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Post by hbkjason on Jun 25, 2024 2:23:06 GMT -5
I was watching the interview Undertaker did where he was talking about Bret Hart and it was awesome.
I was lucky enough to see Undertaker vs Bret Hart at One Night Only and that show is always talked about because of the HBK vs Bulldog match, but Undertaker and Bret tore the house down! I have always felt that it was a better match than the one they had at SummerSlam which was also a great match. Bret and Taker had great chemistry together, but 1997 is an interesting time for Undertaker. In August and September, he wrestles Bret Hart on two PPVs and then in September and October he wrestles Shawn Michaels on two PPVs. All four are fantastic matches and it got me thinking, what were the better series of matches. Hell, go one step further if you want and try to rank them.
Being biased, my favorite is the Undertaker vs Bret Hart from One Night Only, but in terms of spectacle, it is hard to look past that first Hell in a Cell match.
I feel that overall, bell to bell, Undertaker and Bret Hart had better "matches" However, Shawn Michaels and Undertaker put on a better show if that makes sense. Ranking these is way harder than I thought it would be, but after watching all four recently I would put them in this order,
Undertaker vs Bret Hart: One Night Only Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels: Bad Blood Undertaker vs Bret Hart: SummerSlam Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels: Ground Zero
Would love to read your thoughts on this, these series of matches were great and a real game changer for the Undertaker.
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Rocky Balboa
Main Eventer
ジュリア
Joined on: Jan 1, 2021 6:00:02 GMT -5
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Post by Rocky Balboa on Jun 25, 2024 7:23:58 GMT -5
I always felt Bret v Taker was abit of a weird missmatch. Because Bret is so... Serious? That him fighting a undead person with unrealistic powers always felt so odd to me that I never really got that into their matches. While Shawn was always abit goofy and a character himself so that made more sense in my head. Just my two cents though. I had the same feeling with Austin v Taker admittedly.
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Post by Back to the Codyverse on Jun 25, 2024 7:44:32 GMT -5
Taker worked well with both guys but I think the chemistry he and Shawn had together was special.
I enjoy the Shawn matches more but I like the Bret matches.
The 96 Rumble match likely opened up alot of eyes to Taker's wrestling ability. He's no Lou Thesz but dude can work his ass off for being 6'9 - 325 lb
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Post by hbkjason on Jun 25, 2024 8:03:04 GMT -5
I always felt Bret v Taker was abit of a weird missmatch. Because Bret is so... Serious? That him fighting a undead person with unrealistic powers always felt so odd to me that I never really got that into their matches. While Shawn was always abit goofy and a character himself so that made more sense in my head. Just my two cents though. I had the same feeling with Austin v Taker admittedly. I highly recommend that you watch the recent episode of Undertakers podcast. He goes into great detail about how he and Bret worked together, it is really interesting stuff.
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Post by MKSavage on Jun 25, 2024 8:10:33 GMT -5
I thought Taker started to come out of his shell once they put him with Mick Foley. He really started to show that he could wrestle and keep up with the smaller guys. Granted, this was the first time they let him go outside his gimmick and really wrestle. Undertaker's 1996-1998 was really good but, then again, he got to work with actual wrestlers like Bret, Shawn, Mick, and Austin.
For the 4 matches you're talking about, I'll go with this order: Taker vs. Shawn - Hell in the Cell Bret vs. Taker - One Night Only Bret vs. Taker - Summer Slam 97 Taker vs. Shawn - Ground Zero
The Hell in the Cell match was groundbreaking, that's why I went with that one first, but the One Night Only match was really good. It's kind of a hidden gem that not many people talk about.
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Post by JokerFC on Jun 25, 2024 9:40:47 GMT -5
Have to go with Taker vs HBK here for the 1st HIAC alone.
Both Bret vs Taker matches were exceptional but the 1st HIAC is an all timer for me. It cracks most of my "top 10" lists.
on Takers evolution? He started out 1996 being different vs Bret at the RR and continued on through Mania vs Diesel & into the mankind feud. GREAT year for him.
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Post by K5 on Jun 25, 2024 11:17:28 GMT -5
I love Bret, but I have to go with Shawn here. that chemistry taker and Shawn had in 97 is what probably helped their matches years later at wrestlemania be so damn good
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Post by CM Tusk on Jun 25, 2024 11:53:50 GMT -5
Going with Shawn. Love Bret. Love Taker. I think that the matches with Bret were some of the earliest showings of Undertaker being able to put on good matches which is why so many people love them, but they don’t do much for me personally.
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Post by hbkbigdaddycool on Jun 25, 2024 12:46:00 GMT -5
Hmmm.... I would rank them in this order
1. HBK vs. Undertaker - Badd Blood 2. Bret vs. Undertaker - SummerSlam 3. Bret vs. Undertaker - One Night Only 4. HBK vs. Undertaker - Ground Zero
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Post by The Brain on Jun 25, 2024 12:56:47 GMT -5
Love the interactions with Bret especially SSlam but gotta go with Shawn
Shawn playing the chicken sh** heel at GZ which results in the Cell(the first and best IMO) at BB is fantastic stuff
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Post by JokerFC on Jun 25, 2024 13:07:39 GMT -5
When you look back? that's one hell of a performance from HBK in the Cell. As sell jobs go? Its fantastic. You would think he was being killed for real!!
