12. Batista vs. Undertaker - Hell In A Cell World Title Match (Survivor Series 2007)
Undertaker vs. Batista in 2007 was the most pleasantly surprising series of matches of all-time. None of the others in the running had to withstand the environment that modern times have created. Since the turn of the century, the internet has become such a huge source of information for sports fans of all types. By 2007, the microscope on pro wrestlers in the WWE was as finely calibrated as it had ever been before. Batista had been blasted repeatedly over his failure to produce critically appreciated matches. Like it or not, one of the greatest influences that the internet has had on wrestling is that it has demanded that wrestlers be held accountable for their abilities (or lack thereof) in the ring. Batista vs. Undertaker at Mania 23 stole the show. To prove it was not a one-time thing, they knocked another out of the park at Backlash, topped Backlash at Cyber Sunday, and then capped off their memorable rivalry with a borderline great Hell in a Cell match that transitioned Taker from one WrestleMania feud to another (against Edge). The Survivor Series Hell in a Cell did well to equal the quality established throughout the Taker-Batista series.
"The Doc" Chad Matthews has written wrestling columns for over a decade. A physician by trade, Matthews began writing about wrestling as a hobby, but it became a passion. After 30 years as a wrestling fan, "The Doc" gives an unmatched analytical perspective on pro wrestling in the modern era. He is a long-time columnist for Lordsofpain.net and hosts a weekly podcast on the LOP Radio Network called "The Doc Says." His first book - The WrestleMania Era: The Book of Sports Entertainment - ranks the Top 90 wrestlers from 1983 to present day, was originally published in December 2013, and is now in its third edition.
Matthews lives in North Carolina with his wife, two kids, and two dogs.
