2/21/11: Taker/HHH Segment (Keep All Discussion In Here)

[Macabre]

Horribly disappointing, for a whole slew of reasons.

At the very least, the segment should've closed RAW. With all the hype and excitement they built with the videos, why waste such a moment halfway through the show? Neither the Undertaker or HHH got the kind of reactions from the crowd that you would expect, probably because they too were hoping for something bigger and less predictable.

I seriously would rather see Barrett vs. Taker at WM just because it's fresh and because, if Taker's streak is ever going to end, it should be to put some new superstar into elite status. There's no drama in a match between HHH and Taker. We already know Taker will win.

The whole time I was watching it, I kept thinking, this should be a huge moment, I should be really excited right now. I mean, HHH and Taker are the last two legends still in the WWE. Yet the whole thing felt so damn anti-climatic that I couldn't care less about their lame little staredown.

 

[RickRaspberry]

I LOVED IT!

I am the WWE's biggest critic, but I thought it was done correctly...

It gets the point across immediately. There is going to be 40 some days worth of build up to the match.

People who thought it was going to be Sting must be blind. Sting CAN NOT WORK ANYMORE! He's horrible. He wrestles with a shirt on because his physique is shot. His shoulder is trashed. In terms of an ACTUAL match...HHH vs. Taker is the best possible match they could get out of both workers. The match will be AWESOME...The whole card looks very good. Some people would bitch if they were hung with a new rope.

John Cena vs. The Miz
Edge vs. Alberto Del Rio
Triple H vs. The Undertaker
Randy Orton vs. CM Punk

Looks like a hell of a Wrestlemania to me.

 

[EStreet]

Awesome!. I get people won't like it. But two of the biggest Stars squaring off. Classic Entrances - mutual respect to allow them to finish the entrance and crowd-hype. None stop fan pop for 20 minutes. Silence, and then the gestures. Everyone gets it. It was a great way to start the story. Nobody needed to hear them speak, let that be for next week. Tonight was about nostalgia and planting the seeds and already this feud is intense. They can get into the 10 years ago match, the HBK retribution, the icons of wrestling (as stated tonight).

The only reason this seems lackluster is because The Rock did something that will likely never be repeated last week. Maybe WWE set the bar too high. That and internet buzz about Sting doesnt help, but take that away and this was right up there as far as returns and feud-starters go.

HHH is done after this - he is too big and he probably knows he cant wrestle with that kind of body without tearing/ripping something. He cant keep rehabbing like he did and a planned ending is better than a forced-injury ending.

 

[Macabre]

The whole thing would've been much more exciting if we had never had the 2/21 promos. If we were all watching tonight and Undertaker's music had just randomly started, and he made his slow walk to the ring, I would've been very excited. To then have HHH interrupt his grand return would've been even more awesome.

The WWE may have gotten more people to tune in this week because of the 2/21 videos, but all the buzz those videos generated was completely wasted. The buildup was a thousand times greater than the payoff.

 

[The Ace of Knaves]

We now know at the least that we will see Triple H vs Undertaker at WM. What the stipulations will be, we still have to find out. My only hope is that it's not a career vs streak match. Just a regular match will be good enough.

And here I am, begging to differ. Going 19-0 but only defeating 17 men is beyond ridiculous, not to mention out of those 17 names only 12 of them are credible names seeing how Gonzales, Bundy, A-Train, Boss Man, and Henry got added only because Vince had a hard on seeing them.

And this is precisely why Streak vs Career is needed, because the credibility of retiring Triple H will make up for the lack of men and new credibility Undertaker could gain by defeating someone new (who is credible of course like CM Punk or Jericho. I'm not talking about overrated rookies like Sheamus or Ted DiBiase Jr here).

