Let me confess that I had stopped watching wrestling after class X in school. While I was in college, I had absolutely no idea of what is happening in the wrestling world. During school days, the Undertaker used to be my favourite simply because of his wrestling-style, his skill, his combination of strength and speed, his perfect character-presentation of a mortician-man who is already dead, who cannot be hurt, who buries his opponents and plants the tombstone – it was the best gimmick ever in wrestling-history. Right from his entrance when the lights went out, the church gong/ bells tolled and the funeral music started, to the time when he methodically walked towards the ring and intimidated his opponents as well as the crowd with his mere sight, to his actions in the ring where he sat up from all the beating that his opponents gave to him and then symbolically nailed them off with his finisher move, the tombstone-piledriver – it was the most awesome experience in wrestling and there isn’t a better word to describe him. There were certain moves which only he could execute (like walking over the top rope, balancing his huge body on it). Unlike the other wrestlers, he didn’t interact with the crowd or smile or jump in joy or shake hands with them or shout about how great he was to make them believe in him. He set a standard of performance, dominance and destruction which was new to the wrestling-world that was until then reigned by kiddy-chocolate-goody-heroes. He personified the representation of terror and fear in the wrestling world, something very unique, mysterious and unheard-of in those days. He single-handedly introduced and perfected the dark-side, spreading the highest level of devastation in wrestling. His mere presence was something that the crowd paid to see, and he was a man of few words, mainly his signature line “Rest In Peace” (echoed by his fans, the Creatures of the Night). It was the finest, the most innovative and break-through character-creation ever done, and it will never be topped. Some referred to him as Dracula, some as Frankenstein, some as the Grim Reaper, some as the Devil himself. He sold himself to the crowd by remaining quiet and focused, through his in-ring performance that led him to carry the WWF (as the WWE was called in those days) alone on his shoulders in the early and mid 1990s.

One fine day after I started working in Bangalore, my room-mate Subho was watching wrestling on TV. I wanted to say to him, “dude, you are still interested in this thing?” until I saw that the Undertaker was on TV. I could never make a mistake in identifying that man, regardless of how much he changes his gimmick, attire or looks. I was awe-struck. I said to myself, “He is still there?”. I must say it was that very moment that made me watch wrestling again, and it was only for the Undertaker. He was larger than the game for me. I made a promise to myself that even if I never watch wrestling again, I will see the Undertaker perform in front of me one day.

Fast-forwarding a few years when I was in Chicago, I realized I could attend Wrestlemania, the biggest annual pay-per-view event in wrestling – its equivalent to a world-cup or a super-bowl. That too, this time it was the 25th anniversary of Wrestlemania and Undertaker was fighting Shawn Michaels in a legend vs legend match (and one of my best friends in Houston was a big Shawn Michaels fan). I decided to see Wrestlemania from the front-row seat, because I probably will never get to see the Undertaker again at such a big show. What’s the point in watching them from a distance when you can’t even see their faces properly and recognize who they are – you’re probably better off watching them from TV. Luckily I got the ring-side ticket just before they went out of stock. Despite how expensive the tickets were, I realized that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me and I assumed that my last year’s tax returns will pay for the ticket ;-)

I watched plenty of videos to get in touch with the current story-lines, rivalries and see some past performances including back-stage interviews of super-stars to get an idea of the real thing which is not shown on TV. I realized that the Undertaker is the most respected athlete in the history of the WWE, is also the locker-room leader who helps mentor and train younger super-stars (instead of quitting the company and joining some other wrestling promotion like WCW or TNA for more money), and always works towards fetching them a lot of popularity through the rivalries and matches which they have with him. Most wrestlers usually maintain the same gimmick, attire, entrance, theme and wrestling-style throughout their careers. But the Undertaker was a walking example of Charles Darwin’s theory of Evolution because he always kept evolving from time to time, changing his gimmick/ attire/ theme and even wrestling-style/ finisher-moves based on the character that he was presenting. He has gone from the darkest to the most human personas, and returned to the dark-side while maintaining a perfect link between his characters, showing a smooth transition from one character to the other. His current character, which is believed to e his last, is derived out as a culmination of all his previous dark-side as well as human personas, containing a mixed-attire from them and a super-set of all their wrestling-moves. That is one hell of a thing to deal with in the ring. Most of the WWE wrestlers themselves said that even though fans will always have their own choice of who is the greatest wrestler, but the WWE wrestlers and employees themselves considered Undertaker to be the greatest of all time. He is the smartest of the lot, a guy with who even the media or the chairman Vince McMahon don’t mess with, but genuinely respect and seek advice from. I also saw a couple of interviews in which he talked about his passion for the pro-wrestling industry, how he works in it now not for the money (because he has made all of it) but just to enjoy himself and to give back to the company, which will be his contribution towards continuing the success of the industry. My respect for him suddenly increased ten-fold. I knew I always had a good choice ;-)

So, the day came and I travelled to Houston from Chicago to see Wrestlemania 25. I rented a car and while driving down to my hotel in Houston, got lost because I had trouble finding the route which Google maps told me. Luckily I had carried my room-mate’s GPS and it got me on the right track after I wasted a few minutes. I got fresh, took my bright-green poster (which carried my name on it, it also had my home-town Ranchi’s name on it because my friends wanted to see it on TV, it also had 17-0 written on it because in his last 16 Wrestlemania appearances, the Undertaker has never lost and I expected him to win this time too, and it also had Phenom Forever written on it – “Phenom” being the Undertaker’s nick-name because he is the most phenomenal performer ever), and then drove to the arena at down-town Houston.

The Reliant Stadium was BIG…. It was bigger than any stadium or arena that I had seen. It had over 20 different entrances on it. After standing in 2 wrong-queues, I finally found out what was the correct queue in which I was supposed to be standing in - it was very difficult for everyone to figure out their correct queues because there were no signs and the officers on duty were sitting only at the end of the queues (which you can’t break through). Although, since I had a ring-side ticket and had paid more, I got faster access. When I entered the stadium, I couldn’t compare the aura with anything else that I have ever been a part of. It felt like you are going to be part of history, it felt like you are going to be a part of something big, it felt like this was going to be a memorable day and something very special was going to happen tonight. You could feel it in the air. I have attended a weekly WWE Smackdown/ ECW show in 2007 and that was nothing compared to this. The atmosphere here was spell-binding. This time, I was as close to the ring as you could get.

