After defeating Triple H at Wrestlemania 17, in 2001, fans of The Undertaker noticed that this was his 9th victory at Wrestlemania with no losses. The Following year At Wrestlemania 18 after defeating Ric Flair, The Undertaker would hold up 10 fingers singling the start of ‘The Streak’ becoming a part of Wrestlemania. Since 2002, besides who will be wrestling for the major Championships at Wrestlemania, interest would also be on who will be trying to break The Undertaker’s Streak. And since Wrestlemania 25, in 2009, where The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels battled in the match of the year, the Streak match has in fact been the most anticipated match on the past 4 Wrestlemania events, and always been in contention for matches of the year.
The Undertaker has a possible 1, maybe 2 at the most, matches left in him, therefore his opponent for Wrestlemania 30 has become even more of an important decision for him and the WWE to make, as this could be his last Wrestlemania match. There have been several names thrown around many internet sites since the end of Wrestlemania 29, and I am going to look at the 5 names that keep popping up, and give my thoughts and ranking on whether this is the match I want to see at Wrestlemania 30. (1 = the match I do not want to see; 5 is the match I want)
With Kane aligning himself with The Authority, and with Wrestlemania 30 possibly being The Undertaker’s last Wrestlemania then a rematch against his brother would be a nice nostalgic way for The Undertaker’s career to end. The major problem is whilst these two have produce some great battles, I do not think Kane is capable of a high quality match that is expected to go near 20 minutes. Kane was great with Daniel Bryan in Team Hell No, and has been great in The Authority enforcer role, but he is in his slow career wind down, and neither Kane nor The Undertaker would gain a lot out of ‘one more match’ (sorry Christian). I also do not think it is a match many fans want to see again, as another feud between the brothers would be about as fresh as seeing a feud between John Cena and Randy Orton! As The Undertaker has already beaten Kane twice at Wrestlemania, and their match at Wrestlemania 14 would be hard for them to top, so the feeling that Kane could reverse that trend is not very high, therefore the excitement of the streak possibly ending, which gives this match most of its emotion, would be missing.
Ranking 1/5
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDkdFu2pP5U[/youtube]
Over the past month rumours have run wild that Sting is about to sign a legends type deal with the WWE. Part of that deal was a Wrestlemania match against The Undertaker. Here we have a 50+ year old Legend in Sting, wanting to fight a near 50 year old legend in The Undertaker. This match does not excite me a great deal as it did if it was 5 years ago. We witnessed last year with CM Punk, that putting a younger more agile opponent against The Undertaker allowed The Undertaker to take the more stronger, ‘slow the pace’ role in the match. Having two wrestlers that use that role would give us a match as bad as Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberge! The Undertaker needs an opponent that complements The Undertaker’s style, not copies it.
You also feel that The Undertaker (and Vince McMahon) would not allow The Streak to be ended by a man who for the past 30 years has been avoiding working for the WWE. So again this match would lack the emotion of thinking The Streak is in danger.
Ranking 2/5
The most common name thrown up currently and this is Brock Lesnar. In 2002 at the WWE pay per view No Mercy, Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker gave us an absolutely classic, Hell in a Cell match, to end a great feud between the pair. So we know from this that these two had fantastic chemistry in the ring. 10 years on, and both are not in as good as condition as they were in 2002, so the possibility of another classic is not so great. While matches against equally as vintaged wrestlers such as Shawn Michaels and Triple H were classics, I do not feel Brock Lesnar has the in-ring wrestling knowledge to produce matches of the quality of Triple H and Shawn Michaels. We have read that The Undertaker likes going over the match with his opponent well before Wrestlemania, I also do not think Brock has this level of commitment in him. I feel Brock Lesnar against the likes of Batista would be a better option for him.
While Brock Lesnar is drawing in huge money for Vince McMahon, and one of the success legend / part time deals Vince McMahon has done for the WWE, having Brock beat The Undertaker at Wrestlemania would not greatly enhance Brock’s legacy, and therefore while The Undertaker would receive a beating during this match, you would always feel he will come out on top.
Ranking 3/5
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mV-EW5Kt4_8[/youtube]
Since Wrestlemania 29, the opponent I have hoped would face The Undertaker at Wrestlemania 30 was John Cena. John Cena has accomplished everything he can possibly accomplish inside the ring, except trying to beat The Undertaker’s streak. What would have the thousands in attendance and the millions of fans at home on the edge of their seat, is that it would not surprise many, as John Cena is the WWE poster boy, that he is the one to end The Streak. Last year, as great as the match was, you always felt that The Undertaker would walk away victorious. Wrestlemania 26 in the Shawn Michaels rematch, while the match itself wasn’t quite as good as the year before, the match was 10 times more emotionally draining as many thought Shawn was going to win. The Undertaker vs. Triple H III, the same feeling was in the air, as many thought Shawn Michaels as special guest referee, was going to cost The Undertaker his streak. With a match against John Cena, the same feeling would be in the air again, that The Streak is in real danger of coming to an end. They had a great match at the Vengeance PPV in 2003, and I think just over 10 years later they could again produce something special.
This is the match I wanted for most of the year, until just recently I feel there is someone, if the story is done correctly, would make us believe The Streak will come to an end.
Ranking 4/5
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfJMn2tZsIo[/youtube]
Many of us fans can foresee Daniel Bryan being screwed out of the World Heavyweight WWE title at the Elimination Chamber. Now while many fans also predict that this will lead to a match against Triple H and Wrestlemania 30, what if Triple H comes out and says that Daniel Bryan will get another title match for the WWE Championship only if he beats The Undertaker at Wrestlemania! All of a sudden Daniel Bryan’s match at Wrestlemania becomes the biggest match of the night easily eclipsing the supposed main event between Randy Orton and Batista, and is big enough of a match to go last on the card. Rumours swirling around even have The Undertaker pushing for Daniel Bryan to be his opponent at Wrestlemania 30.
Between them, these two could produce not only the match of the year, but also the match of the decade, and Daniel Bryan is the only superstar I could see deserving of ending The Streak. I initially had this as my 2nd favourite option for Wrestlemania, but the more I think about it the more I want this match to be the one we get to see.
Ranking 5/5
WHO DO YOU WANT TOO SEE THE UNDERTAKER FACE AT WRESTLEMANIA 30?
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