Doing Taker vs HHH AGAIN but not putting HHH's career will be as pointless as the abomination of a rematch which was Undertaker vs Kane at Wrestlemania 20. Comparing that match to their legendary match at Wrestlemania 14 is an insult. And defeating Kane again by that time who was a glorified jobbed instead of a monster didn't add any new credibility for The Streak. That match really should have gone to someone else like Lesnar, Goldberg, Rock, Jericho, or even Vince himself.

There, I made my point

And, one now has to wonder, will this be the year the streak is broken?

Why should one wonder, mate? The outcome is pretty obvious. The only man standing an actual chance of ending The Streak is Cena. Thx God Taker vs Cena will never happen at any Wrestlemania cause WWE doesn't have the guts to ever book the match.

 

[dre day]

Man this whole show was wack this week, i was glade 2 see hunter but it couldve been done better. A waste of promos they shouldve cameout the blue with what they just did. I hope trip end the streak cause im gettin tired of the eyeliner wearin undertaker its really gettin old, imagin the shock value off that if hunter win

 

[emanc93]

I thought the execution of this angle was impeccable. The vignettes created a great deal of interest, and counting down to the exact moment was a great way to put all the focus on The Undertaker. I think it was pretty obvious 90% of the audience knew it was Undertaker, but the real shocker was HHH returning immediately after Taker.

The ensuing face-off is a moment that will stick with me forever. Two guys who haven't been on TV for 5+ months come back, and in one night, they sell a PPV match without saying a word. That segment will go down as an all-time classic for me, due to it's originality and execution. I'm very pleased with how Wrestlemania is shaping up. This RAW really makes me want to watch next week to see how the angle will play out.

Was Triple H behind Nexus's involvement in the Buried AliveMatch? Will Shawn Michaels come back and interject between the two? Will HHH put his career on the line? Etc. Great job, WWE.

 

[pthbass89]

Any seasoned fan knows that there hasn't been any legitimately shocking or surprising returns or debuts for a long long time now, and those that are hailed as "Shocking" we generally have known about or have had our suspicions about for a good while before hand so when they do actually happen we're already expecting the return/debut of (insert name here) that the real impact is seemingly lost or gone altogether.

I think any fan of my age might agree that The Undertaker's last really shocking and surprising return was at Judgement Day 2000. I can honestly watch that now and still get goosebumps and the pop he gets from the crowd is easily unrivalled by any of his latter day returns IMHO.

We all know Taker's returns are almost as seasonal as the tides, for the last few years he's been taking time off after Wrestlemania to rest and recuperate, so as such we are already in store for a return a few months on, as keeping him off TV for a certain amount of time will become detrimental to the ratings over time. I think most of us are usually curious as to how they will handle it each time. I think his Survivor Series 2005 return and his return at Summerslam 2009 deserve some merit I guess whereas the others have all been hyped before like Unforgiven 2007 for example and as such was pretty weak and failed to really excite us at the fact he was back yet again, and unfortunately that's what happened again this time.

If you really know your stuff then you would be able to appreciate that the segment tonight was based on the personal history and rivalry between these two. This time 10 years ago they were feuding but Triple H was in his successful prime as a Heel and obviously Taker was in his ABA run so as such there is some fresh ground to a degree here as these haven't fought too many times over the last 10 years in their current runs as a Face Triple H and Re-Re-Re-Re-Re-Resurrected Deadman. Whereas they do have history going back into the late 90's as they crossed paths a few times via DX clashing with the Undertaker in his prime, and then collating in the Corporate Ministry for a short while.

And of course, throw in the tie that is HBK into all of that and you do have some workable and worthy history to salvage this years Wrestlemania with...Hopefully. Well compared to every match so far the history in this match is not rivalled at all.

So as such they didn't need to say anything, Triple H has fought Taker before so there is little or No fear to highlight with Takers tired scare tactics, Taker knows of Triple H's accolades and that HBK is his best friend, they did not need to state the obvious but I guess most people were more beside themselves with anger and dissapointment that Sting wasn't revealed to behind the numbers, but to be honest and realistic, any respectful fan knows Sting is a honest and hard working wrestler and will stick by his work ethic and do what he thinks is right for him, and for that we can only respect him.

