21-0 | The Undertakers Streak Story

the win streak is one of the best stories to tell in wrestling and given how effective it is maybe that's why it's been done so many times over the years after all you only have to look at how it helped the careers of wrestlers like Bruno Sammartino Andre the Giant and Bill Goldberg but even those are small change when compared to the greatest streak in the industry's history yes carrying on for almost two and a half decades The Undertaker was able to do what no one else had done before and likely never will do again when he racked up 21 straight victories at Wrestlemania of course as with any great tale this one had to come to an end eventually but how did it all happen well join us today as we take a deep dive into the entire story from start to finish in 21-0 the streak story it All Began on March 24 1991. that was the day where just four months after debuting with WWF at the prior Year's Survivor series The Undertaker made his first appearance at the Showcase of the Immortals of course at this point he was still being portrayed as the unkillable heal monster and so it meant that whoever his opponent was going to be that night they were little more than cannon fodder so perhaps it's satisfying that the first victim of the dead man turned out to be none other than Jimmy Superfly Snuka yes after a thrown together bout at WrestleMania 7 which lasted for Just 4 minutes and 20 seconds the baby face fell and the streak would be underway that said with the nature of this story meaning the next chapter only came around once a year we'd have to wait until April 5th 1992 to get anything new and by that point not only had Mark Callaway scored a rare pinfall victory over Hulk Hogan but in doing so he'd briefly become WWF Champion come the time of his match with Jake the Snake Roberts at WrestleMania 8 though he'd have dropped this belt once more but even if he wasn't involved in the title scene anymore it at least gets something to sink his teeth into because his program with Roberts had an actual story involved that's right after having paired up as a heel unit earlier in the year the two predictably came to blows around WrestleMania time and this meant their Showdown had some heat attached to it but even that wasn't enough to help Jake get the win as following a six and a half minute bout he'd get pinned by the dead man and sent packing from WWF for the foreseeable future and an interesting thing happened around this point too because despite his character being so villainous on the surface of things fans started to get behind the Undertaker enough to where the company decided to turn him full Babyface so heading into WrestleMania 9 on April 4th 1993 he'd be the Conquering Hero trying to overcome his biggest threat yet and the eight foot tall giant Gonzalez but while Gonzalez's manager Harvey whippleman felt confident he'd found the man to finally beat the fan favorite here in the end the giant proved not to be the smartest man in the room when he got himself disqualified after using a chloroform soaked rag to knock out his opponent yes this would Mark the only time when Mark Callaway got a win at WrestleMania via DQ and it also marks the first time the streak almost ended before it even got a chance to become a thing after all given the fact that the two were going to run their match back at SummerSlam later in the year it only made sense that Gonzalez should win the first one and with the Undertaker's lack of losses at the Showcase of Immortals at this point still being purely coincidental it's very lucky in hindsight that the company chose to give him the win here in what's probably the worst streak match of all of course two years later at WrestleMania 11 on April 2nd 1995 there would be far less controversy surrounding the ending of the phenom's bout against King Kong Bundy because there after missing the prior years Mania on account of an injury he makes short work of the big man when he beat him in just over six and a half minutes and as you've probably noticed by now these weren't exactly classic showdowns we were dealing with now for the most part they were short and lumbering as was in fitting with the Undertaker's character of a no-selling zombie mortician at the time luckily though things would get better come the Time Wrestlemania 12 came around on March 31 1996 as there in what was probably his first decent match at the Showcase of the Immortals the dead man went one on one with diesel but while he would win this one too it also marked another point where somewhere off in a different timeline the streak ended before it had a chance to really get going in fact if you're to believe the rumors Kevin Nash was originally booked to win this one something which makes sense if you consider the fact that he'd be challenging Sean Michaels for the WWF title the following month at in your house 7 good friends better enemies once Nash handed in his notice to leave the company though it's believed Vince McMahon decided to change the finish at the last minute giving the Undertaker the win instead and allowing the burgeoning streak to move up to 5-0 so now on a full-blown roll Mark Callaway headed into WrestleMania 13 on March 23 1997 hoping to rack up another victory of course at this show he'd end up challenging for the WWF