There were a lot of Undertaker fans everywhere, because big events like Wrestlemania are full of veteran and serious wrestling fans, who have been watching wrestling since ages, and who had travelled from far and wide. Moreover, Houston is the real home-town of the Undertaker (who is otherwise told to be from Death Valley due to his death-oriented on-screen character). There were people dressed like Undertaker, all in black, wearing a long coat and a hat. They led the fan-following by far. I was wearing an Undertaker T-shirt myself, the only non-rock-band T-shirt I am proud of. There were also a lot of Shawn Michaels fans wearing his T-shirts and carrying his posters all around the place, because his home-town of San Antonio is also in Texas and they probably drove down from there. The third highest number of T-shirts and banners bore the Stone Cold Steve Austin 3:16 signs (again, Texas :-) ).

Before the event started, I saw referee Charles Robinson at ring-side, giving a big smile. I remembered him officiating some Undertaker matches in the past. I quickly took my chance to meet him. He was very polite and friendly (as most of them in the wrestling business are in reality while dealing with fans), and didn’t ignore me at all. He talked to me for as long as I wanted, though there were other people waiting in a queue after me to meet him. He got a couple of pictures clicked with me, and was very impressed that I came from India. I thought I might not get a chance to get a photo clicked with the Undertaker but at least I can get a photo clicked with somebody related to the wrestling ring for a memory! I asked him if he was refereeing the Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels match today but he said he was refereeing the Money in the Bank ladder match.

By now, commentators like Todd Grisham and Matt Striker started walking to the ring. Anyway, I didn’t clap for too many people and didn’t waste my energy cheering for many super-stars because I wanted to save all of myself for the one match that I was interested in.

MATCH DESCRIPTIONS:

Carlito and Primo vs Miz and John Morrison (Johnny Nitro) – Tag Team Championship match: This was a dark match, which means that it will not be shown on TV. It was only for the audience to see (putting this match on the DVD or the live pay-per-view on TV would’ve increased the duration of the show to beyond 4 hours). I actually laughed while watching this match because it was so funny. You could make out so easily that they are not hitting each other and just slapping around (although it doesn’t seem so on TV). Well, they are young performers and have a long way to go. This was a lumber-jack match, meaning that there were other wrestlers surrounding the ring. If any competitor from the ring gets thrown out, they had a right to beat him and then throw him back. Khali led the group of lumber-jacks, and the good thing about Wrestlemania is that you get to see many known faces. I must say, Khali is HUGE. I took a picture of him. If I shouted his real name “Dalip Singh” to him, I know he could’ve heard me because I was that close to the ring, but I decided not to interrupt him. I took a picture of him. The photos are taken from my cell phone camera so the quality need not be good. Finally Carlito and Primo won as I expected, because Primo showed some good high-flying moves that actually impressed me.

Now, legendary commentators Jim Ross and Jerry ‘the King’ Lawler walked to the ring. Ok, this was time to take a photo and clap because you don’t get to see people like Jim Ross everyday, who has perhaps been awarded the ‘Best TV Commentator of the Year’ award some 10 or 12 times since the late 1980s. He was way better than all the cricket, soccer and NBA commentators I have ever heard, though he calls a sport which is not as popular as those. Michael Cole also came to ring-side, but of late I don’t like his commentary much although he was good earlier.

Money in the Bank ladder match: Ok, there is a briefcase hanging at the top of the ring. There will be 8 or 9 super-stars competing in the ring, beating each other until one of them manages to put a ladder in the ring and climb it to retrieve the brief-case. Once he does so, he will be granted an opportunity to have a championship match any time in the next one year against any champion, whenever he wants it. This is WWE’s way of dealing with situations when a champion is injured and needs time off, or for creating new rivalries. The competitors were Mark Henry, CM Punk, Finlay, Shelton Benjamin, MVP (Montel Vontavious Porter), Christian, Kofi Kingston and Kane. Maybe I missed a name there – I am not sure. But Kane! Kane! I couldn’t care less about any other super-star in that ring. I was cheering only for Kane, because he was the story-line brother of the Undertaker. He had been almost as dominant and destructive as Undertaker in the late 1990s, and used to strike terror in the hearts of wrestlers and fans alike, much like Undertaker used to in the early and mid 1990s. Kane had also given me many good memories during my child-hood days and as much as I wanted him to win it, I knew he won’t – because the WWE is Rated PG-13 these days and so the big, scary monsters will only be promoting the other new superstars and losing to them :-( whom they can otherwise squash with one arm if they wanted in reality. So, the prize went to CM Punk, and I was disgusted, disappointed.

Kid Rock’s Performance: Now Kid Rock came to make a performance and he was not that good. I wish AC/ DC had performed because they had provided the official theme song for Wrestlemania 25. They kick way more a** than Kid Rock ever will. Kid Rock is a kid in front of the electrifying AC/ DC.

Divas’ Battle Royal for Miss Wrestlemania: Now, 25 WWE divas walked to the ring (actually only 24 divas along with one male Santino Marella dressed as a girl). Their job was to throw each other out of the ring, and the one remaining diva will be crowned as Miss Wrestlemania. This match actually saw some divas making a return to the WWE, like Torrie Wilson and Sunny whom I remember from my school days. However, there was not much done to introduce them properly and the match started before even the bell rang. Some earlier divas like Sable, Chyna and Debra were missing. Trish Stratus was also missing perhaps due to an obvious reason – if she made an appearance, she would have had to be made to win it. But the WWE had other plans. You could make out very easily that it looked so fake. The divas were barely beating each other. At one point, Torrie just slapped a diva when it looked like she will hit her very hard, and I laughed out loud to it while another fan next to me shouted, “Yeah, slap it, babe”. Soon all the divas were eliminated and Beth Phoenix, the strongest of the divas was left in the ring with Melina and the disguised Santino Marella. Santino had until now been evading every diva and had not laid hands on anyone, at the same time not letting anyone beat him. He was just staying away from where the fights were happening. The crowd was cheering for Santino because he is very funny and entertaining. Beth had been very impressive – I think she eliminated just about every other diva. She was so strong that she had lifted one diva on her shoulders with just one arm and held her like that for a long time while she was eliminating another diva with the other arm. I wondered if Chyna had been there, then a match between Chyna and Beth Phoenix would’ve actually been better than several male super-stars. Finally, when Beth was trying to eliminate Melina, Santino eliminated both of them from the ring and won the match. When he was asked who “she” was, he replied back saying, “I’m Santina Marella, the twin sister of Santino Marella”. After getting crowned as Miss Wrestlemania, he showed some nice break dance in the ring, while still disguised as a girl. As though the fans didn’t know who it was!

