The Undertaker's WrestleMania Streak: My Ratings for All Matches & Opponents Pt1

The Dead Man,

The Undertaker has been my favorite gimmick in Pro Wrestling from the start.

His impressive agility coupled with a great sense of the business has kept him in the game for over 20 years.

His standing record at WrestleMania is 19-0, a streak that shows no sign of dying. Today I'm watching these matches over again and rating the opponents as well as over all performance.

This first piece will cover one-to-six. 1991-1997.

Rating system is on a 0.5 to 5.0 scale and focuses on the following topics:

Opponents Performance
Technical Skill
Brutality
Finish (Final minutes)

I hope you enjoy, and thanks for reading!

WrestleMania VII: 1991

vs. Jimmy Snuka

Opponents Performance:1
Technical Skill:1
Brutality:1
Finish (Final minutes):1
Overall Rating:4

This was just a taste to get 'Taker over at the biggest show of them all. Not that impressive a match, but historically significant.

WrestleMania VIII: 1992

vs. Jake Roberts
Opponents Performance:2
Technical Skill:2
Brutality:1.5
Finish (Final minutes):1.5
Overall Rating:7

At least there was a reason for this match. The attack by Jake gave a bit more fuel for the fire. Jake's ring psychology was among the best of his time. This match shows and proves he was one of the best showmen at the time.

WrestleMania IX: 1993

vs. Giant Gonzalez
Opponents Performance:0
Technical Skill:0
Brutality:1
Finish (Final minutes):1
Overall Rating:2

I'm sure 'Taker would agree that most of us would like to forget this match ever happened. I felt bad that I had to re-watch it because I had blocked most of it out of my memory. I will not be offended if you skip this slide. However it does have it's comedic value I suppose...

WrestleMania XI: 1995

vs. King Kong Bundy
Opponents Performance:1.5
Technical Skill:1
Brutality:0
Finish (Final minutes):1
Overall Rating:3.5

Bundy had the look but just couldn't sell it in my opinion. The bit with the Urn was the most entertaining part. These first few matches were so short and most of them lacking any real lead-in storyline. The real meat and potatoes will start coming into play in the next few slides...

WrestleMania XII: 1996

vs. Diesel
Opponents Performance:3
Technical Skill:2
Brutality:1.5
Finish (Final minutes):2
Overall Rating:8.5

Two of my favorite big men in this match. Nash and 'Taker were on the road so much they were comfortable in the ring together. This match may not have been the greatest, but it showed what a big man vs. big man scenario can become if done correctly.

Nash played it up here and did a great job. After Undertaker got up from the Jackknife, you start to see how 'Taker's dial is turned to 11 when it's WrestleMania time.

WrestleMania 13: 1997

vs. Sycho Sid
Oppenents Performance: 2
Technical Skill: 2
Brutality: 1.5
Finish (Final minutes): 2
Overall Rating: 7.5

Sid's pacing made this match seem longer than it really was. Sid didn't seem to sell much in the ring. Undertaker was on the receiving end for the most part, but pulled off the win with perhaps some distraction by Bret Hart. This was Undertaker's first WWE Title victory at WrestleMania.

 

Check out the continuation here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

Thanks for reading and watching with me. -J