100 Greatest WWE WrestleMania Moments
6. ‘Taker’s Face When HBK Kicked Out (WrestleMania XXV)
The power of close up facial expressions should never be ignored. WWE's production team has greatly benefitted from waving goodbye to Kevin Dunn's erratic camera angle changes and other idiosyncrasies, but the much-maligned Dunn was at the helm back in 2009 when cameras captured one masterful sell job from The Undertaker at 'Mania XXV.
Somewhat ironically, 'The Deadman' looked like he'd spotted a ghost when Shawn Michaels kicked out of his Tombstone Piledriver late in the bout. That near fall had everybody fooled, but it became even better for 'Taker acting like he was fresh out of ideas. If that wouldn't put HBK down for the count, then what would?! Catching Shawn on a moonsault attempt and turning it into another Tombstone would do the trick.
What an expressive sell, right enough. WWE's cams zoomed right in on Undertaker's face to capture every movement in his face. Intelligently, the legend stared a hole right through space in disbelief. He didn't try to do too much or dart his eyes around the venue looking for answers. No, 'Taker remained transfixed on the fact Shawn had survived yet again. It was one of the best facial performances in pro wrestling history. Wow.
To reiterate...WOW.
A few naysayers in the wild have tut-tutted at the number of finishers 'Taker and Michaels powered out of. Fair enough, but they weren't rushing through anything. Besides, this was WrestleMania and a true battle of the titans. They had to go above and beyond to ensure peeps talked about their clash like some mythical war between Gods.
Dramatic, sure, but then that was the point.