Chris Jericho vs WWE Legends (Jimmy ‘the Superfly’ Snuka, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Ricky ‘the Dragon’ Steamboat): Ric Flair came to the ring-side along with his friends, the legends, who were fighting Chris Jericho. Jericho had insulted them a lot recently and had challenged them to an elimination-match, in which he would take all of them one by one. Watching from ring-side was Ric Flair’s friend Mickey Rourke, the Hollywood actor and star of ‘The Wrestler’ (whom Jericho had also recently insulted). I expected Jericho to lose this one but he ended up pinning Jimmy Snuka and Rowdy Piper very quickly. But when Ricky Steamboat got into the ring, it was a completely different story. Steamboat took a lot of offence from Jericho but kept on coming back. He was as fast and athletic as a young wrestler though he was over 60 years old; he connected all his moves, and made it look like Jericho didn’t have a chance of surviving. It just goes to show what class the WWF had back in the 1980s and 1990s. The current wrestlers can’t just wrestle like these guys. I was impressed by the way Ricky Steamboat performed and so far he had been the best of the lot that we had seen. It was a heart-breaker when Jericho finally beat him (but we knew who was the better wrestler - if this match had happened when Steamboat was young, then he would’ve finished Jericho in no time). Then Ric Flair entered the ring, all angry, and started beating Jericho. But Jericho made quick work of Flair too. Then I understood that this entire segment was all about Mickey Rourke. Jericho then took the mic and called Rourke to the ring to fight him. Rourke took a lot of time to walk to the ring and enter (as though the fans had paid to see him), and finally beat down Jericho with a punch. It looked so unbelievable, but I guess that is the way the WWE wanted it to be done. So our hero Ricky Steamboat and the other legends had to lose to Jericho just so that this Hollywood actor could come and display some skill. However, he was not that entertaining. Rourke and Flair then celebrated in the ring, but I was not that delighted by the whole segment. I couldn’t care less, though – I didn’t come here to see them.

Jeff Hardy vs Matt Hardy – Extreme Rules Match: This was the match I was least interested in because I hate Jeff Hardy. Why? Because I had read in the news that he had taken drugs and violated the WWE Wellness Policy. However, he had still been made champion for some time due to the fact that a lot of kids (who didn’t know these realities) liked him a lot, and that made me feel sick. This is when I decided to take a nature break, because this match was just like a filler-break for me. When I came back, I saw a drunk fan (we will call him the “funny drunkard”) who was also at ring-side really cheering very heavily for Jeff Hardy. His slow, drunk accent made it sound like “Jyaeff Haaadddie” and he was so funny but loud that everybody started noticing him. Another fan at the back started responding in the same style (and surprisingly similar voice) “Matt Hardy” and that exchange of comments was more entertaining than the exchange of blows in the ring. Jeff tried some very extreme moves where he put a trash can over Matt Hardy’s head and then beat him with a stick. He put Matt on a table and then put another table on top of him and jumped over it from a ladder, breaking both tables and I thought that at least one of them would be badly injured. Surprisingly, Matt Hardy came back into the match, he put a chair around Jeff’s neck and then swung him to the floor. Matt Hardy won! Ok, this was something to be happy about, because the result of the match was better than my initial expectations from this match. Even though he was being portrayed as the villain or the bad guy in the story-line, he won the match against the real bad-guy and so I was happy, even though the kids were not.

JBL (John Bradshaw Layfield) vs Rey Mysterio – Intercontinental Championship match: Rey Mysterio is another kiddy-hero whom I hate. Though he is a better performer in the ring than JBL is right now (JBL was better in the early 2000s), he is still more detested by me than JBL. In fact I find JBL quite funny and entertaining. It has been rumoured that JBL was going to retire and become a commentator, so I expected him to lose this match and that is what happened. But the match was too quick and over in a couple of seconds, if not a minute. That is what disappointed me. JBL deserved more ring-time than that and they could have taken a few minutes away from that Mickey Rourke segment before this, to give them to JBL.

John Cena vs Edge vs Big Show – World HeavyWeight Championship match: The next match was Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels but I am going to discuss the 2nd last and the last match first, followed by that one in the end because it deserves the most attention. So the match after that was between these 3 clowns for the so-called championship (if they win it, that is what it should be called). Surely, these guys were under a lot of pressure to out-perform the classic which the Undertaker and Shawn Michaels had just presented, and they couldn’t have topped it, no matter what. John Cena made a stupid entrance in which some 50 of his look-alikes came to the aisle and did some idiotic “you can’t see me” gesture when he made his way. It looked like a very bad imitation of the classic Undertaker entrances in some of the earlier Wrestlemanias where he was preceded by druids dressed in black, holding flaming torches. Anyway, so the kids who don’t know anything about wrestling were cheering for John Cena, but there were more veteran fans who were booing him out too. Every “Let’s go Cena” chant was followed by a louder “Cena sucks” chant, to which I contributed whole-heartedly. He just doesn’t know how to wrestle, but is made to win matches because the kids like him and so do the girls who like his good-looks (no offence to those girls who think that talent is more valuable than good-looks). In the end, however, he won, because it’s the rated PG-era and you have to surrender to the kids.

Hall of Fame introductions: The WWE introduced their Hall of Fame inductees for 2009, including Howard ‘the Fink’ Finkel (the best and most legendary ring-announcer ever, who is also the oldest WWE employee and who coined the name ‘Wrestlemania’), Ricky ‘the Dragon’ Steamboat and Stone Cold Steve Austin. Stone Cold, the most popular star of the attitude era, made his regular salute to the fans by coming out on his scooter and circling the ring, then drinking beer in the ring and later with his friend Jim Ross. It was a good way to say good-bye.

