Category: Written Reviews

The Undertaker Vs Batista – World Heavyweight Title – WrestleMania XXIII 2007

Going into this match back in 2007, I was unbelievably excited for it. Not because I was expecting a classic between the two (I had no faith in Batista being able to put on a great match), but because I was absolutely certain that The Undertaker was leaving with the title, and that’s just awesome :D.

Not only was the WHC on the line though, The Undertaker’s 14-0 WrestleMania winning streak was on the line too. The Undertaker, after finally winning the Royal Rumble for the first time in his career, wanted the title perhaps more than ever. Batista, after coming back from injury in mid 06, had won the WHC once again and was determined to keep hold of it and prove to everyone that he was not only on The Undertaker’s level, but he was better.

This match might have been on 4th, but like The Undertaker Vs Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 25, for me it is the REAL main event. It’s the main reason I bought the PPV, it’s the main reason I bought the DVD.

Teddy Long doing the ring announcing was a nice touch too, making the whole thing seem that much bigger, as he was the General Manager of Smackdown and this match was huge. Batista’s entrance was nothing special, just his usual stuff, but The Undertaker got another epic WrestleMania entrance with the druids carrying the flame torches (plus his entrance is usually epic to start with lol).

I know it seems like I am rambling a bit (I blame Andy!!!), but all of this stuff really built me up and got me excited as hell for this match, and if I’m going to review the match, I feel I need to include all of this too :P.

The bell finally rings, The Undertaker comes out of the corner with his usual fighting stance, but just as quickly as he leaves his corner, Batista is running full speed into the Dead Man with a spear! Batista showing the world, and The Undertaker, that he is not intimidated, that he has no fear, and that he will do anything to win.

Back and forth they go, keeping the pace quick as hell, which is impressive as hell given the fact that both are big guys. The fans are firmly on The Undertaker’s side, despite Batista being on of the biggest faces in the company. Let’s face it, how many people could still get cheered at WrestleMania against a face Undertaker?

Batista continues to show everyone that he will do what it takes to win, when he takes to the ropes, and comes flying off with a shoulder block! The Undertaker recovers and flies across the ring for his leaping clothesline, then goes for a Chokeslam. I love this part, with The Undertaker trying to Chokeslam Batista, and Batista using all his strength to keep ‘Taker’s hand off his throat.

They continue to keep up this amazing pace, going to the outside, where we see the usual “Undertaker WrestleMania Spot” as he dives over the ropes to the outside.

But even after that, Batista continues to come back and take the fight to The Undertaker, showing that he may be the biggest threat to The Undertaker at WrestleMania. An awesome looking Running Powerslam from one announcer’s table to the other is just more offence from Batista to show us that he is taking out all the stops to beat the Dead Man.

The crowd, and myself, are just going crazy for all of this amazing action, and it’s not even in full gear! Last Ride out of the corner looks to solidify a 15-0 win streak, but Batista kicks out, hits a Spinebuster, and then a Batista Bomb! Now, going into this match I was pretty certain that The Undertaker was going to win, but when he hit that Batista Bomb, my belief was suspended, and I genuinely thought that the streak was OVER. I wasn’t the only one, the fans in the arena all seemed to be thinking the same thing, and when The Undertaker kicked out, the place erupted. Incredible.

This unbelievable match eventually ends with a Tombstone Piledriver, and I mark the fuck out as The Undertaker is once again the World Champion :D.

There is a reason I consider this the MOTY for 2007; it’s just fucking incredible. Batista brought his A game, perhaps for the first time ever (IMO he was better here than his HIAC with HHH), and The Undertaker brought his A game too, perhaps better than ever before. It’s a fast paced, action packed encounter that tells a simple story very well, and it never gets old. It’s also the best Undertaker WrestleMania match so far!

Rating: ****1/2

So, during Undertaker Month, I was posting a review a day. I had a list of around 20 matches before I started, and got the other 10 from requests. However, when I got to #12, the match I originally had planned ended up getting changed to the Hulk Hogan Tuesday in Texas match. So what was originally planned, and why did I change it? Well, maybe the actual review will help you figure it out!

The Undertaker Vs Barry Windham – WWF Raw 27/04/1998

Ha, two of my favourite wrestlers going at it on my birthday :).

