Having been with the company for more than 26 years, there isn’t much that The Undertaker hasn’t ticked off his WWE bucket list.
With a résumé that includes a cumulative haul of seven world championships, a 2007 Royal Rumble win, numerous match of the year candidates, not to mention the fact that he’s managed to find success with an undead, supernatural mortician gimmick, Undertaker’s just about done it all with the company.
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And not only that but many more of his achievements are ones that no one else has been able to emulate.
The most obvious of these that springs to mind is, of course, his undefeated streak at WrestleMania—a grand total of 21 successive wins before Brock Lesnar finally pinned him in 2014—but that’s far from the only record The Undertaker holds exclusively.
Over the years, The Undertaker’s chalked up a number of other less celebrated accolades that none of his peers can say they’ve matched, from notable scalps claimed on the biggest of stages, to a full house of wins over each and every member of one of the company’s most decorated stables. And topically, many of them have arrived at WrestleMania, including our first entry…
#5 Submit Brock Lesnar During His Second Run with WWE
Since returning to the company for a second stint in the Spring of 2012, Brock Lesnar has mostly been pushed as a completely unstoppable monster. Part of that push saw him do the unthinkable at WrestleMania XXX when he pinned The Undertaker to hand the Deadman his first defeat at the PPV in a record 22 outings.
But The Undertaker was at least able to help himself to a measure of revenge at SummerSlam 2015 when he not only defeated Lesnar, but he did so via submission.
Now, granted it wasn’t as straightforward as that. While ‘Taker had initially tapped himself, the referee hadn’t seen it, although that didn’t stop the timekeeper from calling for the bell anyway. The confusion was enough to distract Lesnar, allowing The Undertaker to hit a low blow and lock in his Triangle, eventually forcing Lesnar to pass out and the referee to end the match via submission.
Still, dodgy finishes aside, the record books still say that The Undertaker is the only man to have beaten Lesnar in such a way since the former UFC Champion’s big return to the company some five years ago. And unless Goldberg adds some submissions to his moves, that doesn’t look likely to change anytime soon.
#4 Faced Each Member of Evolution at WrestleMania
Another Undertaker claim to fame that no one else can rival is his WrestleMania record against each member of the Evolution faction.
Not only is The Undertaker the only man to have faced all four members in singles action at the marquee event, but he’s also the only man to have beaten them all at the company’s flagship pay-per-view.
Having seen off Ric Flair in 2002, he then went on to defeat Randy Orton in 2005 and Batista in 2007, while he’s defeated Triple H on more than one occasion, with his most recent win arriving at WrestleMania XXVIII in 2012. Few guys can say they’ve beaten each member at any point in their careers, and yet ‘Taker can say he’s done so on the most high-profile stage of all.
Given that the Evolution stable was based on the idea of the past, present and future of the business, the fact that The Undertaker’s beaten every one of the famed quartet is as much a testament to his longevity as it is the strength of his booking.
#3 Defeated Triple H at WrestleMania more than once
As mentioned in that previous slide, The Undertaker has defeated Triple H on more than one occasion at WrestleMania.
His first victory came way back in 2001, when ‘Taker beat the Game at WrestleMania X-Seven. It would be another decade before the two met again on the same stage, but by this point, they’d both evolved into two icons of the industry.
Also read: 5 Ways Shawn Michaels can get involved in Roman Reigns vs. Undertaker at WrestleMania
Fittingly, at WrestleMania XXVII, they stole the show in a 30-minute No Holds Barred match that The Undertaker won via submission before the very next year they went one better with a performance for the ages inside Hell in a Cell, and with Shawn Michaels as the special guest referee to boot.
As well as being great matches in and of themselves, ‘Taker’s record of three wins over Triple H at WrestleMania is a haul that nobody else comes close to. In fact, no one else has ever scored more than one win over Triple H at ‘Mania, putting The Undertaker in his league of his own.
#2 Defeated Hulk Hogan for the WWE Championship more than once
Though this one doesn’t relate to WrestleMania, it does involve arguably the biggest pro wrestling star of all time. And more to the point, it involves The Undertaker beating that major star on more than one occasion.
Hulk Hogan, like Triple H in the previous slide, is one of the most protected wrestlers that company has ever produced. And though he very rarely loses, the fact that he’s a six-time world champion means that he’s had to have tasted defeat on at least a handful of occasions.
Of those six world title reigns, one was ended by André the Giant, one by Ultimate Warrior, another by Yokozuna, with another coming to an end after he was forced to vacate the championship. As for the other two, Hogan twice lost the WWE Championship to The Undertaker, first at Survivor Series in 1991 and again during his second stint with the company, at Judgment Day 2002.
That means that The Undertaker can add another feather to his cap, in that he’s the only man to have twice taken the WWE Championship from the often-unbeatable Hogan.
#1 Successive World Heavyweight Championship wins at WrestleMania
In 2008, The Undertaker made history when he became the first—and only—challenger to compete for the World Heavyweight Championship at back-to-back WrestleManias and win the belt on both occasions.
After beating Batista for the title at WrestleMania 23, in an excellent match that was somehow bumped down to the middle of the card, ‘Taker then defeated Edge the following year, tapping out the champion to capture the world title for the second time in as many years.
Others have successfully retained a world championship in back-to-back years, such as John Cena in 2006 and 2007, but in both of those cases, Cena wasn’t the challenger. And while Stone Cold Steve Austin was crowned the new champion at both WrestleMania XIV and XV, that was the old WWF Championship, rather than the revived World Heavyweight title.
Considering that belt has since been retired and absorbed into the current WWE title, this is a record that looks set to stand for years to come—if not forever entirely.
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