HHH vs Randy Orton – WWE Championship match: This match was supposedly the main-event as it was the last match, but nothing could top the match of the ages which took place 2 matches before, between the Undertaker and Shawn Michaels. As a result, this match disappointed me and the other fans a lot. I expected Randy Orton to win it because he had won the 30-man Royal Rumble match in January and earned this match. The fact that he lost it made the Rumble lose significance and that might be bad for the business, because fans might not pay to see it next time. I must say Randy Orton looked very professional in the ring and was good at both, throwing his offences whereas selling HHH’s offences on him. The best part of the match was that the “funny drunkard” whom I described in the Jeff Hardy match had decided to cheer for HHH this time and he started once again like “Trippppppppple Aech, Tripppppppppppple Aech”. He was so loud and noticeable that everyone stopped seeing the match and started looking at him, even filming his video instead of the match because he was providing a better show. The guy who was shouting “Matt Hardy” in response to his chants during the Hardys’ match again started jokingly shouting “Matt Hardy” in return. Eventually the security had to ask the funny drunkard to stop, and when that didn’t happen, the police were called. This is when his friend had to stand up and request to the police to forgive him, and he said that he will handle him. The funny drunkard let out one more long and loud “Trippppppppple Aech” chant before he sat down quietly for a few seconds. HHH won in what was not a very great match and I left the arena even before he started celebrating his victory.

The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels – Wrestlemania’s Undefeated Streak vs Mr Wrestlemania – Build Up: This was the 3rd last match of the night, but I am covering it last because you have to save the best for the last, and this match deserved it the most. It was by far the strongest match on the entire Wrestlemania card, and it was what all veteran wrestling fans considered to be the real main-event. It was not about championships or titles, but it was about who is the better man. It was between two icons, no, two legends, who will go down in history as the 2 greatest in-ring performers of all time. These 2 have been in the pro-wrestling industry for almost 25 years, and have been through every era of wrestling. They have seen a lot of competitors come and go, and while most of their peers like Hulk Hogan, Bret ‘the Hitman’ Hart, Ric Flair, Stone Cold Steve Austin and the Rock had retired, these 2 were still on top of their game. They have not been championship-hungry and they have helped promote a lot of other stars like Stone Cold Steve Austin and the Rock through matches and rivalries with them, during the eras when Stone Cold and Rock were supposed to made champions even though they were not as good as these 2 were in wrestling-skill (because you can’t have the same people like Undertaker and Shawn Michaels remain champions for 20 years – you have to divide it between all your talent and ensure that everybody gets a fair share of their popularity with the fans. That is how the industry grows). They both created several main-event level rivalries without them revolving around any championship belt. But longevity in the business is something which only true wrestlers can accomplish, and here we had the 2 most loyal and the 2 longest-lasting wrestlers in WWE history come face to face with each other. What is better is that these 2 were still at the top of their game, though they had reached their 40s. Amidst all the injuries and time-offs (Undertaker had several hiatuses for months whenever he had injuries including knee cysts, hip problems, and also a career-threatening injury some 9 years back, whereas Shawn Michaels had a 4-year hiatus after a Casket match that he had with Undertaker in 1998), these 2 had kept on ticking even though a lot of wrestling analysts had been predicting their retirement since 2000. They fought in the first ever Hell in a Cell match in 1997, a match which received a 5-star rating from Wrestling Observer Newsletter. In the Hell in a Cell as well as the Casket match, Shawn had defeated the Undertaker with help from Kane because Kane attacked his big brother. So, they always had unfinished business and the 12-year old rivalry came around at the grandest stage in wrestling. This match could only happen at a Wrestlemania, and what more fitting a stage for it, if it is its 25th anniversary, with the greatest 2 performers in the last 25 years performing in it, that too in their home-state of Texas?

For those who are unaware, the Undertaker joined WWF in 1990 (he was in WCW before that) and has been competing at Wrestlemania since 1991. He missed 2 Wrestlemanias due to injury, and in all the other 16 Wrestlemanias that he has competed in, he has always won. This is called as the 16-0 Undefeated Streak of the Undertaker, and is considered to be the greatest and biggest record in pro-wrestling history. No other wrestler has even made these many appearances at Wrestlemania, leave alone win all the matches. It is like going to a world-cup or super-bowl every year and then winning it. Who other than the most talented performer, the most dominant and destructive character, and the long-time locker-room leader/ mentor deserves this respect? The victims of his streak comprised a long list of names including some legendary wrestlers like 16-time champion Ric Flair, 13-time champion Triple H (HHH), Jimmy ‘Superfly’ Snuka, Jake ‘the Snake’ Roberts, Sid, rising stars like Randy Orton, Batista, Edge, and performers of every type – from the 8 foot tall Giant Gonzales to the 450-pound King Kong Bundy to the 7-foot tall Diesel (Kevin Nash) to the largest athlete in the world, the 500-pound Big Show to the world’s strongest man Mark Henry to Undertaker’s own story-line brother, the monster Kane. No other list will ever contain such names. That is one of the Undertaker’s claims to fame and a token of his dominance and capabilities – even though he may not have won the championship belt as many times as Ric Flair or HHH (because he was never title-hungry and was always more about promoting other super-stars through his rivalries, and providing good matches), but all such champions fell to him at Wrestlemania. On the other hand, Shawn Michaels has also been a part of several memorable Wrestlemania matches and main-events, though he lost some of them (but his performance in each match was awesome). This is why Shawn has self-proclaimed himself to be Mr Wrestlemania. Hence, this match was about who is the better man – the man who is undefeated at Wrestlemania or the man who calls himself Mr Wrestlemania.

Let us see their nick-names. First, Shawn Michaels – The Heart-Break Kid (HBK), The Show-Stopper, The Head-Liner, The Main-Event, The Se*y Boy, Mr Wrestlemania. Next, the Undertaker – The Phenom (for ‘the most phenomenal and respected’ athlete in history), the Dead-man, the Lord of Darkness, the Demon of Death Valley, the Big Evil, the Grim Reaper, the Conscience of the WWE, best pure-striker in the history of the game, the most dominant force in the history of professional wrestling, the master of mind-games, the American Bad A**, the list goes on. Ok Shawn, you can’t beat the Undertaker in nick-names and respect.