No background for this one, just a random Raw match, but since I’m a huge Windham fan, I thought I’d give it a watch anyway lol. The night before was Unforgiven, where Undertaker defeated Kane in the first ever Inferno match. As for Windham, he was part of Cornette’s NWA stable.

And as I wrote that last paragraph… Undertaker chokeslammed Windham already, and as I was writing this sentence… Undertaker hit the Tombstone and got the win!

Well… ummm… this one lasted about 30 seconds. Damn.

Rating: 1/4*

So there you have it… the match lasted around 30 seconds, and left me with virtually NOTHING to write about 😛.

The Undertaker Vs Chris Jericho – WWE Smackdown 13/11/2009

It’s the final review for my Undertaker Month Review a Day! And what better match to end it on (since I’ve already reviewed my personal favourite and imo greatest match of all time lol) than The Undertaker’s first ever one on one match with Chris Jericho. I was there live, and it was the first time in my 20 years of being a fan that I got to see The Undertaker wrestle :D.

The announcers always talk about The Undertaker’s entrance and how awe inspiring it is, but you really don’t understand that until you see it live. The lights going out, the gong, the eruption of the crowd, the music, the flames, the smoke, and the slow walk of the Dead Man. It truly is an awesome experience that I am so glad I got to see. And to think, I was disappointed that I missed him twice before when he was simply the American Bad Ass. Coming out on a bike has NOTHING on this entrance! 😛

Oh, and to make it even more special for me personally, The Undertaker was the World Heavyweight Champion. Seriously didn’t get any better than this for me as a fan; first time seeing The Undertaker, witnessing his awesome entrance, watching him wrestle Chris Jericho for the FIRST TIME EVER… and he’s the World Champion? Fuck. Yeah.

Chris Jericho claims that he isn’t afraid of The Undertaker, and maybe he is telling the truth, because he doesn’t back down in the early going. Which unfortunately leads him to take a beating for a few minutes before countering Old School with an arm drag (one of his 1004 moves you know).

Being the “best in the world”, Jericho does a great job at grounding The Undertaker and generally having his way with him. His cocky attitude looks to be angering the Dead Man, but when Undertaker does fight back, Jericho perhaps has the advantage as Undertaker is more about revenge than just winning.

They tease a Last Ride out of the corner, but Jericho counters and hits the Codebreaker! He takes his time to cover and is unable to pick up the win, so he decides to mock The Undertaker with a Tombstone attempt! A couple of counters from the two before Jericho goes to the knee and brings The Undertaker down again… until The Undertaker sits right up and grabs Jericho by the throat! Jericho fights out and locks in the Walls of Jericho, which Undertaker counters into the Hells Gate, and Jericho taps!

Great fun to watch live, and while it was my favourite part of both nights when I went (Raw on Monday, ECW and Smackdown on Tuesday), it wasn’t the BEST match I saw in those two days (Christian Vs Regal was). Solid stuff, just a little disappointing when you think about how great both men are. Would have preferred it took place at a big PPV (like WrestleMania perhaps?) where they would have been given plenty of time, an actual feud (the triple threat they were involved in a week later hardly had any feud to it lol), and would have made sure they stole the show. But on the other hand, I got to see it live, and if it had happened anywhere else I wouldn’t have, so I’m just glad about that :D.

Rating: **3/4

The Undertaker Vs Bret Hart – One Night Only 20/09/1997

It’s the SummerSlam rematch with no HBK as ref, and in the UK! No time is wasted here as Undertaker goes straight to work on caving in Bret’s face for taking the WWF Title from him in controversial fashion.

Undertaker is so violent in his attack that the referee tries to get involved, only to be run out of the ring with a single glance from the Dead Man. And while the ref was running away scared, Bret was taking off a turnbuckle pad in hopes of using it somewhere down the line.

Hart knows what The Undertaker is capable of, hence the exposed turnbuckle pad, and the moment he gets Undertaker down for the first time, he immediately attempts to lock in the Sharpshooter! No doubt people can interpret that as fear or respect on Bret’s behalf, but personally I’d say it’s both. Bret knows he needs to put Undertaker away early because Undertaker is THAT good (respect), and also because The Undertaker is fucking pissed with him lol (fear).

