#3: Bret Hart vs. The Undertaker – WWE Championship (Royal Rumble 1996)
When Hart defended the championship against The Undertaker, he was up for a big task. Hart wasn’t facing the usual “Deadman”. Instead, Hart competed against a white masked version of The Undertaker, which was inspired by The Phantom of the Opera. Expectations were high for this match as it involved two high-profile stars. Unfortunately, the bout didn’t go well as fans had hoped.
There were some discrepancies in this matchup. For one, the match involved two babyfaces that didn’t have a big build that could’ve helped the flow of this feud. Both men’s wrestling styles did not gel well with each other, as Undertaker has a supernatural gimmick with Hart’s technical wrestling abilities.
Another reason the match was underwhelming is the duration and the finish. The match lasted over 30 minutes with a slow pace, only for it to end in disqualification. Diesel attacking The Undertaker to end the match left fans in attendance even more unhappy, as they didn’t get to see a convincing main event finish.
