14. Triple H vs. The Undertaker - WrestleMania XXVII
The hard sell for Mania 27 got kick started when the WWE began airing mysterious videos hyping 2-21-11. Speculation went wild as to who would be showing up on that date and it turned out to be the Undertaker. Yet, as soon as The Deadman made his entrance on Raw that night, Triple H made his long-awaited return and spoiled Undertakers. In one of those rare moments in wrestling when no talking was needed to tell a story, Triple H and Undertaker simply stared a hole through each other and let the crowd talk for them. They each gazed at the WrestleMania marquee before Taker gave a throat-slashing gesture and Trips countered with a crotch chop. The stage was set: Taker vs. Triple H at WrestleMania 27. Before the match, Triple H came out to Metallicas For Whom the Bell Tolls (followed by his usual theme). It perfectly set the stage for the war that began once the bell rang. This was not your typical wrestling match. It was No Holds Barred and they used the gimmick to their advantage to beat the tar out of each other for the first ten minutes. Triple H gave Taker a spinebuster through the announce table. Taker back dropped Trips off the announce table. Once they returned to the ring, they started with a flurry of finishing moves that culminated with Trips kicking out of the Tombstone and Taker kicking out of the Pedigree. It was the moment when Taker goozled The Game and when Trips subsequently looked down at him and shook his head No - that the match became a classic. Nothing that The Deadman could do from that point forward seemed to be able to stop the Game, but even when Triple H went so far as to give Taker the Tombstone it was not enough. Nothing was enough to save the Game from eventual defeat. Taker had to be carted off from the ringside area. 19-0. While not heralded as being on the level of HBK-Taker 1, many rated it on par with HBK vs. Taker II, for obviously different reasons. The storytelling was praised, as Taker and Triple H overcame their physical shortcomings to put on a marvelous performance that was generally well-received by the majority of the top critics in the wrestling media. Taker continued a streak of five straight Mania classics.
"The Doc" Chad Matthews has written wrestling columns for over a decade. A physician by trade, Matthews began writing about wrestling as a hobby, but it became a passion. After 30 years as a wrestling fan, "The Doc" gives an unmatched analytical perspective on pro wrestling in the modern era. He is a long-time columnist for Lordsofpain.net and hosts a weekly podcast on the LOP Radio Network called "The Doc Says." His first book - The WrestleMania Era: The Book of Sports Entertainment - ranks the Top 90 wrestlers from 1983 to present day, was originally published in December 2013, and is now in its third edition.
Matthews lives in North Carolina with his wife, two kids, and two dogs.
