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| To Hell And Back... Again |
Rick Gardner |
Will HBK/Undertaker II really live up to the hype?
The wresting war of 2010, it would seem, is being built on a battleground of nostalgia. Bret Hart has returned to Raw after a twelve-year hiatus to feud with Vince McMahon; Hulk Hogan's arrival in TNA has precipitated a massive influx of old talent (both in terms of experience and age). WWE is running a storyline based upon the Montreal Screwjob; TNA inexplicably recreated Montreal during a recent edition of Impact! And specifically in TNA’s case, names from the past – mostly unable to deliver in the ring – are paraded out every week, often at the expense of younger stars hungry for television time. But while The Nasty Boys, Scott Hall and Sean Morley's TNA comebacks offer little apart from the same tired routines, WWE’s booking of a return match between Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker (set to take place at WrestleMania XXVI) is far from a longing for the good old days.
Fact is, physical age should only be an issue when the ravages of time begin to affect a wrestler's performance. As old as HBK and Undertaker may be, the two veterans have proven time and time again that they’re amongst the top workers in the company. Instead of tarnishing their legacy by clinging to the spotlight, the pair have produced performances with a range of opponents that have outclassed men on the roster half their age. That’s not to say that either man is the picture of good health, though. Both have spent recent years working through the accumulative affect of years on the road – back problems for Michaels, leg and hip issues for Undertaker – which has adversely affected their mobility. Indeed, Undertaker in particular has started looking almost ancient during his recent title run, with most of his matches lasting little over ten minutes and his movements becoming visibly painful. Still, that didn’t matter when they stepped in the ring in Houston last April…
Without doubt, Michaels and Undertaker’s WrestleMania 25 match was a five-star classic – not only the best match that WWE promoted in 2009 or the greatest wrestling match of the year period, but one of the greatest bouts to ever feature at WrestleMania. As the two workhorses defied their age, it felt as though they were making history rather than repeating it. It was an epic match from start to finish; Michaels flew around the ring at a frenetic pace, providing the perfect foil for The Undertaker's measured approach. Both men took horrific bumps to the outside of the ring, The Undertaker infamously landing on his head after diving over the top rope and Michaels missing a moonsault. As the match progressed, the two veterans worked the crowd into a frenzy, kicking out of one another's finishers before The Undertaker eventually countered a Michaels moonsault with a Tombstone Piledriver for the win at just over the 30-minute mark. This wasn’t just wrestling, this was a work of art – indeed, the match acted as the saviour of the WrestleMania 25 card, since it was a shining jewel amid what was otherwise a fairly flaccid and disappointing silver anniversary for the ‘grandest stage of them all’.
For the rest of this feature, check out issue 52 of FSM - available at WH Smith and all good retailers. (For US readers we are now carried at Borders and Barnes & Noble, so check for local availability or click here to subscribe.)
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