The build-up to this match had been absolutely fantastic. WWE Creative are definitely not creative enough to come up with such stuff, so Shawn and the Undertaker had themselves worked towards creating the story-line. Shawn claimed to the Undertaker that he was Mr Wrestlemania and so he will end the Undertaker’s undefeated 16-0 streak. He also said that he represented ‘good’ and ‘light’ whereas the Undertaker represented ‘evil’ and ‘darkness’. He went to the extent of cutting a promo from the graveyard where he said that he has created a grave for the Undertaker himself (much like the promos that the Undertaker used to cut against his opponents in the early and mid 1990s) with a tomb that had 16-1 written on it. In another promo, Shawn came dressed as the Undertaker (in a long over-coat and hat) but all in white instead of black, preceded with druids (like the Undertaker used to come in some matches preceded by his dark druids who held torches of fire and sung a holy hymn). He said that he is the angel of light, who will fight the demon Undertaker at Wrestlemania. Shawn that Undertaker has never defeated him in singles’ competition before (which was true because Kane always attacked Undertaker in them), to which Undertaker said that he was himself the most dangerous entity to ever step into the ring, and Shawn will realize it the hard way just like all his fallen Wrestlemania opponents of the past did. So the rivalry was all about Shawn getting into the Undertaker’s head, playing mind-games with the master of mind-games himself like nobody has done before, giving the Undertaker a taste of his own medicine of psychological war-fare, and being the show-stopper who will stop the undefeated show of the Undertaker at Wrestlemania. However, this would be the only time when evil was expected to prevail over good, and evil was going to be cheered more than good ;-)

Shawn Michaels made an entrance dressed in white again, with a hat and long over-coat as the Undertaker. He was descended from high above the rafters, at least from a height of 30 or 40 feet on a platform. Smoke surrounded him and you couldn’t make out the platform much, so it made it look like he was coming down as an angel from the skies above. Then his regular heart-break-kid se*y-boy music hit, he opened the coat and hat, and then made his standard entrance to the ring. Next, the lights went out, and the Church gong hit. You could hear the home-town fans erupt and scream for Undertaker. The funeral music started, and from below the floor ascended the Undertaker on another platform with smoke surrounding him. It looked like he is coming from the depths of Hell. Fantastic story-telling. He made his usual slow, methodical and intimidating entrance to the ring. He was an amazing sight – he was like something I’ve never seen before. While he was walking down the aisle, I started showing my poster because this is the match that I had preserved it for. However, as my fate always has it, important moments in my life (which would otherwise never happen again) always have a black-spot associated with them. One of the security officials walked up to me and said “No flashing of signs”. I don’t know why he said that. There were so many fans all around the place who were flashing their posters – this is what the posters are meant for, and why they are allowed inside the arena. Everyone flashes them during the matches that they are interested in, and when the wrestlers referred in those posters are in the ring. Its an age-old thing, and no security officer is told to stop fans from showing posters. Moreover, there was nothing derogatory in my poster, and I was stunned because he did not tell any other fan to stop flashing the poster. This is a regular thing, it is always allowed to show posters and I did it even when I attended the weekly Smackdown show in 2007. Everybody was doing it. I branded this guy as a “racist”, even though he was otherwise polite and professional. Usually Americans are not racists but are very friendly and nice people, but this guy was an exception. I was the only Indian at ring-side flashing a poster, and he stopped only me – he didn’t stop anyone else. Anyway, I did not want to argue with him or tell him that fans flash posters on every wrestling show and that other fans around me were still flashing posters. I didn’t want to waste time with such a jerk and ruin the moment more because it would have made me miss the other moments of the fabulous entrance – the most astounding ring-entrance in wrestling-history which is that of the Undertaker. I clicked a few photos with my cell phone as Undertaker raised his hands which brought back the lights. He went inside the ring and removed his over-coat/ hat. This is when I realized that I had 2 options – either to click photos throughout the match/ make a video recording, or to just see the match. I decided that I should not click photos, but just be a witness to the event and see it from my naked eye instead of the camera’s lens.

The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels – Wrestlemania's Undefeated Streak vs Mr Wrestlemania – Match Details: The crowd was standing throughout the whole match right from the entrances of the two super-stars to show their respect for them, because this match was so amazing. It went on for over half an hour and was one of the longest matches in Wrestlemania history, but it didn’t even feel that it was so long due to the back-and-forth action. The Undertaker gave a scary look to Shawn but Shawn did not look intimidated. The Undertaker came closer to Shawn and started stalking him as he had the obvious size advantage. Undertaker was in his regular mixed-martial-arts pose, which speaks for his versatility. The crowd started loud chants of “Undertaker”, to which I also contributed. Some Shawn Michaels fans also started chanting “HBK” but right now the Undertaker chants were louder. Shawn was trying to keep distance from Undertaker and due to his shorter height was able to duck below the Undertaker’s attacking arm and instead start hitting Undertaker in the chest. Undertaker stood unaffected by the offence. He pushed Shawn to the corner of the ring but Shawn again used his smaller size to escape from Undertaker and started attacking again. Shawn tried to send Undertaker for an Irish whip across the other side of the ring, and this is when Undertaker gained advantage with his power and instead sent Michaels to the other side. When Michaels raised his hand to attack again, Undertaker caught and twisted it. He then lifted Michaels and threw him to the corner of the ring. Shawn had been hurled over the top rope to the outside and struggled to somehow balance himself. He then tried to show the DX chop to Undertaker, displaying some brash arrogance which won him some cheers from his fans. He then jumped over Undertaker and both men were on the floor. Shawn was on top of Undertaker, trying to hit him in the face but Undertaker had both his hands in front of the face in defence (like a boxer). Undertaker then threw Michaels aside and both men got up. Undertaker again lifted Michaels, hurled him to the corner of the ring and started punching him. A memorable quote from commentator Jim Ross: “The cat and mouse game maybe over now”. Now Undertaker was standing tall and Shawn was down on the floor. Undertaker took Shawn to the other corner of the ring, put his hand around the ring and started connecting more body-shots, head-butts and kicks to the gut.

