show connects with a chokeslam. Nathan Jones
runs out, and meets Show in the aisle with a spin kick. Train goes for
the cover and gets two. Jones runs into the ring and delivers a big
boot to Train somehow not drawing the DQ. Taker finishes from there
with a tombstone at 9:45. Why Jones was allowed to run into the ring in
full view of the referee and boot A-Train in the face is beyond me.
Taker tried to carry the two slugs to a watchable match, but it just
wasn’t there.

WRESTLEMANIA 20

Kane buried
Bikertaker at Survivor Series, which led to this the return of the
deadman gimmick for Taker. Paul Bearer makes his surprise return with
the druids before Taker comes out. Taker does the whole dog and pony
show entrance, which was really all this match was about. As soon as
the hat and jacket came off you realized he was pretty much the same guy
with the same style. It worked too, because he had his human moveset
but now had his supernatural aura back. Kane’s facial expressions are
absolutely tremendous as he looks in disbelief almost looking like he’s
on the verge of tears. Taker fires away with a series of soupbones, and
sends Kane to the ropes. Kane bails to the floor, and Taker follows
him. Kane meets him with a right hand on the floor, but gets whipped
into the ring apron. Taker sets Kane on the apron, and delivers an
elbow to the throat. Taker delivers a legdrop off the apron, and then
heads back inside. Irish whip sends Kane to the corner, and Taker
follows in with a splash. Taker connects with a clothesline, and then
goes for the last ride. Kane reverses with a backdrop, and then a big
boot. Kane mounts Taker and pounds away, but Taker turns him over and
delivers some shots of his own. Taker walks into a sidewalk slam from
Kane, who then heads to the top rope delivering a flying clothesline for
two. They trade blows in the center with Taker getting the better of
it, until Kane fires back with an uppercut. Kane misses a charge in the
corner, and Taker connects with a big boot and legdrop. Takermania is
running wild brother. Taker delivers old school, but jumps into a choke
from Kane. Taker grabs the throat of Kane, and breaks his grip. Kane
fights loose, and then Taker hits the ropes running into a chokeslam
from Kane. Taker sits up, and sends Kane to the ropes. Kane tries a
boot to the face, but Taker no-sells it. Taker hits the ropes and
delivers a flying clothesline. Taker connects with a chokeslam, and
then finishes him off with a tombstone at 7:47. The match was what it
was. Nothing more than a glorified squash to reintroduce the deadman
gimmick.

WRESTLEMANIA 21

Taker enters the
ring on a conveyer belt under his smoke entrance to make it appear as he
is levitating to the ring. Orton delivers a slap to Taker, and gets
caught in a side headlock. Orton fires Taker into the ropes, and
delivers a dropkick for a one count. Taker hits the ropes again and
gets a backdrop from Orton. Taker comes off the ropes again, but stops
after a leapfrog and delivers a right hand. Taker delivers a back elbow
in the corner, and whips Orton into the corner. Orton dodges a charge
and rolls up Taker for two. Orton goes for the RKO, but gets dumped
over the top to the floor. Taker goes out after him, and puts him up on
the apron. Taker drops down off the apron with a legdrop, and heads
back inside. Taker delivers old school off the top rope, and then fires
Orton into the corner. Taker goes for a big boot in the corner, but
Orton moves and Taker goes over the top to the apron. Orton connects to
Taker sending him off the apron to the barricade. Orton goes out and
fires him back inside. Orton connects with a European upper cut, but
Taker fires back with a back elbow and a series of rights. Orton comes
off the ropes with a clothesline for two. Taker hits the ropes and
delivers a DDT for a two count. Taker fires Orton into the corner, and
delivers a sidewalk slam coming out picking up a two count. Taker rams
Orton into the top buckle, and whips him across into the corner. Taker
splashes Orton a pair of times, and sends Orton to the other side with
an Irish whip. Taker delivers snake eyes, and bounces off the ropes but
runs into a back elbow for a two count. Orton pounds away with a
series of forearms, but stops to pose and Taker sits up. Taker hits the
ropes and delivers a clothesline picking up a two count. Taker locks
in a dragon sleeper, but Orton counters into a DDT for a two count.
Orton locks in a side headlock, but Taker punches his way out. Taker
hits the ropes, and Orton locks in a sleeper. Taker suplexes out of
that and Orton charges into a boot from Taker. Taker hits the ropes but
gets a powerslam for a two count. Orton mounts the second rope and
delivers nine punches, but stops to pose allowing Taker to go for the
last ride. Orton counters into an RKO attempt, but Taker shoves him off
into the referee taking him out. Taker goes for the last ride again,
but Orton punches himself down landing on top of Taker. Randy’s father
Cowboy Bob Orton runs in and delivers a shot to Taker with his famous
cast. Bob puts Randy on top of Taker, and pulls the referee over but
Taker gets out at two. Taker sits up and pounds away at Orton. Orton
fires Taker to the ropes where Bob waits to delivers another shot with
the cast. Taker meets him with a big boot sending him to the floor, and
then goes for the chokeslam. Orton counters the chokeslam into the
RKO, and could have sworn watching live that was the finish but Taker
gets out at two. Orton goes for the tombstone, but Taker reverses into a
tombstone of his own which finishes at 14:14. This match pretty much
guaranteed that Taker’s streak will likely never end. This was
certainly the last time I will be fooled into thinking he could lose.
Match was fantastic, and now looking back I realize that they did the
right thing. Orton still became a megastar, and Taker’s streak is now
the biggest part of legend.

