Matt O’Brien writes and maintains the Wrestleview.com every two weeks
Jimmy Snuka, King Kong Bundy, Kane, Big Bossman, Triple H, Ric Flair, and Shawn Michaels. What do all those men have in common? They are just a few of the names that went up against The Undertaker on the Wrestlemania stage. A match at Wrestlemania with Undertaker is almost as big as headlining the show because of the impressive streak. Every year it is now a question of who can end the streak.
With Undertaker returning just in time for Wrestlemania XXVII, Wrestleview put the question to the readers so to who they thought would face Taker in his next Mania outing. The results of the poll are as follows:
Who will The Undertakers opponent be at WrestleMania?
John Cena 2% (111 votes)
Kane 6% (300 votes)
Sheamus 2% (102 votes)
Sting 23% (1,081 votes)
Triple H 52% (2,397 votes)
Wade Barrett 9% (422 votes)
Other 5% (231 votes)
Total votes casted: 4,644
Since Undertaker’s return and stare down with Triple H last Monday, the voting changed significantly. Just moments before the top-of-the-hour on 2/21/11 when Taker appeared on Raw, the voting results were as follows:
John Cena 3% (91 votes)
Kane 9% (272 votes)
Sheamus 3% (90 votes)
Sting 33% (949 votes)
Triple H 30% (873 votes)
Wade Barrett 14% (393 votes)
Other 7% (204 votes)
2,872 votes total
Based on the votes just prior to Taker’s return, voters believed the opponent was to be Sting. Even though Triple H and Taker had the stare down that night, readers continued casting their votes for the other choices. Coming in at the bottom of the pack were Sheamus and John Cena. At some point Cena has to meet Taker on pay per view. It may not happen on the Mania stage. This year just wasn’t the year with Rock and Miz being the focus for Cena. As for Sheamus, he seems like the ideal opponent for Undertaker at Mania, and that may still happen in the future.
Aside from the Other category, which included speculations as far as Kurt Angle, Kane came in next in the voting. The buildup to the Kane-Undertaker program last year was tremendous. With Taker suffering an injury, the program was cut short. It seems natural that Undertaker would come back for one more match with Kane. Some people really hated the idea of a third Kane-Taker Mania match, which hurt Kane in the voting.
At Bragging Rights, Nexus helped Kane in burying Undertaker and putting him out of action. Like a return match with Kane, a match with Wade Barrett felt natural upon Taker’s return. For a while Barrett was indeed Taker’s rumored opponent, especially with his move to Smackdown. Barrett now seems destined for a post-WrestleMania program instead of a headlining match.
The rumors were still going even after the stare down with Triple H. A lot of fans still want to see an Undertaker-Sting match. With WrestleMania emanating from Atlanta, GA this year, as well as Sting’s questionable status with TNA, it seemed like the time had come for this match. Unfortunately it looks like this match may now never happen.
It was ten years ago that Triple H first took a stab at Undertaker. It was also the first year they emphasized the streak. Triple H will become the third man to face Undertaker twice at WrestleMania. In a lot of ways this match makes sense. Undertaker retired Shawn Michaels last year at Mania. WWE may try to do something similar to the Michaels-Batista feud back in 2008 when HBK retired Ric Flair. They also did a good job on Monday night of Triple H saying he has done it all, but Undertaker is the mountain he has yet to conquer. Undertaker’s streak has become a staple at Mania. It is almost as big, if not bigger, than the title matches. Putting Triple H with Undertaker at this year’s WrestleMania may be the best choice at this point for both men given the point they are at in their careers.
Thanks to all those who participated and be sure to vote in the latest Wrestleview poll asking what is your favorite feud going into WrestleMania!
Matt O’Brien
Columnist, Wrestleview.com
mattman5436@yahoo.com