2. CM Punk vs. Undertaker (WrestleMania 29, April 7th)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoWNQgPJFOw As this writer can vouch for from live experience, the 80,676 people that packed New Jersey's Met Life Stadium treated CM Punk challenging the Undertaker's undefeated Streak at WrestleMania as the night's main-event. No match before or after garnered anywhere near the reaction that they did. CM Punk is the single most dynamic storyteller in a WWE ring today. He has become the closest thing that the WWE has to Shawn Michaels since HBK retired in 2010. When put in situations to steal the show, he steals the show. There is also no one better in the WWE at selling his rivalry on TV so that people would be willing to based on the quality of the pre-match hype order a PPV. If you let him, CM Punk will suck you right into the action and make you believe what he's saying and doing. The feud with The Deadman was a perfect example. Nobody in their right mind would have realistically bought CM Punk as a threat to Taker at WrestleMania, so Punk made it personal. He did such a good job of making it personal by attacking the memory of Taker's long-time manager, the recently deceased Paul Bearer that people had to consider ordering WrestleMania just to see Punk get his comeuppance. Punk is not the type to sit idly by and coast. He has openly stated his desire to tell engaging pro wrestling stories. Point proven at WrestleMania, Punk. Played to the ring by a rousing rendition of Living Color's "Cult of Personality," Punk came out motivated to finish the story with a classic match. Undertaker no longer needs a lengthy vote of confidence; he has earned his time and again on the grandest stage, forging a WrestleMania legacy that future stars may never live up to. There will be another HBK in all likelihood, but it is doubtful that there will ever be another Undertaker. The Deadman funeral marched his way to the ring prepared to add another match to "The Streak within 'The Streak'" his unprecedented run of consecutive Match of the Year candidates. It was a recipe for something incredible and the finished product turned out awesome.
Chad Matthews
Contributor
"The Doc" Chad Matthews has written wrestling columns for over a decade. A physician by trade, Matthews began writing about wrestling as a hobby, but it became a passion. After 30 years as a wrestling fan, "The Doc" gives an unmatched analytical perspective on pro wrestling in the modern era. He is a long-time columnist for Lordsofpain.net and hosts a weekly podcast on the LOP Radio Network called "The Doc Says." His first book - The WrestleMania Era: The Book of Sports Entertainment - ranks the Top 90 wrestlers from 1983 to present day, was originally published in December 2013, and is now in its third edition.
Matthews lives in North Carolina with his wife, two kids, and two dogs.
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