The Undertaker's 10 Greatest Wrestling Matches Of All Time

It was the end of an era. No amount of suckling the teat of Saudi blood money can put paid to that sentimental narrative; this was, unquestionably, the final time three men with over 60 years of collective industry experience stood tall as legends (and in Triple H's case, perhaps the only real time).

After failing at the task twice before, there seemed a crushing inevitability to Triple H ending the Streak. He was the man who'd took 23 seconds to cover and defeat a prone Booker T, the man who ridiculously thought he could outclass Undertaker's tie with the night's referee Shawn Michaels two years earlier. The narrative of Hunter as the entitled, ego-serving spoiler came pre-built, then, and that's what informed the match's drama.

Having Shawn in the corner - effectively, in Triple H's corner - to heighten that anxiety was a masterstroke. The Streak belonged to the fans as much as Undertaker, and what had become something of a guarantee was now in jeopardy. Every near fall was treated with gasps; all sense of procession was out of the window.

Of course, 'Taker did win. The Streak wasn't over, but the 'era' was. That those facts would be reversed years later takes nothing away from the tear-jerking sendoff.