Once again, there are chants of “Undertaker”, followed by “HBK” chants. The crowd was almost equally divided. Shawn now tried to resist Undertaker’s offence and instead started hitting the Undertaker himself. Again there was an Irish whip done and Undertaker once more threw Michaels to the other corner of the ring where he went upside down. Shawn bounced back to the Undertaker who lifted him up and threw him above his head. A memorable quote from the commentator Jerry the King Lawler: “I’ve got a feeling that Shawn Michaels is going to get some Frequent Flyer miles during this match”. Undertaker lifted Shawn again, kept him high up in the air with both his hands as though he is doing a military press, and threw him down to the floor to demonstrate his superiority to Michaels, as well as his strength. Undertaker now tried to pin Shawn for the victory but couldn’t. The Undertaker now twisted Shawn’s hand and gave him a few shoulder-blocks. Now, the Undertaker did something which only he does. He went to the corner of the ring holding that twisted arm of Shawn (due to which Shawn couldn’t do anything but had to follow him), and then Undertaker climbed on the top rope. It was a phenomenal sight – a near 7-foot tall man, who weighs over 300 pounds, is over 40 years old and has numerous knee, hip and leg injuries, was balancing his huge body over the top rope and walking the top rope. I had to capture this moment no matter what and so I took out my camera to click a photo of him standing on the top rope. This is when one of the fans standing next to me told me not to go ahead of him. I wonder why he said that because I was just standing at my place and taking the picture – I wasn’t going anywhere and I did not even touch him. His seat was even behind mine but he was the one who had come ahead of my row to see the match from closer. I wanted to give him a piece of my mind or complain to the security but once again, I decided not to waste a moment doing anything else other than watching the match. Branded another racist! As I said, my memorable moments in life always have a bad-spot to them.

Anyway, so Undertaker successfully managed to connect his old-school top rope-walk and then came down on Michaels with a clubbing blow to the shoulder, and he had some momentum coming from such a height with such a huge body. This is usually the only non-finsher move which gets the crowd to stand up in a show of respect, but today the crowd was anyway standing throughout the match :-) Its these athletic moves of the Undertaker (despite his huge body) which make him unique and differentiate him from all other wrestlers. Shawn went to the corner of the ring to breathe a bit, but Undertaker started running towards him in full speed. Shawn ducked and Undertaker kicked the ring’s corner instead. His body was misbalanced on the corner now and he hurt his leg. Shawn realized that this is an opportunity and he started beating Undertaker’s leg. He tried to destroy Undertaker’s vertical base so that Undertaker’s size-advantage is cut down. This was good strategy. He kicked Undertaker in the head. The alternate “Undertaker” and “HBK” chants continued. Shawn tried to put Undertaker in the Figure-Four leg-lock but Undertaker blocked it. With a few kicks, Shawn gained the advantage and put Undertaker in the Figure-Four. The Undertaker refused to submit because he has never submitted or tapped out in his entire career. Michaels retained the hold with the leg-lock for some time but Undertaker finally punched his way out of it using his long hands to reach Michaels and hit him. Undertaker was now limping so you could make out that leg-lock did some damage to his leg, and he sold it well. If he can’t stand, how will he wrestle? Shawn continued to kick Undertaker in the leg and once more, Undertaker fell down. He ran into Undertaker but now Undertaker stood up, lifted him and ran into the ring corner. He kicked and punched Shawn. He hurled Shawn to the opposite corner and ran into him. A 7-foot, over 300-pound man showing such quickness at such an age is like you being run over by a running train. He then lifted Michaels over his shoulder with one arm and hurled him onto the ring (Snake Eyes) and then came running into him from the other side of the ring and hit him with a big-boot to the face. Shawn was down. He connected another high-jump like led-drop and tried to pin Michaels for the victory but couldn’t. Now there were some ‘boos’ from the crowd for Michaels.

At this time, a Shawn fan came and stood next to me. He started shouting "HBK", to which I responded by shouting "Undertaker". We were both looking at each other, smiling, and shouting our wrestlers' names in response to each other! Everybody at ring-side was looking at us, and they soon started shouting their wrestlers' names along with us. This was a real fun moment!

Undertaker looked in control now and raised his arm for a choke-slam. Shawn retaliated and instead put a cross-face head-lock on the Undertaker. As I said, Undertaker has never tapped out. They were both on the floor, and somehow Undertaker lifted Michaels from his legs and made his shoulders touch the floor! What an amazing counter – now Michaels was in a pinning predicament and the referee started the count. However, Michaels got out of the count in time and still retained his hold on Undertaker’s head. After some time, Undertaker managed to lift Michaels up from the side due to his strength and size advantage and gave a thunderous side-slam to Michaels. Undertaker tried to pin Michaels again but no luck. Again some ‘boos’ from the crowd for Shawn. Undertaker showed some pain in his jaw as a result of the cross-face and sold Michaels’ offence well. Now there was an exchange of right-hands between the two. Undertaker swung Michaels for an Irish whip but Michaels came back and kicked him. Undertaker stood straight, impervious to pain, as though the kick had no effect. Shawn gave some Ric-Flair-like chops to the chest and his fans started chanting “Woo” as Ric Flair used to when he hit his opponents that way. So far, the crowd is completely into this match.

Shawn knocked Undertaker down and went down with him. He got up first, and when Undertaker got up, Shawn gave him two atomic-drops. Using some help from the ropes and a fast clothesline, he was able to bring Undertaker down again. Shawn climbed to the ring’s corner to attempt to jump on Undertaker from there but Undertaker got up in his usual zombie dead-man style as a soul who just arose from the grave. He caught Michaels’ neck for a choke-slam but Shawn again countered it and kicked him in the leg. Undertaker fell once more, and Shawn tried another Figure-Four leg-lock. This time, the Undertaker countered it and converted it into a Gogoplata submission hold (another mixed martial-arts move) in which he put his legs around Michaels’ neck and head in a choke! This was amazing – it now looked like an Olympics wrestling match in which you don’t beat the opponent down with power but try to make him submit by putting him in predicaments through which he is not able to come out. Shawn somehow reached the ropes and touched them with his legs, therefore Undertaker had to relinquish the hold. Shawn went outside the ring to maintain distance from Undertaker, who followed him. Undertaker rammed Shawn into the steel steps and then put him inside the ring in a way that Shawn’s chest was outside the ring but his waist and legs were inside the ring. This was great – since Shawn was partly in the ring, both men could not be counted out and Undertaker could do any offence he wanted. He punched and kicked Michaels in the head and then went for his vintage leg-drop across the apron. He stood in the ring and looked at his prey below. As he jumped high in the air to land on Michaels’ chest, Shawn managed to get up and go inside the ring, thereby avoiding injury. Undertaker hurt his leg again, and Shawn kicked him in the leg again. You could hear the Shawn fans chanting “HBK” loudly now. As Undertaker was lying on the floor outside the ring, Shawn climbed to the ring’s corner and went for an inverted moonsault drop. However, Undertaker avoided it and moved away, so Shawn landed from a height of almost 11 feet onto no man’s land on the ground. That had to hurt anyone.

