13 Ups And 23 Downs For WWE In 2020

3. A Cinematic Masterpiece

Undertaker Boneyard
WWE.com

Maybe it gets a lot of credit for being the first in WWE, but the Boneyard match was a major triumph for WWE in 2020.

The buildup for the AJ Styles/Undertaker match was far less than encouraging (it started with the Tuwaiq Mountain Trophy Gauntlet Match to give you an idea), so the match had a lot to overcome. Throw in the Undertaker’s limitations in the ring plus the uncertainty of an empty arena WrestleMania match and you’ve got a lot working against you.

But the Boneyard match exceeded everyone’s expectations, with Styles and Taker (and the OC) putting on a highly entertaining segment that was part wrestling match, part spectacle, part mystic experience. UT was able to deliver a great performance, and Styles was a great foil, bumping around the “boneyard” effectively.

Unfortunately, WWE tried to replicate the success of this match a few times, to diminishing or even horrible returns (Swamp Match, anyone?). But let’s give WWE credit for the originator during a very strange year.

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Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.