Is HBK vs Undertaker WM25 the best WWE match ever?

[Deleted]

Austin Vs Rock at At 17 and 19
Savage Vs Warrior
TLC 2
Austin Vs Bret WM13
Taker Vs Kane WM14

Lots of others that easily surpass it , not to say it is not a great match it is but there are matches that far outclass it for various reasons.

[KobashiChop]

May 11, 2018 17:54:58 GMT -5 @sigmax said:

Austin Vs Rock at At 17 and 19
Savage Vs Warrior
TLC 2
Austin Vs Bret WM13
Taker Vs Kane WM14

Lots of others that easily surpass it , not to say it is not a great match it is but there are matches that far outclass it for various reasons.

You can just tell how meticulously planned Savage vs Warrior was. It's a masterpiece in theatre and storytelling.


I love Austin vs Rock at 17 but I feel the ending falls flat. Vince is out there for way too long before Austin wins after the point has been hit home that Austin has aligned with him.

I feel had Austin won with a screwy finish such as security plants all jumping him and just wiping him out for Austin to get the pin, for McMahon to come down to the ring, tell Austin "you're welcome" as Austin shakes his hand would have been way more effective.

[mrtumoursmisery]

Bret vs Owen from Mania 10 is probably my favorite match of all time.

[The Yes Man]

May 11, 2018 17:48:29 GMT -5 KobashiChop said:

May 11, 2018 17:23:21 GMT -5 The Yes Man said:

I liked 26 better, there was more drama to that one in my opinion. I wouldn’t call that the best match in WWE history either though.

I think what sets 25 ahead of 26 for me is that 26 is pretty much a foregone conclusion that Shawn is losing, and I guess for some reason that just detracts from the match for me. Not saying its a great reason, but everyone has one I guess.

I thought the opposite. At 25, there was no way Shawn was winning. At 26 I thought it was a possible swerve, where Taker loses and ends up retiring instead.

[chronocross]

Even though I liked the match a lot, I’d say HBK vs HHH at Summerslam 02 or their December 2003 Raw match was better IMO

[Gus Richlen: Ruffian]

I actually hate it. The botches hurt it, plus in general the match did not live up to the hype for me.

The rematch? THAT is a classic.

[Clutchhausen]

My personal favorite match of all time.

[Bub (BLM)]

I still think it's Hogan vs. Warrior at WrestleMania 6. That match is everything WWE should and could be. This match for me proves that "workrate" means more than just "technical wrestling".

[hbkwrestlinggod]

You have the two correct wrestlers but the incorrect match. While there WM25 match was great, the Bad Blood HIAC 1997 blows it away. Shawn Michaels and Undertaker were in there physical peak and primes in 1997, especially Shawn Michaels. BBHIAC 1997 is and will forever be the GOAT match in my opinion. The storytelling, the spots, the brutality, the ending, absolutely FLAWLESS match from top to bottom and what I feel is the biggest match of Undertaker's career in making him a huge star.

[Yacht Persona]

Stone Cold vs. Bret Hart, WM13.

[repomark]

My favourite definitely, but I also agree that WWE (or wrestlers themselves) in attempting to duplicate the drama of this match have turned every match into a kick out of finisher fest.

What they fail to realise - as has been very well explained in an earlier post by KobashiChop - that this match was so much more than that. Even in the few moments where there was a kick out from a finisher - the way it was done made it a false finish. Nowadays you pretty much know the first finisher is getting kicked out of at a big mania match - but the Tombstone HBK kicked out of was done in such a way that it 100% felt like the finish. It was long enough into the match and it was set up in an inventive way out of nowhere. That is how to do it - sparingly and at the most unexpected of moments.

[The Rick Jericho]

Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin: Wrestlemania 13.

The drama. The intensity. The blood. The double turn. Going into the match, you could sense something big was going to happen in the air.

It had a big fight feel.

[Deleted]

May 11, 2018 16:45:21 GMT -5 2coldMack is even more baffled said:

Nah. "Finish, Kick out, finish, kick out, finish, kick out" is a match a lot of guys would get lambasted for, but because it's HBK and 'Taker, they get a pass. And all that match is is "Finish, kick out" ad infinitum.

That's a match type I generally hate, but I really wouldn't call the Mania 25 match that at all. Do think it's a fair bit overrated and I feel like the constant finisher kickout fests now are probably a consequence of it, but there is an organic flow to all of it and in particular the big Tombstone kickout actually felt earned because it was genuinely shocking, and yet the match didn't wind up being bloated for it like the average 30 minute Triple H / Michaels borefest.

[Milkman Norm]

It's one of them.

[Kevin Hamilton]

Angle/HBK is my favorite. Can't say that there is a 'best'. That's way too subjective.

[2coldMack is even more baffled]

For what it's worth, my favorite is probably gonna remain Bret/Owen from 'Mania X. And on a mildly controversial note, I will always maintain that Bret/Austin from Survivor Series 1996 is better than the WM 13 encounter, but since that match is A)at 'Mania and B)has the character defining "crimson mask", the previous match tends to fall by the wayside.

[Big DSR Energy]

May 11, 2018 20:16:37 GMT -5 Yacht Persona said:

Stone Cold vs. Bret Hart, WM13.

My all-time favorite match.

[Deleted]

May 11, 2018 17:23:21 GMT -5 The Yes Man said:

I liked 26 better, there was more drama to that one in my opinion. I wouldn’t call that the best match in WWE history either though.

This. 25 was good but it was just a match. 26 mattered. There was more on the line.

Anyhow. Best match is Piper/Bret WM8.

[Crappler El 0 M]

To each his own. I prefer Ciampa and Gargano. It's subjective.

[Deleted]

If not the best, then it's certainly in the running. My personal shortlist is

HBK/Taker from Mania 25
HBK/Angle from Mania 21
HHH/HBK/Benoit from Mania 20
Taker/Foley Hell in a Cell
TLC from Mania 17