Dr. K's Waiting Room

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After debuting as part of the “Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase’s Million Dollar Team at the 1990 Survivor Series, the Undertaker became a force of nature within World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). To celebrate the Deadman’s illustrious career, I’m looking back at his WrestleMania matches against the future members of the super-stable Evolution.

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The Date: 1 April 2001
The Venue: Reliant Astrodome; Houston, Texas
The Commentary: Jim “J.R.” Ross and Paul Heyman
The Referee: Mike Chioda
The Stakes: Singles grudge match

The Build-Up:
After his 1990 Survivor Series debut, the Undertaker amassed an impressive list of rivalries with some of wrestling’s most talented, and notorious, names in his near-mythical wrestling career. If that wasn’t enough, the Undertaker amassed the greatest winning streak in wrestling history with 21 WrestleMania wins between 1991 and 2013. By WrestleMania X-Seven, one of the most celebrated WrestleMania events of all time, the Undertaker was in the middle of one of his biggest reinventions as the leather-clad motorcyclist “American Bad Ass”. He became embroiled in the battle against Triple H and the McMahon-Helmsley Regime, who had run roughshod over the WWF using their political power. After Triple H finished up is most recent feud with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, “The Game” touted his superiority and dominance and raised the ire of the Undertaker, whom Triple H had never faced in a pay-per-view singles match before. Immediately, tensions escalated to the point where they were interfering in each other’s matches, using proxies (such as the Undertaker’s brother, Kane, and the Big Show) to attack each other, and Triple H even had the Undertaker arrested after he tried to force his way into his limousine. In retaliation, the Undertaker had Kane hold Triple H’s wife, Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley, hostage to force WWF Commissioner William Regal into sanctioning this one-on-one match on the grandest stage of them all!

The Match:
Although many have criticised the Undertaker’s American Bad Ass (or “BikerTaker”) phase, I always enjoyed it. Of course, it helped that I started watching wrestling around the time of the 1999 Royal Rumble, so this was the only version of the Undertaker I knew outside of the videogames, and that I was into heavy metal music and the whole leather aesthetic that was popular at the time. Regardless, I always felt like it was a fantastic reinvention of the character. It allowed the Undertaker to stay relevant in the far more grounded landscape of 2000’s WWF, gave him the chance to showcase more personality and vulnerability, and saw him destroying foes with an absolutely devastating lifting powerbomb known as the Last Ride. At the time, there was no greater, more hated heel than Triple H (well… maybe WWF Chairman Vince McMahon…). He’d not only dominated the main event as the WWF Champion but also been revealed as the mastermind behind Steve Austin’s run-in with a car, though he had definitely been taken down a notch by both Austin and the Rock earlier in the year. The best thing about these two WWF stalwarts was that it made perfect sense to have them face off, even if it was pretty clear that they were playing second fiddle to the more dramatic story revolving around Austin, Rock, and the WWF Championship. The match was bolstered somewhat, however, as Triple H was played to the ring by the legendary Motörhead in a rousing mini rock concert that ensured the Game got his fair share of cheers despite his heinous actions throughout the year. Not to be outdone, the hometown hero, the Undertaker, blasted to the ring on his bike to Limp Bizkit’s “Rollin’”, which, while a good song, still pales in comparison to his original Kid Rock theme. They brawled around at ringside, with Triple H collapsing through a makeshift announcer’s table before being rolled into the ring and J.R. pointing out (maybe for the first time?) that the Undertaker had never lost a WrestleMania match and had amassed an 8-0 winning streak at the show of shows.

Triple H’s attempt to trade punches with the Undertaker in the ring might have gone badly, but the Game scored a knockdown with his Harley Race-style jumping knee…only for the Undertaker to shrug it off, manhandle Triple H into the corner, and toss him overhead with a back body drop. The Undertaker continued to press his advantage, beating Triple H silly from corner to corner and planting him with a powerslam. Even when he missed an elbow drop, the American Bad Ass came right back with his signature flying clothesline but found himself launched from the top rope when Triple H countered the former Deadman’s “Old School” rope walk strike. Triple H capitalised with a neckbreaker for the first near fall of the match before working over the Undertaker’s forehead (which he had split open with a sledgehammer in the build up to this match) on the ring apron. Frustrated after another slick neckbreaker resulted in a two count, Triple H went for multiple covers and the Undertaker kept kicking out, so the Game started arguing with referee Mike Chioda and then hit his trademark knee smash to shut down the Undertaker’s attempt to fight his way back into the match. Exasperated and sadistic, Triple H harassed the timekeeper and retrieved his trusty sledgehammer, but Chioda snatched it away before he could do any damage with it, only to get sandwiched in the corner when the Undertaker catapulted Triple H out of a Pedigree attempt. This meant that the referee was a little too slow in making the count when ‘Taker covered Triple H off a Chokeslam, so the Undertaker also attacked Chioda and took him out of the match for a ridiculously long time, effectively turning this into a no holds barred brawl for a bit. The Undertaker thus launched Triple H to the outside and tossed him over the barricade and into the crowd for a slugfest through the audience without fear of a count out or a disqualification.