But I guess it was fun to get carried with the hype a little and entertain ourselves with the question of "What if.....?", but I still don't think it's fair to label this segment as a Fail whereas the real fans would be able to see and understand what they have done here, Yes it is a desperate abrupt feud to give this Wrestlemania some credibility, but they have set the basis of this feud appropriately and still have ample time to really drive it home.

 

[I_got_bant_for_idiocy]

This storyline is crap... So HHH shows up out of nowhere and its the undertakers 100 return to raw after getting buried alive AGAIN... So undertaker gets buried alive by nexus and kane, hhh gets taken out of action by sheamus ummm and HHH is all sad cuz undertaker made his BOYFRIEND the boy toy retire, AWESOME BOOKING WWE.....NOT...
I swear vince has a bunch of monkeys in the back with a typewriters writing this crap.. That promo was a wcw sting RIPOFF if i ever saw one.. So undertaker got taken out and ended up ina barn..

 

[Vintage Nick]

This storyline is crap... So HHH shows up out of nowhere and its the undertakers 100 return to raw after getting buried alive AGAIN... So undertaker gets buried alive by nexus and kane, hhh gets taken out of action by sheamus ummm and HHH is all sad cuz undertaker made his BOYFRIEND the boy toy retire, AWESOME BOOKING WWE.....NOT...
I swear vince has a bunch of monkeys in the back with a typewriters writing this crap.. That promo was a wcw sting RIPOFF if i ever saw one.. So undertaker got taken out and ended up ina barn..

You are obviously a twit or a troll. If you are the former, then I shall educate you.

You WON'T get all the answers in the first week, and everything may be explained next week or hell, even this Friday Night Smackdown. And this storyline does make sense if Trips is just out for justice because the Undertaker retired his best friend. How the fuck would you feel if your closest friend got put out of work because of someone else?? I'd want revenge on them too.

Also, how was it a Sting rip-off? It was classical Undertaker.

 

[Igloo Jones]

WWE didn't let the IWC down; the IWC let the IWC down. Instead of watching the first promo and saying "Oh, hey, what if it's Sting? That'd be cool" and waiting patiently for the answer all of the IWC had to freeze frame scenes from the three promo videos we got and look for things that weren't there. It's because of the IWC's unfounded self importance that they're so let down. The second video had reference to a person rising from a grave, and the third HAD THE UNDERTAKER RIGHT THERE.

You know why they didn't show that close up shot of The Undertaker during all the countdown promos tonight? Because it was put there last week to let you know it was the Undertaker and kill speculation. It wasn't there tonight to keep the live audience and people who were tuning into WWE for the first time in a long time in suspense. It was done in the moment. That's how WWE does a lot of things lately.

Did I think there was a possibility it could have been Sting? Sure. You expect the unexpected when it comes to "sports entertainment". Did I accept the fact that it was The Undertaker after the second promo? Yes. WWE SHOWED YOU THE GUY IN THE THIRD VIDEO, WHAT MORE COULD YOU HAVE WANTED?

"Oh but there's someone outside the cabin holding a bat, and there are scorpions on the steps, and Sting's face was on the wall!"

The cabin, the cabin, the cabin. Fuck the cabin.

The HHH/Undertaker showdown was great. The two instantly established the importance for this storyline and they didn't have to say a word. If The Rock came out last week during a Cena segment and just stared him down and Raw went off the air you guys would be calling it brilliant. The only reason you're not is because you packed yourselves full of your own shit. You saw things in those promos that weren't there because YOU WANTED TO SEE THEM. Step outside the box for a minute. WWE showed you Undertaker in the promo last week and you guys were still convinced it wasn't him. No one but yourselves to blame.

