10 Most Effective Wrestling Babyfaces Of The 21st Century
6. The Undertaker
WrestleMania, as it exists currently, represents a bulletproof formula. Fans have been conditioned to expect an impossible spectacle and a bonafide classic of a pro wrestling match - something transcendent - every spring. For years, The Undertaker was the essence of WrestleMania, distilled.
The Undertaker's 'Streak' was a progressive update on WWE's patented main event mode, but it harked back to a formula mourned by many in the heel-dominated episodic television age. 'Taker on the grandest stage was a winner - a man you could count on to deliver a classic wrestling match and a moment of rare catharsis when all around him gave fans an agonising case of blue balls, sleepwalking into the next heel trap to necessitate yet another pay-per-view rematch.
Undertaker at his best - from 2006 to 2013 - was both Bruno Sammartino and Ric Flair: superhero and super-worker, the perfect babyface for the modern age.
He was effective in creating a supernatural bond with fans and in cementing his best opponents as established main event players. Batista and Edge, most notably, became lasting presences largely as a result of their association with him. Batista hit John Cena's heights during 2007, whereas Edge transformed from cowardly heel to devious threat in 2008.
'Taker was the Phenom he was booked as. WrestleMania will be a grimmer place without him.