We only need ONE World title for one company!

In 2001, the WWE bought out WCW.  They took their video library, they took some of their talent, and they their title belts.  Realizing that the company had way too much in the way of talent, they decided to split their Monday show and Thursday show into brand extensions.  Along with the brand extensions, each show had their respective titles for that show.  Here we are in 2013, WCW is long forgotten, unless they do another respective DVD of it.  We have a WWF Champion and a World Heavyweight Title.  It's time to retire the World Heavyweight Title.  

It's time to unify the title and have one champion to represent the company.  During Wrestlemania 29, the World Heavyweight title was the fourth to the last match of the night.  The year before that, it was the first match....and match lasted 10 seconds.  Media outlets didn't seek out Alberto Del Rio and Jack Swagger about their match at Wrestlemania, they went after The Rock and John Cena.  I'll bet the media outlets won't give Dolph Ziggler a call after winning the World Heavyweight title tonight.  Why is that, because there's not enough importance given to the title.  

Vince McMahon is always real quick to bury what isn't his.  The World Heavyweight title was bought by him when he bought WCW.  He has attempted to bring prestige to the title, but it's time to give that up.  You have a brand new WWE title, the same title that was started in 1963.  You already have Raw superstars going over to Smackdown to wrestle on a weekly basis, and you have two other singles titles to deal with as well.  Just my opinion.

What to do with Brock Lesnar?

Last year, around this time, the WWE brought back Brock Lesnar.  Since then, he has lost to John Cena, broke Triple H's and Shawn Michaels' arm, defeated Triple H at Summerslam, and just lost to Triple H in the rematch at Wrestlemania.  The contract he signed last year restricted him to the amount of time he could be used on WWE programming, but Paul Heyman was there to pick up the slack.  He has signed another deal with the WWE, but now what?

The Rock

Word was that the night after Wrestlemania, he was supposed to go face to face with The Rock and set up a match between the two down the road.  Due to The Rock's injuries sustained in his match with John Cena at Wrestlemania 29, The Rock didn't show for Monday Night Raw, and the writers were scrambling.  I'm sure a match against The Rock.....or should I say rematch from 2002, is in the works.

The Undertaker

I keep hearing that a future Wrestlemania match for The Undertaker will be Brock Lesnar, but I keep thinking that we are 10 years too late for that.  I don't think The Undertaker can withstand the pounding that Lesnar can deliver him.  For the last five wins at Wrestlemania, The Undertaker took on people he has worked with before, granted CM Punk is a different animal than he was years ago.  Just don't think that this would be a great fit anymore.

CM Punk

Paul Heyman's worst nightmare or wet dream....not sure which.  CM Punk could hang with Lesnar, but given his body size and Lesnar's sheer power, I don't know if Punk could pull it off with Lesnar.  Plus, CM Punk is title hungry, Lesnar isn't!

Ryback

After losing his match to Mark Henry in the fashion that he lost it, I think Ryback's push is over.  The next night, he attacked John Cena, but that got the biggest pop of the night, and Vince doesn't like having HIS number one star being overshadowed by a midcarder.  I know the crowd loves Ryback (why, I have no idea) but it reminds me when Jake Roberts was heel in the beginning.  He wrestled Hogan and the crowd turned on Hogan.  The feud ended real quick just to save Hogan's momentum.  Lesnar would kill Ryback because Ryback has very little to offer.  A few clotheslines and a back breaker.  Remember Lesnar vs Goldberg....that didn't end well either.

I'm sure whoever they get to fight Lesnar, it will sell.  It has to, they've spent a ton of money to re-sign Lesnar, hope they're getting their money's work.

Wrestlemania 29 Review and Observations

Another Wrestlemania has come and gone.  History was made and moments were made.  We had title changes, upsets, jaw-dropping moments....but I can't say I was surprised by any of it.

PRE SHOW:  Intercontinental Title Match:  Wade Barrett vs. The Miz

Unless you were watching on the internet or sitting there live in MetLife Stadium, you saw NONE of this.  What pisses me off is that this was a title match between two guys, one who main evented Wrestlemania two years ago, and and another guy who might be getting pushed for the World Heavyweight title, and it wasn't even on the main show.  The Miz won, not surprising, as Wade Barrett prepares for a World title run.

