The Undertaker and WrestleMania, the most iconic duo in the entire history of the WWE. The Phenom has had a plethora of elite performances on the big stage, including his clash with Shawn Michaels in 2009.
WrestleMania 25 was the stage, with The Deadman and The Heartbreak Kid going toe-to-toe, but the story behind the match is baffling. Any WWE fan has to know this match, it is possibly the greatest clash in the history of the profession, but it almost was stifled.
Vince McMahon made a major call about the match up, which resulted in The Undertaker having to convince the boss to change his mind, and wow thank the lord he did!
The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels: WrestleMania 25
This is one of those matchups that just has to be on the watch list for any new fans of the spectacle. If you’re critically rating WWE matches, this would simply have to be one of the few perfect performances, a true 10/10.
Everything aligned for the duo, who left absolutely everything in the ring, but it could have been in jeopardy after a Vince McMahon decision almost cost us one of the most iconic matches in the history of WWE.
It was a half an hour masterclass from both, but it was close to being just half of that and much earlier on the card, but thankfully, The Undertaker stepped in and made a compelling argument, resulting in the boss changing his mind.
View: The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 25
Former WWE referee Marty Elias explained that it was The Undertaker who was instrumental in the matchup getting the billing it deserved rather than a preliminary match on the card. Talking on a podcast, he claimed: “We’re sitting there and ‘Taker looks at Shawn and he goes, ‘Shawn, how long you been with this company?’ Shawn goes, ‘Most of my life.’ And he goes, ‘Hmm, 15 minutes? Third? That ain’t gonna fly.’ Michael Hayes, ‘Oh, hey, hey, I’m gonna go talk to Vince. Don’t worry, we’ll see if we can get it changed.”
Funnily enough, Shawn Michaels wasn’t too bothered, as Marty Elias eluded to, admitting: “Shawn goes, ‘Hey, man, I can go on first, I can do the dark match… I just get home earlier, I can leave earlier.’ Shawn didn’t care, but it got changed and thank God it did.”
We have plenty to thank The Undertaker for in the WWE world, but his resilience and ability to make Vince McMahon of all people go back on a decision is something we all have to be grateful for, a world without this classic match would be much darker. It just goes to show the power and respect The Phenom had that he was able to make the boss change his mind.
