DaveyBoy's Wrestling Menu - Undertaker Retiring & Losing At Mania + Backlash Predictions
Submitted by DaveyBoy on Wednesday, April 26, 2006 at 9:51 AM EST






THE WRESTLING MENU #173

Welcome one and all to the 173rd edition of The Wrestling Menu, the column that is sure to satisfy your taste buds when it comes to discussing all things wrestling.

Last week, I reviewed the 3 disc DVD set that the WWE has released for The Undertaker. Today, I answer the 2 questions that I often receive regarding that same wrestler. Not surprisingly, I received those same questions a few times this week. If you have yet to read my DVD review & would still like to do so, you still can by clicking on the following link: http://www.lordsofpain.net/news/2006/articles/1145445036.php

On with the show.....


APPETIZERS

The Undertaker's Retirement Year

Concerning The Undertaker, the first question that is asked most of me (and around forums & message boards) is when is The Undertaker going to retire from the WWE? Off the top of my head, I think I get this question asked of me via email over once a month. And when the phenom is taking part in a bad feud or has just had a bad match, then you can raise that level up dramatically to more than once per week!

In fact, sometimes it’s not even a question asked of me. It’s a statement saying that Undertaker will be retiring at such & such a time. The thing that amazes me though is that in the majority of emails, it’s almost taken as a foregone conclusion that Mark Calloway (the man behind the character) is not far off retiring. It’s just a matter of when. If it was that easy, I think I’d run a book off of it & make some money. For example; If you were to read some of the emails I received, you would only double your money if you chose that WrestleMania 23 in Detroit was going to be the time & place for The Undertaker’s last hurrah!

Well, I have a clear message for all of you who feel similarly: WAKE UP & SMELL THE COFFEE!!! The Undertaker will not be retiring any time soon. And when I say “retiring”, I don’t mean wandering off for a couple of months & then coming back. I mean retiring properly. Although, I do admit that it’s difficult to define retirement in the world of professional wrestling. For example; Is Mick Foley currently retired? I’m not even sure of that answer. But let’s say that he is. I don’t even feel that The Undertaker will wrestle as little as Foley any time within the next 4 years… probably longer!

Yep, you just saw my thoughts correctly. Barring a major injury (which he has been fortunate enough to keep away from over his long career), I just don’t see why he wouldn’t continue to go along at the rate he has been for the past couple of years. The WWE will invariably give him a couple of months off each year, whether there are any storyline reasons or not. While even when he is on the road, he seems to miss some house shows & television episodes every now & then.

This is not really a knock on the guy, as these (for want of a better term) days off are obviously given to him by the WWE. This is most probably their way of prolonging the career of what they feel to be one of their most valuable assets. Is he one of their most valuable assets? That is arguable, but it’s a bit ignorant to suggest that he doesn’t put bums in seats. Because the bottom line is that he does.

For the purpose of the main question, it’s even irrelevant whether or not he deserves so much time off. The bottom line is that he does get it. For all we know, he may take leave without pay. I doubt it, but unless we know the truth, I’m not going to comment one way or another. All I know is that on the schedule he is given, his importance to attendances, his place on the card, and even his importance concerning leadership in the locker-room, The Undertaker shows no signs of retiring any time soon. If I was to be called out & had to put a specific year on his retirement, I would be looking at around 2011.


MAIN

The Undertaker's WrestleMania Loss

The other question that I get asked occasionally is when is The Undertaker going to lose a match at WrestleMania? I suppose it is possible that he could never lose a WrestleMania bout, but I personally doubt that. While it can be argued that he does protect his spot on the card (which is an argument I don’t want to get into right now), I do feel that there are a number of wrestlers he respects. One of these years, he is going to put one of those superstars over huge by agreeing to be defeated by them at the biggest WWE show of the year.

So, to the first question of when….. I like round numbers. They’re easy to handle & simpler to remember. The Undertaker’s current WrestleMania record stands at 14-0. Twenty wins in a row is just too far away, so I’m going with a 15-0 record before he finally loses a ‘Mania bout. So, for mine, pencil in WrestleMania 24 in 2008 as the time for a huge result in WrestleMania history!

The obvious resultant question from the ‘when’ is to ‘who’. Well, seeing as though I have predicted that the loss will come in under 2 years time, then it’s most likely to be to someone currently on the WWE roster. Just scanning both brands of the WWE, you may actually be surprised as to how many opponents could realistically beat The Undertaker at WrestleMania!

As the dead man hasn’t been on the Raw brand for quite some time, I believe there to be a huge chance that he will be moved there in one of the next 2 draft lotteries. Looking at the current Raw roster, I believe that The Undertaker sufficiently respects Triple H & Shawn Michaels to allow them to beat him. Allowing HBK the win over him probably wouldn’t be a good idea though, due to the questionable amount of years that he will continue to wrestle for. Elsewhere on the roster, Edge & John Cena also currently both have undefeated records at WrestleMania. So, if they continue to entrench themselves in a main-event position & improve over the next 18 months, then they are a definite possibility. And, to be honest, that’s about it for the Raw roster!!! I can’t see ‘Taker losing to a Shelton Benjamin or RVD.