The Sheild vs. Big Show, Randy Orton, & Sheamus

Wasn't surprised to The Shield win, was more surprised that Randy Orton didn't turn heel.  However, this match wasn't about to go without some controversy, so the Big Show reverted back to being a heel and knocked out Orton and Sheamus after the loss.

Mark Henry vs. Ryback

Surprised Mark Henry won, but the match reminded me of Goldberg/Lesnar Wrestlemania XX.  It was a whole lot of "I'm stacked" "no, I'm stacked" "no, I'm stacked".  I think Henry winning and pinning Ryback means an end to the Ryback push....thank god!

Chris Jericho vs. Fandango

Not surprised that Fandango won, since they've been building him all of this time.  Would of rather seen Jericho take on Antonio Ceasaro for the U.S. title than watch a Dancing with the Stars joke of a match.  I told someone where I was sitting, if we see Fandango wrestling next year at Wrestlemania as Fandango, something has gone horribly wrong.

WWF Tag Team Title Match:  Team Hell No vs. Dolph Ziggler & Big E. Langston

Descent match, but wasn't surprised that Team Hell No won.  Kane and Daniel Bryan work well together.  It will be interesting to see how Big E. Langston handles wrestling on a regular basis from now on.  

World Heavyweight Title Match:  Alberto Del Rio vs. Jack Swagger

Didn't think they were going to give the title to Jack Swagger, but I thought Ziggler would of cashed in his briefcase for an impromptu title match.  Good back and forth between Del Rio and Swagger, but this just opens a door for Barrett to start chasing Del Rio.  The match was pretty blah, but Del Rio hitting the armbar on Swagger in the end helped.

The Undertaker vs. CM Punk

This was the match of the night!  If anything, it saved the pay per view.  Once again, The Undertaker delivers and CM Punk, despite having lost 3 ppv's in a row, should get out of this okay and take some time up to heal before chasing after the title.  So the Undertaker is 21-0 at Wrestlemania.  My theory on this is simple, if The Undertaker loses at Wrestlemania, the mystique is gone.  Once that's gone, The Undertaker's career will be over, thus, having matches like this to save your ppv will be gone as well.

Brock Lesnar vs Triple H

Great match, back and forth, and it was played nicely so both men could battle at a slow pace.  I don't know what this means for Lesnar's return since he's lost 2 out of 3 matches now, but from all accounts, unless they can get Sting for a Wrestlemania XXX, he'll be around to take on The Undertaker.  Triple H did a remarkable job of going toe to toe with Lesnar, but ended up giving us the traditional Triple H finish with the sledgehammer, pedigree on the steps....been there, done that!

WWF Championship title match:  The Rock vs. John Cena

The only thing I was surprised about this match was that John Cena didn't turn heel.  He has lost the crowd, big time!  However, wasn't surprised that The Rock lost.  He has three movies to promote and he can't do that and represent the WWE as it's champion....the schedule is too rough, and Vince can't afford to not have the WWE champion NOT show up to live events and TV.  In the end, The Rock did the inevitable and passed the torch to John Cena, even though it wasn't favorable for the fans.  Plus, I have a hard time calling it "passing the torch" when Cena has already had more WWE titles than The Rock did.  But, it's more of a generation thing, like what Hogan did for The Rock 11 years ago.  I don't know what's in store for Cena now, but Cena-Rock III shouldn't happen for a while.

In the end, if you've noticed, I was not surprised by much!  Maybe having the event in a huge place like a stadium takes away from swerves and turns that you would normally get in an arena.  Maybe having a show that is 100% wrestling and 0% storylines and promos takes away from the soap opera aspect.  Was this the greatest Wrestlemania of all time, no!  Was it top 5, no!  They shouldn't backload their bigger matches to the end of the night, they'll lose the crowd a little quicker.  Only 364 days until Wrestlemania XXX!

20 years ago, my life changed forever

Where were you the day your life took a detour?  I know where I was.  On April 4, 1993, I was sitting on the floor level of Caesar's Palace, getting ready to watch Wrestlemania IX.  I had never gone to a wrestling show before, so for it to be Wrestlemania, it was truly a home run.  How I got there, that's another story.

