Of streaks and rematches?

WQ1: Taker vs Triple H 2.0. The best AND my favorite. Their first match was excellent given that Taker clearly wasn’t in “Wrestlemania” shape, though the finish was great. Taker won but got carried out afterward while his defeated opponent walked away under his own power. How many times have we seen the Undertaker get carried out after a match? Never. So that made that time special, even “historic”. The rematch saw Taker in much better shape and the stakes were even higher than “just” The Streak. I loved the whole “end of an era” symbolism and theme even if some fans didn’t get what that “era” really meant (some thought that it meant end of the “Attitude Era”; that’s not what it meant). Though not billed as such, it really was a “retirement” match for one of them. They went completely old-school and said “let’s just fight til one of us can’t get back up”. A fitting set of “rules” for a match of this magnitude. Taker, again in the role of Old West gunfighter called out one more time by an old nemesis who was willing to risk everything to win the showdown. The added drama of Triple H’s running buddy as the ref was a masterstroke. Will HBK screw Triple H to keep Triple H from doing what Shawn Michaels couldn’t do himself? Will HBK screw Taker just to see the legend (The Streak) killed? Will HBK be an actual objective referee and let the better man win? Major points to consider and it upped the emotional factor considerably. The venue was perfect for this “retirement” showdown. Hell In A Cell, no rules, fight to the finish, the better man walks out. Hell In A Cell isn’t about blood and gore, it’s about the “final battleground”, the one last place to settle a feud that can’t be settled any other way. No rules, bring your A+ game, prepare to brutalize and BE brutalized. Taker and Triple H did not disappoint. They brought their A+ games and fought to the “death”, the ever-present HBK factor always in the forefront. Taker and Triple H brutalized each other in a war that brought back the true meaning of Hell In A Cell, a match that had been made “cute” by the WWE’s marketing and hype machine in recent years. Taker and Triple H removed all traces of “cute” in this match and made Hell In A Cell mean something again. In the end, like true warriors, the three stood stood side by side and saluted each other and the spectators. It was, and still is, my Match Of The Year for 2012. THE best cage match I’ve ever seen remains Tully Blanchard vs Magnum T.A. for the NWA U.S. Title at Starrcade 1985, the standard by which I judge every cage match. Everybody needs to watch that match. Taker and Triple H very nearly topped that all-time classic last year.

WQ2: Depends whether or not it’s Taker’s last match. If it’s his last match, his for-real retirement match, then it can’t be anybody but John Cena. Cena is the only big-name Taker hasn’t beaten. And Taker’s the only big-name Cena hasn’t beaten (I’m not counting part-timers like Rock and Lesnar, etc). This could very well be the biggest (marketing-wise) match since Rock vs Hogan some years back. If Vince lets Taker retire without facing Cena at WM then Vince needs to be fired and never allowed inside a WWE building ever again. If it’s NOT Taker’s retirement match then I’d love to see Taker vs Rock one more time. They had some great battles in the Attitude Era and it provided The Rock with plenty of entertaining promo/catchphrase material. And it would be cool to see Taker lighten up a bit and cut some humorous (deadpan, of course) promos on The Rock. Best Taker Streak match ever? Nah, I don’t think so. I don’t think Taker vs Triple H 2.0 will ever be topped.

WQ3: Taker vs Triple H. Triple H advised his friend HBK that he let the battle with Taker get too personal to the point that it became a life-altering obsession, and it ended up costing Shawn his wrestling career. Then Triple H picked up the charge and challenged the big man himself, claiming that he wouldn’t let it get to the point of obsession. There was some personal pride in it for Triple H but a lot of it had to do with avenging Shawn’s two straight losses. Though Triple H never really came right out and said it, it did make the core DX look bad that neither of them could defeat The Undertaker. So the rematch did become an obsession to Triple H. He was willing to “die” to avenge Shawn’s, and his own, losses by entering Hell In A Cell. Taker was his usual awesome self, playing up the called-out Old West gunfighter who didn’t really want to fight anymore but would fight to the death if pushed. This was “old school” booking the WWE doesn’t do nearly enough of anymore.

