30 Greatest Undertaker Moments
You never know when The Deadman will appear.
In honor of his 30th anniversary, let’s look back on the 30 greatest Undertaker moments.
30. Ascension
Despite Bruce Prichard’s best efforts to defend this, Undertaker’s soul leaving his body and ascending to the heavens at Royal Rumble 1994 remains the goofiest shit WWE has ever done.
29. The Gong
At Royal Rumble 2004, Kane entered at No. 12 and chokeslammed everyone. At No. 13, the lights dimmed, the gong hit and the Philly crowd erupted. It had been five years since we heard that song and although he wouldn’t return until WrestleMania XX, this signaled that the Deadman was coming back soon.
28. Survivor Series 1995
After Mabel broke his orbital bone, Undertaker wore a Phantom of the Opera-style mask and returned to action full of fury. It was a traditional Survivor Series match, and the action built to Undertaker getting the hot tag. One by one, he eliminated Jerry Lawler, Isaac Yankem and Triple H before scaring Mabel off for the victory.
27. The Boy Wonder
Shane McMahon has been a thorn in Undertaker’s side for like 20 years. You’d think Shane O’Mac would have learned to avoid Taker after being chokeslammed from the top rope to the announce table at King of the Ring 2000.
26. Straight to Hell
Emerging victorious in Hell in a Cell at SummerSlam 2008, Undertaker got revenge on Edge forcing him out of WWE by chokeslamming the Rated-R Superstar off a ladder and through the mat, straight to cinematic hell.
25. Urban Legend
We’ve all heard about Undertaker taping up his fists backstage at WrestleMania XIV, implying that Shawn Michaels better do business and pass the torch to Steve Austin. According to Michaels, that never happened. However, Michaels says that Undertaker did tell Triple H and management that if Michaels didn’t drop the belt to Austin, there would be trouble.
24. Sacrificing Mideon
Dennis Knight was shackled and beaten by the Acolytes in a dungeon. He was freed, only to be apprehended for a public sacrifice as the Undertaker revealed his Lord of Darkness persona. Mideon’s transformation really marked the dawn of the Ministry of Darkness.
23. Saving Roman Reigns
In the summer of 2019, Drew McIntyre and Shane McMahon double teamed Roman Reigns. As Shane O’Mac went up for Coast to Coast, the gong hit and the place erupted. The lights went out, they came back on and Undertaker was there to goozle Shane and chokeslam him. After The Big Dog claimed Undertaker’s yard, nobody expected to see The Phenom help him.
22. Biggest Pull-Apart Brawl
We’ve seen many pull-apart brawls over the years, but none compare to the never-ending skirmish between Brock Lesnar and Undertaker. Security tried to separate them, but got clobbered. Then, pretty much the whole roster ran out. Lesnar screamed, “I’m gonna kill you,” and Undertaker, eyes bulging, replied “You’re gonna have to!”
21. The Nail in Shawn Michaels’ Coffin
While the WrestleMania XXV match gets all the praise (deservingly so), the rematch has the better finish. With Shawn Michaels on his last legs, Undertaker looked at him with a mix of pity and respect. In one last act of defiance, HBK slapped the Deadman, prompting Undertaker to take flight for a huge tombstone that ended Michaels’ career.
20. Buried Alive
Mankind, Paul Bearer and the rest of the roster found out the hard way that you can’t bury the Deadman.
19. Survivor Series 2005
Randy Orton was on top of the world after scoring the final pin in the Team Raw vs. Team SmackDown main event of Survivor Series. Unfortunately for the Legend Killer, he hadn’t quite finished off The Deadman. The gong hit, the druids carried out a casket and a lightning bolt lit it on fire. Undertaker burst through and went medieval on everyone in the ring.
18. Battleground 2015
Roughly 15 months after The Streak was broken, Undertaker came for revenge, costing Brock Lesnar the WWE Championship in a shocking return.
17. Crashing the Party
Randy Savage and Elizabeth’s wedding reception was going swimmingly until Liz opened a gift and snake popped out. Before Macho Man could intervene, Undertaker cracked him with the urn. This ignited the Deadman’s path to the WWE Championship and signaled his short-lived alliance with Jake Roberts.
16. Stone Cold on the Cross
It’s not a crucifix – it’s a symbol, damnit!
15. I’ll Make Ya Famous
It’s the only thing people remember from Armageddon 2000: Undertaker chokeslamming Rikishi off Hell in a Cell and onto a truck.
14. Saving Elizabeth
After losing to Randy Savage on Saturday Night’s Main Event, Jake Roberts hid behind the curtain, threatening to blast whoever came through first with a steel chair. Just as Elizabeth was about to walk through, Undertaker grabbed the chair and prevented The Snake from such a heinous act. This marked the Deadman’s face turn and kicked off his run as The Phenom – a special attraction on equal status as the WWE Champion.
