The Undertaker's 24 WrestleMania Matches Ranked - From Worst To Best

18. Vs. Shane McMahon - WrestleMania 32

Taker Mania XXX
WWE

It's odd to revisit a match that dragged on twice as long as it should have and positioned a non-wrestler as equal to the most legendary wrestler of all time with the knowledge that, even in spite of itself, it worked.

It was used as a segue to reintroduce Shane McMahon to the WWE audience, and he was welcomed back with open arms on the next episode of Monday Night RAW. His suicidal bump from atop the titular Cell accomplished the goal, but the preceding thirty minutes were a bloated mess of amateur MMA posturing.

Perception of the match is dictated entirely by one's affection or lack thereof towards Shane's incongruous hard man schtick. He sold no fear whatsoever in the face of WrestleMania's greatest ever performer in said greatest performer's favoured match, going strike for strike with a man fans have been conditioned to accept as the "greatest pure striker" in company history. It was nonsensical at best, insulting at worst - but the heat betrayed those criticisms.

Whether it was an overwhelming wave of nostalgia or Shane's legitimately decent selling and athleticism, the end result was difficult to argue with: the match was received as well as it could have been.

Hard to grasp for some.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!