8 Wrestlers Who Got KNOCKED OUT (... & Still Finished Matches)

It speaks to the insanity of the second half of the 2010s that, by the end of the decade, The Undertaker losing to Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania XXX wasn't still the headline story from the prior ten years. When it happened, nothing felt like it would or could ever be the same again. 

Undertaker was infamously 21 wins without reply before 'The Beast' hit three F5s to put him down for the count in one of the most shocking booking decisions in the history of the show, but so much about the ways in which real life intervened ensured the story would remain fascinating in the years that followed. 

There had been two decades of care and attention paid to the booking of Undertaker on the company's biggest night, and at least half that time was spent elevating the stakes of what it meant to topple 'Taker on the one show nobody could. Lesnar got two generational rehab wins in 2014, and this was the first before he crushed John Cena at SummerSlam in August. The foundations were rock solid after this, even if Undertaker didn't look all there after suffering a concussion early in the match. In that strange way wrestling works, it contributed to the once-in-a-generation post-match vibes. The atmosphere was rather appropriately funeral-like when he lost, but the downbeat look of confusion and disbelief written across his face sold the moment more than any over-acting could have managed. This was bad, this was weird, but this was real. 

Bryan Danielson once admitted that winning the WWE Championship at the height of his Daniel Bryan powers in the biggest matcha and moment of that year's WrestleMania wasn't really a career highlight. This drew shock and even derision from some corners, but Vince McMahon himself appeared to agree. He chose loyalty to Mark Calaway over the headline attraction of the year's biggest show, heading to the hospital to be bedside with 'The Deadman' rather than sticking around for the main event.