WrestleMania X8 will forever be remembered as the meeting of two industry icons in a fight few could have ever predicted, but the card actually had two clashes that broadly fit the description. And The Undertaker and Ric Flair's bloody brawl was the better battle of the two.
Built by 'The Deadman's vengeful destruction of Ric's son David during an Ohio Valley Wrestling training session, the contest was classic 'Nature Boy' just a year removed from a WCW tenure that robbed him of his confidence so severely that he elected to wrestle every match in a t-shirt.
Bursting with big banter highlights, an Arn Anderson run-in almost steals the entire match when he drills Undertaker with his trademark spinebuster, but nothing's enough to topple the in-form and revitalised WrestleMania icon. He counted out the 10 victories on his fingers as he exhaustedly celebrated the win - few could have predicted he'd double that run before his eventual defeat.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
