WrestleMania's Instant Classic: Triple H, Undertaker & HBK Steal the Show

Going into WrestleMania 28, many were wondering what match would stop the show.

Many wondered what two competitors would come together and join as one force; a paintbrush. This collective paintbrush would leave the crowd in absolute awe of the beautiful picture that was painted, then even exit the arena still one force. 

Well—it turned out to be three competitors—as the referee played a crucial part in match that ended in an era. And without a doubt, the three men inside the Hell In A Cell structure on April 1, 2012 did great justice to that era.

With battered bodies after decades of competing, they managed put on one of the greatest matches in the history of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), featuring storytelling of the likes we've never or will never see again. 

It was The Undertaker versus Triple H inside a Hell In A Cell, with Shawn Michaels serving as the special guest referee.  

The iconic entrances of Shawn Michaels, Triple H and The Undertaker were sure to give you goosebumps from the start. 

The Undertaker slowly made his way down the ramp, with his hood covering the majority of his face, he walked through the fire on his way to ring. 

He made his way up the steps as the lighting returned to the norm. He stepped inside the ring, and unveiled a nearly bald head under his hood. 

The crowd gasped in shock and horror; what had The Undertaker done to himself?

As the two men glanced into each other's eyes, with no sensible intimidation of the hell they were about to go through, they slowly looked up as the morally corrupt structure engulfed them.

Metallica's The Memory Remains blasted through Sun Life Stadium. So fitting, as the memory of the era gone by remained, but this would be the final, lasting, indelible image we saw of that era.

That era was old school, attitudinal, enigmatic and it reeked of hardcore violence. 

The Undertaker began with a series of strikes to The Game. Jim Ross, calling the match at the request of The Undertaker, reminded us that we were witnessing the most feared striker in WWE history at work. 

One last right hand temporarily knocked Triple H to the canvas. He recovered with some strikes of his own as we were off and running in the first of the three co-main events WrestleMania 28 will be remembered for. 

They fought to the outside. Undertaker bashed Triple H's head into the unforgiving steel steps. Trips tried to buy time by walking away from The Phenom. When ready, he kicked The Undertaker in the gut, and smashed his head into the steel, this steel being the cell. 

Undertaker wasn't out of it for long, as he whipped Triple H's back into the steel, following up with a drop from above his 6'10 stature to the ground. 

It quickly became obvious, as Hunter's back slapped the thinly padded floor, that Undertaker had chosen his body part that he was going to dissect. 

Undertaker pulled Trips back up, head butting him repeatedly against the cell. Shawn Michaels watched as his best friend grimaced on the ground in pain, and the man who ended his career was flourishing.

Undertaker further slowed the pace, slamming Triple H's body against the cell. Although it had been utilized early on, Satan's Structure's impact on the match would soon be minimalized.  

Undertaker struck Triple H and locked in a choke hold on the apron. He relinquished and continued to methodically wear down his opponent. 

As the Heartbreak Kid reached outside the ring to check on things, Undertaker pushed him away, awaking the crowd from its deep state of awe of what they were watching. 

Back inside the ring, Undertaker survived a flurry from Triple H to maintain the advantage.

The capacity crowd of over 78,000 buzzed as The Undertaker took to the top rope for Old School. It was the first move Undertaker hit that we really recognized him for, and not one of the members of the WWE Universe in attendance or watching at home had forgotten. 

Undertaker dismissively tossed the thirteen time world champion outside the ring. He stepped through the ropes and had his sights set on the steel steps.

Right between the eyes! Jim Ross proclaimed as this legend was reduced to being just a limp body at this point. 

Triple H made his way back into the ring, likely only seeing lights from the stage stair back down at him. His daze-like status was obvious, and Undertaker knew it. Because of that, Undertaker rolled the base of the steps into the ring, wanting to inflict more punishment. 

First, The Demon from Death Valley went to the head and neck area to Triple H, to assure he was out. Undertaker stepped onto the apron to nail his signature leg drop.

Triple H squirmed around, after the nearly 300 pound man landed squarely on his neck. 

Undertaker stalked over Triple H, admiring his work. Triple H, though, hit a DDT out of nowhere to buy himself some much needed time to catch his breath.

Triple H slammed the head of Undertaker on the steel steps repeatedly to alas have the advantage in this match.

He set up for the Pedigree on the steel steps, but Undertaker reversed into a back body drop, weakening the already weakened back area of Triple H from earlier on.

Relief overwhelmed the face of The Deadman, before he went back to his striking game on the fallen body of the King of Kings.

An Undertaker chant consumed the Miami Dolphins' stadium as Triple H neared his feet. Undertaker probably couldn't help but be satisfied at his work thus far, but knew that he hadn't done enough to put away Triple H yet. Not even close.

Triple H suffered a few more head shots into the steel steps.

Undertaker then bounced off the ropes for a big boot, but was instead the victim of a massive spine buster into the steel steps.

Being a crafty veteran, Undertaker locked in the Hell's Gate submission on the steel steps when least expected to. 

The steps appeared to be more of a burden than a help for Undertaker, as Triple H lifted him off the steel and slammed him onto the canvas.

Now with the hold released, Triple H went for the cover with no success. 

He momentarily crawled outside to grab a steel chair, and eased into the ring to nail Undertaker in the gut with it.

Next, was Undertaker's back. Triple H knew his back had been worked on by Undertaker, and now Undertaker had the same weakness after taking a couple spine busters, to combine with his age.

In a sick, twisted way, it was irony at its finest. 