The two battled up to a production area full of monitors and machinery. Here, the Undertaker beat the hell out of Triple H and the Game repeatedly bashed Undertaker’s head and legs with a steel chair. However, the Undertaker dramatically Chokeslammed Triple H over the railing to the concrete below and followed up with a diving elbow drop, an effect sadly ruined by an unfortunate camera angle that clearly showed the crashmat the two guys landed on (still a hell of a bump, though). The Undertaker fended off the doctors and beat Triple H through the raucous Houston crowd before tossing him unceremoniously back into the ring. With Triple H battered and helpless at his feet, the Undertaker grabbed the sledgehammer and prepared to get himself a little payback but got kicked right in the dick instead! Still, the Undertaker avoided taking a shot from the hammer by booting Triple H in the face and the two just exchanged haymakers instead. To try and one-up his opponent, Triple H tried to hit the Tombstone Piledriver, but the Undertaker impressively pivoted out and reversed it into a Tombstone of his own, but Mike Chioda was still out like a light, so it was all for nought. Although Triple H countered the Last Ride with a sledgehammer shot to the Undertaker’s head, it still wasn’t enough to keep the American Bad Ass down for the three count. Incensed, Triple H furiously attacked the Undertaker’s bleeding forehead. He was so desperate to bust ‘Taker open further that he clambered up the ropes for the ol’ ten punches and left himself in prime position for an absolutely devastating Last Ride right out of the corner! The Undertaker dropped to the mat, the referee made the count, and the match ended with another victory for the legendary icon, bringing his winning streak to 9-0. This was an okay match, but nothing really special apart from the brief detour out of the ring and even that was sullied by one of the longest ref bumps I’ve ever seen. Most of the match was a slugfest, which is always a little disappointing as both men are capable of so much more, but it definitely had a big-match feel and spectacle to it. I think it might’ve helped to have the sledgehammer come into play a little more and to have Triple H properly target a body part rather than just getting dominated and begging off, but the biased crowd was super into the whole thing and it was fun enough, though it’s obviously overshadowed by their later WrestleMania bouts.

The Aftermath:
So no, this wasn’t the last time that the Undertaker and Triple H battled at the Showcase of the Immortals. This match also didn’t put an end to the rivalry between the two men. The main event of WrestleMania X-Seven saw Steve Austin shock the world by joining forces with Vince McMahon and, the next night on Raw, Triple H shockingly formed the “Two-Man Power Trip” with his hated rival. Triple H captured the Intercontinental Championship and the heinous heel tandem delighted in tormented Matt and Jeff, the Hardy Boyz, and their companion, Lita. Since the Two-Man Power Trip boasted about being the most dominating duo in the WWF, the Undertaker and Kane quickly stepped up to oppose them. However, although the Brothers of Destruction captured the WWF Tag Team Championships, Kane got his arm broken by the Two-Man Power Trip, which was a deciding factor in the brothers losing the belts to Austin and Triple H at Backlash the month after WrestleMania X-Seven. Unfortunately, Austin and Triple H’s run with all the gold and all the power was cut short when Triple H tore his quadricep muscle in a tag team match, a horrific injury that side-lined him for most of 2001. When Triple H returned, it was to triumphant cheers; for the first time in years, Triple H was lauded as a hero while the Undertaker was in the midst of a heel run beating the respect out of people. It wouldn’t be long before the two clashed again as the Undertaker defeated Triple H for the Undisputed Championship at the 2002 King of the Ring, though their in-ring encounters did noticeably lessen for a few years after this thanks to the first brand extension.

My Rating:

Pretty Good

What did you think to the Undertaker and Triple H’s first WrestleMania match? How would you rate it against their other WrestleMania matches? Were you a fan of the American Bad Ass gimmick or did you think it was unsuitable for the Undertaker? What did you think to the Chokeslam off the equipment area and did the referee bump also confuse you? How are you celebrating the Undertaker’s debut this year, what are some of your favourite matches and moments from his long and distinguished career, and what dream match would you have liked to see him involved in? Whatever your thoughts, drop a comment below and be sure to check out my reviews of other Undertaker matches across the site!