And for all these Sting fans, don't you remember the build up to Sting returning to WCW? The guy didn't say a word. What did he do. HE STARED AT PEOPLE. What did Taker/HHH do tonight? THEY STARED AT EACH OTHER. Yet somehow something from the "classic wrestling" we all grew up on sucks now, when you guys are begging for more of those classic moments to return? You're all a little nuts, seriously.

Bottom line, tens of thousands of people were cheering the segment feverishly in the arena. A couple hundred people on the internet bitched that it wasn't Sting. The solution? Get over it.

 

[Xemmy]

I was extremely dissappointed. I enjoyed Taker's return of course, but Triple H was a buzz kill for me. I don't mind an interuption, but an interuption with no one talking was ricockulous. They didn't even cut a promo. And I'm sure someone will say that they didn't need to.

No. They needed to bring up WHY they were going to face each other. Just going into the ring and staring at each other while Triple H just tries to steal the return glory isn't good enough. Taker should have gotten on the mic for about 30 or 40 seconds to yap about his return and how he's unstoppable at 'Mania, and how not even Shawn could get the job done. Then have Trips come out and interupt him.

It really was poorly done. I understand that even the crowd knew why Trips was out there, but the way the two acted made it seem like some stupid clammer of "What? You think you're better than me? Let's fight!"

 

[King of Kings 1985]

First off, I wasn't disapointed by the fact that it wasn't Sting. I mean, I wanted to believe that maybe Sting was on his way to WWE, but as I saw no evidence to back up Sting during the 2/21/11 Promos I had no reason to expect him. My thoughts that it was going to be Sting came from my own mind, not the WWE. They never implied it was Sting. They told us. however, that it was Undertaker.

Now that, that's out of the way, I have two points about the segement last night..

1, When the countdown for 2/21/11 was over and we had it confirmed that it was Undertaker, the live crowd at Raw, almost sounded.. dissapointed, there was very little reaction for Undertaker. However the dissapointment seemed to vanish once Triple H's music hit. The crowd when nuts! This however could cause a problem for WWE with the Creative for Wrestlemania. It's known that Triple H wants to be a heel again. However if he's only going to be active until Wrestlemania. I can't see it happening, no matter what WWE or Triple H want. Let me explain..

Undertaker gets no reaction - everyone wanted Sting - but Triple H got a huge reaction. When Undertaker when to walk away, the crowd booed, when Triple H crouch-chopped the fans loved it. They were chanting Triple H. And also if it's going to be - as we assume - a revenge mission for HBK having to retire, then why would the fans hate Triple H for that? Avenging the loss of his best friend, who the fans loved. No one's going to boo Triple H for that - they're going to hate Undertaker for it. Now I don't know where Vince stands on Undertaker but I feel he may have to consider a 'Taker heel turn.

My second point.. as happy as I was that Triple H and Undertaker returned last night, after all the build-up there was no pay-off what so ever. 'Taker didn't speak, neither did Triple H, they didn;t fight or anything. After the three weeks of Promo's the only thing they acheived was telling me that Undertaker had gone back to wearing what he wore at Wrestlemania XX. So in all honesty those Promo's were a waste.

In closing, although the segment wasn't what I expected, I liked it nontheless, it's planted the seed and now we'll have to see where WWE takes it. It could be good or it could leave the Wrestlemania crowd chanting 'WE WANT STING'

 

[TheKev]

Personally I dont want to see Taker v HHH, however I thought what they did last night was good, not great but good. T o me The Undertaker's character does not lend itself to talking to much, it dulls the mystery. HHH interupting his big return, well this years big return anyway, is a good way to beging a fued. Both men had reasons to be pissed with the other, HHH at the retiring of HBK (a year later is a bit of a streatch but...) and Taker for the interuption. Im sure everyone could have done something different and in their eyes better, but thats for a different discussion.

 

[Sparky]

Great way to do it. I can't see any better way. the undertaker isn't that fantastic on the mike anyway. While the miz and Cena are focusing on upping their Mic skills, two veterans come out and set up a Wrestlemania match without making a single word? Remember the old saying, Action speaks louder then words. and it paid off tonight imo.

