What's in Undertakers future after WM 27?

[BrucePettit]

I think for me, the best scenario would be seen like this:

John Cena ends up being behind the reason Wade Barrett and Nexus buried him. This scenario is revealed sometime after Royal Rumble, and after Cena has already turned heel. Undertaker makes mention that this will be his last Wrestlemania. Despite an epic long match, where there are many near pins, Taker wins. He gets an "HBK-like" standing ovation at the end of the match.

The next night on Raw, throughout the night, they have highlights of his career/wrestlers present and past talk about what he has meant to the company. Taker comes out at the end and breaks kayfabe a bit (he is human after all and has lived this business for so long, that the man can't help but get emotional during a farewell speech). You have wrestlers from past and present come out and shake his hand. Cena comes out (and gets boo'd because he's still heel), and shakes the Undertaker's hand. Thus setting up a face turn (he may be needed to do so at this point with many stars leaving around this time).

The lights go out. Kane's old music comes on. He comes out to the stage with Paul Bearer (who has an urn). Kane pays his respect in the fashion that Undertaker and Kane always have:

(go to the 6:10 mark)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGA_iXsv3oU
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGA_iXsv3oU[/youtube]

Bearer comes to the ring, holds the urn up and says "You can finally rest in peace now. It's time to come home." The power of the urn that has always been over Taker his whole career comes into play. He kneels down in his signature pose.

The lights go out again, the announce team goes dead silent, the gong hits a few times.

The lights come back on dimly with a blue-ish purple tint, smoke filling around the ring and up the ramp, the urn is the only thing left in the center of the ring.

Raw goes off the air.

 

[cubuff37]

I think that since this is the Undertaker, a total icon of WWE, we all want, and know that the WWE will do its absolute best to finally let the Deadman we all know and love to rest.

#1. When will Taker Retire, or you think is the right time for him to retire?
This SHOULD be his last WM and therefore his last match. However, no one wants to see a 19-0 in WWE. It looks like he came SO CLOSE to something that would make the streak look way better. Let him go 20-0. Then let him walk away. It looks way better.

#2. Whom do you think he will retire against?
This is a good question. If I were to pick a man for Taker to retire to after beating at Mania, it would be a young guy. Someone who will have something to talk about until HE is Taker's age. But having a young guy BEAT Taker seems too risky. Say Wade Barrett beats Taker at WM, but then gets into trouble with the law, and does all kinds of stuff to shadow and "unglorify" the ending of the streak. And people who WANT the streak broken, sorry, you're about 8 years too late. Whats the point of ending the streak now? Undertaker is WAY out of his prime, and ending the streak would be like calling back and beating the '72 Dolphins. Not only does Taker lose his streak, but the man who ends it doesn't get near enough respect, as he should have ended it when Taker was still in good condition to defend his streak. It's a lose/lose situation.

#3. If he goes till WM 28 than, and if he chooses to stay till WM 30 than, what and how should he plan his career?
Try to limit matches, stay away fron No DQ matches, baby his battle scars, and stay in the gym. God forbid he ends up looking like Ric Flair.

#4. At any point how would you like the culmination of the character Undertaker?
Have him win his best match ever at WM28 against a well deserving superstar, and then let him go until his HOF Induction as his final farewell. AND LET THAT BE THE END OF IT!!! I'm sick of all the Brett Favre's the WWE has.

#5. Should he take an apprentice of sorts to pass off the Dark Powers?
NO!!! Because there isn't the proper 5 year buildup to get the perfect person. Unless you all want to see Taker wrestling at WM33 with whatever limbs he has left.

#6. How would you write off the saga of the BROTHERS OF DESTRUCTION seeing as Kane is coming to an end of his career as well...
I think they've already signed off on eachother. They need separate endings. And Taker's needs to be taken way more seriously.

 

[The Ace of Knaves]

When will Taker Retire, or you think is the right time for him to retire?

Latest speculation had it he'll retire at WM 30 in MSG.

Whom do you think he will retire against?

Well, Cena has already said no to a Wrestlemania match EVER with The Undertaker here:

http://www.wrestlezone.com/news/article/cena-says-he-never-wants-to-face-undertaker-at-wmania-126457

While Stone Cold has expressed an interest to go one more time against Taker at WM 30, I prefer Mick Foley to return to WWE and face Taker in his final match ever at WM 30.

If he goes till WM 28 than, and if he chooses to stay till WM 30 than, what and how should he plan his career?

Like some people in WWE speculated, he can work only for his Wrestlemania appearance. And I agree with this.

