Mania 26 it for Taker?
 

As I reported in my Elite Hotline on Tuesday 9/8, there is a lot of concern about The Undertaker's health and his long-term viability after his work in Puerto Rico a few weeks back. When Undertaker had his hip surgery after Wrestlemania, it was portrayed to everyone as a minor issue being taken care of, but the reality is he had a pretty heavy duty surgery (some sources claim a hip replacement) and at one point, there were private concerns as to whether he was going to get back in the ring at all. He has been said to have been in pain of late and was noticeably slower, one of the reasons his Breaking Point PPV bout was booked to only go nine minutes. While nothing has been said outright, some of the sources I've spoken to are wondering if we are looking at retirement for Taker by Wrestlemania 26.

From PWInsider.

Just like 25, 24, 23...When was the last time Taker was actually considered a viable option?

Seriously, the man was supposed to have very little in-ring time left after 20 for fuck's sake. Instead he actually improved over the next few years.

I think he should end after 26 but I see him ending after 36.

i agree with savior especially if his health is becoming more of an issue. i mean its about time i suppose, i think if u don't have the title and your match is the REAL main event at wrestlemania you pretty much have nothing more to accomplish

i'd lose my main reason for watching wwe. this would suck.

How would you go about doing it though? Quiet retires or big flashy thing like Flair? Furthermore at WM26 should he put someone over or remain undefeated?

I'd book him to lose to Punk at Mania 26, work a VERY limited schedule until the Rumble where he'd start a program with the champ building to a title win at Mania. He holds up the title, the lights go out, lighting strikes the ring, smoke, the music, all that shit, lights come back, Taker's gone and the belt is there. [/Taker]

WWE hires Sting and he becomes the Crow Sting again entering into a program with Taker culminating towards the end at Wrestlemania.

At the end Taker sets Sting up for the Tombstone Piledriver but Sting reverses it into the Scorpion Deathdrop. A few minutes later they both get up and Taker sets him up for the Last Ride but Sting counters it and puts him in the Scorpion Deathlock. The crowd goes wild. Then as it seems like Taker is about to tap, the lights go out. The crowd has no idea what is going on. A few minutes later the lights go back on and druids are surrounding the ring. They all go into the ring and carry Sting away who is trying to fight them off.

It is quiet and Taker is in the ring alone and slowly gets up. Then the lights go out again. When they come back on he is surrounded by a bunch of Sting clones. He tries to fight them off but can't in his condition and then one of the clones grab onto him and suddenly they both are pulled up to the rafters. Lights go out again and when they come back on, the clones are gone. The end.

Then Mickie starts wearing skirts again and becomes crazy, psycho lesbian Mickie.

If he retires then the next wrestlemania is probably his best option. Personally im pissed off hearing "THE RETURN OF THE UNDERTAKER" every fucking 6 months for the last lot of years.....:nono:

They seem to let him have time off then bring him back early every time resulting in his longevity being severly affected.

The problem with "retiring" the Undertaker is that with all the times he's died and come back to life no one will believe it's for good. Even if you put him in a casket, filled it with cement, set it on fire, dropped it off a cliff and then dropped an anvil on it people would expect him back in two months. They need to just have him walk out to the ring in a suit and say, "Hey guys, I'm Mark, and it's been fun being the Undertaker, but that's it. We're done now." And walk away, not disappear. He can be back on Raw as the guest host plugging his building the Calahart to solidify the retirement.

He will probably only come back around Rumble time every year and then keep his streak alive.

Whenever he decides to hang it up, he'll have to break the Deadman persona so people believe that he won't come back.

I think he should remain undefeated at WM (no other time for him to retire really), and possibly be inducted into the Hall of Fame the previous night.

A good storyline would be for Kane to retire him. I know Kane's been thinking about hanging up his boots too. Have Kane and Taker both retire after the same match. Have it be a buried alive match. Kane "wins" the match, but taker's arm comes out and he digs himself out. They fight for a little longer and then Kane buries himself with Taker because all he wants to do is kill his brother (or end his career in PG WWE).

It could be booked really well. The only downside is that both the guys are done and off tv. It works better when the guy who ends someone's career can show up on the the next night.

Or have Kane beat him in a buried alive match only to have Taker return the next night saying he's immortal and shit so they have another match at the next ppv and then Kane can take his own life ending his brother's career.

OR have Kane go on a rampage for months destroying everything and Taker ends up having to end his life to end Kane's.

This shit writes itself.

