I'll leave out the expected comments about you being a Michael's mark.

I notice it's been 5 years since Undertaker changed his 'persona' back to the Deadman, time for another change? Just seems a bit odd for an old man, (What is he 48-50?) to be rolling their eyes back in their head pretending to be a bit supernatural. Yeah it worked back in the day, but I really don't think it comes across all that well in 2009.

Otherwise, good spot for him I think you're right when you compare his streak to a title match. I think however predictable it is, the WWE creative aren't gonna let him lose just for the marketing they'll get for next year and ultimately when he retires.

And finally, good blog, keep it up I love you. Say hello to the family for me.

You have 'Taker 3rd on your list? Really? He's undefeated, you know. While its not hard to figure out who 2 and 1 are, he's appeared at more Wrestlemania's than both of them and he's UNDEFEATED!!!!

I've got undertaker at 2, which means he is above your precious Shawn.

if Hogan is number 2 behind shawn michaels,i will vomit,,then again since you are an HBK mark and a hogan hater i wont be suprised

prolly the most lousy list. undertaker won 3 world titles alone at wm. shawn won 1. cant wait to read the nonsense you write about shawn

Okay Kevin , take a deep breath before you publish your next selection . Put your personal dislike , aside , let your hormones subside , and think about it one last time before we know your choice of where Rocker Boy ranks :)

It's funny: when you list his matches out like that, you see that although "The Streak" is quite interesting, it's not all that impressive considering some of the matches he's had. (Big Show AND A-Train? You don't say.) It also shows that the Undertaker is a weird sort of entity unto himself; while he's definitely huge, his impact outside of his own "Undertakerness", if you will, is definitely limited. (That hasn't been the case with his more recent matches, and I think better opponent quality and actually having something at stake besides being The Undertaker is why he actually matters.)

Good call in my opinion, but gods protect you from the HBK haters who are going to hunt you down...or would, if they could lift themselves off their office chairs.

wow i can't belive you would put this guy in front of HHH, Rock & Austin it is impressive that hes been in more Wrestlemania's than anyone else but 2 things he really wasn;'t tsken seriously until 2001 which was his 9 th mania and on top of that the streak really did not get any play until about 3 or 4 years ago like isaid about previous people it is good when he is on the card but his matches are not the #1 anyone comes to see WrestleMania he's usually 3 or 4 this is a nice spot 4 him I had him doubled at 6

Like I said in the Austin thread, Hogan should be #1, and 2-5 should be HBK, UT, Austin, and Rock in some order. Despite not having as many "signature" Wrestlemania moments as HBK, he's had more big-time matches, and has been involved in several very good to great ones. In addition, the streak has been a selling point of Wrestlemania for the last several years, and he's been a part of 17 of the last 19 Wrestlemanias including this Sunday, whereas HBK's resume has a five year gap. To me, that was enough to put him over HBK.

Unbelievable! Undefeated, the most WM's (16). You acknowledge its like another title match, yet he's #3.
Missed commenting yesterday, my #4 is Roddy Piper. As has been my position with this list, the early days of WM pulls more weight with me. Without Piper for WM 1, this never takes off no matter how big Hogan was.
My #3 is Macho Man Savage. Classic match with Steamboat, which is top 3 WM matches of all time. Tournament win at WM 4, Hogan match at 5, The Ultimate Warrior & Ric Flair...not too many wrestlers have those opponents on their resume.

Ha! This is getting good. This is almost better than the build-up to Wrestlemania. I honestly didn't think you had the balls to put HBK at number one, but now I'm starting to wonder.

The bias argument makes you angry, does it, Kev? Anger usually stems from misunderstanding, misconception, or confusion. Do you not understand why we claim you're biased? Are you confused as to how we can feel that way?

Let me try to explain it to you.

I read your column because I usually find it to be the most intelligently written piece about pro wrestling available the internet. It is usually logical.

Placing HBK on this list above certain other wrestlers is illogical.

You're a self-proclaimed HBK mark.

Your fanaticism for HBK, combined with your placement of him above certain other wrestlers more deserving, speaks to your bias.

