Win or lose in the end?

[The Other Hardy Brother]

At the end of a superstars career the decision must be made. Should he win his last match, or should he lose? On one hand if the superstar is one of the biggest names you have and a big fan favorite you want them to win their last match so the fans and the superstar can have one last moment together ala Ric Flair at Wrestlemania 24. On the other hand the goal in the wrestling business has always been to create new stars with your older talent. If a veteran is retiring isn't it good business to create a new star with his name value? What if you put the guy over and instead of retiring he goes to a rival company and makes them more money. Then you made a mistake by creating another star for them instead of creating a new star for yourself. However certain guys like the Rock and Steve Austin have a legendary status in the industry and they deserve that type of moment for everything they have done. Also I'm sure a few of us would have liked to see Rock,Austin,or Shawn Michaels win their last match. So I ask you should superstars win their last match or do they owe it to the promoter to put over the next big star in the end. I say they should put someone over. We as fans would love to see all our favorite superstars go out on top. But it is a business and the WWE and TNA have to protect themselves and do what is best for their company be creating new talent. If a superstar is retiring it is his responsibility to put over the next big star of the company.

What say you?

 

[La Parka]

Story wise, I think 'Taker needs to lose his last match. Play up someone small, someone face, someone who would probably be squashed in a heartbeat by the Deadman. I know Funaki isn't with the WWE anymore, but he would be perfect. Play up 'Taker as an ultra-heel, have him bully the smaller man, and have it culminate at Wrestlemania, where the match itself feels like just a horrendous squash, except...

The smaller guy won't stay down. 'Taker is trying and trying and trying, but...the smaller man won't stay down! Has to end in a sneak pin of some kind, with everyone fucking shocked, that this occurred. I think that'd be great. It's a shame they don't have Funaki or Spike anymore. Maybe Rey, if he could move more, nowadays.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Depends on the situation. For instance, if Taker's last match in the WWE takes place at a WrestleMania, then I think Taker needs to go out on top. The Streak has become a big part of Taker's legacy. Year round, commentators hype his WrestleMania undefeated streak all the time and it's generally one of the highlights of WrestleMania.

One reason why I think so, though I might be wrong on this, is that when Taker decides to hang it up then it'll stay hung up. So many wrestlers in the past have done the whole retirement gig to the point that it almost doesn't mean anything anymore. A good number of fans still do criticize Flair for getting back into the ring after the epic send off he got in the WWE, but that's neither here nor there. I have a feeling that if Taker's last match does happen at a WM, it'll be his last match. If Taker did lose at Mania, a lot of people would be bummed quite frankly. It could be a great shocking moment but, sometimes, it's simply better to go with what you know is gonna make the audience feel good. When it comes to Taker at WrestleMania, having The Streak go on makes the audience feel good.

It wouldn't surprise me, however, if Taker did opt to lose at WM is if he plans to retire. Taker has always been a pro's pro backstage and Taker knows that having a young guy go over him at WM and end The Streak could be huge for that guy. A lot of fans might not want to see it happen, but I think Taker would do it if it meant elevating someone to the next level.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

Story wise, I think 'Taker needs to lose his last match. Play up someone small, someone face, someone who would probably be squashed in a heartbeat by the Deadman. I know Funaki isn't with the WWE anymore, but he would be perfect. Play up 'Taker as an ultra-heel, have him bully the smaller man, and have it culminate at Wrestlemania, where the match itself feels like just a horrendous squash, except...

The smaller guy won't stay down. 'Taker is trying and trying and trying, but...the smaller man won't stay down! Has to end in a sneak pin of some kind, with everyone fucking shocked, that this occurred. I think that'd be great. It's a shame they don't have Funaki or Spike anymore. Maybe Rey, if he could move more, nowadays.

Are you honestly suggesting that Undertaker should do the job in his last match at Wrestlemania to a Spike Dudley or a Funaki?!

