WWE: The Undertaker's 10 Greatest Wrestlemania Matches

"It's the most wonderful time of the year...." The classic Andy Williams Christmas tune has double meaning for wrestling fans. December brings good tidings of holiday cheer and also means that WrestleMania Season is just around the corner. Right after we ring in the New Year, we will be on The Road to The Royal Rumble. Since the WWE has established such strong connections between The Royal Rumble and WrestleMania, the RAWs and Smackdowns prior to the January Classic have essentially become the first stops on The Road to WrestleMania. There is not a better time to be a wrestling fan than the few months leading up to "The Showcase of the Immortals." 2014 will offer up the 30th WrestleMania and all signs point to the record 22nd match of, perhaps, WrestleMania's most celebrated and successful superstar, The Undertaker. Since 1991's WrestleMania VII, The Deadman has dominated the grandest stage in WWE, racking up 21 consecutive victories without a loss. Who will be #22 (John Cena, Brock Lesnar, The Rock)? Will this be the year that he takes that elusive loss? Opinions will vary in answering both questions, but the Wrestling Media has been out in full force for several months, conjecturing and setting the stage for the potential of what could be Undertaker's final match in his long and storied career. The WrestleMania XXX logo has, perhaps symbolically, been given a color scheme reminiscent of The Phenom's. Coincidental as it may be, it is certainly no shot in the dark to suggest that Taker's final battle could be imminent. He has not worked a full-time WWE schedule €“ check that, he has not even worked more than one pay-per-view per year €“ since 2010. Despite working just four matches in three years, he has made regular trips to the orthopedic surgeon. As much as we may all want to believe that The Deadman is invincible, his body is rapidly breaking down from the aftermath of making his living by falling on a thinly padded piece of wood for 30 years. The Undertaker's vaunted "Streak" will surely be on the line at least one more time. If WrestleMania XXX truly is the end of the road, then one can only hope that the WWE will present it as such so that his legions of supporters can fully appreciate it. Every time that Undertaker has a match, it is a treat. Jim Ross said it best when he commented, in reference to Taker's last match, that the WWE should advertise it and make it the focal point of an entire WrestleMania. Historical context shapes expectations. Nobody has as much history to draw from at WrestleMania as The Deadman. So, in honor of either the next or the last match in "Streak" lore, we look back at the greatest Undertaker matches in WrestleMania history.

Honorable Mentions

There is "The Streak" and then there is "The Streak within 'The Streak.'" For the last seven years, Taker's WrestleMania legend has grown leaps and bounds not just by extending his undefeated record, but by creating an unprecedented list of consecutive Match of the Year candidates. Prior to 2007, The Deadman's WrestleMania resume was stout, but not overly impressive. WrestleMania VIII (vs. Jake "The Snake" Roberts) was merely an extended introduction to what The Phenom showed himself capable of producing down the line. WrestleMania XII (vs. Diesel) was a classic struggle between larger-than-life grapplers and an underrated gem, but was closer in quality to his worst "Granddaddy" matches than his best. WrestleMania X-8 (vs. Ric Flair) is the top match omitted from the elite 10, featuring a highly motivated Deadman leading the way for The Nature Boy during a time when "Slick Ric" was lacking in the confidence department. Undertaker's "greatest" was an easy list to compile, though. Ten stood out definitively over the rest.