If Not Shawn, Then Who? A Look at Who Could (and Should) End the Streak

With WrestleMania XXVI now in the rearview mirror—and WWE having done the right thing by preserving “the streak”—it seems like a good time to consider who Vince McMahon might select to finally pin The Undertaker at Mania.

We’re going full-service here, breaking down every active member of the WWE roster —and even some who aren’t—into levels. I already laid out a scenario I really liked in my previous column, but I have to consider that a long shot—so we’re going more conventional here.

Now, without further ado, let’s speculate wildly!

Level One: No Chance in Hell

Carlito, Chavo Guerrero, Chris Masters, Evan Bourne, Primo, Santino Marella, William Regal, Yoshi Tatsu, Zack Ryder, Caylen Croft, Curt Hawkins, David Hart Smith, Dolph Ziggler, Finlay, Goldust, Jimmy Wang Yang, JTG, Kung Fu Naki, Luke Gallows, Matt Hardy, Mike Knox, R-Truth, Shad, Shelton Benjamin, Slam Master J, The Great Khali, Trent Barreta, and Tyson Kidd

The title says it all. Zero possibility anyone on this list gets with 100 feet of Undertaker at WrestleMania—unless they’re disguised as druids.

Level Two: Sacrificial Lambs

Christian, MVP, The Miz, Vladimir Kozlov, Ezekial Jackson, John Morrison, Rey Misterio Jr., and Vince McMahon

These guys could find themselves in a match with The Undertaker under the right circumstances, but none of them is going over.

Level Three: Once Was Plenty

Batista, Kane (twice in his case), The Big Show, and Mark Henry

Anyone who was wondering why I included Kozlov and Jackson at Level Two only needs to look at this list and remember how much McMahon loves big wrestlers.

Also, I’m sure Batista’s name looks out of place here, but keep in mind he has trouble staying healthy. He hasn’t put together the body of work that other top guys have, and he is only three years younger than Undertaker. I don’t think there’ll be a rematch, but it wouldn’t shock me to see him be the 19-0 victim. Stick a fork in the other three.

Level Four: Fantasy Land

Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin, The Rock, Sting, AJ Styles, Brock Lesnar, etc...

It’s always fun to throw out a bunch of names that would be awesome surprise opponents, but the reality is, none of these guys is going to be wrestling at Mania.

Level Five: Well, Maybe If...

Cody Rhodes, Kofi Kingston, Ted DiBiase, and Drew McIntyre

As of this moment, there’s no way. However, if Undertaker hangs around long enough and one of these guys breaks out as a main event talent, it could happen. Odds are probably similar to being struck by lightning, but I’m not closing the book yet.

Level Six: I Can Has Rematch?

Triple H and Edge

Both men are clearly credible opponents for The Undertaker—and both went down during “the streak”—but it’s not inconceivable that there will be a sequel. However, I have a hard time seeing either man getting the honor.

Triple H is more likely than Edge, but he’s too smart about the business side of things as heir to the WWE throne to put himself over at the expense of the streak. He laid down for Cena in Chicago—and he’d lay down for 'Taker again, as well.

Level Seven: Long Shots

Jack Swagger and Sheamus

WWE let Swagger win MITB—elevating him to world title contention—and it has already put the belt on Sheamus. Plus, the pasty one has looked strong against Cena and Triple H, who put Sheamus over big time after WM26. Don’t write them off.

Level Eight: The Dark Horse

CM Punk

Is there a better pure heel in WWE right now than Punk? He has the unique ability to get under people’s skin while still having the track record to be put over anyone.

WWE has jobbed him out a little too liberally for my liking recently (Misterio over Punk at Mania? Really?) but he’s got wins over plenty of big-name guys. If McMahon says the word, he could work the main event as the company’s No. 1 heel tomorrow.

He also respects the business. He is relatively young—especially by WWE’s current standards—and he is an excellent worker in the ring.

At this point, he might make the most sense in that he is established and clearly has the ability in and out of the ring to work main events—and yet, he would still benefit immeasurably from breaking the streak.

All that said, he isn’t a Vince McMahon creation—and that will always work against him.

Level Nine: The Contenders

John Cena and Chris Jericho

Clearly, Cena is a more logical choice than Jericho—but Jericho has been given some pretty special honors by McMahon in the past. Lest we forget, he was the first-ever Undisputed Champion. He beat arguably the two biggest stars in the company’s history on the same night, and he managed to headline a WrestleMania that had a Hogan/Rock match on it.

He’s older, though, and I don’t know how much beating Undertaker would really elevate him at this point. Still, he’s probably the closest thing left to Shawn Michaels in terms of having consistently good matches—and nobody would get more mileage out of ending “the streak” on the mic than Jericho.

Allow me to go on record right now that I will be absolutely stunned if 'Taker-Cena doesn’t headline WrestleMania XXVIII with 20-0 on the line. The very thought of Cena handing Undertaker his first Mania loss would drive old school fans insane—and also drive them to order the pay-per-view.

As I mentioned in my last column, Cena is the one guy on the roster today people would actually think was more likely to win than lose against 'Taker. For that very reason, though, he’d be my last choice to do it.

Cena’s Hogan-esque push has made him unpopular among older fans—as has his mixing of gimmicks (a rapper turned pseudo-marine in jean shorts?) and kid-friendly promos. The older fans, who are the ones that plunk down the cash, don’t need another reason to despise the guy.

He has also had a stranglehold on the world championship since first winning a belt in April 2005. In the last five years, he’s held either the world or WWE titles nine times and has been involved as champion or challenger each of the last eight times the WWE title has switched hands. What exactly would ending “the streak” do for him?

Still, even though you can argue no one needs it less, you cannot overlook the fact that he is McMahon’s golden boy and the chosen face of the company.

Level 10: The Favorite

Randy Orton

You can feel it—and so can WWE. Orton’s face turn hasn’t been booked especially well, and he was absolutely wasted at WrestleMania—but the crowd is eating it up. It’s pretty clear they’re trying to slide him into the Steve Austin “bad-ass face” role.

Hell, to that end, they’re even recycling one of Austin’s monikers—with “The Rattlesnake” becoming “The Viper.” Can Orton 3:16 be far off?

Lack of originality aside, Orton scans like the most likely man to defeat The Undertaker at Mania right now. He’s the youngest of WWE’s top talent. He is still a notch below Cena on the pecking order, and he could absolutely build off breaking “the streak.”

The issue with Orton, of course, is his behavior outside the ring—which could make McMahon hesitant to hitch his wagon to Orton. However, if the powers that be come to the conclusion that his career can take off like Austin’s did, what better launching point is there than beating The Undertaker? Then he could be “The Viper” and “The Legend Killer.”

Beating The Undertaker won’t do much for Cena, but it could really be a springboard for Orton. Assuming McMahon doesn’t want to throw a swerve into the mix, Orton is probably the choice with the best combination of reliability—he’s a proven main event player—and upside—he could be more.