10 Greatest WrestleMania storylines in WWE History

#2 Michaels' Obsession with The Deadman (WrestleMania XXVI)

The entire four-year WrestleMania program between The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels and Triple H was a piece of gold for the WWE. While we have already talked about how the ending of this period was truly an End of an Era, it was actually the period during the build-up of WrestleMania XXVI that stands out as the most grueling and anticipated part in the 35-year history of Mania.

The all-time classic match between Taker and Michaels at WrestleMania XXV seemed to have brought an end to this decade long rivalry. However, a simple realization at the 2009 Slammy Awards that he lost to Taker forced Michaels to challenge him to another match at Mania XXVI. After Taker, who was the world champion at that time, rejected the challenge, Michaels became obsessed with earning a title shot against Taker.

So bad was Michaels' obsession that when he failed to win the Royal Rumble match, he cost Taker his World Championship. Irate at losing the championship, Taker agreed to face Michaels again but with the same stipulation that his opponent at Mania XXIV went through - Lose the match and your career is done. And the rest, as we all know, is history.