There is perhaps nothing as iconic in WrestleMania history than The Undertaker's streak, and for 21 years, the illusion remain intact. One of the souls taken by Undertaker during the impressive run on "The Grandest Stage of Them All" belonged to Triple H, who 'Takerconquered not once, but three different times.They first squared off at WrestleMania X-Seven in 2001, bringing Undertaker's streak to 9-0. Their final two matches, however, are regarded as some of the best in Undertaker's WrestleMania career, and certainly Triple H's, as well. The wrestled back-to-back years for their second and third meetings, the first of which came at WrestleMania 27 in a No Holds Barred match.Undertaker had just made his return to WWE after a four-month absence at the end of February after he was revealed to be the mysterious figure who had been appearing in various vignettes. Triple H interrupted the return of "The Phenom" on "WWE Raw," however, and as the two men stared each other down, their gazes drifted toward the WrestleMania sign. The match was confirmed shortly after, and the pair would go face-to-face in the weeks leading up to the event, with an appearance from Shawn Michaels.Triple H said he had done everything there was to do in WWE, except beat the streak, and Undertaker declared the match would be No Holds Barred. Michaels chastised his best friend for thinking he could end it, when Michaels couldn't get the job done himself the year prior in a career vs. streak stipulation. The men almost came to blows in the ring, further ramping up the hype ahead of the bout.On April 3, 2011, live from the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Triple H and The Undertaker would do battle for almost 30 minutes.
The No Holds Barred stipulation, meaning there were no count outs or disqualifications, added quite a bit to the match, with "The Deadman" fighting hard to keep the streak alive, and "The Game" desperate to end it.Triple H took it to Undertaker early, hitting him with right hands, but 'Taker quickly took the match to the outside. Triple H got the upper hand by sending "The Deadman" through the plexiglass of the "Cole Mine" setup. Triple H went for a Pedigree on the commentary desk, but Undertaker countered with a back body drop, sending "The Game" crashing to the floor. As Triple H was recovering, Undertaker launched himself over the ropes to take his opponent out.They battled around the ring, and once back between the ropes, Undertaker hit Triple H with a chokeslam, but one was not enough. He grabbed a chair, but caught a huge boot to the face. Triple H somehow rallied for a Pedigree, but couldn't put 'Taker away. Undertaker got a near fall off the Last Ride, then another off the Tombstone Piledriver.With a burst of offense, Triple H hit a DDT onto the chair, followed by two Pedigrees, but Undertaker kicked out to a massive reaction. Triple H battered 'Taker with the chair, yelling at him to "stay down." An incensed Triple H hit a Tombstone of his own, and hit Undertaker's signature pose during the pin attempt, but it still was not enough, something Triple H could not believe.Triple H retrieved his beloved sledgehammer, but as he looked to use it, Undertaker locked in the Hell's Gate, knocking the hammer from his opponent's hands. Triple H dramatically grasped the hammer one last time, but couldn't muster the strength to use it. In the end, he tapped out, bringing the Undertaker's streak to 19-0.
After the match, both men could barely make it to their feet after the hellacious battle. Undertaker was checked up on by medical staff as the "19-0" graphic was shown on every screen in the Georgia Dome. Triple H made his way up the ramp as Undertaker collapsed ringside and eventually had to be carted back up the ramp as fans sat stunned."The Deadman" would not be seen again on WWE programming for 10 months, when he returned to "Raw" at the end of January 2012 to confront Triple H again. The confrontation would lead to their WrestleMania 28 bout, as Undertaker wanted another match after not being able to leave 'Mania 27 on his own two feet. The pair would go on to have a Hell in a Cell match with Michaels serving as special guest referee, where Undertaker would once again be victorious, bringing the streak to 20-0.Triple H and Undertaker's WrestleMania 27 bout was well-received by both fans and wrestling critics alike. The match was given 4.5 stars from the "Wrestling Observer's" Dave Meltzer, and on Cagematch in the year 2011, the average rating was a 8.93. To this day, the match rating stands at 8.50/10 with a total of 557 votes. While 125 voters rated it a 10, the majority of voters at 204 people deemed it a nine.
