Shawn Michaels Vs. The Undertaker 1 or 2?

[Savion83]

For the past two Wrestlemania's (25 & 26) we seen the epic match ups between Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker. At Wrestlemania 25 in Houston, TX we saw one of the grestest matches in Wrestlemania history between these two legends/icons.

Shawn Michaels was simply looking to end the Undertaker's undefeated Wrestlemania streak at WM 25. But came up a little short when HBK got caught in mid-air by the deadman after a moonsault attemp which ended up leading into a tombstone for the Undertaker's victory over Shawn Michaels.

Now at Wrestlemania 26 in Phoenix (Glendale), AZ. We had the epic re-match from last year between the two. This time Shawn Michaels put his career up against the Undertaker's undefeated Wrestlemania streak. Once again the Taker was victorious over HBK, which the career of Shawn Michaels is now over. To me the re-match at Wrestlemania 26 was kind of rushed for some reason? And this match-up was the last on the card for WM this year around. Were the WWE just trying to get HBK through the match quickly for the sake of his health (back)?

But anyway, which match between Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker was the best at the Wrestlemania's, 1 or 2? That's the question I think all wrestling fans would like to know for the one's who saw those matches and the one's who didn't.

 

[The Hawk]

I'm partial to 26 for the fact I was there live. I think both matches were really solid, 4 to 4.5 star matches. They aren't the un-paralleled masterpieces some people make them out to be. I think they were a little too dependent on finisher kick-outs, but still extremely good matches.

25 was around 30 minutes, and 24 was 24 minutes, so I wouldn't exactly call it a rushed match.

 

[MrEdgeFan]

WM 25. That match was great. It was long but fun. With most long matches, it usually gets boring, but not with these two. I loved the multiple kickouts and the frustration in their faces. It was just wonderful. WM 26's match was, honestly, boring to me. it was just a shorter re-run of past year's match, in my opinion.

 

[RKO2rule]

wm25 hands down , it was great as hell , an awesome match i felt that it entertained me more than 26 for some reason so my choice would be wm25 , it had a diff feel to it

 

[BuckshotBrian13]

Both matches to me were masterpieces, but 26 had the better feel since it was Micheal's last match and with the slap in the face was the boiling point that made Taker snap. WM 25 was good but had that horrible ending seeing Micheals trying a moonsault and Taker catches him. =/ I think they could've closed that match better but still both epic matches.

 

[mrbrownstone]

There are two diffferent answers to this question for me.

If you watched both matcches live, without knowing the result as I did, then WM 26 was the better match simply because of the emotion attatched to it, when HBK hit that third SMC I really thought that the match was over.

However upon second and third viewings I feel that the WM25 match was better, without the emotion attached to it the WM 26 match wasnt as good.

So overall I think that WM 25 was the better match as you could watch it a million times and it would still be classic, however WM 26 is only classic on the first watch, from then on it is still an amazing match but without the added emotion it isnt as good.

 

[osborne79]

the wrestlemania 25 match was way better and kept me on the edge of my seat but the wrestlemania 26 match had a way better build up to the match so i reckon the wrestlemania 26 feuid was better due to the build up alone keeping me excited during the match

 

[shooter_mcgavin]

#26 because of what was at stake in the match and the way it was built up.

WM25 was poorly built IMO, they actually forced out a series of match to see who will face Undertaker at WM25, I mean considering they had a 2 year history at the Rumble that was not neccessary.

Plus the angle at WM26 was more involving that the segment promo heavy WM25.

As for the match, I actually liked WM26 more since I never doubted Taker was going down at 25. At 26 with Michael's career on the line I actually felt there was an actual threat for Taker's streak to end.

 

[The Ace of Knaves]

Definitely Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania XXV. In case u don't know, one day after Shawn Michaels' retirement at Wrestlemania XXVI, this match was voted by more than 100,000 users in wwe.com as Shawn Michaels' greatest Wrestlemania match, topping Shawn Michaels vs Bret Hart (Wrestlemania XII) in the second place and Shawn Michaels vs Kurt Angle (Wrestlemania XXI) in the third place.

When I saw Kurt Angle vs Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania XXI, I thought that you would never see a better match where no weapons are used. Not just getting caught up in the hype because WrestleMania was only months ago, but this just might be the best WrestleMania match that I have ever seen. As far as storyline goes it was built up very well. As far as in ring action goes, it was a privilege to watch. As far as ring psychology goes, it was a master class. As far as crowd reaction goes, that much crowd reaction hasn’t been seen since Hogan vs The Rock. I truly believe that while we thought we may knew who is going to emerge victorious, it’s more about how the winner gets there, that matters the most. The match between the Undertaker and “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels, was an example of how great a match could be, and no one could complain about how the match ended. The Undertaker attempted to hit Shawn with his fists to open the match, but HBK kept evading the blows.

Each competitor executed their finishing move a few times, but each one kicked out of the other’s signature move. Frustration was evident on the faces of both these superstars, especially the Undertaker’s. At one point during the match, Shawn was on the outside of the ring. Undertaker was about to dive, but HBK pulled a camera man in front of him, and Undertaker accidentally jumped on the cameraman. I honestly thought for 5 seconds that The Undertaker had broken his neck and died live at WrestleMania.