No need for confusion, or misunderstanding, or anger. Just admit you are biased.

If Shawn wins, we riot.

That means that #2 and #1 are Hogan and Michaels... probably respectively, though maybe Kevin will go Russo on us and put Hogan over for no reason other than that we weren't expecting it.

Am I the only person who actually preferred his American Bad Ass character (sans the drawn out motorcyle entrance)?

I have a feeling our top 3 are going to the same Eck. We already have # 3 the same, The Undertaker. "The Streak" what more needs to be said.Yeah some of his earlier WM were a waste but not enough can be said about the quality of his matches over the past several years, and not just the matches he had with great workers i.e Flair, HHH, Orton, Edge, but the way he led so-so workers through very entertaining matches i.e Batista, Kane, Mark Henry (I thought the Casket Match was very well done) and as far back as Diesel at 12 which I thought was a great match. But alas, stinkers with the likes of Snuka and Bundy, (past their primes) Giant Gonzalez (nuff said) Boss Man (no one cared about him at that point) and Sid (terrible wrestler but still one of my favorite characters) keeps the UT at # 3. Just imagine if he'd been facing qualiy oppents all along there would be a strong case for him to be # 1.

Pretty silly. How can a man who has won 16 matches at Wrestlemania with no losses not be #1? I know Hogan is wrestling, but Undertaker is the most successful Wrestlemania performer ever. No one has even been in 16 Wrestlemanias besides Undertaker. Undertaker belongs at 3 if he has a blemish on his record...until then, he is #1 in Wrestlemania history.

What's hard to understand about this placement? 16-0 means nothing in reality? It's pre determined, how Taker has been booked at WM shouldn't determine whether he is worthy of a higher spot or not.

Kevin's deciding factors he highlighted at the start of this list make sense, and HBK and Hogan have had more memorable Mania moments than Taker.

And if we're ruling out HBK's early manias then we can rule out pretty much half of Undertaker's matches at WM!

HBK 1 Hogan 2

Not bias. Predictable maybe...but fair!

After reading those comments there, however gay it might sound I admire you to sticking to YOUR list and now bowing to the pressure of the internet. Well done.

Hey Kevin,

Unrelated question: I've ordered the webcast for WM25 and I am not able to watch it live as I live in Australia and will be at work monday morning while it's on. So myself and the boys are watching it online Monday night local time. I've never ordered a webcast before and am unable to get a response from WWE to make sure that it is possible to watch it online later. Do you know if this is possible?
If so, how do you access it? When I log into my acount on WWE.com, it is not very clear (at least not to me)
I've got a purchase order, but can't see where I'd type that in.

Anyway, I think your blog is great and pretty much agree with your rankings. I'd put HBK ahead of Undertaker as well on the basis that he's had more "wrestlemania moments" and legendary matches. I'm undecided if he should be number one. The only reason he should be below Hogan is because without Hogan there probably wouldn't be a Wrestlemania.
That aside, he would definetly be ahead of Hogan.

RESPONSE FROM KE: Sorry, but I don't know anything about the webcasts.

I'll take a leap right now, and say that I don't think there's any way Kevin is going to put Michaels above Hogan.

HBK is #2, and the Hulkster will be #1. That's my bet.

And re the Undertaker, the only reason I agree with putting him this high on the list is that, as Kevin points out, "'The Streak' has become a major part of WresleMania." But I'd add the caveat that, while the streak might have begun at VII, the actual running tally (and thus, the "major part of WrestleMania") didn't begin until...(when...?)...well, quite a few years later.

Kev , I know you'll be attending Wrestlmania this year . Will you be flying in your private jet ?

I can see where this list is going , if undertaker is at #3 then that only leaves one man for #1, its obvios, kev's man-crush, SHAWN MICHEALS

Good grief. You people are disgustingly rude to Kevin. It's his damn list. He can place people where he wants. Get your own blog, rank wrestlers, and shut the hell up about his choices. He's been more than fair with explanations of all his choices, and even more upfront about his more controversial placements.

Some of you are just as biased as he appears to be, but you keep on railing about how biased he is. He has the right to be. It's his damn blog.

