Reliving 'The Streak:' The Undertaker defeats CM Punk at WrestleMania 29
Now that The Undertaker's famous undefeated streak has ended, we can now look back it in its entirety. In the days leading up to WrestleMania 31, we will take a look back at every memorable chapter of the feat that can never be duplicated. Here's a look at what became the holy grail of professional wrestling.
1-0 | 2-0 | 3-0 | 4-0 | 5-0 | 6-0 | 7-0 | 8-0 | 9-0 | 10-0 | 11-0 | 12-0 | 13-0 | 14-0 | 15-0 | 16-0 | 17-0 | 18-0 | 19-0 | 20-0
The Undertaker vs. CM Punk (21-0)
WrestleMania 29 | MetLife Stadium — East Rutherford, N.J. | April 7, 2013
Attendance: 80,767
Match length: 22:07
A lot of The Undertaker's WrestleMania matches had personal issues surrounding them. But none was more personal than the one he took part in at WrestleMania 29 against the red-hot CM Punk.
CM Punk had earned a chance to face The Undertaker at WrestleMania by winning a match on Raw, but soon after, The Undertaker's long-time manager and friend William Moody, better known to wrestling fans as Paul Bearer, passed away.
Since Moody was such an integral part of The Undertaker's character, the WWE decided to add a bit of real-life drama by making Moody's death a part of the storyline on television.
For weeks, CM Punk tormented The Undertaker by stealing the infamous urn that Moody carried to the ring for years. At one point, he even spilled what was supposed to be his ashes all over The Undertaker.
Before the largest crowd to ever witness a match in the streak, The Undertaker walked in with a heavy heart and a lot of real-life emotions running through his mind.
Despite all of the grief, The Undertaker and CM Punk put on the best performance of the evening at MetLife Stadium.
CM Punk showed no fear in the face of the darkness, as he wore The Undertaker's iconic colors on his tights and started the match by slapping the Demon of Death Valley across the face.
The match was a see-saw battle that saw each man have moments where it seemed that they were going to win the match, but in the end, The Undertaker did what he always did at WrestleMania: win. And he walked out with the all-important urn that was symbolic of Moody's contribution to his career.
A lot had changed in the 22 years since the streak began in 1991. The Undertaker had morphed and changed numerous times over the course of those two decades in an effort to keep up with the times.
The Undertaker's entrance had become as elaborate as it ever been. Instead of merely walking from behind the curtain like he did in 1991, The Undertaker came from what looked like the depths of hell as lost souls reached out to drag him back down.
In reality, he had grown older. He couldn't quite move as fast as he once did. He wasn't quite as dominant. The punishment he took lingered a little longer than it used to. But he was wiser and just like he had grown over the years so had WrestleMania.
When The Undertaker first walked down the aisle at WrestleMania, it was a one-day event. By the time he delivered the tombstone to CM Punk to go to 21-0, WrestleMania had ballooned into a week-long celebration that is attended by people from around the world.
The Undertaker was there when WrestleMania was filling up stadiums, he was there when it was only good enough to emanate from the Hartford Civic Center; he was there when it bounced back into the mainstream consciousness and he was there when it became an event that cities around the country bid on to host.
Although the streak came to an end the next year at the hands of Brock Lesnar, the memories I've recounted during this series will last forever. Those can never die and neither will The Undertaker.