The 25th anniversary of WrestleMania was one of the greatest pay-per-view events organised by the WWE in its history. CM Punk emerged victorious in the Money In The Bank ladder match; brothers went head to head with Matt Hardy securing the win against Jeff, and John Cena displayed superhuman strength as he defeated both Edge and the Big Show for the World Heavyweight Championship. But one fight commanded the attention of the audience like no other, the ‘end of an era’ match between The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels.
The stipulation of the match was clear: the loser would leave the WWE for good, and with both names so important to the business, no result could have been ‘good for business‘. Recently, in an appearance on WWE’s official YouTube channel, Undertaker and Michaels watched their match and shared the sentiments that were going through their minds during the fight.
While Michaels and Taker admitted that they both had chips on their shoulders, they both appreciated each other’s dedication and skill. Taker said, “We had a history of unbelievable chemistry, and I don’t talk about myself this way, but I don’t think that we have ever had a bad match.” Shawn concurred and said, “From the first time I ever got in the ring with you, in the first seconds, I used to think, ‘Well, this is going to be a piece of cake and enjoyable.’”
Shawn added that he appreciated how Taker was always there for him while performing, and Taker gave the compliment back and said that the reason behind that was because it was always easy to perform with him. Both of them pointed out and apologised for their own mistakes while watching the match and were all praise when either of them took a bump. “There was a friendship and respect there, which many won’t experience in their life and especially in this business,” added Shawn as he got emotional and talked about how that match with Taker gave him clarity on his time in the WWE.
The two veterans battled it out and landed one perfect finisher after another, and after more than 30 minutes, the dead man beat the heartbreak kid with one final tombstone.
After 16 years WrestleMania has gone to a whole new level, with the 41st edition of the event scheduled to be held in Las Vegas on April 19 and 20. The main event will feature Cody Rhodes and John Cena competing for the WWE Championship, while Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns and CM Punk will take on each other in an exciting triple-threat match.