The very strange set up for the ring nearly injures both men, as the ring seems to be raised up with the guardrail on the floor, allowing for a small gap. Bret dives onto Undertaker, who catches him, but falls back and falls down the gap a little, causing him to trip up and fall forward onto the floor (with Bret breaking his fall lol). Being professionals though, Undertaker and Bret get right back up and continue with the spot of Undertaker smashing Bret into the ring post.

They stay on the outside for a little while, as Undertaker punishes Bret with a slam on the floor etc. Once they get back in the ring though, the Excellence of Execution finds an opening and takes advantage of it with a pretty slick looking DDT. Really nice transition spot.

Unfortunately for Bret, he doesn’t stay in control for long as the exposed turnbuckle of all things backfires on the Hitman, who is launched chest first into it! Just as Bret would go after the back and the legs of his opponents, Undertaker gives targeting a body part a go as he focuses on the now injured chest of Bret! Always cool to see The Undertaker move away from the stereotypical big man offence like this.

Bret is still a “technical marvel” though, and despite being worn down by The Undertaker, he keeps getting a few shots in on the knee of his bigger opponent, knowing it will be his way back into the match if he can get enough time to work them over before Undertaker fights back. After a few attempts, the leg of the Dead Man finally gives way and Bret is back on top.

Bretman’s leg work is pretty great to watch (Bretman is what King called him at one point during the match lol); ranging from kicks to the knee, punches to it, slamming it on the mat and even a figure four leg lock around the steel ring post that Andy loves so much :). Undertaker sells well throughout it all, and he’s really great at reacting to the fans too. When he’s in the figure four in the ring and the fans start to chant for him you can see his face changing from pain to determination, and then he starts to fight his way out of the hold to get into the match. Too many times you will see guys in submission holds just sit there while the fans chant, then the fans get bored of chanting when nothing is happening, and the guy then starts to fight out to no reaction lol.

Undertaker’s legs are hurting now, and one shot to a knee puts The Undertaker down once again, ending his comeback. Knowing the legs are pretty much fucked now, Bret starts to work over the lower back of the Dead Man, as his Sharpshooter will apply pressure to both Undertaker’s legs and lower back.

Awesome counter from a legdrop into a Sharpshooter by Bret. Undertaker started building some more momentum, but the master of the Sharpshooter knows how to lock it in from any position, and when he saw his chance he took it. Surly after all the leg work, and the little back work done, Undertaker will give up right? Hell NO! The Undertaker is no mere mortal; he kicks out of the Sharpshooter and seems to have a second wind!

Bret can sense that The Undertaker is back in this match, and in a moment of desperation grabs the ring bell to try and get DQ’d! Instead Undertaker takes it from him, and looks to get DQ’d instead, until the ref takes it off him, allowing Bret to go after the leg again! But the power of The Undertaker AGAIN allows the Dead Man to kick Bret off, and this time Bret flies to the outside, landing on a camera man! Really great sequence there.

Speaking of great sequences, the finishing stretch and finish is really great. Bret attempts a Tombstone, only for Undertaker to reverse it, followed by Bret reaching for the ropes to avoid it, which leads to Undertaker trapping Bret in the ropes by his neck! As the referee tries to free him, Undertaker goes to town on Bret’s face, causing a DQ!

Tremendous match here. I’m a fan of their other matches, but this is definitely the best of the bunch. Awesome work from Undertaker when he changes his style to more of a “Bret Hart” style once the exposed turnbuckle puts Bret down, and great leg work from Bret as he tries to get back into the match. Plus I really loved the finish too.

Rating: ****1/2

The Undertaker & Kane Vs MVP & Matt Hardy – WWE Smackdown 12/10/2007

I looked at my list of matches to review to see what I was to watch next. I saw it was Vs Big Show at No Way Out 2003. Simply put, I was not in the mood for watching it based on the fact I remember hating it lol. So, one quick change to something completely random!

Ha, ended up watching parts of the show before I got to the tag match, and who makes his Smackdown debut? DREW MCINTYRE! He targets the arm too :P.

Ok, enough of that randomness, it’s onto the tag match!

MVP and Hardy are the “odd couple” tag champs, who started feuding with each other and then ended up teaming together because MVP didn’t want to face Matt for his US title. Great storyline, shame Hardy got injured and it kinda lost steam from there.

