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

16. Vs. Kane - WrestleMania XX

Taker Mania XXX
WWE.com

The second of two WrestleMania matches with his pyromaniac brother, the WrestleMania XX match was a diminished return, which really isn't saying much given that the original was a chore - but it was really more of a celebratory extended angle than it was a wrestling match.

That might have been all well and good, if that angle resonated more - but ‘Taker more or less dressed like he did as his zombie biker American Badass persona. It was pleasing to unexpectedly hear Paul Bearer wail out his “Oh, yes!” catchphrase, but the resulting match rather stripped the moment of any goodwill. Kane’s campy pre-match acting bordered on the silly when he reached out and touched ‘Taker to double-check that he “wasn’t real” as he’d convinced himself about eight times beforehand.

It existed as a way to reintroduce the Dead Man act, and didn’t really need to be anything more than a glorified highlight reel. That’s almost precisely what it was, with the few licks Kane managed atypically dangerous in execution. He almost landed ‘Taker on his neck with a bungled back body drop.

‘Taker’s Big Evil run is often (and with some justification) cited as a lowlight in his career. It took more than one match to truly banish the curse of it.

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!