I think that we can all agree that the Undertaker is the last person you would want to face with a Last Man Standing stipulation.
No, it'd actually probably be Hulk Hogan, really.
This match, more than any other, plays right into his hands for a litany of reasons.
You mean it plays more into his hands than a Casket Match? How about a Buried Alive Match? Or any other of Undertaker's "patented" gimmick matches, in which he's only won half of the matches he's competed in, mind you.
1. Everything is legal - As evidenced by his creation of Hell in a Cell and the multitude of hardcore matches he's won, the Undertaker is very comfortable in this situation.
Again, Taker wasn't the one to actually create that match; Vince McMahon was. Alas, I'll just work with you here.
You do realize, of course, that of these "hardcore matches" you speak of, that The Undertaker has only won half of them, right? He's beaten Mankind, Edge, CM Punk, Jeff Hardy, and RVD in gimmick "hardcore" matches. That's it, that's the list. Otherwise, The Undertaker has a very fine habit of getting his ass handed to him in No-Disqualification matches. See: His Boiler Room Brawl with Mankind. Or how about his Hell in a Cell Match with Brock Lesnar?
The point being is, you
can, in fact, beat The Undertaker with no rules. All of the names I mentioned before have done it. So has The Big Show, for that matter. And while we're at it, fucking Yokozuna has beaten him with no holds barred, mind you. Now remember that match at the 1994 Royal Rumble. It's going to become very important when you non-sensically bring up the old "He can doe the SitZ UPZZ!!!" argument.
Ask Edge what it's like to face the Undertaker with virtually no rules to restrain him, and he would tell you that it's nearly an impossible battle to win.
Ahem.... Mankind would tell you otherwise.
The Undertaker is extremely dangerous with his hands, but he becomes lethal when you allow him to experiment with chains, chairs, tables, ladders, wire, cro bars, lead pipes, etc. Hogan is one of those who didn't fight often in extreme conditions and, while I concede that a chair is simply to use, he is out of his element.
Are you serious with me, here? This is the same guy who, with Randy Savage, took out
eight men in a cage on one event. The Hell you mean Hulk Hogan is out of his element? Sure, he used Frying Pans and powder, but he still used your "hardcore" logic, and used it against eight different men, and got the victory.
2. History - Hogan, historically, has not been better than the Undertaker. The only time I can recall him beating him was during Taker's rookie year. Hogan at the height of Hulkamania was, at best, equal to a rookie that hadn't began to peak.
And Paul Bearer.
And Ric Flair bringing in the chair for The Undertaker to tombstone him. But ok, we can ignore that if you'd really like. After all, this match is "Hardcorexz!", right?
The point being, Hogan and Undertaker did, in fact, have a rematch not but six days later. How did that one go for good ol' Taker there?
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And good luck using that old "Hogan cheated" logic, because the Undertaker did the same god damn thing.
3. Size advantage - The only man who I can recall Hogan beating that had a power advantage over him was an old, out-of-shape Andre the Giant (and a rookie Paul Wight).
And King Kong Bundy.
And Zeus.
And Earthquake.
Seriously, where the fuck are you coming up with these arguments? Do you not remember Vader being made Hogan's baby back bitch in WCW? Or how about fighting off Zeus and that whole "Ultimate Solution" guy? Or how about how he did fighting off Lex Luger? Because, I hope you realize, Hogan has the upper hand in that feud with Luger.
Hogan struggles against wrestlers he can't overpower, such as Warrior,
Yes, he put over Warrior, pretty much forced to by Vince back when he was trying to phase out Hogan. Still, it didn't come without Hogan coming an eyelash from beating Warrior. And it's
still the only clean loss in Hulk Hogan's career in the WWE.
Right, because that was Hulk Hogan in his prime. He wasn't fifty at that point.
The Rock, a power guy? Maybe athletic is what you're thinking about. But definitely not a power guy. And again, that was Hulk passing the torch, way beyond his prime, to a guy who was younger, far more in his prime, and ready to take over for the Hulkster.
The two big men he has had a degree of success against were both very slow. The Undertaker is a hybrid, a blend of speed and power, two areas where he surpasses Hogan.
Ahem.... What? The Undertaker, fast? I'm sorry, have you watched a recent Undertaker match? The guy's so hurt now, he's actually slower than Mark Henry in there. I'm quite curious who's win a foot race. And in Undertaker's "hey day", he was still slow as molasses. Yokozuna and Kamala moved faster than the guy. Let that sink in for a little while.
4. Style - Hulk Hogan slammed his opponents a lot. Hogan was a virtual one-trick pony. He picked up his opponent and slammed him. In this match, every time he attempts to lift 300 lb. Undertaker, he is going to expend a lot of energy. The Undertaker is a much more versatile wrestler. He has a great power game, is a good striker, and even does submission. A lot of his game won't require him to over-exert himself like Hogan will. In a match of stamina, I think this is important. Hogan, exhausted from his own offense and the Undertaker's, is more apt to stay down after a Last Ride than a fresher Undertaker will be.
Again, having a "stong moveset" never really affected The Hulkster that badly. Sure, Taker may have been a better wrestler, but he's definitely got enough energy to last as long as needed with The Undertaker. If anything, you should be worried for Taker's stamina. As it is now, he doesn't have much gas in the tank. Even in his youth, the guy barely lasted twenty minutes in the ring with his slow, methodical style.
5. Finishers - Hogan's leg drop is hard to execute. It requires a lot of set-up and can never be hit out of the blue. The Undertaker, on the other hand, can reverse almost any of Hogan's offense into a Tombstone or Chokeslam. He can make use of his finishers while incorporating chairs and tables (Last Ride onto steel steps anyone?), while Hogan really can't with the Leg Drop. Taker has also shown to be able to knock out opponents with the triangle choke, a move that has only been broken a handful of times.
You're problem isn't moves, 48, it's keeping Hogan down. And no one has ever been able to do it for a count of ten. Sure, you can argue that The Undertaker is more "versatile", and I will give you that. However, he has to be able to keep Hogan down for a good chunk of time. Even then, much longer than anyone else has.
6. Sit-up - The Undertaker simply does not stay down. The is nothing that is going to get the Deadman to lay down for a ten count. We have all seen the Undertaker take a beating and a half and still sit up almost immediately. Compared to the Undertaker "The Immortal" Hulk Hogan is very, very mortal.
Remember that Yoko/Taker match I brought up earlier? The same exact one I said would be important later.....
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Now, I may not be a math major, but I believe it's safe to say that the Undertaker
was, in fact, down for a count of ten. Think this was an anomoly? How's about what The Giant Gonzales did to The Undertaker, both at the 1993 Royal Rumble and Wrestlemania IX. Or, how about when Mankind knocked out The Undertaker at the 1996 Summerslam, for far more than a ten count? Or how about after his cage with Batista on Smackdown, where Mark Henry attacked him, and Edge cashed in his MITB.
The Undertaker, in fact,
can be knocked down for a count of ten. Logic:
Extremely Flawed. You'll have to do better than that, 48.7