I'm pretty sure the reason Taker is questionable is because his body is basically broken and his annual Streak match has nearly killed him the last few years.
This year and next year are surely the last two Streak matches. I hope to God they're Brock/Taker and then Cena/Taker.
That said, if they don't end the Streak (and that should be Taker's retirement match) and have Undertaker retire undefeated, they are missing out on one of the biggest moments in this entire industry. It would be such a gigantic waste if they didn't end the Streak.
The only thing I'm buying from these reports is that maybe he wanted a match with Brock or Cena, no way is he bothered about the money anymore, he's a multi millionaire outside his wrestling exploits. As for injuries, don't buy that either, people said he should have stopped after WM27, then he came back again for another brutal, high class match. Anyone remember he was on Raw 1000? If it's how some people make out, he can't walk till 9 months after his match, but he looked fine on Raw.
The way I see it, sadly, Rock, Cena and Brock are out of the question, so you need to make the most of what you have left, in my eyes, they are Punk, Jericho and Sheamus - Give one of them some real strong booking on Raw, they win 10 matches on the bounce, and challenge Taker.
If the rumors are true, Sheamus & Jericho might be booked against Orton & Ziggler respectively.
But, yeah, we seem to be looking at Punk vs Taker here. But with Punk losing the title to Rock & is more than likely going to lose the rematch at EC, I wonder who'll buy him as a threat to The Streak with all the recent failures & losses.
I think if Taker goes up against Punk at WM 29 this year, regardless of the quality of match, it will be the first time since WM 22 you know Taker is taking this win without any threat at all.
You have to go back as far as Mania 20 to find a Mania card where Takers match was clearly not one of the top two attractions. So maybe the story is true and he doesn't wanna play "third" fiddle so to speak.
But I don't get what's with this third fiddle rumor bullshit. Hell, at WM 27 he also played third fiddle to Cena/Rock and Cole/Lawler, just look at the amount of promos & build ups Taker/HHH II had , compare it to Rock/Cena & Cole/Lawler and you'd know what I mean.
This report is unbelievable. Taker couldn't care less whom he's gonna face at WM 29.
The only thing I'm buying from these reports is that maybe he wanted a match with Brock or Cena, no way is he bothered about the money anymore, he's a multi millionaire outside his wrestling exploits. As for injuries, don't buy that either, people said he should have stopped after WM27, then he came back again for another brutal, high class match. Anyone remember he was on Raw 1000? If it's how some people make out, he can't walk till 9 months after his match, but he looked fine on Raw.
The way I see it, sadly, Rock, Cena and Brock are out of the question, so you need to make the most of what you have left, in my eyes, they are Punk, Jericho and Sheamus - Give one of them some real strong booking on Raw, they win 10 matches on the bounce, and challenge Taker.
You have to go back as far as Mania 20 to find a Mania card where Takers match was clearly not one of the top two attractions. So maybe the story is true and he doesn't wanna play "third" fiddle so to speak.
Funny report though. I'll still hold out for Brock/Taker even though it doesn't seem likely any more. In a perfect world, 29 vs. Brock and 30 vs. Cena. Nobody else is credible enough.
Not getting excited about the thought of taker v punk . . But if he still had the title and they did streak v streak that would be huge . . They needed to do that . .
Not sure he,ll have a match at this point but I'm pretty sure we,ll get an appearance .. Maybe a challenge for WM 30???
Just an impression I'm getting, a lot of people I see, use the early matches of the streak to diminish the career of the Undertaker, it's like people forget that he has a career outside the streak.
Exactly, Undertaker had a successful career even without the streak. The streak is nothing more than just a sell and it wasn't even planned, it just happened. What about what the Undertaker has contributed to the WWE. Arguably the greatest gimmick of all time. An innovater, his matches with Mick Foley. His performance in the very first Hell in a Cell match. He had matches that went along with his character.
The build for their WM28 match was far better than the WM27 build but when you look at from match statistics and quality WM27 was way more brutal and entertaining. When Triple H tombstoned Taker, I truly thought the streak was over. Their WM28 match just felt like cheesy dramatic play.
No taker at wm this year...will make me not order wm, especiallly of they throw punk into some meaningless match, and have cena vs rock two i will definitely not be buying this shit! Taker IS wrestlemania to me.
They were trying to work an angle for the HBK/Taker feud. Anyways, Punk wasn't nearly as credible back then to beat The Undertaker at Wrestlemania or any other PPV.
Your arguing that Undertaker got a WHC title reign in 2009 that only lasted a few months when Triple H got a near year long title reign while burying talents by the names of Orton, Cena, Hardy, Edge even Taker himself at No Way Out 2009 the year before. On top of that, Punk wasn't over with the crowd. Taker was always favored in their matches.
