If you listen to former wrestling great Superstar Billy Graham, the match between The Undertaker and Shane McMahon for control of Raw and WWE signals a much bigger meaning than just the stipulation of the Deadman having to win in order to appear at another WrestleMania event.
As read on his Facebook page.
Well, as all of you know, Vince in his wisdom has felt that it is necessary to add a new stipulation to the Hell in The Cell match. The new stipulation that has been added to the Wrestlemania match between Shane McMahon and the Undertaker Hell in the Cell match is that if the Undertaker loses, he will not be allowed to ever wrestle in another mania match. A third grade level way of telling the millions of fans in the WWE universe that Taker is retiring. I personally am very disappointed in this childish stipulation.
However, I believe that the WWE should make this a very happy and positive occasion celebrating the Taker's career, instead of a sad and gloomy affair. To make this occasion an uplifting and even a spiritual event, the WWE should do the following: Have Big E come out beating on a big bass drum while circling the ring, followed by Xavier Woods playing his trombone, followed by Kofi Kingston throwing flowers to the fans out of a big wicker basket and, picking up the rear, Adam Rose sucking on a lollypop, skipping to the tune of that famous old gospel song "When The Saints Go Marching In."
Yes, this could be the swan song for the man who may be the most respected performer to get in a wrestling ring, ever! To see him in this kind of a programme is a bit disturbing, yet with Vince McMahon involved in this kind of production, we know anything is possible.
Now that we all know what may happen following a night in Dallas, we can all look upon ‘Taker’s career as one giant highlight reel full of opponents who he helped to make a star and vice versa.
Here is a look at his five greatest opponents.
5) Mankind
The Leap! Like many of you, I thought when Mick Foley jumped off the top of the cage in his match with Undertaker, he was a dead man.
Oh, how life and irony imitate art.
While it was not at WrestleMania, rather at the King of the Ring, it was still as impactful as any match ever witnessed and fought. The move and subsequent fallout was captured best by Jim Ross when he said, "Good God almighty! Good God almighty! That killed him! As God as my witness, he is broken in half!"
It’s a scene that not only changed the perception of this kind of match, but it also grew the legend of Foley as a wrestler who would die for the business. That move, in my opinion, changed him forever.
Both men were honoured by the fans with a standing ovation following the confrontation.
4) Brock Lesnar
The two have only met once at WrestleMania – two years ago – but that does not take away from the significance of how these two superstars just beat the hell out of each other in a three-match trilogy, which may have been the best feud of 2015.
An aging Undertaker rises once again to avenge the only loss at WrestleMania in 21 years.
You know, the one who defeated the one and was the one in 21-1, you get the picture. It also proved that a very suspect Undertaker, who looked out of shape and all but over with wrestling, got back off the mat and trained for these confrontations.
He looked every bit a challenger to Lesnar, who took the older veteran to Suplex City on more than one occasion. The arc and story told by these two men are like a few others, rivaling Rock-Austin and Triple H-Shawn Michaels.
3) Triple H
The last two times these two greats met, the matches sold themselves and the hype was well worth the price of admission. The two giants of this business actually have met three times at WrestleMania – 17, 27 and 28. All three matches were won by the Deadman. The last one, a Hell in a Cell match, was the best match of the night in Miami.
The rivalry between these two piggybacked off the momentum of a rivalry between Undertaker and Shawn Michaels. Undertaker went as far as to admit Michaels, Triple H’s best friend, was the better of the two wrestlers.
The ebb and flow of these confrontations were the personification of an era we all miss, where attitude and showmanship meant everything. Ironically, both men will have key roles in this year’s production, but neither paths have crossed since.
The other irony is while Triple H is the COO of WWE, he has a big stake in the match between Undertaker and Shane McMahon. Vince McMahon is the one holding the puppet strings on this one.
2) Shawn Michaels
Mr WrestleMania and the Phenom. It did not get any better than this. While it looked as those Michaels was undersized and outmatched by the much bigger and powerful ‘Taker, he held his own and put together some of the best matches in WrestleMania history.
The fact he was the special guest referee in the match between Undertaker and Triple H at WrestleMania 28 shows how personal the history between these two is.
For two years, WrestleMania 25 and 26, Michaels tried to do the impossible in ending the streak. Both times he failed. But his legend grew even after his two legendary matches in the company’s biggest setting.
The image of Michaels, Triple H and Undertaker walking back up the ramp after the match when ‘Taker barely escaped with a win is forever etched in history as one of the single greatest moments in the annals of WrestleMania lore.
1) Kane
There could only be one. Kane and Undertaker have such a deep history as “brothers” in professional wrestling history. The two have met at WrestleMania 14 and WrestleMania 20.
Few angles have been as compelling. Few angles have yet to be completed. If there is one wrestler who should end ‘Taker’s career, it might be the Big Red Monster. Since 1997 these two have been linked by family, Paul Bearer and unfinished business.
Last year, the two joined forces to combat the Wyatt Family. This year, there still is a chance the two meet at some point – with career and remembrance on the line. When Kane made his first appearance at WWE Bad Blood, he became the single figure to stop the Deadman in his tracks. Could there be another opportunity to tear arenas down as both wrestlers near the end of their storied careers?
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