Oh, what could have been instead of what already is to be.
You see, now that WWE has tipped their hand and made it clear that The Undertaker will face Triple H for a second straight year at WrestleMania (and a third time overall on the granddaddy of them all), I feel that now is an appropriate time as ever to take a look at some of the other potential opponents that the Deadman could have put THE STREAK on the line against that would have been just a little whole lot more appealing to me and so many other folks I’ve talked to over the past two weeks who just don’t care all that much about Taker-HHH III:
CB’s World Presents: Other Alternative Opponents to The Undertaker at WrestleMania 28
Brock Lesnar: If Vince McMahon really wanted to make WrestleMania 28 one of the most buzzworthy events in years — and if Brock Lesnar (depending on his health status) really wanted that one final huge payday from WWE without having to go back to the company full-time — then The Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar would be a no-brainer. From their real-life mini-scuffle following one of Brock’s UFC losses to Lesnar’s meteoric rise in mainstream popularity thanks to his MMA career, this storyline would filled with interest and intrigue no matter where you look or how they book it. Throw in the fact that this would be coupled with Rock-Cena as a huge double main event and it would be Brock Lesnar’s first post-MMA-career event, and you’d have all the makings of a WrestleMania 28 match that would be a newsworthy moneymaker for all parties involved.
Batista: Dave Bautista — or Batista as he is known in the WWE lexicon — was absolutely doing his best work of his WWE career before he left the company after making his final TV appearance on Raw on May 24, 2010. The heel character that Batista cultivated and perfected before leaving was just awesome, and if Dave did want to come back either as a full-time wrestler or for a short-term stint, what better way to do so than picking up where he left off and bringing all of that heel heat towards The Undertaker? From a storyline standpoint, Batista could simply say he’s coming back to stop Taker from reaching 20-0, something he vowed he’d make sure would never happen even after he left. Undertaker can then respond in kind as to why Batista will fall like all of the rest, and from there they can just build towards the crescendo that would be their ‘Mania match.
Wade Barrett: Even though he currently has the worst collective of consecutively and constantly changing theme songs in WWE history, I actually think Wade Barrett is worthy of a high profile WrestleMania match like this that would really elevate him to another level. After all, WWE must have faith in Barrett considering they allowed him to take out Randy Orton to sell Orton’s injury, positioning Wade as a young imposing force over on SmackDown. And since Taker is never going to lose at WrestleMania, why not give Barrett the rub to show what he can do, to see how close he can come to ending THE STREAK even if he can’t succeed? I also like the idea of a guy like Barrett for this role because rather than this being the last feather in his cap of a Hall of Fame career like Triple H, it would be the beginning of something that he is trying to build at The Undertaker’s expense. One last thing that would be interesting in this scenario is that it would give WWE a reason to put Undertaker on some episodes of SmackDown since Barrett is part of the blue show, not that it really matters anymore in this Super Show era, but it would be nice to see Taker back on Friday nights every once in awhile.
Chris Jericho: While I genuinely like the Chris Jericho – CM Punk WrestleMania angle that is currently in its beginning stages, in an alternative WWE Universe I actually had this idea that maybe, just maybe, Punk’s WrestleMania 28 opponent might have been Stone Cold Steve Austin. Obviously, with Punk as the current WWE Champion there’s no way that Austin vs. Punk — or BEER vs. STRAIGHT EDGE as I like to call it — will be coming to fruition. So while this may all be a moot point for the discussion of WrestleMania 28, I thought it would be worth mentioning that I think Chris Jericho having a program with The Undertaker would actually have been a really fun feud for WWE to explore. After all, if Jericho really is the best in the world, what better way to show it than to do what Shawn Michaels and Triple H couldn’t do? In fact, since HBK is likely going to be somewhat active in the Hunter-Taker saga anyway, how cool would it have been if Jericho was in Triple H’s place so that Y2J and HBK could remind the fans of their awesome feud that they had in 2008? As for the match itself, I think Jericho and Taker would definitely make it work, and if anything a great and trustworthy mid-sized wrestler like Y2J would likely enable Undertaker to fight with that little extra spring in his step that he may not showcase against bigger, less reliable adversaries.
There are plenty of other candidates both in and out of the WWE who could have filled these shoes of The Undertaker’s WrestleMania 28 opponent — I mean there’s always STING — and so I’d like to know who your alternative opponent(s) would be for this year’s show. Sound off in the comments section below and I’ll be right there with you to respond as we continue the Road to WrestleMania.
That’s all from me — CB.