For the first question, the general consensus is obviously The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels at Wrestldmania 25. And I understand the obsession because, yes, it’s one of the greatest matches of all time. But I’m going to say The Undertaker vs. CM Punk at the most recent Wrestlemania. An absolute classic on the part of both Undertaker and CM Punk. It was a very back and forth match, and also featured some great high spots such as CM Punk’s Elbow Drop onto the broadcasting table and his use of the urn while the referee wasn’t paying attention. And though it was sort of spoiled that Punk would lose because he was taking time off after Wrestlemania, at some points, WWE gave off the impression that they’d throw us a curveball and actually let Punk win. I can’t emphasize enough how underrated this match is in comparison to most of his other Wrestlemania matches. Ironically, I did not enjoy The Undertaker’s match against Triple H at Wrestlemania 28. I honestly found it a little slow-moving. I think the emotion of the match is what made this match seem better than it was. Their match at Wrestlemania 27 was much better in my opinion.

For the second question, I can virtually guarantee that The Undertaker will face John Cena at Wrestlemania 30, and it will be his final match. The Undertaker has competed against John Cena before but they’ve never had a major rivalry. That was at a different time, where Cena was still in his “Doctor of Thuganomics” phase and wasn’t nearly as popular as he is now. The Undertaker, as we know him, is one of WWE’s last official legends and is a mega-star in his own right. Battling Cena at a milestone event, to me personally, has the potential to surpass Hogan vs. Andre the Giant, Austin vs. Rock, Michaels vs. Hart.. by a wide margin, too.

For the last question, I’d have to say Undertaker vs. Michaels. I’m saying that because it’s the only one in your set where both matches were phenomenal, not just one. Undertaker vs. Triple H at Wrestlemania 27 was good, John Cena vs. The Rock at Wrestlemania 29 was good, and Triple H vs. Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania 29 was good, but their counterparts at earlier/later events weren’t nearly as good. Both of the Undertaker/Shawn Michaels matches were great, and both men were well in their 40’s which made it that much more impressive (you can hardly get that from wrestlers in their 20’s and 30’s).

WQ1: Undertakers first Wrestlemania match with Shawn Michaels was one of the “Greatest” Wrestlemania matches of all-time. Even their 2nd matchup was amazing. I didn’t even remember he had a match with Edge and Batista. I guess that goes to show how much of an impact they left on me as a fan.

WQ2: He should fight John Cena. He is the biggest superstar today. He beat the Rock, he beat Brock Lesner, and he beat Cm Punk. So why would Undertaker settle for Lesner or the Rock when Cena is the #1 guy who’s defeated all of them. This will probably be his last match also, and it would be fitting since its Wrestlemania 30. Best to go out against the biggest superstar today. Not saying he’d lose since I think the streak should live on forever, but John Cena vs the Undertaker is most likely to happen and should happen. As for it being his best one ever? No. He’ll almost be

50 years old at this time, and being a man of his size and the amount of injuries he’s had to deal with, he won’t be able to perform anywhere close to his Triple H matches, or his Shawn Michaels matches. Shawn Michaels was the #1 in-ring performer of all-time as well. So no ones going to out perform him.

WQ3: Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels. Their 1st match was top 5 all-time, 2nd match top 15. I knew this match would be the last of Shawn Michaels career too, and him being my favorite wrestler, I shed a tear for when the match ended. Kind of like that Ric Flair matchup, but more sad. So these 2 fights lie deep within my heart 🙂

WQ1 : The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania 25 in my opinion is the best Taker’s Streak match, not only since WM 23, but of all time. In my book, it’s even the greatest WWE match I’ve ever seen. And his match against Triple H inside HIAC at Wrestlemania 28 come in the second place, and it comes really close matching The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania 25. But, IMO, Taker vs HBK at WM 25 is a bit better, the fact it’s just a standard wrestling match and it doesn’t even need a gimmick match to be perfect. Also, we see a lot of high flying moves and technical wrestling battle which we don’t see at WM 28. And one more thing, Taker vs HBK at WM 25 is more unpredictable. We all know Taker would go 20-0 at WM 28, that’s for sure. But, there’s little doubt that HBK would win against Taker at WM 25. The fact HBK hasn’t won any World Title in almost 7 years then, make me wonder if WWE would let HBK end The Streak, the fact HBK is pretty loyal to WWE, just like Taker himself.

