10 Most Shocking WWE WrestleMania Role Reversals

2. The Undertaker - WrestleMania 22 & 23

THE UNDERTAKER WM 22 WM 23
WWE

A casket match between The Undertaker and Mark Henry at 2006's WrestleMania 22 wasn't a particular disgrace to either man on the night, but it spoke to the lowered expectations for the character and his vaunted undefeated streak that WWE would so willingly cast little-to-no doubt on the outcome after so many years of success on the 'Show Of Shows'.

Remarkably, it proved the final indifferent Undertaker match for a generation.

P*ssed off with their midcard placement at WrestleMania 23, the Royal Rumble winner and World Champion opponent Batista went hell-for-leather in a show-stealing spectacle. John Cena and Shawn Michaels went on last, but 'The Animal' and 'The Deadman' gobbled up the headlines from that year's supercard.

It begat an incredible tenure for The Undertaker at WrestleMania. After an unreal series against Batista for the rest of 2007, he replicated the run with Edge in 2008, tackled both members of DX in a four year arc and stole WrestleMania 29 with CM Punk.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett