While it appears that The Undertaker has finally retired, his legacy in WWE is unsurpassed. The highlight, of course, is The Streak with The Undertaker winning his first 21 WrestleMania matches. Even after Brock Lesnar finally broke it in 2014, The Undertaker had several WrestleMania wins and kept his legacy strong. Of course, The Streak had its duds, some very bad matches that weren't really worthy of WrestleMania. This leads to the inevitable question of what matches would have been much better for The Undertaker.
There have been rumored matches of him facing anyone from Drew McIntyre to Wade Barrett. There’s also the chance of him having faced guys who could have jumped over to WWE like Abyss. It’s tricky to use 50/50 hindsight and some fans can debate it, yet there are times when WWE passed on what could have been a better match. Without further ado, here are 10 opponents The Undertaker should have faced at WrestleMania that could have added to his astounding legacy.
10 Mankind (Mania XV)
The Undertaker had a dark new attitude in 1999 as the sinister leader of The Ministry, giving his character more spark. Sadly, that led to a horrible HITC match with the Big Bossman, only notable for “hanging” Bossman at the end. It would have been better to see a rematch with Mick Foley as the pair could have perhaps topped the first HITC battle (Undertaker wouldn’t be hampered by a broken foot this time). Mankind had a poor match with the Big Show and the entire card was rough, so a Taker-Mankind HITC rematch would have been a spectacular addition.
9 The Rock (Mania XIX)
Easily one of the Undertaker’s worst-ever WrestleMania matches was XIX where he was stuck facing A-Train and Big Show in a handicap match. He should have had a much bigger battle following a resurgent 2002 and The Rock could have been it.
Yes, the Rock-Austin match wasn’t too bad, but a Rock-Taker WrestleMania match would have been fantastic with both men wanting to steal the show and Rock toning down the antics for a show-stealing match of two true icons.
8 Braun Strowman (Mania 34)
There was nothing wrong with The Undertaker and John Cena finally having a WrestleMania match. What was wrong was it being a two-minute affair in the middle of the show. Granted, Taker was showing his age by this point, but there was still potential for him to pull off a good battle with the right opponent.
Braun Strowman could have been Taker's opponent, with a clash of beasts trying to outdo the other. Given Braun was stuck on the show winning the Raw Tag Titles with a 10-year old, a match against The Undertaker could only have been a step up for both.
7 Kurt Angle (Mania 22)
Reportedly, The Undertaker would have much rather had this match than a casket bout with Mark Henry. He and Kurt Angle had feuded earlier in 2006, with Angle keeping the World Heavyweight Title.
Yet a WrestleMania match would have been terrific with Angle pulling out all the stops as The Undertaker would match him in a clash of skill vs will. It likely would have ended with Undertaker winning the World Heavyweight Title, robbing Rey Mysterio of his big win. Yet, in the long run, a Taker-Angle match would have been so much better than the bad casket bout we got.
6 Chris Jericho (Mania 27)
The Undertaker-Triple H WrestleMania 27 match is a divisive one for fans. For everyone who calls it a classic battle, another dismisses it as overrated. The pair did have a better fight the next year, yet maybe seeing a fresher battle of Undertaker and someone else would have been better, and Chris Jericho could have been it.
Jericho sat out WrestleMania that year, feeling no need to come back yet. But being tempted by a match against Undertaker could have been it as the pair could have put on an even better war. It might hurt Y2J’s ego to be a victim of The Streak, but it'd still be one of the biggest matches on the card.
5 Brock Lesnar (Mania 32)
While the Undertaker and Shane McMahon had a surprisingly decent Hell in the Cell match, it could have been even better if it was Brock Lesnar. Brock was stuck in a bad street fight with Dean Ambrose.
The story would have been perfect of Undertaker trying to avenge the earlier Mania loss while Brock would be proving he was the better man. The pair could have been sensational in HITC, tearing each other apart for a brutal classic topping their earlier matches. It could have been nice to see Undertaker rectify his loss and get a victory over Brock at 'Mania.
4 Andre the Giant (Mania VII)
It’s true that in his later years, Andre the Giant was a sad sight. He was past his prime, tired out and barely mobile, yet he still had great charisma as an icon. Having him as The Undertaker’s first WrestleMania opponent over the tired Jimmy Snuka would have been notable and was rumored to have been planned.
Granted, Andre would have done little more than have Taker pound on him, yet Taker pinning the Giant for his inaugural Mania win would have done wonders for his presence with fans. This could also have been Andre's last moment of WrestleMania glory.
3 Bret Hart (Mania IX)
Neither The Undertaker or Bret Hart were served well at WrestleMania IX. The Undertaker had a horrific match against Giant Gonzales while Bret lost the WWE Title to Yokozuna, who, in turn, lost it to Hulk Hogan. Yet imagine if WWE had decided to have The Undertaker win the 1993 Royal Rumble and then challenge Bret in a face vs face match.
The two men could have put on a spectacular battle for the fans backed by their mutual respect. Bret would have gladly put Undertaker over for the title. And if this outcome doesn't include the Hogan victory, this WrestleMania might be better regarded.
2 Vader (Mania 13)
While it was great to finally see The Undertaker win the WWE Title at WrestleMania 13, his match with Sid was terrible and marked with interference by Bret Hart. Perhaps another way to go would have been Vader winning the title off Bret months earlier and being set to face Undertaker at 'Mania.
Besides being a much better worker than Sid, it would have been nice to see Vader get a shot as champ. He and Taker would have delivered a far better main event of two monsters going at it and it would have made The Undertaker’s coronation all the better.
1 Sting (Mania 31)
Obviously, if there’s one Mania match everyone would have wanted to see, this was it. Sting vs Undertaker was one of the few true “dream matches” left for fans, the two guys who had never jumped ship in the Monday Night Wars finally facing off would have been fantastic.
The clash would have been great. Even at their ages, they could have delivered off their charisma alone. Instead, Sting was stuck facing Triple H in an awful match while Undertaker had a lackluster battle with Bray Wyatt. Not getting Sting-Taker was one of WWE’s biggest dropped balls.