The Undertaker's 24 WrestleMania Matches Ranked - From Worst To Best
13. Vs. Mark Henry - WrestleMania 22
WrestleMania 21’s Randy Orton match is often cited as the true genesis of the ‘Taker’s WrestleMania Streak, but his casket match with Mark Henry represents something of a blot on its mercurial record and something of a regression to the formula of old.
The mammoth Henry was better in 2006 than King Kong Bundy was in 1995, but his size and the stipulation (itself perhaps knowingly old school) limited what the match could achieve. The early exchanges were a practical move for move retread of ‘Mania XI, though Henry’s selling was far less cartoonish than Bundy’s p*ssed uncle flailing.
The match was much less one-sided than its spiritual predecessor as it unfurled, with Henry cutting off an attempt at Old School with clubbing blows, but the casket match stipulation remains one of wrestling’s most tedious because the objective of the match, almost invariably, saw ‘Taker slowly coerce a gigantic mass into a receptacle. They worked around it quite well at the midway point, with Henry missing his leapfrog body guillotine and landing into the casket - but he also missed the point of the match entirely at one point, drawing audible groans when he instinctively went for a late cover.
It was a very good one-man show from ‘Taker, who lit up the crowd with a corner Last Ride and an over the top rope suicide dive, but it was merely a good match.