10 Times The Undertaker Genuinely Defied Expectations In WWE
5. The In-Ring Renaissance Begins - No Way Out 2006
'Taker spent the early part of his career shackled by his gimmick, unable to show us what he was really capable of. And then came the 'Lord of Darkness' stint in the late '90s in which he pulled off some career-best performances against all-time greats Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart.
Though this was an undeniably sweet period, it was also a short one, as injuries, hiatuses and the American Badass stint changed him. We already mentioned how he eventually overcame this and transitioned into a consistent performer that occasionally shined, but it still seemed like his best in-ring days were behind him. His match with Kurt Angle in 2006 changed everything.
The storytelling was (as always) on-point, but the action was absolutely stunning. One of the few five-star World Title matches WWE has ever produced, the 40-year-old 'Phenom' found a way to turn back the clock so that he could hang with one of the greatest wrestlers the business had ever seen. In doing so, he delivered the best match of his entire career (at this point).
This wasn't the Undertaker of 1997, it was better than that - and it kicked off an in-ring resurgence that would see him pull off some absolute crackers.