Undertaker now got back into the ring, and after catching up with his breath, he stood up in his regular zombie-style. I realized now that Shawn is outside the ring, it is time for one of my favourite wrestling moves – the suicide dive. Its another thing which only the Undertaker can execute, in which he runs from one side of the ring to another, lifts his huge 7-foot, over 300-pound body vertically over the top rope without any help from the rope and launches himself on the opponent like a jet-plane. Shawn always claims that even if he loses a match, he steals the show and out-performs his opponents. But this is a move in which the Undertaker out-performs everyone, and nobody else in the WWE history has ever done this move, let alone do it with such a huge body and at such an age. I had already started shouting “suicide dive” and Undertaker answered to it :-) However, while the referee was checking on Shawn outside, he got up and pushed the referee to the steel steps. He then moved away, avoiding contact from the Undertaker and instead bringing a camera-man to face the Undertaker’s assault. The camera-man was supposedly Sim Snuka, the son of Jimmy ‘the Superfly’ Snuka, who ironically was the first victim in Undertaker’s undefeated streak of 16-0 at Wrestlemania. Undertaker had a nasty fall, because this camera-man was standing farther from the ring than he was supposed to, and it looked like Undertaker landed head-first on the ground and broke his neck. If that had happened, this classic of a match would have had to be stopped and now everyone was scared as to what will happen. However, this moment created more unpredictability in the match and a lot more people expected Shawn to win it now that the Undertaker seemed badly injured. There were loud “HBK” chants now. Shawn showed some villain characters and brought the referee back to the ring, asking him to count Undertaker out. There were some ‘boos’ for Shawn now. Miraculously, Undertaker got up at the count of 9 and entered the ring before the 10-count. Shawn was trying to symbolically show some fear for Undertaker, wishing that he stays down and does not come out. He showed distress now.

Once more, several “Undertaker” chants followed by “HBK”. Shawn started preparing for his finisher-move, the Sweet Chin Music super-kick to the jaw, waiting for Undertaker to re-group and stand up. But Undertaker avoided it and instead caught Shawn by the neck, finally connecting one of his finisher-moves, the choke-slam. He lifted Michaels up with one arm, hurled him very high up and slammed him to the floor. This was one of the biggest choke-slams you will ever see. Undertaker tried to pin Michaels again for the victory but couldn’t. Undertaker looks tired now. Shawn got up and tried for his super-kick but Undertaker avoided it. Shawn tried once more and this time he connected it. Undertaker was down on the floor. Shawn tried to pin Undertaker for the victory now but couldn’t get it. They both got up and now Undertaker tried for his other finisher-move, the last ride or inverted power-bomb in which he lifts his opponent over his own shoulders and then slams their back to the floor from a 8 or 9-foot elevation. Shawn countered and went below Undertaker, and Undertaker countered the counter, bringing him back to the front! He again kicked Michaels and this time managed to connect the last-ride. Undertaker tried to pin him for the victory but couldn’t. Who would believe that someone as small as Shawn would kick out of that? It was getting really interesting now. Undertaker looked frustrated. He now climbed up to the ring’s corner and jumped on Michaels, attempting to connect a high elbow. This was a fascinating sight to see once more, the Undertaker flying from such a height. He missed and found only the floor because Shawn moved away. Now both men got up and Shawn tried to run into Undertaker. Undertaker ducked and lowered the rope, so Shawn went to the outside. He hung to the rope, however and did not fall outside. He then tried to bring himself back in and tried to lock his legs around Undertaker’s neck. Undertaker came up with one of the best counters ever, when he reversed this into a tombstone piledriver, his best finisher-move. He had Michaels held completely in reverse with his legs at the top and head down below, and slammed him down on his head (taking most of the impact on his own knees otherwise it will break Shawn’s neck) just like you plant a tombstone on a grave. But he only got a 2-count when he tried to pin Michaels for the win. The look on his face was priceless now. What more will it take to beat Shawn Michaels?

Undertaker got up and looked really angry now. He removed the shoulders of his vest/ tank-top, which meant that things got serious now. He slashed the cut-throat sign, which meant the end is near now for Shawn. He got a lot of cheers from the crowd now. He tried for another tombstone, but Shawn countered it into a DDT in which he hit Undertaker’s head to the floor. Shawn then got up and went to the ring’s corner and connected the high-elbow drop which Undertaker had missed on him some time back. He went to the ring’s corner and waited for Undertaker to get up. Then he again connected the super-kick to Undertaker’s jaw. For once, almost everyone except me thought that Undertaker has lost the match now. That was the best part about this match – even though everyone expected Undertaker to retain his undefeated streak, if it can reach to a point where even his fans and veteran wrestling analysts feel that the result will be different from what they expected, what more can you ask for in a match? But to Shawn’s surprise, Undertaker kicked out even of the second super-kick and Shawn was unable to pin him! Now the fans were chanting “This is awesome” and I have never heard that in a wrestling match.

The “Undertaker” chants started becoming louder now. Both men brawled with right-hand exchanges until Undertaker gave another big-boot to Michaels. Shawn still got up and laid more offence on Undertaker, whose chest was now red due to the hard beating. Undertaker sent Michaels for a whip to the other corner and tried to run into him again like a train, but got kicked down. Shawn now went to the top of the ring’s corner again and tried for another inverted moon-sault attempt (which he had missed last time). Undertaker got up and stood ready for Michaels. When Michaels jumped, Undertaker caught him in perfect position for another tombstone piledriver. This was the most breath-taking sight of the match. Undertaker had Shawn in the same precarious position, and nailed the tombstone. This time, the referee counted 1-2-3 and Shawn did not get up. Undertaker had won the match!

After-effects of the Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels Match: The Dead-man lives! Every Undertaker fan as well as every Shawn Michaels fan was cheering. Every neutral fan realized what wrestling is actually all about. I actually bowed down and saluted to the Undertaker. Nobody deserved it more. The Phenom showed us why he is undefeated at Wrestlemania. He took his streak to an unprecedented 17-0, a record which will never be paralleled in all of sports, and a record which no other sports-star in the world deserves to break or equal. This match single-handedly stole the show, and it was not even a championship match. It was about who is the better man, it was about pride and passion. This match was the only memorable thing about the 25th anniversary of Wrestlemania, in which none of the other matches were of the standard of a Wrestlemania. It saved the show, made up for all the other bad matches, and was worth the entire event. I am honoured to have seen this match in person, and it alone was worth all the money which I spent into buying the ticket for the event. Thank you, Undertaker and Shawn, for making it worth-while and justifying my trip.

