Despite only wrestling one night annually, The Undertaker once again stole the show at this year’s WrestleMania 28, putting on an epic battle for the ages against Triple H in the “End of an Era” Hell in a Cell match.

Taker, who is now 47 years old and has wrestled for over two decades with the WWE, looked in fantastic shape and all the pre-match talk over how badly his body had been beaten up and how he was too hurt to perform at his best, immediately was forgotten about when the bell first rang.

Reviews of The Undertaker vs. Triple H’s match have been hugely positive, some saying the match of the year was undeniably decided at the Sun Life Stadium. And encouragingly, the news is talk of any retirement for The Undertaker soon is wide off the mark;

WrestlingInc.com report via F4WOnline:

As noted before, people backstage at WrestleMania 28 were talking about how good The Undertaker looked in the ring and the belief is that he will at least work WrestleMania 29. Word now is that Taker will likely work several more WrestleMania events from here on out.

So as attention recently has turned to the future with Brock Lesnar signing a one year contract with the WWE (which obviously would expire at next year’s WrestleMania 29, meaning a huge blow off match is likely) and The Rock recently proclaiming that he not only wants to be WWE champion again but that he will be apart of next year’s show, many WWE fans have started to predict how next year’s show might line-up.

Suddenly and despite Taker having only wrestled two veteran wrestlers in the past four years, wrestling both Shawn Michaels and Triple H in quick succession, the pool of candidates for Taker’s opponent at next year’s WrestleMania looks wide open.

A few candidates are being regularly spoken about;

Brock Lesnar - Which personally would be my choice for an opponent. With The Undertaker having wrestled with a mohawk this year and looking more like a grizzled veteran/MMA style grappler rather than a Phenom/Deadman, I would definitely go with a very personal feud between Taker and Lesnar. We all remember their confrontation when Taker showed up to watch Lesnar at UFC and this could be played off… plus having Lesnar as the next candidate for Taker brings with it the added fanbase of those who might for one night believe the encounter is actually a real bout, given Lesnar’s recent background. And just the idea of how Taker could ever beat this monster to keep his streak alive. I would make it a down and dirty match, full of blood and more like the encounter they had ten years ago.

John Cena – Another strong rumour is that WWE are planning on making their top star Cena face Taker next year. But then I struggle to see the upside in this one. Cena would have to be a face as turning him heel would be suicide for the character and at next year’s WrestleMania he really needs to come out the victor against someone. More sense would be Cena vs The Rock II with Cena coming out victorious this time around. If Cena was to face The Undertaker at WrestleMania, he would have to lose.

Wade Barrett or Sheamus – Both superstars expected to have huge pushes over the next year and in fact both pushes have already started. Barrett was going strong in a feud with Randy Orton before he injured himself in the build up to WrestleMania. And for Sheamus, he obviously has just won the World Title and is being pushed as a real top star right now. After The Undertaker has fought only veterans at the end of their careers in recent years, it may be time for Taker to put over a young competitor and make them an instant star attraction in one night.

Chris Jericho – One feud that has never really been fully explored is one between Y2J and Taker. They have of course fought each other several times over the years but a big marquee match at a PPV the size of WrestleMania has never happened and with Jericho still capable of pulling off a five star match, the idea of this bout would be electric. The only problem with a Taker vs Jericho match however is that nobody would believe Jericho would come out the victor but then the suspension of disbelief over Taker losing at WrestleMania is probably only going to be present if he faces Lesnar.

 

We want to hear from you folks… who should be the 21st victim of The Undertaker at WrestleMania 29? And should Taker’s streak finally come to an end at the hands of this opponent?

Want to write about the stuff you're passionate about and have your work read by an audience of over 10 million a month? Click here to become a contributor.

In this post: • •