This report actually makes sense, given how they've brought Batista over to SmackDown!. It's almost as if they do not trust The Undertaker to be healthy enough to carry the brand. And say what you want about Taker's match quality -- if you think the dude is not hurting, you are insane.

The WrestleMania streak should definitely be ended, because it can instantly make a major star for the promotion. Anyone who beats The Undertaker at WrestleMania is either going to be WWE Champion or World Heavyweight Champion by year's end, and will be considered one of the permanent top guys within the company.

My heart is still sort of siding with Jack Swagger to end the streak. He's a guy with all the tools -- size, skill, promo ability. He was also the quickest man to have won a "World Title" so soon into his WWE tenure, I believe (albeit it being the ECW Title). If Swagger ended Taker's streak, I think it'd make him an instant threat to the WWE Title, which is definitely good for that scene.

-I don't think Taker's streak will ever be ended at Mania...and I'm not sure if it should. It seems like one of those moves that the WWE will regret once they do it, and it might put *way* too much pressure on the guy that ultimately does end the streak. It would definitely be an awesome way to get a guy over, but I'm not sure if the WWE will have the balls to do it.

-Swagger will need to be built up big time if he has a chance of being the guy to end Taker's streak.....or retire Taker. Swagger will need some serious wins over some big named guys in order to establish the credibility needed to "believably" go over Taker.

I don't know how much Big Show has left in the tank, but I wouldn't mind seeing Big Show to be the guy that ends Taker or Batista. If Big Show went back to being booked the way he was when he debuted, I think it could definitely generate interest.

I think Vince will have no other choice but to keep him around, as WWE is already having problems making new stars, and established guys like Taker & HBK closing in on retirement, will most definately hurt Vince. I believe he's aware of this and will try to prolong the inevitable for as long as possible..... but Taker's health should be the biggest factor in keeping him active.... if he needs the surgery, Vince will be up the creek....

Question: Would you like to see Paul Bearer return in some manner?

Also, I think the retirement would have to be more of a Ric Flair type way. While storyline wise, it would make sense to have him burried alive or some bullshit like that. But at the end of the day, you have to acknowledge the choice of retirement and do some sort of tribute to him. And most of these ideas don't give him the proper tribute send off he obviously deserves.

She needs to regardless of what happens with the plan moving forward with Taker. Seriously.

DAMN iNATOR, please stop posting.

Thank you.

Indeed, it would be nice to have Paul Bearer be a part of Taker's retirement, but in the grand scheme of things, and especially considering Bearer's horrifically quick declines in overall health, especially during the final few years where he actually served as Taker's manager, I don't see him making any kind of appearance except maybe a one-off special appearance just so he could say farewell or whatever.

And I definitely think the whole "Final Farewell" idea would be the way to send Undertaker off, although, personally, I'd like to see 'Taker retire after compiling a 20-0 record at WM, a few days after WM 28, very similar to Flair's farewell, except have Bearer and/or Kane come out first and bring out everyone who wants to say goodbye. Hugs, handshakes, tears, final parting words are shared—and then: *GONG!* Everything quickly fades to black, a final bolt of lighting strikes the dead center of the ring, and when the lights come up, Taker has vanished for the final time as the show ends.

I don't think the streak should end. I've been following undertaker since he debuted, when I was a little kid. The streak could have been ended a long time ago to get someone over, but at this point I think it's too late. At this point it would just feel wrong to me to use it as a tool to get someone over.

Some of the younger fans here just might not understand that I suppose, but there's nothing wrong with that really. You weren't there from the beginning.

Secondly, they don't need to do that to get someone over. The majority of the wwe fanbase will buy just about anyone that's put in the main event. Go look at Cena and Batista's merch sales, if you don't believe me.

Finally, if there is anyone who deserves to have such a legacy kept intact, it's taker. He's been 100% loyal throughout his career. He's never been one to stir up backstage politics. In fact, most reports throughout the years have suggested that he holds the lockeroom together more than any other wrestler.

And he's been doing the job when he needs to to get guys over his whole career. No one ever says "Oh, taker is holding back this guy, or that guy."

I f I remember right, I think taker said in an interview once, that if he was asked to do the job at mania, he would. Because that's just the kind of worker he is. But I don't think he should be asked. He's one of the best that's ever been. Maybe even the best. I can't make that call, but I think he deserves to retire with that legacy intact for everything he has given to the business and to WWE in particular.

