10 Choices To Break The Undertaker's Streak at Wrestlemania 28

By Patrick Farren /

Its that time of the year again. Soon we€™ll be getting ready for the Royal Rumble and once THAT is over we€™ll be on the Road to Wrestlemania, though it's already started a little earlier this time out with the John Cena/The Rock teaming at the Survivor Series to build up their Wrestlemania 28 main event. Every year now, along with the Wrestlemania main event, we€™re guaranteed at least one other huge match in the form of the Undertaker defending his undefeated streak. The record currently stands at 19-0, making this year his chance to go 20 matches without a loss. This year, we really have no way of telling what kind of physical shape Undertaker is in, since he hasn€™t had a single match since last year's encounter against Triple H so it€™s a hard one to call. But recently Wrestling Observer reported that The Undertaker's match next year would be 'huge' and the opponent is already locked in for the second biggest match on the card. With that in mind, let€™s look at ten possibilities of who the Deadman could face and see if they can live up to that kind of billing. WWE have backed themselves into a corner somewhat, considering in the fans eyes, Undertaker HAS to face someone capable of beating him every year now. It can€™t just be anyone. I don€™t think anyone believes that the streak will ever be broken, so matter who he faces, the outcome is almost set in stone. Some of these might be more hope than reality, but let€™s take the angle that anything could happen between now and Wrestlemania. Spoiler Alert: I won€™t be mentioning Sting. 1. Undertaker vs. Triple H Let€™s get the obvious one of the way first. After they tore the house down at last year's Wrestlemania, Undertaker was carried out of the arena and hasn€™t been seen on WWE TV since. Following that, Triple H cut an impassioned promo saying that when Undertaker returned, he wanted a rematch. So, when Undertaker comes back, does Triple H get the shot he wants? Considering the great match they had last year, I wouldn€™t blame WWE if they went for another meeting between the two. It's already something they have done with Undertaker and Shawn Michaels, giving them the second chance at the extravaganza to show what they can do. Added to that is the fact that the two also had a great match at Wrestlemania 17, even though it wasn€™t mentioned at all in the build-up to last year's match. If WWE went this way, I wouldn€™t be surprised at all. Triple H is currently in a feud with long time friend Kevin Nash, but hoping that's not a six month program (fingers crossed) after that I can€™t easily see where he goes and who he faces next. This leads me to question what HHH would be doing at the big show if he€™s NOT facing the Undertaker. Perhaps the Miz or Alberto Del Rio would be chosen as the top heel to go against the Cerebral Assassin. I hope Mark Henry isn€™t. Another thing to consider is that the last match between them took place under no DQ rules so if it happens, this match would have to be another step up from that. My suggestion: Hell in a Cell. No one has been in more Hell in a Cell matches than Undertaker and Triple H, with both arguably able to call it a specialty match. Despite this, they€™ve never faced EACH OTHER one on one in a Cell (they were both in the 6 man Hell in a Cell at Armageddon however.) The match could be billed not only as the Undertaker going 20-0 but also as a match to see who is the real master of the Hell in a Cell. The other option of course is a Triple Threat match also featuring Shawn Michaels, but that would involve talking HBK out of retirement. 2. Undertaker vs. CM Punk Since Undertaker€™s last appearance, no ones stock has risen more than that of CM Punk. He single-handedly made WWE 'must see TV' again in the Summer of 2011 with his worked-shoot angle against John Cena and Triple H. Though the majority of that buzz has since fizzled away, Punk still has the fans behind him and carries some serious momentum after recently beating Alberto Del Rio for the Title. Undertaker vs. CM Punk would only be successful in my eyes if they properly harnessed Punk€™s €œPipe Bomb€ mic skills and let him loose on the Undertaker. I for one would love to see CM Punk allowed to address the rumours that Undertaker was allegedly instrumental in getting the title taken off Punk a few years ago, when he had the nerve to question the WWE€™s dress code. But would WWE let Punk talk down to their biggest and most loyal star? I don€™t see it happening, and that would leave an angle between the two feeling disappointing. However, if done right, and the Undertaker was allowed to speak CM Punk vs. The Undertaker could be a big success. Plus the WWE title match would most definitely live up to a second billing on the card match. 3. Undertaker vs. Chris Jericho Although there is confusion abound about whether or not Jericho is actually re-signing with WWE this has to be brought up as a possibility. I won€™t go into the speculation about whether the latest "It Begins" video package is meant for Jericho or someone else as its being covered by conspiracy theorists all over the net. But considering the lack of top name talent in the company currently, should Jericho come back he should come back as a TOP star. If Jericho comes back, I don€™t expect him to come back as the slow talking heel he was before he left, since hes talked that gimmick down in recent comments about people stealing his gimmicks. However, if this is to happen, he does need to come back serious. To make the match have an extra spice of importance, I'd add the World Title to the mix but a problem with that is that Daniel Bryan has vowed to cash in his briefcase for the title at Wrestlemania. Thing is that despite both men being in WWE at the same time for a long time they have rarely crossed paths. Looking at the other big stars who will be around to face Undertaker, Jericho seems to be one of the only likely ones who hasn€™t had a previous attempt to beat the Streak. Cena will be busy with the Rock. HHH, Orton, Mark Henry and Big Show have all had chances and failed. When Jericho comes back, he already has ready made feuds with ex-partners the Miz and Wade Barrett, but a Wrestlemania showdown with the Undertaker would be another massive accomplishment to add to Jericho€™s long list. 4. Undertaker vs. Mick Foley Mick Foley may have just got back in WWE, but its never too early to start thinking up ideas, especially as it's no secret that he is to get one more run towards a match at Wrestlemania. I don€™t even need to tell you about the history between Foley and the Undertaker. Anyone with even a passing interest in wrestling has heard about or seen the Hell in a Cell footage between the two. Mick and Undertaker had some more encounters since that match, but nothing on the scale of that match at King of the Ring 1998. I know many years have passed and both are at varying degrees of physical wellness, but I€™ve learned to never count either of these men out. Foley showed against Edge at Wrestlemania that he could still have an effective big time match, and Undertaker has proved it for the past few years against Triple H and Shawn Michaels. One more massive gimmick match at Wrestlemania 28 would be a fitting tribute and end of one of the most brutal chapters in WWE history. 