LMAO at MVP when Kane comes out. They have a big history from 2006, and as soon as Kane comes into the ring MVP runs away like a scared little girl :P. And of course MVP has a bit of history with The Undertaker from 2006 as well, but Undertaker will happily destroy him regardless of history together lol.

And let’s not forget Matt Hardy. I do believe Matt has a victory over The Undertaker from 2002 during Undertaker’s feud with Lesnar! Although he DID have some help from Lesnar… but it still counts! Right? 😛

Great spot early into the match when Undertaker gets a tag in. Hardy avoids Old School, but gets shoved off the ropes. While the ref checks on Hardy, MVP clotheslines Undertaker, only for Undertaker to sit right up, drag MVP into the ring and almost give him a double chokeslam with the help of Kane! That should teach MVP not to try and work as a team! 😛

Kane and Undertaker are clearly the more powerful team, but MVP and Hardy do their best to keep in the match and even try to control things. Kane runs shoulder first into the ring post, giving the tag champs an opening, but a single boot to the face puts the Brothers of Destruction right back on top. Trying to isolate a BOD is much harder than the tag champs would like.

BOD demonstrate great team work as they isolate MVP and absolutely destroy him for a little while. Despite getting destroyed, MVP shows great resilience by kicking out of everything Undertaker and Kane can throw at him, and even making the long awaited tag to Matt!

Now the whole “MVP is a bit of a cunt” comes into play, as remember, he and Matt don’t really like each other and MVP is technically a heel. Matt manages to fight off Kane and drop him with a Twist of Fate, but MVP makes a blind tag to try and gain the win for himself! Unfortunately this backfires with MVP being left alone in the ring with The Undertaker and a Tombstone! This one is over.

Good TV tag match here. Hardy and MVP did a great job against a bigger, more powerful team when they got the chance, and BOD were impressive as usual. The finish played nicely into the feud MVP and Matt were having too. Glad I decided to watch this over the Big Show match lol.

Rating: ***

The Undertaker Vs Mankind – SummerSlam 18/08/1996

I think I have seen this match before at some point, but remember little to nothing about it, other than the finish. Given their great KOTR match I have already watched this month, and a casket match from a house show, and their 1997 and 1998 matches I have reviewed previously (which will eventually make their way to the site), I am struggling to believe that this will be anything less than good. Then again, it IS a Boiler Room Brawl match, and the concept doesn’t scream “classic”. But if anyone can make a crazy gimmick match work, it’s The Undertaker and Mankind.

So what exactly are the rules to this match? Well, they start off in the boiler room of the arena, and their objective is to escape and make their way to the ring, and then take the Urn from Paul Bearer. At least we should get some good brawling during this whole thing :P.

Mankind is already in the boiler room, so The Undertaker has to enter and try to find the crazy bastard so he can beat the crap out of him and then escape again. Ummm… why didn’t he just go back through the door he came in? Is there another door they have to exit from? Why doesn’t Mankind just leave while Undertaker is looking for him? Well, I guess if I had to defend them not leaving like that, I would say that they both want to destroy each other first.

As Undertaker is making his way through the boiler room, Mankind sneaks up from behind and decks the Dead Man with… a very flimsy object lol. Undertaker battles back a little before getting a version of the Stunner on a wooden horse thingy that you might find in a school gym. I best Austin never thought of doing THAT!

Camera issues and the fact they start falling into the typical backstage brawling formula (slamming each other into walls) isn’t keeping me too interested in the match, but once they start trying to maul each other with weapons again it kinda picks up. Also, why the FUCK are the commentators NOT COMMENTATING? Every so often they will let out an “ohh!” and a few other random words… but why the hell aren’t they doing their fucking job? I know the action and whatnot should be what keeps me interested in a match, but no commentary can take you out of matches, especially when you can’t hear the crowd either as we are in a fucking boiler room after all. The only time we hear them is when they let out an “ohh!” or something.

In between the rather awkward silences and the boring wall slamming, we do get to see a few good spots, but nothing to make me think this match is going to end up being good. Shame, considering I came into the match expecting it to be at LEAST good. Now I’ll be shocked if it’s anywhere near good.