Over on SmackDown, there are also a few possibilities. Even just by reading my DVD Review from last week, you can tell that The Undertaker has a great deal of respect for Kurt Angle. Hell, Kurt compared him to his own dad!!! Furthermore, a loss to Angle would also be rather logical, as he has had enormous trouble beating him in the past, while putting on unanimously great matches. I’m sure The Undertaker would rather lose such a historic bout in a 9 out of 10 classic, rather than a 5 out of 10 borefest.

Presuming he gets over his recent troubles, Randy Orton is a chance to get the big victory. They have the past & surprisingly put on some great matches. Such a big win could also catapult Orton’s career into superstardom come 2 years time. But is Orton too much of a risk to devote such an important win to now? My answer to that is “most probably”.

Chris Benoit is an outside chance simply due to the respect factor. It would actually be quite interesting to see those 2 in a feud, as I wonder if the ‘Taker-Angle type of dynamic would work here as well. But Benoit is only an outside chance & I can’t really see him as being the one to capture the big victory.

But the wrestler that I believe could be the man to break the 15-0 winning streak at WrestleMania 24 is none other than Batista. I haven’t thought as deeply as booking out the whole feud. I don’t know if it would be a face vs face match or who will be the heel. Hell, I don’t even know if both men would be on the same WWE brand. Looking 2 months down the track in professional wrestling is difficult enough, let alone trying to look 2 years down the track.

But I just think that Batista has everything going for him & has done everything right over the past year. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not necessarily stating that his title reign has been a total success. But I do feel that both on & off the screen, he has earned the respect of the locker-room, while also improving almost every facet of what he has to do day in & day out. Despite not being the youngest member of the WWE roster, Batista is also at that (middle) stage of his career where he would have been around for a while, but still hopefully have many years of wrestling to follow. The only factor that could get in his way of course, is his proneness to injury. That could be seen as a risk by WWE management & probably needs to be taken into account. But hopefully that is happening currently anyway so the chances of that occurring are diminished.

So to sum up; Batista, Triple H & Kurt Angle (with Cena & Edge as other possibilities) are the most likely to end The Undertaker’s Wrestlemania winning streak & I believe that 2008 is the most appropriate year for that to occur.


DESSERT

Backlash Predictions

Just before I begin, I must state that I don’t think I have ever been so lacking in confidence with my predictions for a pay-per-view. I’m unsure if it’s due to my current lack of enthusiasm/care for the Raw brand or good booking by the WWE. Maybe it’s a combination of both. Either way, I can’t say that I am totally confident of any of my predictions today. Unpredictability is usually good for a ppv event, but in this case, I get the feeling that (other than the 3 title matches) it doesn’t really matter who wins! And that my friends, is NOT necessarily a good thing!

CARLITO vs CHRIS MASTERS: I’m going with this as my choice of opener purely & simply because I have got the feeling that the WWE like the reaction that both these men get, especially when opening previous shows as a team. Most will already know that I believe this bout is a good 3 months early, as I feel that it would have been better booking to delay Carlito’s face turn & strike more comedic gold with these 2 as a tag-team. Hopefully, in the ring, they can prove me wrong & put together an above average match. Unfortunately, I have my doubts. Backing up my theory of the feud coming too soon, I don’t really see much heat in this feud. In fact, it’s still moving along as if it’s only half-serious. I know Carlito is that sort of character, but please make me care about the result a little more. As it is, the result seems unimportant to me as the feud will simply continue in one way or another. DaveyBoy tosses a coin….. Winner: Carlito

RIC FLAIR vs UMAGA: To think that I predicted a Ric Flair win at WrestleMania, which would have resulted in a WWE Championship shot in the next couple of months! Instead, poor ol’ Ric is the whipping boy for a returning wrestler with an unoriginal gimmick. In actuality, I don’t mind Jamal… sorry, Umaga… as a wrestler. Well, he is better than Rosey anyway! But this isn’t a good match up & Flair will have to do a lot to make this entertaining, because I can’t see the wrestling being any good. It’s very rare that a new wrestler with a push loses their first ppv match. And the fact that Umaga has a manager leads me to believe that he will get the win with the help of a distraction. Winner: Umaga

SHELTON BENJAMIN vs ROB VAN DAM in an 'InterContinental Title vs Money In The Bank' Match: Finally a bout that makes me care. I don’t think it’s a match that is guaranteed to be sensational, but it definitely has the potential to be. Furthermore, the WWE have booked it in an unpredictable manner & this time, there is a lot on the line! In the lead-up to this match, I was always guessing which of the title or the contract was going to be on the line. Putting both up for grabs puts that exclamation point on the bout. With all the rumors of RVD challenging for the WWE Championship at the ECW ppv, he is definitely the safe bet here. But his clean pin of Shelton on Monday’s episode of Raw (not that I have actually seen it yet) has me questioning this prediction. Maybe it comes down to who is most ready to challenge for the title. That’s a tough decision to make in itself, but with the ECW ppv so close, an RVD win is definitely timelier. Tear the house down guys! Winner: Rob Van Dam

