2. vs. Triple H (Hell in a Cell, WrestleMania XXVIII)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuyWFIEoLaE What do you get when you combine three of the greatest wrestlers of all-time into one incredible story? One of the greatest matches of all-time. Undertaker and Triple H had already produced two amazing spectacles at WrestleMania. To top it, they had to add a gimmick and a special referee. The guest official was no ordinary addition, though, due to his history with both men. Shawn Michaels wanted "The Streak" to end so badly that it cost him his career. He had co-founded Degeneration X with Triple H. From a pure storyline perspective, was "The Streak" ever in greater jeopardy than when put against a man who had nearly "ended" Taker in the previous year and in a match refereed by a man with all the reasons in the world to help his friend put an end to the very record that had cost him his livelihood? Hell in a Cell was, for the first time, in the background. It provided an eye-catching environment for Triple H vs. Undertaker at WrestleMania 28, but it was not a major factor in the feud or the match. Some have argued that its presence was unnecessary. The counter to that argument would be that the addition of the Cell, combined with HBK as the special referee, made the match as big as it possibly could have been. Subsequently, the match will live on throughout wrestling history as one of the "biggest" matches ever. The execution of the story was in the "best ever" conversation. From the manner in which HBK's emotions wavered throughout the match to the use of blood for the first time in years to Taker's frustrations with the HBK-HHH dynamic boiling over to the repeat of the brutal nature seen in Taker-HHH from Mania 27 to the greatest near fall in the history of "The Streak" when Taker kicked out of the Sweet Chin Music-Pedigree combo to the script being flipped from the prior year with Taker imploring Trips to "stay down" to the crowd going bananas throughout the match to the post-match image of the three of them embracing at the top of the entrance stage, Triple H vs. Undertaker Hell in a Cell featuring Shawn Michaels was an absolutely amazing piece of work.
Chad Matthews
Contributor
"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.
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