I really thought
this was going to be the last match of Henry’s career in the WWE. For
all the crap Mark takes, I do have a soft spot for the big man, and he’s
played whatever role the company has asked pretty well. Unlike last
year though there was no suspense over if the streak was going to be
broken. Taker is 13-0 heading into this match for those keeping track
at home. The main story here is that Henry is showing no fear, and he
immediately attacks Taker before the opening bell. He mauls Taker to
start and corners him. Taker is able to get a boot up though to stop a
corner charge. He tries to take Henry off his feet with multiple
clotheslines, but it does no good. Henry is able to hit him own
clothesline and they take the fight to the floor. Taker blocks a trip
into the steps, but Henry is determined and a second try sends Taker
head first into said steps. They head back in the ring and Taker hits
some punches before attempting old school. Henry’s not down with that
and breaks by simply punching Taker in the stomach. Well that’s pretty
damn effective. The casket lid gets opened and Henry tries to roll
Taker in, but he’s still got life. Taker starts to fire back and works
the shoulder. That sets up old school for a second time, and this time
it works. Henry still hasn’t been knocked off his feet however, and he
quickly regains the advantage. They brawl in the casket with neither
man really getting an advantage, so they fight back into the ring. Okay
then. Taker looks for the leaping clothesline, but Henry catches him
with the World’s Strongest Slam. He goes for the cover, but soon
realizes that’s not going to work in this match. Henry mounts Taker in
the corner much like others have done against Taker, and sure enough he
ends up eating a last ride just like every other Taker opponent. Henry
ends up on the floor, so Taker hits Air Dead Man as he clears not only
the top rope, but also the casket. Sweet! Once back in the ring a
tombstone follows and Henry gets rolled into the casket. Taker closes
the lid to finish things at 9:26.

WRESTLEMANIA 23

The Undertaker
became the first person to win the Rumble as the final entrant, and he
picked Batista as his opponent. The story here is that Batista is not intimidated by The Undertaker and is prepared to go toe to toe
with the Phenom. Expectations were kind of low on this one, but
chemistry is a funny thing. The Undertaker is 14-0 at Mania heading
into this match. The opening bell sounds and Batista immediately hits a
spear. Sweet! That only pisses Taker off though and he starts
unloading in the corner. Taker chases the ref away, so Batista comes
back and throws Taker into the crowd to hit some rights of his own.
They brawl to the floor and Batista gets the upper hand while the crowd boos.
Taker gets fired into the steps and he takes the bump like Foley as he
bounces over them. Nice! Taker heads back in the ring and Batista
comes off the top with a shoulder block for two. Wow, Batista
channeling his inner AJ here. Well, not really, but still. Taker hits a
boot, but Batista just shrugs that off and kills Taker with a
clothesline. Big Dave looks for another boot, but Taker catches and
starts firing off rights. They begin exchanging blows and that gives
the crowd the chance to cheer and boo with each blow (much like HHH/Cena[color:24e5=blue !important][color:24e5=blue !important]
from the previous year). The Undertaker takes control and gets a two
count off a big boot, leg drop. Guess he’s not Hogan. Old School
follows, but Batista fights out of the chokeslam. Taker ducks a
clothesline and hits a sloppy version of his leaping clothesline. It
looked more like a Thesz press actually. The two men head back to the
floor, and Batista gets sent into the steps. Taker sets Batista up on
the apron and drops the leg much to the approval of the crowd. Since
its WrestleMania, Taker pulls out the no hands Flying Dead Man over the
top rope to the floor. Crazy shit! Batista fights back as he sends
Taker into the timekeeper. Big Dave is angry now as he pounds away on
Taker and starts prepping the announce tables. The ref has lost control
and while he counts every now and then there’s no way we’re getting a
count out. In great spot Batista hits a powerslam from one announce
table to another. Holy Shit! Once back in the ring, Dave looks for the
pin, but Taker is out at two. Taker starts to show signs of life as he
works Batista over in the corner. It doesn’t last long though as
Batista snaps off a belly to belly suplex. Batista makes the mistake
seemingly everyone makes as he climbs the ropes to punch away at Taker.
That only puts him in position for the Last Ride and sure enough Taker
delivers the move for a two count. Batista stays in control though as
he hits a spinebuster. He starts to Warrior-up, but Taker waits on him
and hits the chokeslam for two. Taker goes for the Tombstone, but
Batista slides off and hits a spear. He snaps off the Batista Bomb, but
Taker rolls the shoulder at two. The crowd loves every second of this
match. Batista looks for second one, but Taker counters with a
backdrop. Dave then gets stupid and looks for a Tombstone. Taker is
like “Bitch please,” as he counters easily to his own Tombstone and that
finishes things at 15:17.

Huh? Why spam? Wtf is this?

So did you like, write this all yourself or are they like, reviews of the matches on that DVD thing?

So, um, if you really wrote these reviews yourself, what's the point of reviewing stuff from like 12 years ago?

You didnt review the best streak match

HBK vs Taker at WM 25