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Old Zeke
Main Eventer
'Fraid old Zeke, he rides up here with me. Can't trust a pig with watermelons, you know.
Joined on: Jun 24, 2019 13:46:50 GMT -5
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Post by Old Zeke on Jun 25, 2024 13:24:46 GMT -5
Taker had better matches with Shawn, I think. He had some good matches with Bret as well, but I don't think they clicked in the ring as well as Taker and Shawn did.
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Post by theoutlaw1999 on Jun 26, 2024 16:36:06 GMT -5
IMO Bret Vs Taker at Summerslam 97 is one of the greatest matches of all time.
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Old Zeke
Main Eventer
'Fraid old Zeke, he rides up here with me. Can't trust a pig with watermelons, you know.
Joined on: Jun 24, 2019 13:46:50 GMT -5
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Post by Old Zeke on Jun 26, 2024 17:17:24 GMT -5
IMO Bret Vs Taker at Summerslam 97 is one of the greatest matches of all time. Oh, without a doubt. Used to watch that over and over when the Tombstone DVD came out.
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Post by cordless2016 on Jun 26, 2024 23:21:03 GMT -5
1. Bret vs Taker SunmerSlam
2. HBK vs Taker Bad Blood
3. Bret vs Taker One Night Only
4. HBK vs Taker Ground Zero
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Post by ASR (therockisback) on Jun 29, 2024 10:56:08 GMT -5
This is extremely hard. I'm going with Taker vs HBK but I loved Taker vs Bret as well.
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Post by MKSavage on Jun 30, 2024 15:22:07 GMT -5
From Taker's podcast about Bret Hart:
The Undertaker recalled how one particular match at a United Kingdom live event stands out above the rest:
"We took this crowd on a ride that you would not believe. It was one of those situations where one minute it's, 'Let's go 'Taker,' and then the next minute it's, 'Let's go Bret.' And then there's one half of the building yelling 'Undertaker!' and then the other half of the building is yelling 'Bret Hart' back and forth. It was just an emotional rollercoaster that we took the audience on, and, man, it was one of my best matches, I think." [22:36 – 23:13]
On Six Feet Under w/Mark Calaway, The Undertaker said Hart helped him prove he could be much more than an interesting wrestling persona:
"I didn't wanna be known, 'Oh, he was one of the greatest characters ever.' I also wanted to be known as one of the great workers, and Bret, working with him allowed me to do that because his work was solid and he was only gonna go so far within the range of the gimmick and everything, and I liked that because it forced me to figure out how to have good wrestling matches and be in character too." [20:59 – 21:34]
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Post by The Brain on Jun 30, 2024 15:27:13 GMT -5
From Taker's podcast about Bret Hart: The Undertaker recalled how one particular match at a United Kingdom live event stands out above the rest: "We took this crowd on a ride that you would not believe. It was one of those situations where one minute it's, 'Let's go 'Taker,' and then the next minute it's, 'Let's go Bret.' And then there's one half of the building yelling 'Undertaker!' and then the other half of the building is yelling 'Bret Hart' back and forth. It was just an emotional rollercoaster that we took the audience on, and, man, it was one of my best matches, I think." [22:36 – 23:13]On Six Feet Under w/Mark Calaway, The Undertaker said Hart helped him prove he could be much more than an interesting wrestling persona:"I didn't wanna be known, 'Oh, he was one of the greatest characters ever.' I also wanted to be known as one of the great workers, and Bret, working with him allowed me to do that because his work was solid and he was only gonna go so far within the range of the gimmick and everything, and I liked that because it forced me to figure out how to have good wrestling matches and be in character too." [20:59 – 21:34]
He really did.All started with the Rumble match. Despite the finish and length(shouldve cut it down some) I enjoyed it
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TheEvilDoink1987
Main Eventer
Joined on: Feb 22, 2010 21:37:52 GMT -5
Posts: 2,774
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Post by TheEvilDoink1987 on Jun 30, 2024 19:26:04 GMT -5
From Taker's podcast about Bret Hart: The Undertaker recalled how one particular match at a United Kingdom live event stands out above the rest: "We took this crowd on a ride that you would not believe. It was one of those situations where one minute it's, 'Let's go 'Taker,' and then the next minute it's, 'Let's go Bret.' And then there's one half of the building yelling 'Undertaker!' and then the other half of the building is yelling 'Bret Hart' back and forth. It was just an emotional rollercoaster that we took the audience on, and, man, it was one of my best matches, I think." [22:36 – 23:13]On Six Feet Under w/Mark Calaway, The Undertaker said Hart helped him prove he could be much more than an interesting wrestling persona:"I didn't wanna be known, 'Oh, he was one of the greatest characters ever.' I also wanted to be known as one of the great workers, and Bret, working with him allowed me to do that because his work was solid and he was only gonna go so far within the range of the gimmick and everything, and I liked that because it forced me to figure out how to have good wrestling matches and be in character too." [20:59 – 21:34]
He really did.All started with the Rumble match. Despite the finish and length(shouldve cut it down some) I enjoyed it The poor guy had just spent the last four years with very limited opponents like Kamala/Giant Gonzalez/Yokozuna/King Kong Bundy/Mabel. It had to be refreshing to finally work with Bret.
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Post by ASR (therockisback) on Jun 30, 2024 19:34:47 GMT -5
Taker vs Bret could have headlined a WM back then
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