For Wrestlemania 28, I know the general consensus will somewhat lead to either Y2J or Orton. But personally, I vote for Jericho for the sake of something new. As much as I believe Taker/HHH will school the entire roster come WM 27, I think The Streak would look stupider than it will be if he adds yet another same face for three years in a row after adding HHH again this year in a match with no career stipulation. Although of course, I would prefer to a 4-Men Elimination Battle Royal (ala Wrestlemania 16 main event) against Jericho, Punk, and The Miz at WM 28 by mile so Taker can even his victims to 20 men while also going 20-0. The latest rumor had it he'll stay until at least WM 30, might as well even the number of his victims by adding 3 credible names, consisting of 1 legend, 1 veteran, and 1 credible youngster. Jericho had great work ethic and is a legend, Punk got the chance to make up for every bad match he's got with Taker and is a veteran, and Miz got a chance to prove himself and is a youngster. If they make a storyline where this 3 will combine their power to defeat The Streak, it'll be a huge selling point at Wrestlemania 28. Give this match a good 25 or 30 minutes and we'll see a Wrestlemania classic, may very well be the best 4-Men Battle Royal of all time.

As for Wrestlemania 29, I hope he truly goes against Daniel Bryan. Undertaker already missed Bret Hart for the sake of pushing King Kong Bundy, Chris Benoit for pushing A-Train, and Kurt Angle for pushing Mark Henry. We all knew how doing Vince those three favors went do we? So do we really need to miss another one of technical genius for say, Gaymus The Talentless or Barrett The Overrated or Moronson The Spiderman?

As for Wrestlemania 30 and his final match, I truly hope he goes against Mick Foley. I know Austin wanted to have a shot at The Streak, but I think Foley's more deserving cause he's got bigger history with Taker. And Cena already said no to a WM match with Taker, so why not do this? Although this is a long shot, have Mick Foley return to WWE for Taker's final match. That would be EPIC.

At any point how would you like the culmination of the character Undertaker?

Just change that lame Ain't No Grave back to Rest In Peace.

Should he take an apprentice of sorts to pass off the Dark Powers?

Nope. Not everyone can be like Kane. And even Kane couldn't be as big as Undertaker. So, no.

How would you write off the saga of the BROTHERS OF DESTRUCTION seeing as Kane is coming to an end of his career as well..

I think if we take a look of the travesty of a rematch which is Taker vs Kane at WM 20 and their feud last year, there's no need to give BOD a closure cause it's obvious their magic has withered ever since Kane took his mask off. It's evident, no? Every match and feud Taker had with Masked Kane was legendary but every match and feud Taker has with Unmasked Kane was a flop. I think enough is enough.

Great thread, BTW!

 

[The 3nd is h3r3!!!!!!!!!!]

1. If undertaker wins then he will probably won't wrestle for a month or two if his health is good or as you said half a year!!

2. he will not lose against triple h because his legacy will last forever and become 19-0

3. He may wrestle in a few ppvs but not more!!!!!!!!!

 

[Erin]

heres what ive been thinkin for a while. i registered here just now just so i could post this and see what you think. i think next year, a little before wrestlemania, maybe a month or so before after he just loses a title at a ppv, maybe royal rumble or the one after it, undertaker comes out and sort of breaks character a little and talks to the audience and hes like 'you know i been around for so long and its time for me to retire and its been great and all but im gettin older and i got my family and motorcycles and all that and whatevr...' so he says hes retiring and sayin goodbye.

suddenly vince mcmahon comes out and says like 'no way in hell are you retiring, your my biggest star and make me the most money and you got a contract with me for another 3 years and im not lettin you out of it' and hes rantin and ravin like mad like he does and taker is just like 'hey man, look vince, come on, we all gotta go when the best years are behind us...' and all that and hes realy just tryin to be real with him and ask him to let him move on and vince says no way your mine and i own you etc etc... this can go on in one raw segment or over like 2-3 weeks til finaly vince says some classic vinceism 'youll retire over my dead body' and takers all like 'well if thats the way its gotta be...' and he gets all demonic and says 'i want a match with you at wrestlemania and if i win i get my contract and i retire' and vince refuses for a few weeks and taker goes to his house and its like old taker with him attackin the whole mcmahon family one by one except linda cuz fans like her or whatever he can break in the house and chase her around with lightning too, why not. anyway, vince finally agrees and since he said the whole 'over my dead body' thing its a buried alive match. maybe taker makes it that or maybe vince says he wants it cuz taker never won one and vince himself even beat the undertaker and buried him in that exact match and hes so nuts hes willing to literally bury taker just to keep him under his employ. lotsa ways you can do this. so you get an awesome dynamic and a cool weird vibe with diehard taker fans actually rooting for him to lose so hell stay in wwe and not leave and for the first time in a long long time alot of people might actualy think hes gonna lose cuz theres no way hes gonna retire right?

even some of the internet fans who are in the know might think hes gonna lose cuz of course taker being the ultimate pro that he legit is would be the first one to want to insist that he go out on his back and do the honors and the right thing and all that, but realy lets face it, were all thinkin whos gonna be the young guy to get that rub by pinnin him, but realy who deserves it? nobody on the roster now or ever is ever gonna deserve that. ending takers career is a prize that nobodys ever gonna get and rightfuly so i think. plus who in the back would even want it? all the other guys have too much respect and real life awe for taker and if they come to a guy and say you wanna beat taker and end his career theyre gonna say no way not me, im not worthy of that. gonna be an impossible standard for anybody to live up to and theyll be doomed to fail like warrior beating hogan. anybody they gave hogan to was never gonna live up to that.