These guys performed just as they would have performed 20 years back. They are ageless. Such a professional performance, that you actually felt that every moment of it was real and nothing was scripted or planned. This was the best match to see, and you believed in everything that you saw in it. That is what a professional wrestling performance should be like – it should keep everyone not at the edge of their seats but standing, without even caring if there is a seat. Today, these two gave you a reason to watch wrestling.

After watching this match, I feel that if there was ever good wrestling done in the world like never before (and which never will be repeated), it was in this match. I feel that nobody else can wrestle – Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin, the Rock, Brock Lesnar, Triple H, none of them could ever wrestle. Even Ric Flair, Bret ‘the Hitman’ Hart or the Olympic champion Kurt Angle never wrestled like this. If there are 2 wrestlers who stole the show and gave a wrestling-performance like no one ever has, they were the 2 greatest pro-wrestlers in the history of this world, the Undertaker and Shawn Michaels, on the day when I attended Wrestlemania.

Here are some of the comments that renowed people or editorials gave it:

Jim Ross: As a fan of Sports Entertainment, I am honoured to have the opportunity to sit at ring-side and see this. I feel like we’ve just seen heaven. What a match. As a wrestling fan, how could you ask for anything more? My 16th Wrestlemania experience was highlighted by the best WM bout I can recall broadcasting. The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels bout was simply a classic. Old school approach, a magnificent story, amazing near falls, drama, surprises, intensity, and awesome athleticism were just a few of the memorable attributes of this extraordinary contest. Quite simply, it’s a wrestling match I’ll never forget and I’ve seen plenty of them. I had immense personal respect for both men going into the match but that respect swelled ten-fold when this “instant classic” concluded. If any young wrestler doesn’t thoroughly study this one then they are doing themselves a gross injustice.

Houston Chronicle (Front Page): Michaels and the Undertaker, scripted or not, was simply one heck of a slobberknocker. In 31 minutes of Tombstone piledrivers, superkicks, DDTs, figure-four leglocks and crossface headlocks, the Undertaker prevailed over Michaels to run his WrestleMania record to 17-0 in the most widely anticipated event of a 4-hour card that surely justified the trip to Texas for WWE fans from all 50 states and dozens of foreign countries.

Pro Wrestling Examiner: Absolutely fantastic match and was exhausting just to watch. It certainly saved the show and may have well been worth the price of admission itself. Jim Ross on commentary said it was just an honor to be able to call this match. How do you follow that masterpiece? Kid Rock’s performance and the Divas battle royal should have come after this match to calm the crowd and everyone else down. Jim Ross just equated this match to wrestling heaven and he may be right.

The Sun, UK: The two standout stars of WWE for years came together tonight to put in a match for the ages.

Wrestling Observer (Dan Wahler): It was essentially a one match show, and while that match was a classic and personally none of the best matches I’ve seen in a long time, the other top matches on the show didn’t really deliver. It was one of those shows where the true main event of the show was third to last, and anything that followed it was anti-climatic in comparison. Going into Wrestlemania on Sunday, it was universally expected and as close to a given as you can have in wrestling, that The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels were going to have the best match on the show. And if it’s possible, they actually exceeded those lofty expectations with a match that was not only the best match on this show, but one that will rank up there among the greatest matches in Wrestlemania history. It was that good. I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed a match as much as I enjoyed HBK/Taker. It was about as close to a perfect match as you’re going to get in WWE. Finally, Michaels went for a moonsault from the top rope, and he was caught in mid-air by Undertaker, and dropped with the second and deciding Tombstone in an unbelievably creative finish. Match over, victory to The Undertaker, and victory to anyone that saw the match. Jim Ross wondered on commentary “what more could you ask for as a wrestling fan?” And the answer is you couldn’t ask for anything more. That match was plain and simple about as perfect in every way as you’re going to get in the WWE style of wrestling. I can’t think of anything else that they could have possibly done to make the match any better, or make it any more memorable. But I do know that nobody came close to following it on that night, and I have a really hard time imagining anyone following it for the rest of the year, at least in WWE. You’re also talking about a match that, regardless of what anyone gives it star ratings-wise, will still be remembered as one of the classic Wrestlemania matches of all-time. There is no debate about that among anyone. Undertaker and Shawn Michaels went out and stole the show on Sunday. They put on a clinic of a wrestling match that should be the prototype for all current and future wrestlers out there that aren’t at the top of the business, but want to be, and want to know how to have a match that is well worked, that has awesome, off the page crowd heat, and that is full of drama and emotion. Watch that match, watch two of the best performers of this or any other era show you how it’s done. And at 44 and 43 years old respectively, out work and out perform most 20 year olds in the industry today and everyone else on the WWE roster on that given night, including those wrestlers that were in the “main events.” Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels was the main event, and it should have closed the show. Nothing could follow it, and nothing should have followed it. It was indeed a true modern day classic.

Bleacher Report: All in all, an excellent match. And all with no weapons or extra gimmicks. Somewhere even Bret Hart would have to be smiling. And somewhere backstage, after that match was done, Cena, Edge, and the Big Show must have felt a knot in the pits of their stomachs as they knew they would have a hard time trying to top this one match. And it was the only match that made you feel you watched something special for your money.

The Sun, UK (again): It’s over. Undertaker wins by Tombstone. I can get my breath back. No prizes for guessing the finish or that it was one of the best matches I’ll ever see, even if I attend the next 25 WrestleManias.

These Were Worthy Of Respect And A Salute:

The Undertaker
Shawn Michaels
Ricky ‘the Dragon’ Steamboat

These Also Impressed Me:

Randy Orton
Edge
Matt Hardy
Beth Phoenix
Chris Jericho
Primo

I Wish These Had More Impact On The Event:

Kane
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Vince McMahon

I Wish These Had Made An Appearance:

Paul Bearer
Bret ‘the Hitman’ Hart
Kurt Angle
Bill Goldberg
Mankind
The Rock
Chyna
Trish Stratus

These Disappointed Me More Than I Expected:

HHH
Mickey Rourke

These Disappointed Me As Much As I Expected:

John Cena
Big Show
Jeff Hardy
Miz
John Morrison (Johnny Nitro)

I Did Not Miss These At All - They are Good As Far Away As Possible:

Hulk Hogan
Ultimate Warrior
Brock Lesnar