BACKGROUND
This feud was provoked when Triple H said he had beaten everyone, prompting Undertaker to come out and threaten to make him famous. Triple H attacked him in the back, destroyed his bike, cops arrested Undertaker for smashing up things, etc. Typical wrestling feud stuff. Stephanie McMahon got a restraining order on Taker, so Kane had to do his dirty work. You had a babyface sending his 7 foot 300 pound evil brother to capture a tiny woman who was running for her life. WWE is still that way today and you can thank the Attitude Era for that. Then came one of the most hokey segments ever. Undertaker was trying to convince Commissioner Regal to give him a match with Triple H at Mania, so Kane held up an obviously fake and screaming Steph mannequin on a balcony above, threatening to throw her to her death below if Taker didn't get his match. Awful and embarrassing.
MATCH
Taker and HHH start off brawling, which would set the tone for the rest of the match. There are no holds here. These guys flat out hate each other. Triple H argues with the ref after a nearfall, then soon goes for his trusty sledehammer, which ends up being taken away by the ref. Triple H gets catapulted into the ref and Taker gets a chokeslam and nearfall. Taker then beats up the poor referee just for the hell of it. This was actually an excuse for Taker and Haitch to brawl through the crowd and do whatever else they wanted.
They get to the stage equipment area in the crowd and end up climbing up a couple platforms. Triple H hits Taker several times with a chair bending it all to hell before Haitch gets caught with a hand around his neck. Taker chokeslams The Game off the platform. JR says it was concrete below, but it's actually a little platform with a lot of give to it. The spot still looked pretty good and got a nice reaction as well. Taker jumps on top of him with an elbow drop and then drags Haitch back to the ring. The ref is still down. Undertaker grabs the sledgehammer, but gets a low blow before using it. They slug it out with Undertaker eventually getting a tombstone with no ref to count. Taker goes for a last ride with Triple H picking up the sledgehammer on the way up. He nails Taker with it to prevent the move. Really cool and clever spot there. The ref wakes up and Triple H gets a nearfall. Taker is busted open. Triple H backs him in the corner for punches targetting his cut. This gives Taker the perfect opportunity to pick him up for the last ride and win the match.
REVIEW
Simple, fun, and satisfying. There's not anything even close to revolutionary here, but it's solid and well-done for what they were going for. Undertaker wasn't known for good matches at the time, but this delivered. It gets overlooked due to matches that topped it on the card. Still, it's worth checking out and is helped by an excellent crowd.
RATING: 7 out of 10
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