The two matches that Shawn Michaels had with The Undertaker at Wrestlemania 25 and 26 are widely regarded as some of the best matches of all time. Speaking with ESPN, Michaels detailed the process that went into those matches in 2009 and 2010 respectively.
“With WrestleMania, I did what I basically do with people that I trust and know ‘have it,’ so to speak. You’ve got your main points, but everything else you sort of feel, and see where it goes. That’s how that one worked. You’ve got your signposts in the road, you have an idea how to get there, but then you just see how it goes. And we knew we were going to be there for a while,” he said.
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“That was the biggest concern. It was very much an issue, very much talked about,” Michaels recalled. “I feel like we both felt that the ‘streak vs. career’ stipulation obviously helped. We had at least gotten to the point in our careers where you worry about that topping factor, but you don’t quite apply the pressure to yourself that you did when you were younger. You have to trust in your system, your ability and your opponent. We had some different dynamics to the story. If all of that is fresh, then technically the only thing that’ll be the same are the two guys. You have to do your best to rationalize it, as best you can. Because the big pink elephant in the room is, ‘Can you follow it?'”
Undertaker would go on to say in his new WWE Network documentary series, Undertaker: the last ride, that he is jealous of the peace and closure that Shawn Michaels was able to find in his retirement at WrestleMania 26. Undertaker is still wrestling. He recently main-evented the first night of WrestleMania 36 against AJ Styles.
To read the full interview, click here.