Uh oh, here comes the backlash. Hogan: 8 main events, 6 for the title (counting WM9 tragedy). Michaels: 4 main events, all 4 for the title. I knew around #20 that KE would pick HBK numero uno and the reasoning for the other choices has been solid. But Michaels over Hogan in a WM countdown? This should be interesting.

"Am I the only person who actually preferred his American Bad Ass character (sans the drawn out motorcyle entrance)?"

I wouldn't say that I preferred it, but in the the long run, I think that it was a good thing. The biker gimmick gave everyone a break from the graveyard stuff, so when the supernatural dark side returned, it seemed somewhat fresh (at least to me). Furthermore, 'Taker still uses The Last Ride, so that's one contribution that the Bad Ass character made to his evolution. But I would agree that it's time for some kind of repackaging, as long as it doesn't include a name change.

I love how everyone assume's that Eck is putting HBK in the # 1 slot. You must not read his blog all that often or just have very short memories. Yes recently he has marked out for HBK (and rightfully so, he's amazing) but if you remember his top 20 WM moments piece last year 4 of his top 5 moments involved Hogan and only one involved HBK, granted it was # 1 but that's only because it was one of the best main event matches ever. I for one will be shocked if HBK get's put first over the Hulkster. For the record HBK is my # 2 and Hogan is my # 1.
HBK, yes I know everyone will say his first couple Mania's were tag matches and aren't that good but his quality of matches matches from 10 on are second to none. Razor (10) Hart (12) Austin (14) Jericho(19) Triple Threat (20) Angle (21) Cena(23) and the emotion of the Flair match last year is off the page.Even the match with Diesel (11) was passable and he wrestled an excellent No Holds Barred match with the old "broomstick" at 22. Not eveybody gets to start headlining WM's their first few years in the company.
And I don't even want to know anybody who is gonna argue that Hulk should not be # 1. He started it all, slammed a Giant, stopped the Madness, passed the torch, and years later passed it again to someone who deserved it. There is a reason the two most powerful forces in wrestling end in the word Maina. Because they are synonymous with each other!
Eck, as I don't get to blog on the weekends I want to let you know now how much fun this was and as always it offered some great debate.Thank you for all your time and hard work you put into this just so we can all argue back and forth.
And to Eck and everyone else, if wrestling is your religion, as it is mine, I hope everyone has a good time Sunday on the holiest day of the year. WRESTLEMANIA!!!!

I love The Undertaker, and the idea of his WM streak is entertaining. However, many of his opponents have not been his caliber, thereby diminishing the impressiveness of his win-loss record. Did anyone really expect him to lose to Mark Henry or some of those others? What's stellar about a predictable match or a poor match-up? If Shawn wins, we will NOT riot! I'm wondering where all this Shawn-hatred is coming from. How can anyone deny his greatness-even if you don't like him? It's not about who was the catalyst for the original success of WM because someone better may come along. It's not about longevity because as Bret, Hunter, and 'Taker have shown, that person may not always have the best match. It's not even about win-loss record because that's predetermined. Bottom line-Shawn's had the best matches at WM; in addition, unlike 'Taker, Shawn's opponents (w/the exception of Vince and Cena) have been comparable to him or very close. Off the top of me head, I'm thinking of matches against Angle, Bret, Jericho, Austin, Benoit and HHH, Razor Ramon(more so for the actual uniqueness of the match), Flair (more so for the emotion). Even the match w/Vince was fun to watch, and the Cena match actually helped Cena to look halfway decent. Wrestling boils down to the matches, more specifically, the quality of the matches. We're all waiting for HHH to kill Orton in their match. We're all waiting for the title to either stay with Edge or go to someone else in their match. We're all waiting for 'Taker to keep streak or Shawn to break it in their match. We're all waiting for Jeff to get revenge against Matt in their match...and so on. It all boils down to the matches. Honestly and objectively, who's had better matches than Shawn? And though Hogan may have been the reason for the initial success of WM, even he can't stake claim to having better matches than Shawn. At $55.00, we, the fans, pay for quality at WM. Hogan, a not-so-good worker, has not always given us quality, so he may be the catalyst for WM success, but someone better has given us quality on a consistent basis. That person is HBK.

