8 WWE PPVs The Undertaker Main-Evented (That He Shouldn't Have)

8. King Of The Ring 1997 (Vs. Farooq)

What should have main-evented: Steve Austin vs. Shawn Michaels

Let’s just get the one with the big caveat out of the way: yes, The Undertaker was the WWF Champion at the time, so yes, in terms of traditional wrestling logic, he had every right to be in the main event of King of the Ring 1997. The problem was with his dance partner. Ron Simmons has had a long and storied career that deserves all the respect it gets. But as a singles wrestler, and as Farooq, he was as boring as [insert very boring thing here].

Aside from a lack of a compelling opponent, the main event suffered in that it mashed together two disparate storylines. One involved Paul Bearer blackmailing ‘Taker into accepting his managerial services lest Bearer reveal ‘Taker’s dark secret (later revealed to be Kane), and the other involved dissention in Farooq’s Nation and Domination, with Crush and Savio Vega defecting. Neither story had anything to do with each other, and it showed in the buildup and crowd reaction.

While it was hastily thrown together thanks to Bret Hart’s injury, the grudge match between Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels likely would have been a better holder of the main event slot, as it was longer, had more in-ring action, and didn’t end as flat as Undertaker’s match against Farooq.