10 Wrestling Matches Better Than They Had Any Right To Be
9. The Undertaker Vs. Batista - WWE WrestleMania 23
Prior to WrestleMania 23, doubts persisted over Batista's ability to contest an entertaining match without the stewardship of real-life mentor Triple H, who did his level best in 2005 to cast him as an unbreakable powerhouse.
Though they eventually garnered critical acclaim for their troligy, Batista's WrestleMania 21 coronation was far too long to make best use of his limited repertoire. Its sagging middle stretch may have contributed to the apathetic audience response to his title win.
It was feared that, with WrestleMania often imposing an epic structure and duration on its top title matches, we were in for a similarly protracted affair. Instead, 'Taker and Batista entered into a tight 15:47 collision, which was fought at a breathless pace and wreaked absolute havoc on the ringside area in order to sell the immediate threats of the two evenly-matched behemoths.
The fifteen minute, all-action back-and-forth match structure has been thoroughly exhausted in 2016, so oversaturated is WWE's TV product, but it played expertly to the strengths of 'Taker and Batista here.
It was so good that a defiant Batista, aggrieved at his midcard placement, reportedly marched through the curtain and dared his peers to better it.