Smark Out Moment

Welcome to another edition of Triple Threat from Smark Out Moment, where three of us get together to discuss three questions based on one big topic going down in the week of professional wrestling.

This week, Robert DeFelice, Ross K. Foad, and Ben Guest will be giving their thoughts on the legendary career of The Undertaker!

For 28 years The Undertaker has stood atop of the WWE. With his match against Triple H at Super Show-Down being billed as the last one-on-one encounter between the two, now seems like a good time to assess The Phenom's career from our perspective. So, who is Undertaker's greatest foe? How should it all truly end? Let's discuss…


FOAD: Easily throwing Mankind off of Hell in a Cell for me. I had no way of watching live back then, but I somehow persuaded my Mum to get me the VHS of it shortly after it came out. With an 18 label and a pouty posing Sable on the cove, I am not quite sure how I was allowed, but I am glad that I did. At this point in my life, I had no idea that anything was predetermined. As far as I was concerned, Undertaker did have magic powers and was so ruthless that he would just throw someone from that height because he felt like it. He always had a different aura to him after that for me.

DeFELICE: I have so many memories of Undertaker being such a badass as both a biker and a deadman. My favorite moment has to be his WrestleMania 20 entrance. That whole angle felt so special with the return of the dead man and inclusion of Paul Bearer. I also think you have to be honest and talk about the death of the streak as one of the last true oh my God moments in wrestling. The silence stare down with Triple H was one of the truly iconic moments of the last decade and I could really go on for days because there are so many memories with a character that debuted three years before I was even born. He’s one of the last true icons of wrestling that can still go.

GUEST: I started watching wrestling just after Survivor Series 2003, So my first introduction to The Undertaker was his return at WrestleMania XX. And that has always been his best entrance in my mind, and a moment that I will always think of as massively significant.

Aside from that, the Hell in a Cell match with Mick Foley at King of the Ring and his WrestleMania double-header with Shawn Michaels are iconic.


GUEST: It’s gotta be Kane! Once again, my introduction to Undertaker plays a big role here, but Kane and The Undertaker have been linked ever since Kane’s debut and ultimately, it the rivalry that sticks out in my mind as defining both of their careers (spoiler for the next question).

Shawn Michaels is my secondary answer here, as they are my two favourite of all time, and they had an amazing rivalry at the end of Michaels’ career. Plus, I’m sure Michaels could still drag most guys to a 4-star match.

FOAD: I have to echo Guest here I am afraid! Kane first and foremost, and Shawn Michaels closely after. Over two decades he has fought both of them, and it has always been a big deal. He ended (tbc) Shawn’s career, and has so much history with Kane. I am glad that WWE has always respected their brotherhood and not dissolved it as they did with Edge and Christian.

DeFELICE: I have to echo my colleagues and say, Kane. Their rivalry is one of the true good examples of sports entertainment gaga being so beautifully done. All of the peaks and valleys that they’ve shared so wonderfully expands the mythology of both characters and I do appreciate that in spite of everything that we know about them in real life, their characters are still treated as siblings.

I also want to give a shout out to his 1996 rivalry with Mankind. I think so much is made about their iconic Cell match that people forget they had many great battles a year and a half prior. I am somebody that truly likes when Undertaker is treated as mythologically as possible.


FOAD: I would say that it should be Kane. It might not be what it could have been a decade ago, but it would be a beautiful moment for them both to go out on. I know that The Undertaker might probably want to lose and give a young pup the shine, but I am not sure that everyone wants to see that. It would not hold the emotional impact that he deserves like the end of an era moment (tbc) when he posted on the rampway at WrestleMania 28 with Triple H and Shawn Michaels.

DeFELICE: - Honestly, I think that they had great send-off moments for him twice already but if I had my choice, I would absolutely pick Kane. Kane for all of the reasons mentioned above would be such a great final opponent for The Undertaker character. I also would not be opposed to Bray Wyatt having this honor, but I think that the character is too damaged at the moment and I don’t know if they have the time to rebuild him and still get a good match with The Undertaker.

GUEST: I would love to see Undertaker vs Kane. Even if it would be the most painful match to watch in 2018/2019, it would be fitting for both guys to bow out together. I really liked Roman Reigns vs The Undertaker at WrestleMania 33 and wish he had left it there, but if we have to dream book a retirement at this point, I think we let him revisit his brother, and let them leave in a nostalgia moment to show in video packages for years to come.