I agree with not having Undertaker as the #1 star. His record has nothing to do with it considering the outcomes are scripted. A star is someone that gets not only the hardcore fans to buy the pay-per-views, but also the casual or, in some cases, non-fans to be so interested to buy the show.

I'd say your top 1-5 were close enough to be interchangeable. It all depends on what each individual fan looks for in a star wrestler.

It's been fun reading your opinions on the Top 20 Wrestlemania stars. This list sparked a lot of debate, but ultimately it comes down to your opinion and thank you for your hard work putting these posts together.

Good call Kev, I agree with you on this one. While taker is undefeated at Wrestlemania, a lot of his matches were not great. I think Hogan and HBK deserves to be ahead of him. Looking forward to the reaction the top 2 generate. I have really enjoyed your top 25. Keep up the good work.

Good choice Kev, this is the perfect position for The Phenom. Actually I'd debate that UT should have been #4 and Austin at #3, but it's too close to call.

Anyone who states UT should be #1 due to him being undefeated are forgetting that WresteMania is a scripted entertainment spectacle, where it really doesn't matter who wins or loses, but performances (and revenues) are etched in memory. Undertaker hasn't really had more than 2, maybe 3 good memorable in ring performances at WrestleMania.

Outcome of a wrestling match is determined by the wwe team But the performance is not.That explains undertakers so called "STREAK".But HBK is simply UNTOUCHABLE in the ring.So all u bret n undertaker fans face reality.There is only one showstopper n one Mr wrestlemania n thats Shawn Michaels.HBK got the Mr wrestlemania title not with any pre determined outcome of matches he had , but with pure Performance . And if anybody cant understand that then he dont know anything abt Wrestling.

hey kev!! did u copy n paste the word 'defeated' or wrote it everytime!!??

RESPONSE FROM KE: C&P of course!

Some of you guys are just clueless.

OK, wrestling is fake. And records (Win/Loss) mean little in this profession. Anyone can be booked to look strong and pick up a W. It's mostly about the performance and impact of the matches.

Undertaker has been involved in some terrible matches - HIAC vs. Bossman is one of the worst WrestleMania matches of all time in perhaps the hottest year in wrestling history. Sure he hasn't always had the highest quality of opponents but he's not higher than HBK (best in-ring performer at WM) nor Hogan (biggest impact at WM). It's a fact and it's not even close. Now go cry about Montreal and get real...

SHAWN MICHAELS is the BEST .Its sad to c wat people think abt him..Wrestlemania 25 , undertaker might win but he just cant outperform HBK , no one can!!

Hey kev, if i were you i'd be writing a five page long excuse for putting michaels at no. 1, because the outrage is going to be bigger than the one when you ranked hart the 8th. But don't worry, we'll have mercy on you ; )

I'm amazed at the anger shown here. Sure The Undertaker is undefeated but this isnt a list purely based on kayfabe is it? The best performer at Wrestlemania IS Shawn Michaels, you dont need to accuse Kevin of bias when you can just look at the matches - Razor Ramon, Bret Hart, Austin, Jericho, Benoit & HHH, Angle, Flair are all 4-5 star matches. Undertaker has had some stinkers at WM - HBK hasnt had a match in the same universe of awful as 'Undertaker - Giant Gonzales.' As for claiming Kevin's bias... of course hes going to be bias - it is HIS opinion, on HIS blog, so stop whining and just open your minds for someone elses opinion for once.

I think it's sort of funny how everyone doesn't understand that this is the guy's opinion, and not any sort of definitive list, even when he's said it about three times now. If Shawn Michaels is the top on his list, then that's how it is for him. He's not telling any of you to agree or think the same way or anything like that. Calm down and stop the silly internet threats like "we riot."

"There is only one showstopper n one Mr wrestlemania n thats Shawn Michaels.HBK got the Mr wrestlemania title not with any pre determined outcome of matches he had , but with pure Performance."