Also, Heel Biker Taker is my favorite heel run of all time. Guy was amazing in that role, and I only wish we could have seen more of it, before he hangs it up.

I dunno, the whole thing with them doing the same basic thing with Chuck Palumbo during his most recent (and biggest gimmick flop of his career to date) run in WWE kinda soured me on the idea of having Taker return to that gimmick even more than I already was to begin with. I'm not saying it's entirely Palumbo's fault, of course but it just seemed like a really cheesy spin-off of 'Taker's days as the American Bad-Ass/Deadman Inc. really.:-\

Chuck Palumbo is such a massive tool that I didn't even make a connection to biker taker.

Yeah, that may be, but be that as it may, about the only thing I truly "enjoyed" about biker Undertaker was his final theme (You're Gonna Pay). But to each his own I guess.

<object width="500" height="475"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/GKP_ZYBOHQ4&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/GKP_ZYBOHQ4&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="500" height="405"></embed></object></EMBED></EMBED>

Pretty kick-ass, I'll give it that.

Chuck Palumbo's best moment was when his custom made bike stalled.

Jura, I like you. You are a solid poster here at TPWW. But that may very well be the worst armchair booking idea I've ever heard.

Honestly, if it weren't for the Mickey comment after this, I might have thought you were slightly retarded.

I need to start making Mickie comments.

But honestly, I cannot agree with you about keeping the streak alive. No, I was not there from the beginning, but I believe the streak was only actually brought up fairly late into it. I believe it was either WrestleMania X-7 or X-8. And I disagree about it being used to get someone over -- it would be HUGE! The guy who does it would be immediately next in line for a World Title -- and if they are a heel, I could see the sheer credibility of the win turning them face before long -- in a natural way.

I think ending The Undertaker's streak is more prestigious than actually winning the World Title right now. The only negative aspect of it, is that it puts A LOT of pressure on the guy doing it. They need to put on a great match with Taker, and they need to stay in good form afterwards -- and be dedicated to the business.

Yeah, but all it would be is a shortcut to getting a guy over. They could get a wrestler just as over without breaking the streak, it would just take longer.

So the question becomes, is it worth breaking Undertaker's wrestlemania legacy, just to get a guy over, faster?

I say no.

Agreed, but you could also build up a guy for half a year or so, and THEN have him go over Taker at Mania. Personally? I'd keep Taker's streak in-tact. Taker's loyalty towards the WWE all of these years should be rewarded some how.
The way I'd book Taker to end his career, would be similar to Foley's (i.e. 3 losses in a row to a certain individual).

In the final match, I'd do it in a similar way to Austin/Rock Wrestlemania 19....where Austin kicked out of The Rock's finisher twice, before being defeated on the 3rd consecutive finisher.

if anyone is to retire Taker, it should be dibiase.

keep taker undefeated at mania (cause that streak should NEVER end), but have dibiase challenge taker to a buried alive match at survivor series. have dibiase win, then taker retires. that way, everything comes full circle: taker's streak stays in place, and the dibiase family keeps itself up. since ted sr is the one who brought taker in, should be ted jr who retires him.

That's a pretty cool thought.......I like it. :y:

Hopefully, Dibiase can continue to progress so that he can be worthy of such a feat one day.

I'm sorry, I just cannot get my head around why The Undertaker's streak should be kept alive. If anything, I think it is somewhat insulting to him -- as if the streak is the only thing in his career to be proud of. The dude could theoretically lose at three WrestleManias now and he'd still be an icon.

Breaking the streak also evolves Taker's arc. He came in as an unbeatable monster, essentially, and he leaves a beaten one.

Ted DiBiase has actually been rumoured, and I never understood it. The WWE are obviously high on him for some reason. I don't think he's a bad talent, it's just he never stood out to me. I guess the WWE are actually trying to pass him off as a main eventer with this feud with DX. If DiBiase scores the fall in Hell in a Cell over Triple H, and then goes on to do whatever it is he does, and faces The Undertaker; I could actually see it working.

I'd definitely like it if they brought up Ted, Sr.'s relationship with The Undertaker, though. It gives DiBiase a reason, somewhat, to go after Taker -- more so than just being a young hungry guy looking to beat a legend.

lol I don't think I've made a serious wrestling post in over a year although Mickie going back to wearing skirts is the only thing that would probably get me to start watching wrestling again. :(

i don't think that taker gonna be retire after mania 26.he is back and he stays at leats a vieuw more years in the business

Hornswoggle will end Takers undefeated streak


(sorry, couldn't resist)