10 Times The Undertaker Genuinely Defied Expectations In WWE
8. A Renewed Deadman - Raw (1 July 2002)
The Undertaker in the early 2000s felt like he had reached a point in his career that his glory days were behind him as he only occasionally pulled it out of the bag (his WrestleMania X-Seven battle with Triple H, for example).
The truth is that Biker 'Taker struggled to hold fans' interest in the ring as much as he did on the mic. He was getting in better shape as he transitioned into the 'Big Evil' stint, yes, but instead of brief balls-to-the-wall fist-fights, we were now getting painfully long slogs with little excitement.
That began to change when he enjoyed a brief feud with Jeff Hardy, as the veteran 'Deadman Inc.' took it upon himself to get the young Hardy over as a singles performer. He did that by putting his Undisputed Title on the line against him in a Ladder Match. And together, the two did the unthinkable.
The storytelling here was beautiful. 'Taker played the big bad bully to perfection while we all rooted for Jeff to topple the champion, and the pair delivered one of the best TV matches in WWE history.
'Taker found his purpose once more as he got Jeff over, and this ultimately gave Big Evil the career turning point he so desperately needed.