so nobody realy knows whats gonna happen and taker fans want him to win and want the streak yeah, but they also want him to still be around and not retire so they kinda agree with vince, and its all kinds of drama and emotion for all the fans and nobody knows, and then taker wins and the streak is 20-0 and [which everybody loves] and he retires [a moment everybody loves even if they didnt think they would like when shawn or flair left] and its so moving and powerful and he can walk away and be at peace, and do it on top! and on top of all that vince mcmahon gets buried alive at wrestlemania [which everybody in the world loves!] and thats the ultimate wrestlemania moment ever, and besides he doesnt wanna be on tv anymore or be wrestlin active matches and hes turnin the company over to hunter pretty much, so this gives him his way out to be never seen again too if he wants.

other things you can add to this would be at the end of the match kane comes out, cuz realy kanes gotta be involved in takers last match somehow, since the brothers careers have been so intertwined, so kane comes out, and vince looks all happy and this was his master plan just like the last buried alive match he had with taker, but kane suddenly attacks vince much to his surprise and helps taker win, salutes his brother one last time and leaves before taker dumps the dirt. next night on raw kane can come out and say hes wanted to end takers career for a long time and be the dominant brother and kill the undertaker and so ha ha thanks to kane the undertakers gone, if he wants to stay all heelish, its easily done.

thats what i wanna see happen. lotsa people sayin johncena, and if that 'dream match' is somethin they really want to do then just have the whole taker/vince buildup to agree to the match for the contract but then have vince say hes not fighting taker himself, but hes making a match with somebody else to do it for him, and he puts cena in the match. cenas like 'hell no man im not doin your dirty work' but vince says hey i make the matches around her and i own the company and you pretty much do what i say, unless your a coward and afraid of the undertaker, and of course cena pride takes over his mouth and hes like 'hey im not afraid of the undertaker, but...' and then taker blasts him, match on, and they dont have to turn cena heel to do it. hes gotta go out there and do his best and try to win even though he doesnt want to. like shawn vs flair but it didnt make shawn heel. i dont like this idea much at all and id love the taker vs vince thing which would be epic, and cena-free but hey i know they might have to force fruity pebbles into the thing somehow so this is a way to do it.

so thats my idea. taker goes 20-0 and retires. who retires undertaker and ends his career? undertaker does. he does it to himself, on his own terms. evrybodys happy. what do you all think?

 

[macho-madness85]

i would have mcmahon do a stipulation (much like flair) but with a twist have VKM come out calling out taker telling him he is sick of the streak and if he wins at mania then his career is over! this sets up the possibility that he has to loose to stay in the company. have it against cena or an up and coming hell like barrett then when he wins he can retire a winner on the grandest stage of them all. thats my ideal way feel free to rip it to shreads

 

[Erin]

i dont get why evrybodys sayin barrett barrett, not just here but all over, like hes somethin. barrett is the next big nothing. hes got exactly zero charisma or personality, total lack of mike skills and his in-ring ability is feeble and amateur at best. dudes a useless dull-ass lump. hes the worst thing a wrestler can be - boring. hes never gonna be main event level, most least of all against taker and never ever in his wildest dreams vs taker at mania! hes the latest "thought hed be a good idea, and push him to main event, but nah we was wrong, he aint got it" like macintyre and ziggler and swagger. failed experiments in star makiing when the material just aint there. macintyre maybe has it though, time will tell on him. hes got skills in ring and solid personality, intersting. ziggler is dull as paint and swagger has talent but cant talk. barett has nothing. thats why hes not doing taker at mania already this year. that mighta been the plan way back but then they realized hes worthless and they arent going to waste taker/mania on him, cuz he cant carry his share of it - buildup or match wise.

takers only gonna face big big huge names who can hang at that level and sell tickets whether now, next year, or for next 5 years. guys like hbk [thats why they had to do him twice], hhh, vince, cena, etc. barret better just get used to languishing in midcard anonymous hell forever cuz nobodyd pay to see him unless it was him gettin shot out of a cannon into a wall. and then only maybe.

macho madness 85, i like your twist on taker not wantin to retire and him basicly bein fired if he wins, and then hes gotta decide , maybe even right up to the last moments of the match, what hes gonna do and if hes willing to sacrifice the streak for his career - how much does the streak mean to him and all that. its only gonna be somethin like that [where he retires or is fired if he wins] thats gonna ever make anybody think he might lose at mania.

last time i realy thougght he was gonna lose at mania was when he faced orton like 6 years ago. it was his 13th mania [so i thought unlucky] and ortion was runnin with the legend killer thing, killin every legend and big star ever so it woulda been the perfect time to do it. im no mark and i didnt think for sure he was gonna lose but i realy thought they possibility was there and they might do it. since then i never thought for a second anybody would beat him. if they wanna make it intersting again and make people doubt [and if hes gonna retire by winning which i think he realy has to at this point cuz nobody at any level is ever gonna be worthy of bein the one to retire him and beat him in his last match] then thats the only way they can do it.