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The WWE career of The Undertaker is simply unparalleled. In a 30-year run with the company, "The Deadman" has faced off with nearly every major name in WWE history.
Following his admission on the concluding episode of "Undertaker: The Last Ride" that he has likely wrestled his last match, tributes have poured in to celebrate The Undertaker's legendary career.
From his debut at Survivor Series 1990 all the way to his Boneyard Match with AJ Styles at WrestleMania 36, The Undertaker's career has been packed with unforgettable moments and matches.
Naturally, during that period, The Undertaker has also had a wide variety of intense rivalries. Which of these, though, have done the most to help solidify The Undertaker's legacy? With such a large body of work to choose from, it is hard to narrow down the 55-year-old's most memorable feuds.
With that said, however, here is a countdown of The Undertaker's 5 greatest WWE rivalries.
#5 "Stone Cold" Steve Austin vs The Undertaker
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin and The Undertaker were two of WWE's biggest stars during the Attitude Era, headlining multiple pay-per-view events together.
The most high-profile of these was their main event clash at SummerSlam 1998, where Austin successfully retained his WWE Championship. The Undertaker would gain a measure of revenge, though, as he defeated Austin to win his third WWE title at Over The Edge the following year.
The pair had many clashes other clashes throughout the years too, more often than not at the top of the card. WWE knew they could rely on The Undertaker and Austin to deliver every time, which is why the promotion revisited the combination frequently. The duo even had a brief run as WWE Tag Team Champions in the summer of 1998.
Although they never squared off at WrestleMania, The Undertaker and Austin have a storied past, much of which unfolded during WWE's most successful period in history. This alone makes it hard to ignore Austin when talking about The Undertaker's biggest rivals.
#4 Triple H vs The Undertaker
The Undertaker's WrestleMania streak will forever go down as one of the best storylines in WWE history. The Deadman squared off with Triple H on no less than 3 separate occasions at The Show of Shows - making The Game Undertaker's most frequent WrestleMania opponent.
While Triple H was on the losing in each match, he and The Undertaker produced some epic Wrestlemania bouts. So dramatic, in fact, were their last two matches that fans actually believed that Triple H might become the first man to defeat The Undertaker at his favorite event.
The Phenom himself has praised Triple H as one of his best opponents. The pair would also face each other away from the bright lights of WrestleMania, headlining King Of The Ring 2002 and Super ShowDown 2018 in Australia, amongst other big events.
As two of the longest-serving veterans in WWE, The Undertaker and Triple H have naturally had numerous other interactions over the years. One particular example included The Deadman hitting a Tombstone Piledriver on Triple H at the top of an escalator.
It is fair to say that The Undertaker's legacy would look somewhat different without the involvement of Triple H.
#3 Brock Lesnar vs The Undertaker
Although it was not for a title, Brock Lesnar's victory over The Undertaker at WrestleMania 30 remains one of the most historic results in the history of professional wrestling.
Leading into the match, The Undertaker had won 21 consecutive bouts at WrestleMania. When that streak was broken in 2014, the wrestling world reacted with awe. Most believed that The Undertaker's mythical run would never be broken. The fact that Lesnar managed to pull off the win almost qualifies him to be a part of this list on its own.
The Undertaker's history with the former UFC Heavyweight Champion, however, dates all the way back to 2002. Lesnar was WWE Champion at the time and squared off with The Undertaker in a series of big matches, including a brutal Hell In A Cell clash.
Lesnar and The Undertaker would even interact during The Beast Incarnate's time as a UFC fighter. Following Lesnar's loss to Cain Velasquez at UFC 121 in 2010, The Undertaker stepped away from an interview he was conducting in order to challenge his former foe to another battle.
The Undertaker and Lesnar would meet again after their famed WrestleMania 30 match, engaging in several pay-per-view bouts in 2015. However, it is because of that one pinfall victory in New Orleans that Brock Lesnar will forever be linked with The Undertaker.
#2 Kane vs The Undertaker
Since debuting in October 1997 as the storyline brother of The Undertaker, Kane has enjoyed a monumental run in WWE. In fact, Kane's character - which was created for a feud with The Undertaker - has been one of WWE's most successful gimmicks of all-time.
Although The Undertaker refused to face Kane when he first arrived in the promotion, the pair have had numerous high-profile matches in the years that have followed.
The Undertaker has clashed with Kane twice at WrestleMania. Their first meeting at WrestleMania 14 was one of the most eagerly-anticipated matches of the year. The rivalry was then renewed some 6 years later at WrestleMania 20, where The Undertaker brought back his "Deadman" character after years of going under his "American Badass" persona.
Such has been the length of both Superstars' time on the WWE roster that they have met in a wide variety of matches over the years.
From an Inferno Match, to a Hell In A Cell bout, and even a Buried Alive Match, the Undertaker and Kane have looked to deal with their bad blood in a wide variety of settings. At times, though, the Brothers of Destruction have been on the same page, reigning twice as the WWE Tag Team Champions.
These men's careers been intertwined so closely that it is only fitting that Kane is given a high ranking in the list.
#1 Shawn Michaels vs The Undertaker
It is rare that a pair of performers find the sort of chemistry that The Undertaker had with Shawn Michaels. Whenever The Undertaker stepped into the ring with The Heartbreak Kid, it became a given that magic was about to unfold.
One of their first pay-pay-view encounters took place in the inaugural Hell In A Cell match at Badd Blood: In Your House in October 1997. An instant classic of a match, the bout was also notable for the debut of Kane. The entire package was near perfect.
However, this match was somehow bettered when The Undertaker and Michaels met at WrestleMania 25 in 2009. Speaking to Ariel Helwani about the bout, The Undertaker confirmed that he felt it was his finest ever work:
"Wrestling is about telling stories. It's a violent, physical way of doing it, but that's the essence of what we do, done right. I'll put the first WrestleMania match with Shawn up against any and say 'show me something that's better than that as far as storytelling and execution.' Follow that up with Shawn's last match. That's some pressure. That's somebody that I feel, personally, and I think most people do, as one of the greatest in-ring, out-of-ring performers ever,"
So well-received was the match, that WWE opted to repeat the formula the following year. This time, though, the bout would serve as the main event of WrestleMania 26 - with Michaels' career on the line if he lost.
Michaels did, of course, lose the match. In doing so, yet another layer of story was added to his rivalry with The Undertaker. The Deadman has had a magnificent career, but few of his feuds measured up to the quality of his work with Shawn Michaels.
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