The thing I'm not looking forward to is if the rumours are true and this is the way HHH retires. that will make it, three out of the last four wrestlemania's that have had a career ending storyline. it's getting old. Good idea having this match but not with the stipulation please.

 

[The Mighty Tiger]

I think you guys are forgetting the biggest point to why HHH vs Undertaker is a ridiculous idea, IT'S BEEN DONE ALREADY Now if they hadn't already thrown down before at a Mania then the Raw stare down would have been epic, but we are talking about HHH, The Cerebral Assassin he has enough common sense to know that he can't beat Taker at Mania so why would he challenge him again just to get bashed. This storyline just doesn't make sense HHH tried to stop HBK from fighting Taker again so if HBK couldn't do it after 2 trys why would HHH try when H has already stated before that HBK was better than him. I feel like seeing that they already knew that there wasn't going to be a superstar that was a realistic challenge for Taker this year they should have put Taker in a storyline that didn't focus on him being undefeated. Maybe put him in a triple theat or fatal 4 way so that way we would be more on the edge of our seats, w/this storyline HHH is just gon talk about ohh you retired my friend then they gon go to mania which I do believe the match will be good, but the outcome is going to be the same as Mania 17 HHH getting bashed and this match just like the last one is not for a title!!!!

 

[Jack-Hammer]

The idiocy of modern wrestling fans boggles the mind sometimes. Anyone disappointed in that segment has absolutely no clue whatsoever, not the slightest idea, about what storytelling is all about in wrestling.

The Undertaker & Triple H are both legends, both have pretty much done it all and against just about everybody worth doing it with. They both have amazing presence and used that presence to get across the whole idea the segment was about without having to utter a single word. They were able to convey a message, tell a storyline, and set up the build for their match at WrestleMania last night better than 95% of wrestlers past or present could do if you gave them a mic and let them talk for 20 minutes.

It was a different and unique method of getting across a message that simply won't work with the vast majority of wrestlers. It worked perfectly here because of the the two men who were in the ring.

 

[Newman]

The segment was great, but the angle was not. The hype, promos were absolutely unwarranted.

It was one heck of a segment. No words (Fits Taker style while HHH looked like a beast) as intense as one would like. Its was disappointing because the IWC speculated that it was Sting, they thought it was Sting and you can show them Taker's entire face in that last promo, they will still hope that it will be Sting. Now that it is not, they will probably hope that Sting will somehow debut and find his way into a Triple Threat Streak Match. My point is that even though, the WWE made a meal out of this angle, the IWC ate it up and came up with all kinds of speculation and in the end, they disappointed themselves.

However, now that it has more or less been official (With only stipulations possibly added on), I think that this will be a good feud. However, the question is it big enough for people to make Mania a 'must buy'? I think that the ones who did not buy Mania last year, with Career vs Streak and Cena vs Batista, I highly suspect that they will not buy this one either. Its down to the WWE and how they build Mania up, until then, I am not sure if people are going to buy Mania.

 

[Mustang Sally]

I guess I have to educate why the segment was not disappointing in the slightest. What you just saw was HHH and Undertaker telling a story without having to say a damn word. Just by their reaction and body language, you knew what they wanted and you know what's going to happen and they did a damn good job of doing it. You need to get your head checked if you thought that was a disappointing segment.

It's a two-sided coin. You're right; the segment itself was effective......yet I was disappointed just the same.

Sure, I think we all knew that Undertaker was a part of the whole 2-21-11 scenario, but as much as I'm a fan of Triple H, I felt let down that the other guy wasn't Sting. After all, Steve Borden showing up in WWE would have been a genuine event......but seeing two guys who've been there for a long time and that we knew were returning soon winding up as the only characters in the promo was a disappointment.