That would be a horrendous decision in my opinion and an insult to everything The Undertaker has done for the WWE. It is a very tough decision on whether to let the Deadman end his career with a win or a loss due to the legendary WM winning streak, and it is a decision I would not like to make!

The obvious thought would be to have him lose to someone who is being built up to be the next major star, or to another top level superstar (e.g. John Cena as a heel). This would get his opponent major heat for FINALLY killing off the Undertaker character, after so many returns from the "dead".

BUT going out with a win and then "vanishing" in to thin air with everyone wondering where he went would leave the door open for rare appearances from the Deadman in the future, and we all know that Vince likes former superstars to show their faces every now and again. I think that this will end up being the option that the WWE go with to be honest, I cannot see hem ending Undertakers winning streak at Wrestlemania.

But doing the job for Funaki??? NO FUCKING WAY

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

Its the way pro wrestling works. A guy should lose his final match because he has nothing to benefit from winning it. Sure the crowd may like it especially if the guy happens to be a big star but it surely does not benefit the business. Whenever a guy is booked to win a match, a lot of thought goes in behind that booking. Angles and matches are booked in such a way that, in most cases, all the superstars involved in it must benefit from it. A guy winning his final match might create a great moment but it messes up everything else.

I think even Undertaker should not win his final match. Now you surely cannot end his streak which has a life of its own. So the obvious solution here is for Undertaker to not retire at Wrestlemania. You can have an angle where WWE are building up their next mega heel and Undertaker challenges him to a match at Wrestlemania and this heel replies by saying:" Who's saying your even gonna reach Wrestlemania?" and then he takes Undertaker out in a buried alive match at say Royal Rumble or Survivor Series. That way this heel can get even more over because the fans will hate him for denying them from seeing one more Undertaker match.

 

[Post]

Hell, if Funaki is going to be the one to do it then we might as well call up Maven on the home shopping channel and see if he isn't busy. At least that would make more sense.

I always hoped that Shawn Michaels would go out on top. I attended Wrestlemania last year in AZ because Shawn is my all-time favorite. But, from the beginning of the storyline, I knew he would lose. I guess that I just wanted to be there for his last match. I wish he would have won.

In general, Jack Hammer really nailed it. It all depends on the wrestler and the situation. Taker has to retire undefeated at Wrestlemania. This is one of the biggest stories in the history of wrestling. To end it with him losing, at this point, would just be wrong.

I liked the way Flair went out v. Shawn (for a while at least). The match had emotion and excitement and the story was well developed. Plus, it did not make Ric look like a loser or has-been. The match was itself a tribute to his career.

I hated the way JBL went out. Just plain anti-climatic...no build-up, no hype. He just said I quit. Same goes for Batista.

The Rock did the right thing. He was on his way to Hollywood and Brock was the chosen one. Rock did the job because he loved the business.

Really sad that Stone Cold never got to have a big send-off match.

 

[bookerman]

It's a silly question. Wrestlers are like rockstars, in the sense that they rarely ever retire. Sure, they might have a "last match" or whatever send-off you could think off, but they'll be back. Flair's had like...50 of those. It might take 5 years, 10 years, but they'll be back, hell they might event compete regularly, or atleast sporadicly. My opinion is that it has to be done with some degree of moral fiber, not by a rule of thumb. You want to elevate someone - job the veteran. You want to give the people a breeze of nostalgia - put the veteran over, etc.

P.S. Whatever happened to jobbing on your way out of a company? Back in the day, when they knew a wrestler was leaving, they got the most of it and had him put as many people over as he could. It's a big part that's just missing nowadays...

 

[Dagger Dias]

I think they need to lose their last match unless they are a legend among legends, and that category is so small that you could count them on your fingers. The overwhelming majority of wrestlers fit the criteria of those who should put someone over in their last match. Look at Shawn Michaels, even he put over Taker's streak as his last match. If someone is retiring they should find a friend they want to put over, or someone they will trust with passing the torch to, and let them win the match. This should happen more often because it helps build new stars and the cycle can continue.