5. Undertaker vs. Sheamus The Great White vs. the Lord of Darkness. Ginger vs. Ginger. To the best of my knowledge, Undertaker and Sheamus have never squared off. And if it€™s going to happen, why not save it for the €œGrandest Stage of them All.€ Sheamus has been on the receiving end of a second big push and has gotten himself well over as a face, thanks in part to a series of excellent matches against Christian. Giving Sheamus another strong push between now and Wrestlemania would help build him as a credible challenger to the undefeated streak. Not just high profile wins, but feats of destruction against the likes of Big Show, Mark Henry and the returning Kane would help him strike up some believability ahead of taking on the Deadman. Let€™s just hope Undertaker remembers his spray tan, or it might be the brightest, palest match in Wrestlemania history. 6. Undertaker vs. Alberto Del Rio The Alberto del Rio experiment has been a mostly positive one, and he might not be champion anymore but he is most definitely a believable contender. Losing the WWE Title to Cena and now to Punk have damaged his credibility built up by the title wins slightly, but it wouldn€™t be hard to build it back up over the next few months. Considering he€™s already won the Royal Rumble however, they would have to come up with a different plan to make him a worthy opponent for Undertaker. The cocky, brash, Mexican would have no problem claiming that breaking the streak would be his €œDestiny.€ This could set the stage for the Undertaker to play some mind games with him and maybe claim that his destiny is to €œRest€In€Peace.€ 7. Undertaker vs. Batista I know Batista is committed to MMA but this rumour just won't go away. And with Batista now featuring in WWE 12, this only ads fuel to the fire. Of course Batista too has already had a match against the Undertaker at Wrestlemania, having come up short at Wrestlemania 23. As well as this, they also had numerous other high profile matches against each other including a good Hell in the Cell match at Survivor Series later that year. Having gone that far in their career already, I don€™t see the appeal in them facing off again at Wrestlemania 28. Obviously though for some fans, seeing both return to face each other would be high up on their list of matches for the Undertaker. What would help this is the fact that Batista is one of those wrestlers who could come back and not need any kind of push to get him over again. Even just having the two of them back in the ring together would be enough, much like what WWE did with HHH and Undertaker last year (though obviously Batista is not as big a star as HHH.) I don€™t see this one happening though, not only because its been done before but mainly because I don€™t see Batista coming back before Wrestlemania. You never know though, I€™ve been wrong before. Once. 8. Undertaker vs. Cody Rhodes This is a bit of a bold prediction. I had to think about which upcoming stars had the best chance of facing off against Undertaker at the big event. I narrowed it down to Dolph Ziggler and Cody Rhodes. Dolph has possibly the greatest future prospects of the two, considering his incredible athleticism, and a look and physique that the WWE are probably more keen on promoting. But for me, Cody Rhodes would match up well against the Undertaker because of his gimmick. He may have stopped playing the slightly mad Dr Doom type character, but he is still playing a kind of manic, disturbed heel that would go really well against the Undertaker€™s phenom persona. Goldust is petitioning for a match against his younger brother Rhodes and to me that would be a fitting end to his career. A match against the Undertaker at Wrestlemania though would do absolute wonders for Cody Rhodes career. 9. Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar Let€™s keep the unlikely scenarios rolling with a rumour that arose last year when the Undertaker confronted Brock Lesnar at a UFC fight. Obviously this led to everyone speculating that the two were set to square off in a WWE ring. Since then, the rumours have been mostly squashed, but like the Batista return they haven€™t entirely gone away. In fact they were also brought back when Brock signed on to do WWE 12. I really don€™t see Brock Lesnar returning to WWE in the near future, although I do think we€™ll see him back eventually. Even though this match is really just a pipe dream, its obvious it would be ridiculously massive match to happen. In my recent article about Brock€™s best WWE matches, I chose one against the Undertaker in Hell in a Cell as the standout of their feud, but it should be noted that they also had other great matches, including a good Biker Chain match. As long as Brock hasn€™t strayed too far from his WWE best, a return match between the two would be massive encounter and worth the price of a Wrestlemania PPV alone. 10. Undertaker vs. The Miz The Miz is the last of the remaining headliners that has never had a Wrestlemania match against the Undertaker. They have met in the ring, but not since the Miz has become a genuine headliner. This is another match that could feasibly happen with Miz being so over with the fans. With him just turning on R Truth, that could signal the start of a more serious Miz who won€™t be held down by tag team partners, and a strong programme against CM Punk would set him up nicely for the Undertaker. The only thing I would change is that the Miz, while being a credible heel, is still a little bit too cheesy. He needs to lose the chicken walk and the silly pout before he steps in the ring with the Undertaker or he will look childish next to the Undefeated Phenom. Miz would need to go into the match as strong and as realistic as possible or no one would believe he could end the streak. So there we go... our ten potential challengers to end The Undertaker's Wrestlemania streak. Like/dislike our choices? Have we missed anyone? Do tell us below...