But, let optimism prevail: I'll look forward to 'Taker-Triple H at WM and whatever they're going to do leading up to it......but I still hold some hope that Sting is going to show up. After all, WWE knew damn well that their fans were looking for it, especially after the Daily News reported it, yet Vince did nothing to dispel the rumors even though he had to know it would hurt the ultimate effect of his promos. Also, if TNA is still associated with Sting, why didn't they burst the bubble these last weeks?

But still; the 'Taker-Triple H segment was excellent in itself. Telling a story without saying a word is one of the hardest things to do.....and they did it very well.

 

[HBKFTW]

I dont think Taker has lost his touch. I think the crowd cheered Triple H more because his return was unexpected. Every one and their grandma knew either sting or taker were coming back (most likely taker) and it turned out to be taker there were even signs saying "Dead man walking" and stuff like that. I think the crowd were just pleased to see something unexpected because those generally make the best moments in wwe.

 

[JBSMan]

I guess I have to educate why the segment was not disappointing in the slightest. What you just saw was HHH and Undertaker telling a story without having to say a damn word. Just by their reaction and body language, you knew what they wanted and you know what's going to happen and they did a damn good job of doing it. You need to get your head checked if you thought that was a disappointing segment.

Exactly, that's entirely the point of wrestling.

Most people are only getting upset because something THEY imagined and perpetuated didn't happen.

 

[Marv95]

I have no desire to watch HHH and Taker when it has already been done.

And the whole angle seemed confusing and pointless. Who orchestrated 2/21/11? Am I supposed to forget Sheamus putting Trips out of action and Kane, Barrett, etc. burying Undertaker?

 

[TheGamea]

I DON'T GIVE A FLYNG HELL

HHH

Came back

nuff said…

He could have taken a dump in the ring IT WAS GREAT…

However I did hate the fact they dumped the shamus storyline (and have him fight DIRECTLY after) I think this could have turned into the HHH vs. RKO thing (look at how that pushed Orton career (even tho RKO was a star in his own right b4 than but that feud gave him his “crazy” gimmick)

But HHH is back all is right with the world…

 

[Olan]

I loved it. many people can grab a mic and sell a promo. It takes veteran talent to sell a promo without saying a word. Just as I had goosebumps last week with the Rock's promo, I had goosebumps again during the HHH/UT staredown. It was a joy watching 2 old pros selling it without a word. GREAT JOB!!!!

 

[Phoenix]

Trivia fact for you people, 80% of human communication is non-verbal, the majority of that being body language. Now for a show that heavily relies on the remaining 20% to cut a promo, last night we saw two legends of the business set up a match without evening using a mic at all, this was fantastic because this sold Mania for many, I can't blooming wait now! Fact is, Triple H interrupted Taker during his entrance, something people rarely do in this business which added an extra spark to his return on top of setting up the angle with Taker.

As for people saying about Sheamus and Kane/Barrett getting dropped for this, well firstly to get that out of the way, not every major superstar who returns must feud with the guy who took him out, while it seems logical on most part, it purely is just a waste of booking time to finish off a story that effectively ended over 4-8 months ago. Note that Taker came out first, you would think his intention would be to discuss the matter at hand, but Triple H interrupted him, and given the circumstances of what happened with Taker at last year's Mania, Triple H has his motive, he wants to face Taker to firstly, avenge HBK's retirement, secondly, to overcome his defeat at Mania X-Seven, if you look at Taker's smirk reaction to the intention look in Triple H's eyes, he knew why Hunter wanted the match and he just smirked in a "Yeah right" kind of way, only to change his mind.

That guys was perfect booking because it didn't need any words, if you watched Mania 26 alone, that tells enough to warrant the match. As for Kane/Sheamus/Barrett, it wasn't needed to resume, Taker can always go after them later or during Smackdown, there isn't any benefit to either 5 of those guys to waste time on something that isn't needed for Mania. It's done, enjoy the mark out of Triple H's return and the build up to what is more than likely to be his last ever match.