#4 – The Undertaker
So this is kind of a weird pick, because The Undertaker – all things considered – really isn’t a huge part of the PG Era. For the first year or so, he had his last World Heavyweight Championship run on Smackdown, and feuded with Edge and Batista in some of the best work of their collective careers. Those three really carried the Blue Brand for quite a few years heading into the PG Era, and beyond, but this was also around the time when ‘Taker took a step back, had a few trips to the doctor’s office, and began appearing less and less. Instead of 300 days it was 200 days, then it was 100 days, then it was no live events at all, then only a few major PPV appearances – until it was just the one big WrestleMania match every year.
That being said, if you actually look at Undertaker’s classic WrestleMania matches, each of his best performances came in the PG Era. Between 2008 and 2013, the Deadman had six WrestleMania matches, and according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the ratings are as follows – Edge, 4.25 – Shawn Michaels, 4.75 – Shawn Michaels, 4.75 – Triple H, 4.5 – Triple H, 4.75 – CM Punk, 4.5.
In terms of the amount of money WWE makes off WrestleMania, it’s not even close to any other PPV of the year, including SummerSlam, which is already far and away bigger than the others. So if you actually look at those matches, each of which helped sell the biggest card of their respective year, the Undertaker – while not technically a major part of the week-to-week programming, was an essential Superstar of the PG Era.