KANE vs THE BIG SHOW: This bout is not too dissimilar to the Carlito vs Masters match in that the result is pretty much irrelevant. In fact, chances are that it could end in a countout, disqualification or no result, when Kane starts hearing voices in his head & goes off to do whatever the WWE think is entertaining (eg: kill Coach). I’m expecting a typical big man match, although these 2 do have the ability to put together something above average. Furthermore, if they can add some sort of story to it regarding Kane’s mindset, that will be an extra bonus. I don’t like predicting non-clean finishes, so I’ll take a risk & state that Kane is the most likely to get the victory with a clean finish. Winner: Kane

MICKIE JAMES vs TRISH STRATUS for the Womens Title: It’s arguable whether the steam in this feud has subsided a little since WrestleMania, but I will give the WWE credit for moving it along & not resting on their laurels. As long as they don’t turn the feud too weird, I think the 2 ladies can continue to carry it from both a match quality & entertainment perspective. Look for a similar bout to their WrestleMania 22 match, except with Trish taking the lead & doing the weird things this time. That actually could be a good thing as it will mean the more experienced WWE wrestler calls more of the match, which will hopefully just make it that extra little bit crisper. The end result is interesting here. It probably makes more sense if Trish regains the title, but I’m against such a short title reign following a long one. So I’ll go with Mickie retaining & losing the title back some time down the track when Trish has returned to her normal self. Winner: Mickie James

VINCE & SHANE McMAHON vs SHAWN MICHAELS & GOD: I must be honest & state that this feud has just brought my enjoyment level of Raw down as of late. I’m not offended or anything like that… I just think it’s improper booking to give so much promo time to a feud where the payoff isn’t that great anyway. But wait… maybe there will be a payoff. Maybe someone (a’la Mick Foley) will wrestle as God. Well, whoopee do! It may have some inspired, and obviously that would help the match quality out heaps, but I just have this feeling of not caring right now. It’s probably the Vince promos that have had me reaching for the remote control that is the cause of that, but I’m really not sure. As per usual, HBK will do his utmost to make this decent. And it will probably be booked well enough to come off as entertaining. Let’s hope so, as I really don’t care right now. And that makes it very difficult to make a result prediction here. If there is a 4th wrestler involved, you would have to say the HBK team will emerge victorious. In fact, that will probably happen anyway! Winner: Shawn Michaels & God

JOHN CENA vs TRIPLE H vs EDGE in a Triple-Threat Match for the WWE Champiosnhip: I’ve openly stated that I like the idea of this match-up. Everything makes logical sense about it. But I can’t say that I have been totally in favor of the 3 handicap matches that have been booked over the past month. The results of those bouts have been predictable, while the matches haven’t been all that great. In fact, with the sloppiness that occurred at the times when Triple H & Edge were in the ring together, I actually fear that this may not be as good as I thought it would be. I think they will be fine though & the triple-threat nature of the bout should hide some weaknesses. At the very least, this will be interesting. The result will be too & it should be an easy one to pick considering the rumor that RVD will be challenging the champion at the ECW ppv. But cleverly, all 3 men could easily fill that spot! While the opportunity is there, I actually don’t feel that Triple H will turn face any time soon & the ECW ppv may be the time to cement his heel character. So, without any conviction….. Winner: Triple H


Ok, so there we have the 2006 edition of Backlash in a nutshell. It’s a strange sort of a card. In a way, there are interesting matches from top to bottom. But I just feel that too many of the results are unimportant to what is going to occur in the next month or 2 on the Raw brand. Oh well, I suppose that when there are many question marks, it can sometimes be a good thing. Let’s just hope that the answers are the correct ones. Will there be another match added to the card? Probably not, as Vince will probably have 2 separate 15 minute promos! Seriously, I can see The Spirit Squad retaining their tag titles over a couple of random challengers. Or maybe we will have another pillow fight!


That's #173 of 'The Wrestling Menu' in the books. Please don't hesitate to let me know what you thought of my 'Backlash' Predictions. And how about my thoughts on The Undertaker..... I think they may have surprised some people, but who knows? Not me, unless you let me know! As per usual, I will reply to everyone. But please be patient this week as I am flay chat at work. My e-mail address is DaveyBoy123@bigpond.com

Or alternately, if you are an LOPForums member, you may also leave feedback by clicking on the following link: http://www.lopforums.com/showthread.php?t=4889


Next Wednesday's 'Wrestling Menu' will obviously include my 'Backlash' Review. I think it has the makings of a solid pay-per-view event. Other than that, I'm not 100% certain what I will be writing about, although I do want to take a look at the current King of the Ring tournament taking place on SmackDown. I may also possibly take a look at the Raw episode the night after Backlash. So look out for that column same Wednesday time & same LOP channel next week. Until then, this is DaveyBoy signing off & asking you to remember that dinner is best served in 3 courses.


DaveyBoy's Wrestling Menu. 2002-2006

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***DIRECT LINK*** WWE's Other MILENA (Roucka) in AMAZING BEACH PIX! Wow!!

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