Analyzing Forbes's List Of WWE's Highest Earners

Though The Undertaker had a surprisingly good run against Brock Lesnar in 2015, in 2016, he only wrestled a single match. That bout - a Hell in a Cell contest against Shane McMahon at WrestleMania - was a mess, through and through. The buildup was all wrong, with 'Taker relegated to a bit player who was doing Vince McMahon's bidding for unknown reasons. The match itself was a flop, as non-wrestler Shane was booked to go toe-to-toe with "The Phenom" in a manner that was anything but convincing.

After the match, Undertaker left his gloves in the ring - a sign, perhaps, that he was retiring. While that ultimately turned out not to be true, a hip injury did keep him from performing again in 2016.

So all told, last year wasn't the best of 'Taker's career. Still, one thing can't be denied - after the Undertaker-Shane match was announced, ticket sales for WrestleMania skyrocketed, leading to what was the highest-attended card in WWE history. Would the show have done as well without that match? Possibly - the WrestleMania name is a draw and maybe ticket sales would have slowly reached the same level. Either way, though, Undertaker was in the marquee match at the biggest show in company history.

Was he worth it? Yes.