So, positives so far. Ummm… the Stunner spot on the wooden horse was kinda cool lol, and Mankind’s running knee to the face while Undertaker was against some steel looked and sounded great, and Mankind climbing a random ladder to hit an elbow drop to Undertaker on the concrete floor was great as well. The Undertaker, unfortunately, hasn’t done anything worth noting. Not often The Undertaker is the worst guy in a match…

Great, more “technical difficulties” with the camera going off, which gets the biggest reaction from the crowd so far (all be it a negative one), and seems to make the commentators speak a little too, for the first time in around 5 minutes.

Mankind again finds a ladder to climb, and is no doubt going for an elbow drop… again. But The Undertaker sits up, and HOLY SHIT at the spot we get! Foley is knocked back off the ladder and lands mostly on the concrete with the top half of his body landing on… a box. A single box. Yeah, bet that broke his fall lol.

Finally, they have made it to the exit. Maybe if they make it to the ring together we can get something that would resemble a good match.

LMFAO at Mankind escaping first and then trying to barricade the door with objects that weigh less than a WWE Diva. Undertaker just smashes through the door and the objects blocking it, and now the race to the ring begins! Not quite as exciting as it sounds.

Huh, the closer the two men get to the ring, the more the commentators speak. How very strange…

Both men get to the ring, but Undertaker is pretty beat up compared to Mankind, and a Piledriver on the concrete floor doesn’t help. Odd that as soon as they got to the ring area, things immediately started picking up lol. I get that Mankind was hanging out in boiler rooms and whatnot which was part of his gimmick at the time, but there was no need to make a fucking match out of it. Just stick these two in a ring and we’ll be good.

The Undertaker’s desire to keep control of his Urn forces him to get up from the Pilerdriver and send Mankind back first from the apron right onto the same concrete floor that Undertaker went head first into! The Dead Man then climbs into the ring, goes to Paul Bearer to receive the Urn, only for Paul to turn his back on him! SWERVE~!

Mankind locks in the Mandible Claw a couple of times as Paul Bearer looks on in sheer delight!

The Undertaker, betrayed and beaten up, looks up at Paul, wondering what is happening, and gets levelled by the Urn. Paul hands the Urn to Mankind, and the match is over.

Thank fuck.

Never thought I would be this excited for an Undertaker match to end… especially an Undertaker/Mankind match. It was just horrible for the most part. No commentary, silence from the crowd for the most part, boring and somewhat slopping brawling, and it lasted way too long. Everything they did once they got to the ringside area was good, but not good enough to bring up the match. Such a huge disappointment.

Rating: 1/2*

The Undertaker Vs Heidenreich – Survivor Series 14/11/2004

After costing The Undertaker the WWE Title at No Mercy, and running a car into the hearse that The Undertaker was knocked out in, The Undertaker damn sure wanted revenge… but it was Heidenreich that demanded this match! Heidenreich wears a straight jacket down to the ring, and given the fact he wanted a match with the Dead Man, he definitely needs it!

Believe it or not, this match was NOT a request! I actually wanted to watch it again, because I always remember this actually being a good match. So, time to see if I am as crazy as Heidenreich himself :P.

Match starts with both men staring each other down in their own ways. Undertaker standing completely still, with Heidenreich moving around while never taking his eyes off the Dead Man. Just a small thing for Heidenreich to do to help put over his gimmick more.

Some awesome, and I mean fucking AWESOME strikes by The Undertaker put him in control at the beginning, but Paul Heyman on the outside helps distract the referee a couple of times allowing Heidenreich to target (and I can’t believe I’m actually typing this lol) the balls of the Dead Man. Thankfully this tactic is just to create an opening (do I even need to put a joke here?), but it seems the Dead Man has balls of steel, and he quickly regains control of the match while battling on the outside!

Back in the ring The Undertaker attempts Old School for the second time, this time actually landing it. When he hits the move, I’m pretty sure he grabs his balls to sell the previous attacks too. That’s right; The Undertaker is selling his balls. And again it’s his balls that cause The Undertaker to lose control when he runs at Heidenreich in the corner with a big boot and gets caught on the ropes. Usually he catches himself knee first in this situation, but I guess in keeping with the story of the match, he goes balls first this time.

Heidenreich tries to wear down The Undertaker as the Dead Man is constantly fighting for control. Some pretty great exchanges between the two during this time as well. Undertaker keeps using his strikes to keep himself in the match, and Heidenreich has some pretty good strikes too, as well as a great looking clothesline.