13. Brothers of Destruction
Mr. McMahon broke his deal with the devil and had to pay the consequences. After refusing to crown Undertaker or Kane as the new WWE Champion, and then going so far as to call them handicapped, the Brothers of Destruction unleashed hell on the chairman and broke his ankle with the steel steps. Crazy enough, this would actually lead to the creation of Mr. Socko.
12. Dragging Diesel
As Big Daddy Cool was inches away from winning the WWE Championship, a purple glove broke through the ring stopped him. Undertaker then popped up, preventing Diesel from exiting the steel cage and yanking him into the depths of hell.
11. Royal Rumble 2006
Nobody makes a better entrance than Undertaker. After Kurt Angle retained the World Heavyweight Championship against Mark Henry, the Deadman rode in on a horse-drawn carriage, made his intentions known and shot lightning bolts that crashed the ring.
10. “Where to, Stephanie?”
Although the payoff to the Higher Power storyline sucked, Undertaker abducting Stephanie McMahon at the end of Backlash 1999 was a great cliffhanger.
9. The Laugh
More meme than moment, but who didn’t pop when Undertaker laughed back at The Beast?
8. Debut
At Survivor Series 1990, Ted DiBiase announced a mystery partner for his Million Dollar Team, and then brought out the mysterious giant known as the Undertaker, accompanied by short-lived manager Brother Love. Rather than build anticipation for his offense, Undertaker actually started the match (with Bret Hart) and tossed everyone around before eliminating Koko B. Ware in quick fashion with a tombstone. Taker went on to also eliminate Dusty Rhodes cleanly with a closeline after walking the ropes. The debuting monster only left the match after chasing Rhodes for beating up his manager.
7. First WWE Championship
When discussing greatest rookie years in wrestling history, don’t sleep on the Deadman. After all, he dethroned Hulk Hogan for the WWE Championship on the one-year anniversary of his debut. The reign didn’t last long, but Undertaker cemented himself as a force to be reckoned with.
6. WrestleMania XX
I may be in the minority here, but Undertaker’s return to the Dark Side at WrestleMania XX was disappointing. Sure, the druids were cool and I loved Paul Bearer’s “Oooooh Yeeeeessss,” but Undertaker didn’t really change his appearance from when he was last seen. And the match with Kane was same-old, same-old.
5. SummerSlam 2009
Now this was a fantastic return. CM Punk stood over Jeff Hardy, hoisting his newly won WWE Championship after a helluva TLC match. Then, the gong hit and the lights went out. When they came back on, Punk was still looking at the Titantron, wondering where the Undertaker was. Well, between his legs wasn’t Jeff Hardy…it was the Deadman!
4. Royal Rumble 2007
Did you know Undertaker is the first man to win the Royal Rumble at No. 30? He and Shawn Michaels tore the house down in the final 10 minutes. Taker went on to win the World Heavyweight Championship from Batista in a barn burner at WrestleMania 23.
3. Judgment Day 2000
Away from the ring for eight months, Undertaker returned under his new American Badass persona, riding his motorcycle to the ring for the final 90 seconds of the Ironman match between Triple H and The Rock. The crowd exploded as Taker destroys the McMahon-Helmsley Regime, particularly when he goozles Stephanie.
2. King of the Ring 1998
The bump may define Mick Foley’s legacy, but don’t forget who tossed him off the Cell.
1. The Streak Ends
This makes no sense from a kayfabe standpoint, but the reaction to The Streak ending illustrates the impact that Undertaker has had on professional wrestling.
Racking up 21 consecutive wins at WrestleMania is an incredible feat that fans easily latched onto. Despite what we’ve been told for the past quarter century, wins and losses still matter. Undertaker’s undefeated streak resonated with people because it was the closest connection to mainstream sports. As the years went on, The Streak became an attraction, a significant reason to purchase WrestleMania. Who will face Undertaker this year? Will they actually snap The Streak?
After turning back so many challenges, including serious threats such as Randy Orton, Shawn Michaels, Triple H and CM Punk, it seemed like The Streak was a permanent fixture, a WrestleMania tradition like J.R.’s John Wayne cufflinks and Kane harassing Pete Rose.
But then came WrestleMania XXX, where we were reminded that nothing is sacred in pro wrestling.
Brock Lesnar pinning Undertaker clean in the middle of the ring was unbelievable. Sitting up high at the Superdome, my eyes felt like they popped out of my head. Over 75,000 people gasped at once and the aftermath was silent like a funeral. You’ve seen the stunned faces ad nauseum since then.
Even in the cynical, all-knowing, digital age, fans had never cared more about a loss. That’s a credit to the Undertaker.
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