Ranking all 25 WrestleMania matches of The Undertaker

1. The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels – WrestleMania XXV

For the first time in a long time, The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels were set for a one-on-one encounter, and while I knew it could be pretty special, I wasn’t aware that it would turn into the greatest match in WrestleMania history. Yep, I went there and have no problem standing by that choice.

They went with the speed vs. power thing to start things off as Michaels danced around and hit a few quick chops but The Undertaker overpowered him and got him into the corner. HBK faked a quick injury and then came out of it to hit a few more shots. But ‘Taker got in some shots of his own and then took control by whipping Shawn into the corner and giving him a big back body drop. Following a press slam and an elbow, The Undertaker hit “Old School” and then went to follow up with a running boot in the corner but Michaels moved and went after the leg that ‘Taker had seemingly hurt in the attempt. He put on an inverted Figure Four and later dropkicked the right knee before The Deadman fought back and hit his series of signatures. He went for a chokeslam that Michaels countered into a crossface but ‘Taker countered that into a side slam in a nice sequence, one of many as this match progressed.

HBK then hit his flying forearm that’s always followed by the kip up and then went on to hit a couple of inverted atomic drops and a clothesline. He went up top but was caught by The Undertaker for a chokeslam attempt. He broke free and went for Sweet Chin Music but ‘Taker brilliantly just dropped to his back to avoid it (very cool and original) and locked in Hell’s Gate but Michaels was able to make it to the rope. Soon after the break, the action went to the outside and Shawn attempted a huge moonsault off the top but ‘Taker just moved and Shawn hit the floor so hard with his knee. Ouch. But things would actually get worse and almost tragic as The Undertaker went for his dive over the top, and instead of taking it, Shawn pulled a cameraman, who was actually Sim Snuka/Deuce, into harm’s way but he wasn’t close enough and The Undertaker went head first into the floor in a very scary-looking spot.

Shawn eventually rolled back in the ring and told the referee to count The Undertaker out but he was back in at nine. Michaels set up for Sweet Chin Music but ‘Taker caught him and hit him with a huge chokeslam for a two count. That was pretty solid. The Tombstone was coming next but HBK got out of it and hit Sweet Chin Music, however, he was slow to roll over and only got a two count. The crowd is going insane at this point. Shawn kipped up again but ran right into a choke and a Last Ride attempt. Michaels got out of that as well and tried a sunset flip, while ‘Taker grabbed him and finally powerbombed him but could only get a two out of that as well. He could also only get a two count on an amazing sequence that saw ‘Taker toss Michaels from the ring, only to have Michaels skin the cat right into a Tombstone. That was an amazing near fall in which The Undertaker folded the arms and stuck out the tongue and everything. The look on his face when he didn’t get the three was fantastic and would be duplicated many more times over the next few years but wouldn’t quite have the same effect. Just awesome.

The Undertaker went for another Tombstone but Shawn countered with a DDT and then hit a Macho Man elbow from the top rope before heading to the corner to tune up the band and then hit Sweet Chin Music — another nice one — for another phenomenal near fall. They battled on their knees with ‘Taker throwing punches and Michaels throwing chops, then finally made it back it to their feet but ‘Taker put Shawn right back down with a big boot to the face. Michaels got in a boot of his own as The Undertaker charged at him in the corner. Shawn then went up top and tried a moonsault but he was caught in mid-air and The Undertaker finally finished his rival off with a Tombstone after more than half an hour. I think this is about as close to perfect as you can get in a wrestling match. Just amazing. 17-0.

Next: The best match from every WrestleMania

What was your favorite WrestleMania match of The Undertaker? Please feel free to join in the conversation in the comments section below and be sure to keep checking back in with FanSided for all of your WWE needs.