I grew up a wrestling fan, always hearing that "wrestling was fake".  I remember the first time I saw a wrestling show, it was Saturday Night's Main Event.  King Kong Bundy had smashed Hulk Hogan into the corner, leaving the champion with broken ribs and all of his Hulkamaniacs crying at ringside.  I sat at home, watching the massacre take place, thinking that Hulk Hogan could never return and would have to forfeit the title.  As things played out, Hogan returned to the ring, faced Bundy in a steel cage at Wrestlemania 2 in 1986.  Hogan defeated Bundy and walked out with the WWF title that night.  As a kid, I always assumed that Hogan was going to be the champion forever, so I was a little confused when Andre the Giant defeated him for the title on February 2, 1988, but to only be stripped of the title after we had the referee screw up take place.  Months later, my dad brought home Wrestlemania IV for the two of us to watch.  I was excited because not only was this going to be the event that showed how "The Macho Man" Randy Savage won the title, it was TWO TAPES LONG!!!  Dad and I sat there for four hours, he slept through 75% of it.  I saw Hogan and Andre get DQ'd and then, later on, Hogan helped Savage win the WWF title against Ted DiBiase, who had Andre in his corner.  As a 8-9 year kid, this was awesome television.  We had good guys and bad guys, all of them characters.  I used to wonder what it would take for these guys to do what they do, even if it was considered fake.

On November of 1992, the Survivor Series was on pay per view.  The WWF landscape was somewhat different.  Hulk Hogan was gone as he took a leave of absence due to the steroid scandal that rocked Vince McMahon and the WWF.  Savage was still there, and on that night, he teamed with recently turned babyface (good guy) Mr. Perfect Curt Hennig.  They were facing the team of Razor Ramon (Scott Hall) and former NWA/WCW/WWF champion Ric Flair.  I was captivated by the story line of Mr. Perfect turned good.  As the show progressed, an ad for the next Wrestlemania was shown, and it was to be held in Las Vegas, Nevada.  Dad saw that, turned to me and said, "Trey, if don't do anything crazy for Spring Break this year, how would you like to go see this live?"  I couldn't believe what I was hearing, almost sounded too good to be true.  In hindsight, I look at it more as this was a chance for Dad to have fun in Vegas.  I agreed to our deal, and he went and bought tickets for the event.

Skip ahead to three weeks before the event, I'm sitting in my class and I get a call to the office.  I head down and I see my mother waiting for me.  She had informed me that Dad was in the hospital, suffering from pancreatitis.  She told me that she was leaving for Santa Monica, California that day and that I was going to be home alone.  I understood and she left.  As we kept leading up to the event, I kept wondering, selfishly I admit, was I going to go to Wrestlemania?  As time went by Dad's health seemed to get better, and I was told they were coming back on April 2, which was supposed to be the same day we were heading to Vegas.  I asked my mom if I was going to miss the event, and she told me that Dad insisted I go and had made arrangements for his business partner, Wally Roker, to take care of me while I was out there.  Wally Roker, a former member of the group The Heartbeats and Al Roker's cousin, and his wife were going to put me in the Rivera and make sure that I get to the event.  Mom and Dad came home on Friday, and I headed for the airport on Saturday.  The unbelievable began to happen then.

As it turned out, I was flying on the same plane that had Hulk Hogan, Brutus Beefcake, Sgt. Slaughter, and, as it would happen, I sat next to "The Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart.  Starstruck doesn't even begin to tell you how I felt.  I didn't want to whip his ass over asking him about wrestling, and I chose to sit there and just read the book I checked from the school library, Wired (the book about John Belushi).  Jimmy saw what the book was and asked me if he could see it.  I said yes, and handed him the book and he looked at the front cover and just said, "What a shame!"  For those who don't know, Belushi died of a drug overdose in 1982.  I told him I was a big fan of his, and then proceeded to ask a couple of questions about the business.  Remember, at age 17, I was clueless to the real world, let alone the fake world of professional wrestling.  He asked me who my favorite wrestler was, I told him Mr. Perfect and Randy Savage.  He smiled, took out a picture of him, Hogan and Beefcake and signed it for me.  As we landed, I got off the plane and saw Hulk Hogan and Brutus Beefcake being greeted at the gate by WWF cameras and noticed on how lean Hogan looked at the time (he had gotten off steroids at the time and went from 315 to 275).  I met with Wally, and we headed to the strip.  