title because once Sean Michael's injury through all the boss's plans into disarray the original Main Event pitting HBK against Bret Hart had to be scrapped luckily then it was the dead man who was the main beneficiary of this as with his opponent psycho Sid now being the WWF Champion it meant when he beat him with a tombstone pile driver after 21 minutes and 19 seconds he'd be able to hold the Bell to Loft for the second time in his career but even this may not make up for the fact that according to Urban Legend during the final moments of the bout Sid soiled himself leading to the Undertaker getting a good whiff of this as he positioned the big man for his finisher still a win was a win regardless of the odor it left and now WWF Champion once more the Phenom spent much of the year which followed defending this belt that was until Feud with Sean Michaels eventually led to his secret long-lost brother Kane coming out of the shadows and demanding a match with him and while the Undertaker would at first refuse to fight his own flesh and Blood come WrestleMania 14 on March 29 1998. he'd accept this challenge so with the big man marking the biggest threat to what still wasn't being recognized as an undefeated streak yet many were left to wonder if Mark Callaway might lose this one and in truth it would have made sense in many ways had he done so because with the company trying to push Kane as an Unstoppable monster having him beat his brother would have surely solidified in such a position in the end though Vince McMahon chose to put the baby face over and while this might have been questioned by some at the time in hindsight it's just as well that he did as this took the streak to 7-0 of course by the time the following year came around it wouldn't be Cain that the Undertaker was feuding with no it would be Vince McMahon himself and that was why in the midst of the dead man in his ministry of darkness's hostile takeover attempt of WWF the boss sent one of his top enforcers the big boss man to take him down at WrestleMania 15 on March 28 1999 and to make this one even more interesting it would take place inside of Hell in a Cell unfortunately for fans watching on the night though this proved to be the worst Cell match ever seen at that point with it ending when following a pinfall victory from the Phenom the boss man was hung from the rafters yes possibly Kane aside You could argue that by now there hadn't been a truly great Undertaker match at WrestleMania so it's lucky that this would all change two years later when at WrestleMania 17 on April 1st 2001 following him having missed the prior years Mania again on account of injury Mark Callaway went one-on-one with Triple H and damn near stole the show in the process how did they do this well by having an excellent match one which really showed what taker could do when he was allowed to and yes it helped that by now he was in his American Badass phase so he could be a little looser with the no selling but it was also just a sign of how good he'd become overall by that point and his Legend would have it this was the moment the streak was first recognized too as after early plans had been for Triple H to go over it was pointed out by someone backstage that the Undertaker had never lost it Mania and that if they kept this win streak going it could turn into something big so thank God the decision was made to change things up and have the dead man score the pinfall then because in doing so he would go to 9-0 and with the streak now openly being acknowledged backstage it meant that at WrestleMania 18 on March 17 2002 his match against Ric Flair had that much more importance attached to it hell at this point even fans had started to notice what was going on and while it might seem crazy to think about now back then there was plenty of speculation going around that if he could make it to 10-0 the Undertaker may even choose to retire thankfully though he didn't do this though what he did do after pinning the Nature Boy that night instead was hold up 10 fingers in the air and for the first time on TV acknowledged the fact that he was undefeated but while the streak was now a thing it wasn't truly a thing yet because at Wrestlemania 19 the following year things would hit another low point when the American Badass found himself in a throwaway handicap match against the Big Show and a train of course this one was originally supposed to be a tag match seeing him team up with Nathan Jones but when it became clear Jones was in no way ready for the big stage these plans were scrapped and instead take her when it's solo not that this gave him any problems though no after 9 minutes and 45 seconds he'd handily beat both of his opponents to take his undefeated streak to 11-0 and that would Mark the last in-ring appearance of this incarnation of his character Because by the time WrestleMania 20 came around on March 14 2004 Callaway had returned to being the dead man with him even once again having Paul Bearer by his side now how did this happen well after losing a buried alive match against Vince McMahon the prior November when his brother Kane interfered taker disappeared from TV for a while soon enough though he'd begin teasing his return as his old self with this eventually happening when he faced off against the Big Red Machine