Randy SaVaGe says it all right here.

If the streak is not broken this year then it will never be broken.

HBK! HBK! HBK! HBK!

You all do realize that the Undertaker's "streak" is only because they choose it to be that way.

The top 25 stars has to be based on other criteria, such as the quality of the matches.

The Undertaker's matches are exciting right up until the bells rings... to start the match.

All the Undertaker has ever had is persona and a good entrance. There is a great reason his "voice" was Bearer.

They had to get rid of his American Badass theme because no one wanted to listen to him speak anymore.

Put simply, the Undertaker has had longevity in the business, but at Wrestlemania, a good number of his matches have been lame.

His greatest matches have been because his opponent was great such as Orton and Edge.

His character is amazing, but Undertaker is the most overrated wrestler in the history of the business.

As far as Wrestlemania is concerned, his greatness lies in his health, which is a function of his non-high impact, lumbering style.

Eck, I would have Michaels ahead of Undertaker any day of the week. I'd have Hogan, the Rock and Savage ahead of him as well...

The nostalgia so many people have for 'Taker is a clear indication of their age.

Many people ripping you probably never saw him against Gonzales, Bundy, etc.

Keep up the great work! I look forward to your posts everyday!

To Geoff: "Calm down and stop the silly internet threats like "we riot"".
Obviously you are missing the intent of Kevin's list and blog. It is for enjoyment and entertainment value. The shear number of comments demonstrate how much enjoyment wrestling fans who have found the blog are having. We are also hoping that Kevin is finding enjoyment by writing his blogs, and entertained by the comments his blogs receive.
As far as the "we riot" quotes, knowledgable fans who love wrestling and love the inside information that Kevin provides, know where this quote comes from (as does Kevin). Since you are not one of us, I'll let you keep wondering.

I'm glad there is some sense to SOME people here. As Kev has made perfectly clear over the past weeks, his criteria is very open and well-thought out, and honestly, it's his list, so we should stop complaining. The fact that somepeople are becoming so rapidly angry is very amusing considering this is simply a blog. Now, as far as 'taker goes, I actually did have him as 3rd, but as a younger WWE viewer, I feel like Hogan, while great in his time, doesn't deserve #1. In fact, as i've gone back and watched his old matches, while he was good, wasn't the best (this includes wrestlemania and non-wrestlemania appearances). I feel like stone cold and austin have had more impact, as has HBK and 'Taker. My personal take would have been:
1.HBK
2.Austin
3.'Taker
4.Rock
Regardeless tho, I think this list is pretty well put together, and we WON'T riot with HBK as numero uno Kev. My final point-if your looking at people through wrestlemania we should look up to, should we look at Hogan, whom outside of wrestling has had his issues, or HBK, whom hasn't had as many (to date). I think the choice is quite obvious. Good job Kev, love the blog.

Its amazing that people can just moan so much about someones opinion but u still continue to view his list. Why don't you lot stop bitching and just make your own lists. Its not about undertaker being undefeated, are you guys telling me your rating A trian and Mark henry losses as great wrestlemania moments. HBK has had a lot more historic matches.

Oh Kevin this has nothing to do with the list but what do you think about The Brain Kendrick? I feel hes being miss used by wwe making him a jobber of sorts and giving him 15 seconds in the royal rumble but they still put him in some big smackdown matches like vs jeff hardy and stuff. Smackdown was good when it had guys like MVP, TBK and Shelton Benjamin on the boarder line main event spots what do you think?

how many mania main events was hbk in? how many was hogan in? how any people did hbk bring in? how many did hogan bring in? who sold more merchandise? who was on top at mania longer?

I'm just curious if you're going to post a pre-WM list of predictions like you've done for previous PPV's or if you're just gonna wait til the big show is over?

I'd be interested to hear how you think they'll book the matches this year.

I attended WrestleMania 17 and 19-23, and as much as I love The Streak or as hard as I cheered for Undertaker to win each match, there was not one time that I went to the city in great anticipation for the Undertaker's match. WM17 or WM21 were the most intriguing, but The Streak has never been a huge draw -- just a great bonus to see each year.