As the match goes on, Heidenreich continues to keep up with the veteran Undertaker, constantly matching his move for move and punch for punch, which seems to frustrate the Dead Man. Nothing he does is enough to put Heidenreich away, or even keep him down for long.

A rookie mistake allows The Undertaker to hit the Last Ride out of the corner, but not even THAT ends the match, as Heidenreich, despite being completely insane, is able to grab the ropes.

A little more back and forth action, and Undertaker hits the chokeslam, and finally puts Heidenreich away with a huge Tombstone! After the match The Undertaker sits in the corner and almost looks shocked that Heidenreich was able to last this long against him, and was able to take so much punishment and dish out more than his fair share too.

Well, turns out I wasn’t crazy; this match IS good. Really good, and perhaps a hidden gem as I doubt many people would look at the card for Survivor Series 2004 and expect this match to be good. Heidenreich actually looked great in the match, matching Undertaker blow for blow throughout the match. Nobody really gets a control segment; it’s very much a back and forth match for the entire contest with both men trying to put the other away. One of the better “big man vs big man” matches I can remember.

Rating: ***3/4

The Undertaker Vs Bret Hart – WWF Raw 05/02/1996

Everyone remembers the matches from SummerSlam 1997 and One Night Only 1997, and maybe their MSG match from 1992 that was played on WWE Classics on Demand earlier this year, but few people remember they had a match at the 1996 Royal Rumble (which was great), and even fewer people know about this Raw match (hell, I didn’t even know about it lol). So, is it simply not remembered because it happened so long ago and has never been released on DVD, or because it straight up SUCKS? Time for me to find out.

At the Royal Rumble a few weeks ago, The Undertaker had Bret beat, but Diesel got involved and attacked the referee. Bret Hart, being the great champion that he is, asked for a rematch, with the title on the line! And the winner of this will take on Diesel at the next PPV in a cage match for the belt!

Undertaker stalks Bret around the ring, but Bret’s quickness allows him to trap the Dead Man in the corner until a headbutt sends Bret down. As The Undertaker starts to wear down Hart, the fans are firmly behind him, which is a little unusual as Bret was still extremely popular at this time.

Just like their Royal Rumble match, things go at a slow pace with Undertaker trying to suffocate Bret, but during an Old School attempt Big Daddy Cool shows up and distracts him long enough for Bret to reverse the move and begin the typical yet smart work on the leg of his bigger opponent.

The Undertaker sells the leg work nicely, and does a great job of desperately trying to escape the grasp of the Hitman and avoid taking more punishment to his limbs. It seems that The Undertaker’s desperation is what is able to get him back into the match. Cool to see The Undertaker like this in 1996. As big of a supporter of The Undertaker as I am, even I think of him as only really becoming a good seller in the last decade, but the more “Old School” stuff I watch, the more I see that he was ALWAYS a good seller, but before his gimmick really started to evolve, he was limited to when and where he could actually sell. And hey, if there is ever a year for me to realise Undertaker was better than before, it’s 1996 lol, the year myself and other fans agree he truly came into his own (largely due to facing opponents like Bret who could work).

After a lengthy control segment from the Dead Man, Bret is set up for a Tombstone. However, knowing that the Tombstone was the move that almost ended his title reign at the Royal Rumble, Bret makes damn sure to escape, and unfortunately the referee gets knocked out in the process!

After escaping the Tombstone, Bret wisely goes right back to the legs, but with the referee down and out, Diesel makes his presence felt and attacks Bret, only to in turn get attacked by The Undertaker, before retaliating and decking the Dead Man with a chair!

With Bret and the referee still out, Diesel gives The Undertaker his full attention, giving him2 Jackknife Powerbombs! Undertaker is out cold in the ring, and Bret is still down and out on the floor, and the referee hasn’t woken up yet either!

After a commercial break, we find out that the match ended in a draw :(. Kinda sucky that the match didn’t have a finish, but like the Royal Rumble match, the finish was just another way to build up to the next PPV and even WrestleMania, so I can live with it. Besides, everything including the way the match ended was great anyway. Undertaker looked great on offence, Bret was great working the leg and Undertaker sold it nicely, and the finish was well done too. Not quite as good as their 3 PPV matches, but a worthy addition to their collection of matches for sure!

Rating: ***1/4