Superhuman results are achieved through perseverance and heart. And we're seeing that from The Game here now.

-Jim Ross as Triple H set up the steel steps in the corner, to use Undertaker's head as a battering ram against the steps.

Shawn Michaels began screaming at his friend; only Hunter wanted no part of it. He shoved the other half of his former D-Generation-X tag team and stable and had malicious intent with a steel chair in hand. 

Reminiscent of last year's battle Triple H hammered the spine of The Undertaker with the steel chair, making it a de facto bullseye. Nineteen times, in fact, in another cruel irony.

Michaels tossed the chair from the ring. You want it done? You end it? Triple H said to Shawn. Shawn refused, begging his friend to cover him instead.

Shawn plead Undertaker to quit, only stopped by Triple H viciously tugging the collar of his stripped shirt, and going back to the spine of The Last Outlaw.

"Please, stop it!" Shawn begged. Don't stop it! The Undertaker replied.

Stay down! Triple H yelled, Undertaker refused.

Undertaker got to his feet before taking another shot by the chair, withering back down to the canvas.

As Triple H grabbed the sledgehammer, the weapon symbolizing his lack of remorse for opponents throughout his legendary career, this sequence kept going for the next several minutes. Every time Undertaker went down, Shawn would beg Undertaker to quit with Triple H's desperate plea hollowing in the background.

Shawn was about to ring the bell. He stood in the corner motionless, contemplating what he was going to do. 

He knelt down to check on The Undertaker, and was surprised when being locked inside the Hell's Gate submission hold. 

What Undertaker didn't realize, is that Shawn had stopped Triple H from taking his head off with a sledgehammer shot just minutes earlier.

The Undertaker wanted to make sure his 20-0 streak at the Showcase of Immortals stay intact, or at least wanted the end of it to be pure.

Triple H broke this up using his trusty sledgehammer. The lone referee in the match was now down, as Triple H fell victim to the Hell's Gate, as Shawn did, and he had done last year.

Undertaker let go of the hold, realizing there was no referee to end the match. 

Charles Robinson rushed down the ramp, broke into the cell, and counted two on Undertaker's cover. Robinson soon found the cold grasp of The Deadman's hand on his throat. Undertaker chokeslammed the second referee with rage spewing from his pours.

He turned around, flipped Triple H, readying him for the Tombstone. Triple H countered out, pushing him into Sweet Chin Music from HBK. Taker turned around and was hit with the Pedigree.

The steak is over! The streak is over! Michael Cole proclaimed! 1... 2... Kick out! The Undertaker just kicked out of two of the biggest finishers in WWE history! 

What was it going to take?

Shawn, in astonishment, shook with tears rolling down his face in the corner. Wondering whether this man lying in the ring was indeed a mortal man. 

Triple H had lived for the championships, the gold. He had lived for the money. Now, giving The Undertaker his end was the only thing he lived for. Except, he now was bewildered at how to do so. 

Triple H grabbed his sledgehammer, but fell to the ground when Undertaker's upper body popped off the canvas. He seemed to have a renewed life, and ready to put this thing to bed.

Undertaker began his vile assault, hitting Snake Eyes, his big boot and a leg drop.

Trips pulled himself up and walked into a Tombstone. 

Michaels slid down for the count, slapping his hand down for 1,2, kick out!

Triple H's perseverance was again showing in this epic clash for the ages. 

Saliva poured from The Phenom's mouth. He had been reduced to pure shock, absolutely nothing else.

Michaels returned to the corner, melting from the pressure of calling such a match with lifelong friendships or careers of mutual respect depending on it.

Undertaker and Triple H were coming to blows now, rising to their feet, along with every fan inside the stadium.

Unadulterated passion came from Jim Ross' voice. It came from the 'oooo's' and 'ahhh's' the fans unleashed with every strike. And most of all, it came from the bodies of the three men inside the ring during the stunning encounter.

Triple H suddenly staggered Undertaker. Pedigree! One! Two! KICK OUT! Another kick out from this animistic beast!

Triple H felt around for his sledgehammer, thinking maybe that would serve as the magic trick.

As the Cerebral Assassin reached his feet, Undertaker blankly stared into Shawn Michaels' eyes.  

Undertaker used the steel chair like he had earlier, hitting Triple H with ten consecutive shots, right onto the spine.

Undertaker tossed the chair over the ropes and only received two on a pinfall.

Michaels was an emotional wreck. Triple H, hardly with the strength to pick up a sledgehammer, was a physical wreck. 

Stay down! From the mouth of the Demon from Death Valley, a role reversal from just minutes before.

Triple H lunged forward with his hammer. Undertaker stopped him in mid swing, and shook his head. 

Defiant, The Game shoved Undertaker away. The camera zoomed into Triple H's face, showing the cut above his eye, with just a little blood oozing from the wound. 

Triple H mocked The Undertaker with his Suck It taunt, much like HBK's throat slashing gesture at WrestleMania 26.

Undertaker nailed Triple H in the head with his own signature weapon, before tossing out from the ring. 

Shawn Michaels had his back turned, he could no longer watch, as Undertaker hit the Tombstone on Triple H.

20-0!

Undertaker's music soon stopped. Shawn helped up Triple H, and the three current and future Hall of Famers walked arm and arm.

They made it to the top of the ramp, much like they had all reached the pinnacle of success in their careers.

The sun had set on this night, as daylight had transitioned into darkness.

Now, the sun had also set on not only the careers of Undertaker and Triple H, but it had set on an era. An era that will never return.