one more time in front of a packed Madison Square Garden crowd needless to say then there was no chance he was losing this one and so after 7 minutes and 45 seconds he'd hit a tombstone pile driver and pick up the three count that said even if he was now at 12-0 things were only just getting started because the following year at WrestleMania 21 on April 3rd 2005 the streak finally became a full-blown thing and the reason for this is because with his opponent for that year Randy Orton being in the midst of his Legend killer gimmick he vowed to be the first man to beat the Phenom at the Showcase of the Immortals so with it all on the line the drama was pumped up to full volume as many fans believed Orton might actually be able to do it but in the end though it was the dead man who got the victory after 14 minutes and 14 seconds that said in doing so he would now have to deal with the fact that a precedent had been set and that every year from there on in a new Challenger would be looking to end the streak but luckily for Mark Callaway the next Challenger didn't offer much difficulty as in what was probably the last bad streak match at WrestleMania 22 on April 2nd 2006 he'd go up against Mark Henry in a casket match of course this wasn't the original plan however now the original plan was to have the Phenom face off against Kurt Angle and for Kurt Angle to actually win but when Eddie Guerrero died the previous November his planned WrestleMania about with Shawn Michaels had to be scrapped and the Olympic hero was given the spot against HBK instead that said even if we never got to see taker vs angle at WrestleMania at least the Dead Man's belt with Markham Henry was short and after he beat him here in 9 minutes and 26 seconds it was all upwards from here because from 2007 onwards a mini streak began when every match he had was an absolute show stealer it started on April 1st of that year at Wrestlemania 23 when after winning the Royal Rumble two months prior The Undertaker got to challenge Batista for the world heavyweight title and while few expected this one to be great during the lead-up what each man pulled off that night blew away expectations to the point where in many people's eyes it was the best match on the car perhaps predictably though come the end of it the Phenom was the one getting his hand raised to take his streak to 15-0 but even if most assumed he would win there was now true doubt each year as to whether or not he could lose enough to create some truly magic moments and near Falls and this pattern continued the following year at WrestleMania 24. on March 30th 2008 when after winning the Elimination Chamber match the prior month taker got to challenge for the world heavyweight title again this time against Edge but what most people don't know about this one was that edge was originally booked to win it and that he actually turned down being the man to end the streak as he felt so much respect for his opponent he just couldn't bring himself to do it that said he felt no qualms about helping the dead man steal the show here and part of what added to the drama was that edge also hadn't lost at the biggest show of the Year prior to this either but even if he did lose come the end he could at least take solace in the fact that they fully earned the main event spot they were given that night yes great Mania matches featuring The Undertaker was now becoming a pattern but it would be what came next that fully established the legend of the streak forever as at WrestleMania 25 on April 5th 2009 he took on Sean Michael's one-on-one and given hbk's born-again Christian status at this point the whole thing would be marketed as a battle between Heaven and Hell more importantly than that though it was a battle between two legends who hadn't met in a singles match since 1998. so giving it all they had to put on a classic then the two purposefully went over their allotted time and while in most cases this would result in Vince McMahon chewing them out backstage after the fact what they created was so special no one could deny that it was the correct move but even if Sean was the toughest challenge The Undertaker had faced yet he still couldn't beat him and so come the end the streak had moved up to 17-0 of course even if he'd been able to put on a performance for the ages HBK would take this loss hard so hard in fact that in the lead up to WrestleMania 26th on March 28 2010 he'd challenged his opponent to one more round and while the dead man initially rejected this challenge in the end he agreed to it under one condition should Michaels lose he'd retire this then created a big fight feel unlike any other when the time came for the Bell to ring on the rematch and with the expectations being so high considering what they'd done a year before it's amazing that not only did they live up to this with their second meeting but in some people's eyes they actually exceeded it that said by the time it was over it was the Undertaker who was standing tall with this not only taking his streak to 18-0 but also forcing The Heartbreak Kid into retirement as well so looking for Revenge then Triple H would challenge the Phenom the following year at WrestleMania 27 on April 3rd 2011 and to make matters more interesting this one was to be a no holds barred match something which