WQ2 : John Cena by far. Nobody can even come close to him. Cena vs The Undertaker is a mega battle everyone wants to see. This would be The Battle For The Ages, The Match Of The Century, and The Biggest Match In WWE History (surprassing Hogan vs Andre at WM 3). I can guarantee that match alone would sell more than 93,173 seats, the record that was previously set by Hogan and Andre at WM 3. This match would be really Legendary for sure. The Rock and Brock Lesnar now had already past their primes and they are no longer WWE’s Poster Boy Cena currently is. John Cena is WWE’s Golden Boy, The Face of WWE, and the current WWE’s biggest star. Nobody would buy Rock and Lesnar as a threat to The Streak. Both Rock and Lesnar are just part timers and we all know WWE won’t let them end The Streak. But, with Cena, it’s a different story. Cena’s a hot thing. He had accomplished everything, except ending The Streak which would take him into Immortality. So, it would be so unpredictable. It would be one hell of a battle.

WQ3 : The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels/Wrestlemania 25, Wrestlemania 26. I think I would’ve picked Taker vs HHH at WM 28, but I finally decide to choose Taker vs HBK feud. To me, Taker vs HBK is the best WWE feud I’ve ever seen. They feuded when they are main eventers in 1997 till now they have become two of the greatest ever. Yet, they still perform as good, and even better than they did in their prime (1997-1998). And WM 26 story is just so emotional, that’s probably the biggest reason why I chose Taker vs HBK. WM 26 story is just so sad and emotional, with HBK was finally forced to retire after losing to Taker at WM 26. That’s actually is the REAL END OF AN ERA match, not Taker vs HHH at WM 28, the fact none of them retires after this bout.

Undertaker vs CM Punk Fav

Undertaker vs Michaels 25 Best

Undertaker vs Cena to happen

Undertaker vs Triple H rematch

The undertaker vs Triple H match is the best ever i seen.

At wrestlemania 30 The undertaker vs Brock lesner match will be amazing.

WQ1 – I gotta agree with you on this one. Taker vs Triple H inside HIAC is one of my favorite matches of all time. Words can’t describe the emotional roller coaster I went through watching that match. Ever since WM24, I’ve been rooting for The Streak to end, so going into WM28, I was kinda pulling for Triple H to pull off the upset. Mid-match though, Taker won me over. I was pulling for him HARD and I know I’ve said this a thousand times, but when he kicked out of the pedigree and sweet chin music back to back, I let out the biggest cheer that I possibly could have. And I wasn’t the only one. The pop he got after kicking out was off the charts loud. THAT was such a magical moment. The storytelling in this match was brilliant. You had Taker wanting to prove that he wasn’t too old, too washed up anymore to compete. You had Triple H wanting to show once and for all that HE was the one who could beat Taker. And you had HBK, who was torn throughout the match on what to do. Ah man, that was storytelling at its finest. This wasn’t the best-wrestled match, but I think if you combine everything that took place from the storytelling to the near falls to the final hug on stage, this match was epic. Just epic.

On a side note though, HBK vs Taker at WM25 will always have a special place in my heart. Seeing HBK kick out of the Tombstone (which was the first time I’d see ANYONE kick out of a Tombstone) was remarkable.

Both of those matches left me physically and emotionally exhausted afterwards.

WQ2 – We’ve been on the same page for this one for quite some time now. It’s Cena. I could go into detail on why it needs to be Cena, but you already know pretty well how I feel about this. Cena vs Taker (especially if Cena has a good 2013), could be built as the biggest, most must-see match of all time. WWE fans want unpredictability, well Cena vs Taker at WM30 is about as unpredictable as it could get in regards to The Streak. And imagine if word got out that this would be Taker’s LAST WM. That would give fans another reason to think The Streak would end. I do have a bad feeling though that Lesnar might end up facing Taker next year. That too would be an unbelievable match, as Lesnar would push Taker to the limits, but unless Lesnar comes back as a full-timer, will WWE really let someone like Lesnar end The Streak? The fact that he’s a part-timer takes away some of the predictability, for me at least. And I could see The Shield challenging Taker. I’m not sure how it would work, but I could see it happening. “They’ve ran through everyone else in WWE, now it’s time to run through Taker as well.”

WQ3 – I’m tempted to say Triple H vs Undertaker, because Triple H in both matches was microseconds away from ending The Streak, but I’m gonna go with Rock vs Cena for this one. Being the Cena fan that I am, I loved the redemption story their second match told. Cena proved to everyone (at least the unbiased fans), that he could hang with Rock. Cena CARRIED their feud and that was something really cool to see. Cena is usually the scapegoat for all of WWE’s problems, but I thought he really stepped up his game for Rock and made this a memorable feud. Sure, the IWC wasn’t thrilled of a rematch, but the buyrates for WM29 say otherwise.

Cool question.