10 Best WWE Smackdown Main Events
3. The Undertaker Vs. Kurt Angle - March 3 2006
In 2006, The Undertaker decided he wanted to have a world-class match at WrestleMania, an epic for the ages that people could point at and say 'Oh yeah, it wasn't all Giant Gonzalez and King Kong Bundy sh*te' when referencing The Deadman's resume. He handpicked Kurt Angle for the task, since they had good chemistry and 'Taker knew he could bring the best out of him. The match was scheduled for WrestleMania 22 in 2006.
The match didn't happen, of course, WWE deciding to do it one month earlier at No Way Out instead. The match was a blinder, more than worthy of headlining the Showcase of the Immortals and so good, in fact, that WWE felt compelled to run a rematch two weeks later in the main event of Smackdown.
In some ways this was an even better match, since they had something to build from and could reference the No Way Out match. They also busted out new sequences and moves and really had fans guessing towards the end. Angle went for the ankle lock throughout, whereas 'Taker systematically wore his opponent down, taking his time as he did so.
As the match hurtled along to the finish, both men were hanging on, countering offense like their lives depended on it. Regrettably, after almost half an hour of superlative back-and-forth action, Mark Henry lumbered out and caused the DQ by attacking Undertaker, right after 'Taker had landed what would have been the match-winning Tombstone piledriver..
A pretty lame finish, yes, but it takes nothing away from the preceding 28 minutes.