The Undertaker holds one of the most talked-out winning streaks in wrestling. Every year at Wrestlemania, the Undertaker is booked to defeat anyone and everyone put in his path. It has become so consistent that the streak itself has become the focal point of his Wrestlemania feuds. It has been a good run, but in professional wrestling, streaks are meant to be broken.
Bear in mind that this is in no way directed at WWE or the Undertaker. Not that they would take me too seriously anyway. I’m sure both WWE and Undertaker are content with the idea of giving the honor of breaking the streak to someone worthy. This is more directed at fans as well as some figures at major wrestling news sites who have said the streak should not be broken.
The Undertaker made his Wrestlemania debut at Mania VII. He defeated “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka and started a long line of wins at WWE’s biggest event of the year.
1.) Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka : WrestleMania VII (1991)
2.) Jake "The Snake" Roberts : WrestleMania VIII (1992)
3.) Giant Gonzales : WrestleMania IX (1993)
4.) King Kong Bundy : WrestleMania XI (1995)
5.) Diesel : WrestleMania XII (1996)
6.) Sycho Sid : WrestleMania 13 (1997)
7.) Kane : WrestleMania XIV (1998)
8.) The Big Boss Man : WrestleMania XV (1999)
9.) Triple H : WrestleMania X-7 (2001)
10.) Ric Flair : WrestleMania X-8 (2002)
11.) A-Train and The Big Show : WrestleMania XIX (2003)
12.) Kane : WrestleMania XX (2004)
13.) Randy Orton : WrestleMania 21 (2005)
14.) Mark Henry : WrestleMania 22 (2006)
Due to injury, the Undertaker did not wrestle at Wrestlemania X or Wrestlemania 2000. Still, the winning streak is not an iron man record, so it makes no difference. I could not tell you which year the winning streak was first mentioned, but I can say with my relatively good memory that around Wrestlemania X-7 when Undertaker faced Triple H in a very good (and often underrated and forgotten) match, the streak was talked about with great reverence. By Wrestlemania X-8, it was one of the major points of the feud. When the match was done, Undertaker held up ten fingers to show that his streak had reached double digits. After that, every Wrestlemania feud for the Undertaker was about his opponent trying to break his record and make a name for himself by being the man to finally get it done. This was especially true these past couple years against Randy Orton and Mark Henry.
Something else interesting started happening in recent years. Word from the newsletters said that Undertaker was ready to put over someone worthy of being the man to break the streak. Despite what some bitter haters might say, all indications are that Mark Calaway is a true professional. Undertaker was said to be comfortable giving the rub to his on-screen brother Kane but that did not materialize. That was probably for the best, considering Kane’s upper status will never go away. He’s made. Randy Orton vs. Undertaker was supposed to be the end of the streak, but unfortunately for Orton, the young superstar suffered a shoulder injury shortly before the match. Plans changed. Orton lost the match and was on the shelf for months. It made sense. Why give Orton the biggest win of his career at a time when he was about to go away and not be able to capitalize on it?
Let’s sort this through. Undertaker’s winning streak should be broken for the same reason that nearly every wrestler ends his career with a loss. Because the tradition of the business is to put someone over on your way out. It’s a fixed sport. There is no need to leave with a win when a retiring wrestler can give something to the next generation of wrestlers.
The breaking of the streak means two things. One, in the short-term, it means one of the most memorable Wrestlemania moments of all time. Two, in the long-term, it means the elevation of a young wrestler to the next level. Defeating the Undertaker at Wrestlemania nearly guarantees someone credibility to the fans. If Undertaker retires with the streak intact, nobody else can benefit from it.
In fact, retiring with the Wrestlemania winning streak intact helps nobody -- not even the Undertaker! He would be retired. It could no longer help him and his career. Do you think that it would be this friendly gesture for him? A retired Undertaker would not be saying “Gee, I’m sure glad my fake wins are still unbroken. I’m proud of that and nobody was put over. Get me a beer, Sara.” No way. Because Undertaker seems like a reasonable and intelligent man.
A lot of fans (mostly huge Undertaker marks) want the streak to remain intact because they think it’s so damn great that it should never be broken. As if it is something we can all share and look back on with fondness the way that baseball fans look back on Cal Ripken’s iron man status. Ripken’s record is real. Undertaker’s is through booking. Wrestling is about getting people over. It’s time.
In fact, when I say that it’s time, I do not mean that this is overdue and that it should not have gone on this long. It feels like the appropriate length right about now. When I say that it’s time, I mean that it needs to happen within the next few years. For one, Undertaker could suffer a serious injury and be forced to retire or just get so beaten down that he feels like hanging up his boots. For another, the Undertaker is getting older. He will be forty-two years old at Wrestlemania 23. If someone defeats a broken down forty-seven year-old Undertaker, it will not be as impressive as defeating him today when he is still putting on match of the year candidates and is still very mobile.
This requires more explanation and an example. Ric Flair occassionally loses clean to young up-and-comers. He’s Ric Flair. He is considered one of the best wrestlers of all time. However, he’s in his fifties, so it is perfectly acceptable and believable for young wrestlers to beat him clean. If Undertaker is wrestling at fifty and that’s when WWE pulls the trigger by having a youngster end his streak, it will not be as big as it would be at Wrestlemania 23 or 24.
Now that I have (hopefully) convinced the good readers that the streak must be broken, let’s look at some of the potential contenders.
Edge. Streak vs. streak feud. The only man in WWE who comes anywhere near Undertaker’s Wrestlemania winning streak is Edge. He is 5 – 0 currently, taking his most recent victory over Mick Foley in a hardcore match. Edge mentioned his undefeated streak in an interview on Raw once, and unlike the “I’ve never lost a TLC match!” claim, this one is true. So this is not something WWE would just pull out of the blue. The hype would be intense. At the end of the night, someone’s streak would be over. That’s money.
Randy Orton. They tried it before, but due to the injury, Orton was not in a position to beat the streak. The attempt could be made again, though. That way, Undertaker and Orton can both trade wins at Wrestlemania and both wrestlers would be agreeable to that. The major problem that could block this is that even after all this time, WWE probably is not confident Orton is their “man of the future” due to his problems with authority.
Mr. Kennedy. Undertaker and Kennedy have been feuding for a good part of this year. Seemingly, the feud is over since the big blowoff was Armageddon. However, I would not be shocked to see this keep going. Is Kennedy the man to take the streak? He certainly has the credentials. Whoever takes it could make their career, and with Kennedy just getting started but already very much over, that’s his ticket to the main event. The only problem I can see is that he may not be ready for it.
Batista. Rumors have begun to circulate about Undertaker vs. Batista at Wrestlemania 23. This means ‘Taker could be winning the Royal Rumble. While this is all still speculation, if it does happen, Batista could be the man do it. Although, I would personally be against it being Batista for a couple reasons. First, Batista would be anywhere between thirty-seven to forty-one years old (depending on who you believe) at Wrestlemania next year. When people try to hide their age, it is more likely that the older one is true. Batista isn’t a spring chicken. Second, he is prone to injury. That, coupled with his age, means he might not be wrestling in a few years.
Maybe some others have a shot, but I can’t currently see WWE giving the honor to other rising stars like CM Punk, Gregory Helms, Montel Vontavious Porter or…um…The Miz. I would say that in the near future, Orton, Kennedy, Batista and Edge are the most likely candidates to finally beat Undertaker’s streak.
I hope I have convinced some of you who were in favor of Undertaker never losing at Wrestlemania. I hope I have reinforced what the rest of you already knew: If the Undertaker retires with his winning streak unbroken, it will be one of the greatest missed opportunities in WWE history.
