Brewing Thoughts: Taker/HHH and a Rare Foray Into the World of TNA Wrestling

*The following article contains spoilers from tonight's episode of SmackDown and the Mar. 3 episode of TNA's iMPACT*

It's been a seemingly quiet week around the Internet without speculation of WrestleMania main events and superstar returns. Of course, TNA decided to capitalize on the lull by trying to garner more attention. Like most everything else they do, they laughably failed.

There are only two matches confirmed for WrestleMania XXVII, but plenty others are being strongly teased. Let's take a look at the world of wrestling in this last week of February, including a rare stop in the world of TNA Wrestling.

Will We See Career v. Streak II?

In an Internet report I referenced in last week's piece about the "2.21.11" promos (which can be found at Wrestlezone.com), it was stated that The Undertaker would return on Raw in Fresno in anticipation for a program with Triple H.

The same report said The Deadman and The Game would battle in another Career v. Streak match at Wrestlemania XXVII.

But will that be the case?

It's hard to believe The Undertaker's streak is going to end. If Shawn Michaels failed to end The Streak twice, it really become hard to envision anyone else putting a blemish on The Undertaker's Wrestlemania record.

However, it is equally hard to envision Triple H retiring after coming back to WWE programming for only six weeks. There is little logic in that.

Two scenarios are in play for the second Wrestlemania go-'round between Triple H and The Undertaker. First, and most simply, the match will not be a Career v. Streak bout. Triple H and The Undertaker are two massive names in the pro wrestling world, and they won't need a high-stakes stipulation added to the match in order to draw.

The other scenario is that Triple H gets out of the Career v. Streak clause. I'm not saying The Game will simply not honor the stipulation set forth, but that he may find a way to get out of retiring should he lose to The Undertaker on April 3.

Monday night looks to be a very important point in the feud between these two legends. We'll likely hear from The Game for the first time since last spring, and the chances we hear from The Undertaker are far from remote.

The "Bury-fest" WWE is Holding is Very Puzzling

After putting forth a strong effort in the Raw Elimination Chamber match at the eponymous pay-per-view, Sheamus was inexplicably squashed Monday night. And it came at the hands of Mark Henry, of all people.

Most thought Sheamus would feud with a returning Triple H, who would be seeking revenge for The Celtic Warrior putting him on the shelf for nearly a year.

Throw logic out the window. The Game returned...to feud with The Undertaker. I understand changing plans, but if the plan going forward is for Sheamus to feud with Mark Henry heading into Wrestlemania, I can say I would be completely baffled.

A feud with Mark Henry seems more like punishment than anything else. We only see part of what happens in the WWE Universe, but if this is the road Sheamus is heading down, something much bigger must be in play.

The same puzzling future surrounds the reigning Intercontinental Champion, Kofi Kingston. Alberto Del Rio ended up giving Kingston a thorough beating after the IC champ jumped Del Rio during his entrance.

Seeing Kingston on the receiving end of a beating from the hottest heel on SmackDown is no surprise, but a clean loss to Jack Swagger is.

Maybe creative is giving Swagger another shot at a push after last year's failed Money in the Bank-centered run. But why is it coming at the expense of Kingston?

At one time, it seemed as though Kingston had a bright future in WWE. Now, it seems like he has simply become the next Shelton Benjamin.

3.3.11? Haven't We Seen This Somewhere Before?

Leave it up to TNA to completely botch a major superstar's return.

The "biggest announcement of the year" wasn't even an announcement—it was the airing of a promo video that was almost the mirror image of the "2.21.11" promos WWE ran.

The video contained the same pouring rain, the same low shots of a man in black boots and trench coat, and the same image of a burning date at the culmination of the clip.

We all know TNA can't come up with very many original storylines. Fortune is a rip-off of The Four Horsemen. The constant crap Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan bring to iMPACT every Thursday is, essentially, a rip-off of the final days of WCW.

And now TNA is directly ripping off WWE. Again.

They could have gone in a dozen different directions with the return of Sting, but they chose to take WWE's idea and do it for Sting's return.

Maybe they thought it would capitalize on the Internet hype. Maybe they thought they'd have a leg up on WWE for delivering Sting.

Or maybe they just don't know what the hell they're doing.

TNA Continues To Push Old Men Instead of Their Own Talent

On next week's episode of iMPACT, Sting will defeat Jeff Hardy to once again become the TNA World Heavyweight Champion.

Steve Borden, the man who portrays the Sting character, turns 52 next month.

In the same episode, 48-year-old Scott Steiner handily beats Rob Terry.

These are just two more instances of TNA's long-standing tradition of pushing old, established names instead of the incredible homegrown talent they have. To date, only two of the 14 different world title reigns in TNA history have been home-grown TNA talents. If you add in the NWA World Championship reigns that occurred under the TNA flag, the number grows...to three.

Plenty of TNA-bred talent are capable of carrying TNA into the future, including Samoa Joe, A.J. Styles, Kazarian, Rob Terry, and Jay Lethal.

But until Vince Russo, Eric Bischoff, and Hulk Hogan are ousted from creative control, TNA will continue heading down the road its currently traveling.

WCW traveled this road once before. And if a change isn't made, TNA will follow WCW right out of business.