10 Forgotten Classics From The Undertaker's WWE Career

Throughout the course of his three decade-long WWE career, The Undertaker has gifted both the company and its fans with some of the greatest matches in professional wrestling history.

Yes, in the early days, he was somewhat limited by his zombie-like gimmick as it prevented him from doing anything that didn't automatically have the slow-motion button pressed, but as he adapted with the times, the shackles of that gimmick loosened and he began producing good, and later, great offerings.

If you had to pick 'The Phenom's greatest match, an abundance of classics would undoubtedly come to mind, and on that list would be the likes of his two WrestleMania showdowns against Shawn Michaels (as well as their 1997 clash inside Hell In A Cell), the three 'Mania wars against Triple H, his World Title battles with Batista and his wrestling masterpiece against Kurt Angle.

However, in a career with as many standout offerings as The Undertaker's, it's not uncommon for some slightly less-perfect (but still great in their own right) contests to get lost in the fray. With that in mind, let's reflect on some of 'The Deadman's forgotten gems.

CM Punk is considered among The Undertaker's greatest rivals simply because of their barn-burning collision at WrestleMania 29. The ironic thing is that they had a much longer running feud four years prior to that which, thanks to interference from the-powers-that-be, failed to deliver a PPV match the calibre of which we now know they're capable of delivering.

But while the Breaking Point screwjob sucked and the Hell In A Cell disappointed, we did get this gem from the pre-Bragging Rights edition of Friday Night SmackDown. A submission match, it played heavily on the screwjob as Teddy Long was at ringside and Scott Armstrong served as referee once more - all in a bid to screw 'The Deadman' out of the title one more time.

It wasn't an instant classic like their future 'Mania bout, but it was a thoroughly enjoyable affair that benefited from strong storytelling both in the ring and out of it - something that ensured we were all on edge as the new champion attempted to overcome the same odds that he once could not - and this was all effective in elevating a decent match to greatness, ensuring that it was better than any of their PPV offerings in 2009.