The Undertaker has given WWE arguably the most impressive run from any wrestler in company history. WWE lucked out with almost thirty consecutive years with Undertaker as part of the roster. Fans loved the appeal of the big man having such a mystery character. Undertaker would evolve throughout the years with different changes to his character. Wrestlers would have a huge opportunity whenever getting to work with him.
We will look at how things worked out for the talent that worked with Undertaker. WWE often loved to pair Undertaker with stars either new to the company with main event potential or on the verge of breaking out to another level of top success. The results would vary between stars becoming bigger names and those getting embarrassed. Find out just which wrestlers had the best and worst times with the legend. These are five wrestlers that Undertaker made look legit along with five he made look like a joke.
10 Legit: Kane
Kane received a huge push instantly as the brother of Undertaker in the storyline. WWE teased Kane’s debut for months before it eventually happened during the Hell in a Cell match with Undertaker and Shawn Michaels. Kane’s attack on his brother created a huge rivalry that lasted for years.
The early feud is what established Kane as a tremendous character. Kane got the better of Undertaker for months with his brother refusing to hit him back. This was until we hit WrestleMania season. Undertaker may have won the first big match, but the feud itself made Kane legit for the rest of his career.
9 Joke: Bray Wyatt
Bray Wyatt entering a couple of feuds with The Undertaker created a few dream matches that fans were excited to see. Undertaker had his first WrestleMania match after the streak ended against Wyatt at WrestleMania 31. The match failed to deliver, and Wyatt looked relatively weak against the legend.
WWE would go back to the well one more time with a tag team match of Undertaker and Kane reforming the Brothers of Destruction tag team against Wyatt and Luke Harper. It was another instance of the legends easily winning and making Wyatt look like a joke in the process.
8 Legit: Edge
Edge was already a main eventer when entering his first feud with The Undertaker. However, the two would have such a legendary feud that raised his profile even more. Edge cashed in the Money in the Bank briefcase to end Undertaker’s 2007 World Championship reign.
The two would feud over the next year with standout attractions like the WrestleMania 24 main event, a TLC match and a Hell in a Cell match. Edge would become even more credible with the rise from a main eventer to a legend in the making.
7 Joke: Diamond Dallas Page
WWE fans were excited to finally see Diamond Dallas Page join the company after his legendary WCW run. Unfortunately, the storyline to introduce DDP would feature him stalking The Undertaker’s wife Sara during the Invasion era.
Undertaker destroyed Page in almost all their noteworthy interactions and matches. WWE gave no love to DDP in the booking and he quickly fell down the card. Dave Meltzer reported in 2001 that Undertaker had issues with Page trying to script out their matches, which played a role in the booking.
6 Legit: Jeff Hardy
It only took one night for Jeff Hardy to deliver a tremendous performance that made fans realize he could become a top singles superstar. The end of the Hardy Boyz saw Jeff getting a singles push on the Raw brand with a short feud against The Undertaker.
This was during the heel WWE Championship reign of Undertaker as the American Badass. The two had a stellar ladder match in the main event of Raw. Fans still view this as one of the top matches in Raw history. Hardy took the loss, but Undertaker shook his hand giving him the ultimate respect after the classic match.
5 Joke: John Cena
John Cena’s big WrestleMania dream match against The Undertaker finally came at WrestleMania 34 after years of rumors. This was a huge attraction with the two legends facing off on the biggest stage. The unique presentation saw the match not officially confirmed ahead of the event.
Undertaker did finally appear at the show after weeks of Cena’s begging for a match. It wasn’t much of a match due to Undertaker’s limitations in his older years. The dominance from Undertaker saw him easily destroy Cena and making him look like a joke of a legend.
4 Legit: Mankind
Mick Foley’s first feud in WWE came as Mankind in a singles feud against The Undertaker. Fans instantly viewed Mankind as a threat due to facing off with one of the top faces in the company. It helped that Undertaker and Mankind had superb chemistry.
The moment of Paul Bearer turning on Undertaker to unite with Mankind gave Foley a huge moment. Their matches continued to impress with the iconic Hell in a Cell match standing out. The toughness of Foley surviving the bumps given by Undertaker made him a massive star for the rest of his career.
3 Joke: Muhammad Hassan
The career of Muhammad Hassan never could reach the potential WWE felt it had. Hassan played a heel character running down Americans for treating him with prejudice. The promo work of Hassan was impressive and led to great content against top wrestlers.
WWE placed him in his biggest feud yet against The Undertaker. A horribly timed segment would see WWE try to present a terrorist attack of sorts on the taped show that aired the same night of a legitimate terrorist attack. Undertaker would squash Hassan in their match to end the character as the networks wanted the gimmick to finish.
2 Legit: Brock Lesnar
The Undertaker put over Brock Lesnar on two different levels at various chapters in their careers. Lesnar’s first major storyline as WWE Champion in 2002 came against Undertaker. The two had a classic Hell in a Cell match with Undertaker making Brock like a million bucks.
Their WrestleMania 30 match would see the rivalry rekindled twelve years later. Undertaker delivered the ultimate job of putting Lesnar over by losing his undefeated streak at WrestleMania. The finish saw Brock become an even bigger star to begin the next six years of dominance in WWE.
1 Joke: CM Punk
WWE’s first storyline between The Undertaker and CM Punk came when Punk was having his run as World Champion with the straight edge heel character. Undertaker appeared after Punk’s win over Jeff Hardy to attack him and start the feud.
The duo had one of the worst Hell in a Cell matches in WWE history. Punk barely got any offense in during the short match as his title reign ended in disappointing fashion. Rumors claimed Undertaker was unhappy with Punk’s backstage actions and it played a role in the burial.