The end came when Shawn was climbing the ropes to do a moonsault. The Undertaker caught him in mid-air, and nailed his “Tombstone” reverse piledriver for the pinfall victory. The match lasted a little over half-an-hour and was one of the greatest matches I have ever seen. The fans were into it – half were chanting “Let’s go Taker”, while the other half were chanting “HBK”. At one point, the fans were also chanting “This is awesome.” The Undertaker is now 17-0 at WrestleMania. What a record! In my opinion, this was his best match ever at WrestleMania. Shawn Michaels brought out the best in his opponent, and showed why he is also known as “Mr. WrestleMania.”. Nothing else on the show came close to being this good. JR claimed it was like a living heaven on earth after seeing this match. Fans will be talking about this match for decades like some of the other great WrestleMania matches. An instant classic which the crowd gave a standing ovation to both legends after the match.

 

[Vincent Michaels]

I think both matches were great considering I was there for both

Other than seeing them live i've only seen each one once on DVD, and both were definately great if not both classics. WM XXV's was longer, it was more intense, and the crowd(myself included) was hanging on to every move and every kickout! The problem was that it was in the midcard of a lackluster WM(IMO). WM XXVI's was about 6 minutes shorter, had more drama due to it being Michaels' last match, and was rightfully in the main event to a great WM(again IMO). The endings were both great as in XXV Michaels kept trying until he got caught in the moonsault and in XXVI when Michaels knew he couldn't do it and gave the final slap that drove Taker insane. As far as match quality it goes to XXV for me, but for drama and storytelling it goes to XXVI. So I would actually go with them being about equal classics, but each for different reasons.

 

[Zigglerfan227]

I like the Wrestlemania 26 match better. It was just chaotic! Idk, I just really enjoyed it. Their match at 'Mania 25 was indeed Great, but it was missing something that their match at 'Mani 26 had.

 

[MikeyJD]

I would have to say WM25 was the better of the two, there was more uncertainty as to whether HBK would be able to end 'the streak' as many thought he was the only one with the credentials worthy of the honour. (Also J.R called the hell out of that match) And prior to WM26 there were also many stories reporting that hbk had already confirmed he would be leaving the WWE after WM26 which made the match for me, less exciting however the emotion attached to it was just unbelievable and was a great example of story telling in a wrestling match.
But for me the first was the better of the two.

 

[Da Prophet]

I liked WrestleMania 25 better as you didn't know if he would really end the streak.It was more likely that he wasn't going to win at WrestleMania 26 as it was for his career.The build to the first was huge and the match was filled with twist and turns, which was great.You had the whole Taker missing his Mania dive which rarely happens.So the match itself was better and so was the build, and that is why 25 gets the win.

 

[airvar]

Wrestlemania 25 was just a clash of two of the best to ever walk out there.. It was the better match in itself- If you are JUST WATCHING the match, and not factoring anything else into it the 25 match is better


Wrestlemania 26 however had one of the best builds, to a match that was simply amazing.. The Ending was fantastic, the Taker cut-throat stopped because he didn't wanna end HBK's career, and HBK going out like a true rebel finishing off his cut-throat and slapping him in the face, followed by one of THE most vicous tombstones we've seen in a while...

There was so much more emotion in wm 26, and the build up was better then 25..

Honestly overall Taker Vs HBK round 1 and 2 are just about equal.. People tend to put too much empahsis on the match, the build up and emotion are just as important, and while WM25 might have had the better match, WM26 had more emotion, and a better build..

They are just about equal im my eye's.. small edge to WM26 - it was HBK's retirment match

 

[Hillsy]

To me Wrestlemania 25 was the better match in terms of 'Wrestling'.

But the lead up to 26 and the emotion in the match made the Wrestlemania 26 match better storywise.

So I would have to go with Wrestlemania 25 in terms that it was the better Wrestling Performance, both had me on the edge of my seat, but Wrestlemaina 25 just left me in amazement.

 

[CrossRhodes]

WM 25 had a overall better match and kept me on the edge of my seat and honestly had no idea who would win for a change and WM 26 had the better build up with the retirement of shawn. I wouls say probably WM 25 because we all knew that shawn was going to retire soon and this would probably be his last match.

 

[Disturbed]

I agree with Mredgefan because wm 25 taker and hbk was my favorite match of all time.WM 26 match was disappointing,overhyped, and boring but i guess thats every main event of wm in the last 6 years all over hyped and boring

 

[darqknyt]

WM25 was pretty awesome, but I prefer WMXXVI becuase it has a better all round "program" than WM25. For some reason, HBK & Taker were half-assing their promos in the build up to WM25.The match was mis-booked from the moment they had HBK having to "qualify" to face the Undertaker.The felt sooo confident in their ability to put on a technically amazing match, that they neglected the emotional/storyline part of it.

WMXXVI was always going to be at disadvantage in that most people went into it feeling "they'd seen it before". I thing WMXXVI was better because they ecompassed the emotional aspect of the rivalry.The only problem I have with the match is the "Tombstone on the floor" spot. To me, it was overkill.It happened soo early in the match that it was impossible for Shawn to continue selling the spot & still have a competitive match.So he had no choice but to pull a John Cena & recover miracoulsy for the match to continue at the same pace.

WMXVI also wins for me for having the better ending.