Is Shawn Michaels vs The Undertaker the greatest match of all-time?

I've been a subsciber to WWEclassics.com for a while now - since it was included with your webcast purchase..  used to be 24/7 Online for sure, not sure if it went by a different name earlier.  Anyway..  this match is available on the site. 

I did see it live during WrestleMania..  but haven't watched it since.  It blew my mind the night I saw it.  Before you ask, I did watch the last TNA PPV, and both Angle vs Wolfe and Styles vs Daniels vs Joe immediately ranked in for me right underneath HBK vs Taker.  It's hard for me to pick which of those falls in at #2, but I know for a fact they both fall under HBK vs Taker..  and not only is HBK vs Taker my favorite match of 2009..  I'm starting to think it may be my favorite match of all time.

How can it surpass what I would have considered two of the greatest matches of all-time..  both from WrestleManias..  Ricky Steamboat vs Randy Savage from WM3 and Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Bret Hart from WM13.  I didn't expect to ever get a match I enjoyed more than those two and had more of an emotional connection to.  They're both amazing matches, and there's way more to them than just the match - Steamboat vs Savage, for me, was incredibly unexpected.  I really had no idea we could get a match like that on a WrestleMania.  I know that for me, watching it live, seeing a match like that that was so unexpected, I went crazy for it.  The match is held in very high regard - but I wonder if fans who have only begun to watch in the last few years feel the same way about it.  And Austin vs Hart - I wouldn't say it was unexpected - we all knew that both men were incredible in the ring.  But the finish certainly was unique at the time.  The ending made Stone Cold, no doubt about it.  I suppose for fans that have only been exposed to the TV-PG product of the last year might still be really wowed by that type of finish - but I don't doubt that a lot of us who have been here since at least the Atttiude Era might not be so heavily influenced by the finish like we were in 1997.  

So with each of those matches..  at least for me..  there was something unexpected in each that really blasted them both to such a high tier.  And that's where HBK vs Taker from WM25 comes in.  This was a match where we all expected something great.  We remember the unbelievable matches between the two from a decade ago - the first Hell in a Cell match and their match at Ground Zero (which had a screwy ending - but the match itself was amazing).  It was teased a few times over the past few years - Royal Rumble immediately springs to mind.  We all wanted to see it again - and we knew we wanted to see it on the biggest stage of all.  Somehow we knew both HBK and Taker couldn't fall short of expectations.  They both were well-known for making their opponents look great at WrestleManias (in recent years, for sure).

I'm sure some people cast some doubts on it.  That the expectations for the match would be its downfall.  There was no way they could all fire on all cylinders.  And those people were all proved wrong.

I can't say that I saw anyone saying anything bad about the match after it happened.  I don't think I caught anyone who cast doubts on it ahead of time trying to rationalize those doubts afterwards.  Everyone praised the match. 

So I'll just say it.  This is my favorite match of all time.  I expected a match that would certainly be in my top 5 favorite matches at WrestleMania.  My expectations were met and exceeded.  And they were really high expectations.  That's really how it becomes my favorite match - nothing disappointed me in the match, and everything exceeded my expectations.  I remember how scary the dive by Taker was watching it live - it's still just as scary watching it knowing that we was okay.  HBK played it off perfectly.  I could believe it was all planned with no problem - and it doesn't hurt the match at all. 

I think we're on the verge of serious changes in WWE.  Sheamus getting a title shot - I don't expect him to win, but I don't think they're going to bury him, either.  Kofi Kingston getting over on Randy Orton time and time again.  CM Punk having a great match against John Cena.  The Hart Dynasty getting to work against DX.  I don't know that things are going to change super fast, but I won't be surprised if they do, either.  I get the feeling people in charge are starting to understand the changes going on it the business - that we fans are more interested in great matches.  But HBK vs Taker was more than just a great match - it had a build that was better than anything I'd seen in years ANYWHERE in wrestling.  And even if you don't know the build - the match is awesome just knowing that The Undertaker is defending a huge undefeated streak and that HBK never lost to Taker in the past and that he is defending his title as Mr. WrestleMania.

Oh man - I've been rewatching this match while I was writing this post.  And the part where Taker pulls HBK back in from outside the ring in position for the Tombstone Piledriver and HITS IT - and HBK kicks out!!! - I still got tense.  I couldn't remember if maybe that was the finish of the match.  The match is so perfectly put together that even having seen it before, I thought that might have been the finish!  This match just has so much more going for it than just being a masterpiece - the emotions we've all built up over the last 20+ years for both of these guys is just coming to a head here in this one match and that they were able to go so far beyond what we hoped from is unreal.  Those perfect situations don't materialize as often as we'd like, and this is one of the few times it has.  Wow - even seeing HBK hit a PERFECT Sweet Chin Music, knowing the finish - it was still like I was seeing it for the first time.  And for the first time, I knew there was no way Undertaker's streak was ending!

I have to stop typing now and just finish watching the match..  but let me know if you agree with me that this is really that best match EVER!  If you don't, that's cool - let me know what match is your favorite!