The Undertaker’s 10 Best WWE SmackDown Matches
2. Vs. Randy Orton - SmackDown (16 September 2005)
In the midst of their year-long feud, The Undertaker and Randy Orton met three times on PPV (four if you count the Handicap Casket Match). However, they also met once on television, squaring off in the main event SmackDown in the fall of 2005. Ironically, this forgotten classic may have been their best in-ring encounter.
The moment in which The Undertaker attempts Old School, stopping just before he reaches the ropes and teases the audience with a stare is the perfect example of how to describe the psychology of this match: it was one big tease. It teased us with memories of their iconic WrestleMania battle, it teased us with an incredibly slow build and it teased us with the Ortons' morbid surprise for 'The Deadman'. In the end, it ultimately delivered on all fronts as it slowly built towards an incredible closing sequence that had the crowd screaming their hearts out.
In many ways, the storytelling was supposed to be the main focus here, with the reveal of the Undertaker mannequin in the casket keeping us in suspense, but the PPV-quality of this incredible main event completely overshadowed that. That didn't stop it from telling its story, with 'The Phenom' overcoming the Ortons' mind games to score a decisive win in this rubber match and, looking back, this actually would have been a perfect ending to the pair's feud.