allowed for things to get pretty brutal at times Ella got so brutal that despite the Undertaker winning after he caught his opponents in a Hell's Gate at 23 minutes and 59 seconds he'd end up being carried out of the Arena while the game left on his own two feet yes at this point the story was shifting to the idea that the Aging Mark Callaway was getting a little slower each year and this meant that with his Challengers usually being younger than him he was now at a disadvantage but that didn't mean he was willing to lie down quite yet no quite the opposite in fact because after taking a full year off to recover at Wrestlemania 28 on April 1st 2012 he'd face off against Triple H one more time with this one being billed as the end of an era why was that well with it taking place inside of Hell in a Cell and featuring Sean Michaels as the special guest referee it felt very much like the peak the whole story had spent two decades plus building towards and so realizing this then all three men involved put on a master class of tension in near Falls with one near fall involving a Sweet Chin Music pedigree combo coming so close that just about everyone had a heart attack watching it that said even this wasn't enough to end the streak and after 30 minutes and 50 seconds the dead man somehow managed to get the win again and so perfect was the whole thing here that while watching taker Triple H and Shawn Michaels all embracing at the top of the ramp afterwards Mick Foley argued that it was time for his old friend to retire because he could never have topped this but Mark Callaway had no intention of retiring quite yet no he'd continue on into WrestleMania 29 in fact as there on April 7 2013 he'd face off against CM Punk of course given how over Punk had gotten by then he was reportedly pushing for him to get the win in this one in the end though the decision would be made to give the Phenom another big victory as after a great bout which lasted for just over 22 minutes he'd take his win loss record to 21-0 yes by now it felt like if CM Punk wasn't going down the streak then no one was and that Mark Callaway's Legacy would be that he'd get to retire undefeated at Wrestlemania and so when it was announced that he'd be facing off against Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 30 on April 6 2014 then pretty much everyone saw this as just another excuse for him to get a big win at the Showcase of the Immortals after all if anyone was going to end such a legendary run it was going to be a young up-and-comer who could build a career off of it not a guy who was already as established as the Beast so it came as a shock to everyone when Once the two got in the ring the Beast quickly began dominating things and after just over 30 minutes and three F5s Lesnar did the unthinkable when he pinned The Undertaker's shoulders to the mat one two three needless to say then after the fact everyone in attendance was left in stunned silence and a debate soon began raging as to whether or not this had been the right decision hell even Mark Callaway himself seemed to have some doubts about the whole thing but nonetheless he went along with whatever Vince McMahon had planned for him on that given night and the reason the boss chose to end the streak here appeared to be a combination of a desire to rehabilitate Brock and in unsurety as to how much longer the dead man would be able to go on before retiring so feeling like this was the moment he pulled the trigger on the payoff to the longest running angle in WWE history but it didn't end there for the Undertaker because despite many feeling like this should be where he hung up his boots he continued on for a few years yet with him picking up further wins over this period against opponents such as Bray Wyatt Shane McMahon and John Cena all while losing one more time to Roman Reigns sadly though by now his physical abilities had Wane so much and the aura of the streak had gone so completely that none of these bouts felt as special as they should have and it seemed that the Phenom realized this too at a certain point because over the next couple of years he'd search for that perfect match with switch to retire on and in the end he was able to get this when at WrestleMania 36 night 1 on April 4th 2020 he had his final bout to date but in a cinematic encounter he took out AJ Styles and defeated him to take his overall record to 25-2 but that's all a PostScript to the real story anyway as between his match with Jimmy Snuka in 1991 and his final showdown against Brock Lesnar over two decades later the streak will go down as the greatest piece of long-term storytelling in all of wrestling history

Channel: WRESTLE WITH ANDY

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Keywords: WWE, wrestling, wrestle with Andy, wrestlewithandy, wrestling documentary, wwe documentary, wrestling bio, nxt, wwe news, wrestling news, wwf, kane, wwe kane, wwe, isaac yankem, kane mask, the undertaker, undertaker, undertaker hall of fame, undertaker hof, undertaker documentary, the undertaker kane, undertaker induction, undertaker wwe, undertaker wwf, undertaker mankind, undertaker wresltemania, undertaker streak, undertaker brock, undertaker undefeated streak, mark calaway

Id: 7KsXAAJEvDY

Length: 19min 53sec (1193 seconds)

Published: Wed Mar 22 2023