Did you really think that Punk was gonna go over Taker cleanly in any of their matches?
Honestly the only way the streak should end at this point is with Kane.
And not a pin, more of a torch passing to Kane. Have the match go for a while, to prove Kane's worth, and then have them curtain call (or something) in the wring, then have the lights/gong hit and when they come back on it would just be kane in the ring with Takers hat on.
This would obviously be better if Kane was younger, but afaik his body is still in better shape than taker so he could he could still return for a long time
He was hardly there at 'Mania 22, and he was absent at 'Mania 2000.
Look - there are no opponents for Undertaker who make sense. Why should Undertaker fight CM Punk? Where is the backstory? You're just tossing 2 big names together.
Let Undertaker rest up for next year. A 2 year interval will make his 'Mania 30 match / return that more special.
The problem is CM Punk lost a lot of credibility for challenging The Streak by losing to The Rock via elbow drop, despite assistance from The Shield. Now he's gonna lose to The Rock again.
Throw in them not building towards a 'Taker return - no promos or real hints.
The Rock vs. John Cena will go on last. Cena is getting the title in NY/NJ - the fans will piss all over him, meaning WM ends on a sour note. It never has before. Maybe Cena will win, then the lights will go out and 'Taker will stare down Cena to send the fans home happy and set the stage for WM 30.
Not sure why the "backstory" would prevent Taker from Wrestling with Punk, feuds have to start somewhere, and Wrestlemania is the simplest way for anyone to start a feud with Undertaker. What backstory does Cena have with Taker?
Rubbish, Takers made well over $50 million outside of his wrestling endeavours, by now he comes back for the fans. Maybe he is frustrated that he can't work with Brock/Rock/Cena but I'm sure he's just not appeared yet because he's facing Punk, and he's not done with the Rock yet.
Can't argue with the stats then, but I think now, at Mania, people want to see Undertaker, it's that legendary aura that he carries, it showed when the crowd were firmly behind him at WM28.
I wouldn't be surprised if 'Taker faces Punk, but I wouldn't be shocked if 'Taker doesn't wrestle but is announced to appear. The PPV will sell no matter what and The Rock showed, in 2011, you can boost the buy rate just by having a huge name appear.
Another thing to consider: Punk had heat with 'Taker in 2009. That may play a part in Undi deciding to work with Punk. Remember the dirtsheet reporting of Y2J upsetting Callaway back in 1999? It was another 10 years until they worked a singles match. Maybe Mark holds grudges...
Just think guys, next Monday (Raw after Elimination Chamber) we will most likely get a good idea where they are headed with Taker at Mania. I'm thinking it's down to either Brock or Punk now. Brock if Trips wants to summon The Deadman to take on the Beast he couldn't defeat, or Punk after another title loss at EC wants to gain the ultimate RESPECT somehow someway by breaking The Undertaker's Streak.
I wouldn't be surprised if 'Taker faces Punk, but I wouldn't be shocked if 'Taker doesn't wrestle but is announced to appear. The PPV will sell no matter what and The Rock showed, in 2011, you can boost the buy rate just by having a huge name appear.
Another thing to consider: Punk had heat with 'Taker in 2009. That may play a part in Undi deciding to work with Punk. Remember the dirtsheet reporting of Y2J upsetting Callaway back in 1999? It was another 10 years until they worked a singles match. Maybe Mark holds grudges...
Just think guys, next Monday (Raw after Elimination Chamber) we will most likely get a good idea where they are headed with Taker at Mania. I'm thinking it's down to either Brock or Punk now. Brock if Trips wants to summon The Deadman to take on the Beast he couldn't defeat, or Punk after another title loss at EC wants to gain the ultimate RESPECT somehow someway by breaking The Undertaker's Streak.
The streak means Undertaker has to win, no matter what. And that's the problem; he shouldn't win.
They couldn't do a streak vs streak, Punk (c) vs Undertaker match. Because that would mean Undertaker would become champion, something he cannot do anymore.
They can't do Lesnar vs Undertaker because Lesnar, their biggest draw besides Rock, signed a 2 year extension. They can't have Lesnar looking bad and losing to part-timers like Undertaker.
They can't do Cena vs Undertaker because Cena is the #1 full-time wrestler whom they cannot have as a victim of the streak,
They can't do Rock vs Undertaker because Rock is the #1 money-maker.
If only this streak wasn't there. We would see Undertaker put over Lesnar at 'Mania, or Punk at 'Mania, or Cena at 'Mania, or Rock at 'Mania.
But unfortunately, the streak means he can't put over anyone. He has to win when he shouldn't.
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