The Undertaker's 24 WrestleMania Matches Ranked - From Worst To Best
10. Vs. Triple H - WrestleMania X-Seven
Though WWE were reluctant to address it ten years later, The Undertaker and Triple H first wrestled on the biggest stage at WrestleMania X-Seven.
The match was a far cry from the successive, seminal wars held at WrestleManias XXVII and XXVIII, but it was a gripping battle, nonetheless. The first few minutes were a decent enough showcase for Trips’ heel character, but it was a preamble before the referee was taken out, leading into the stadium-wide brawl.
The camera tower fight was an astute decision. They couldn’t wrestle a traditional, near-fall crammed WWE Big Match, knowing that Austin and Rock had that locked down immediately afterwards, so instead just beat the p*ss out of each other with full on chair shots to the head. That choice was less astute, in retrospect, but it was a different time. Criticising it is akin to moaning about the lack of workrate in Andre versus Hogan.
As good as it was, it was not without its flaws. The best spot - Triple being Chokeslammed into oblivion - was undercut when ‘Taker followed up with a sham-exposing leg drop, exposing the forgiving crash mat below.
The referee also sold the initial, expository bump for over ten minutes. It skirts too closely to farce, in retrospect, but perhaps that’s overlooking the spirit. It was sh*tloads of fun.