April 4 had finally arrived, and I was all stoked for the event.  I had breakfast with Wally and his wife, our little inside joke was that I was their son, even though Wally is a light skinned African American and his wife Merge was also an African American.  After breakfast, we headed to Caesar's Palace.  They dropped me off at the arena and I waited in line to enter the buidling.  As I entered the arena, I saw the wrestling ring.  It looked so small in person.  I found my way to the seat and the crowd started to pack in.  This would be the first Wrestlemania to be held outdoors, and I was beginning to wonder if it was going to rain that day.  The show started and off we went.  I saw Randy Savage being escorted to the ring with a couple of girls feeding him grapes, Bobby "the Brain" Heenan riding a camel backwards, although I had no idea that this was Jim Ross' first ever WWE event as the play-by-play guy.  As for the show, this wasn't your best Wrestlemanias but it was memorable.  For the wrestling fan, it was The Undertaker's third Wrestlemania win (20-0 at this point), saw the WWF title change hands when Yokozuna defeated Bret Hart for the title, then to see Hulk Hogan come out and automatically get a title shot and win the title 2 minutes later.  

As the show came to a close, a gentleman came up to me and asked, "Are you Trey McLean?"  I said yes, weary of where this was going.  He handed me a backstage pass and I got to meet some of the wrestlers backstage, at least those who didn't already leave.  One of them happened to be Mr. Perfect.  Curt Hennig looked at me and asked, "What do you think?"  Confused, I turned to him and said, "What do you mean?"  He smiled and said, "Wanna get in the ring?"  I agreed and the two of us got the ring and squared off.  He protected me, making sure I didn't get hurt, and then I was hooked!  This was what I wanted to do with my life.  How can this trip get any better?  The next day, after Wally and Merge dropped me off at the airport, flying on the same plane back to Dallas was Randy Savage.  I approached him, knowing that I would never get this opportunity again, and asked him for an autograph.  He was cool about it, and I headed home, all the while wondering how can make this happen.

At the time, I was a 17 year kid with a stuttering problem.  I weighed 150 pounds, and I had no self confidence, and my athletic achievements were few and far between.  Let's face it, I was the fifth string wide receiver on a 4-6 high school football team and couldn't even get the coaches to play me on the final game of the year.  What did I know about how to become a professional wrestler?  My parents were definitely not for the idea of me pursuing this.  So I went off to college!  Well, Tyler Junior College to be exact, but it still counts.  I made sure that I would be a part of a weight lifting class, all in hopes of getting bigger.  After my first and only year at TJC, I weighed 185, I'm sure the Freshman 15 rule was in effect.  I came home and looked for wrestling schools.  I came across one in Dallas that was run by Gentleman Chris Adams, the same school that Steve Austin went to.  I paid my money and learned the basics.....and that's it!  Chris didn't do anything in teaching how to be a pro wrestler, but more of how to protect yourself in the ring.

After 4 months of training, and about 30 pounds heavier, I had my first ever wrestling match against The One Man Gang.  Knowing that Trey McLean was not going to make it as a wrestling name, my friend Misty Swain (now Simons) and I came up with a concept of who my wrestling character would be.  We came up with the name Clash.  I would wear gold and silver, my wrestling moves were stolen from Mr. Perfect (neckbreaker, snap suplex), Bret Hart (russian legsweep, atomic drop), Randy Savage (flying elbow drop), and Ric Flair (figure four leglock).  The One Man Gang finished me off in 10 seconds.  Week after week, I got my ass kicked until Greg Valentine pulled me aside and asked if I wanted to get better.  I told him yes, and we worked out a nice 30 minute matches, and all he wanted from me was 10 of my best moves.  I was working the crowd, working the referee, taking orders from Valentine, and after the match, even though I lost, I earned the right to call my self a wrestler.

After three years of wrestling, my body had had enough.  There would be times when I couldn't get from the bed to the bathroom (yes, I stole that line from Rocky, but still true).  I didn't enjoy being Clash the wrestler, but the character Clash took over Trey McLean.  Clash was sure of himself, funny, very opinionated, and didn't stutter.  Around this time, wrestlers like Shawn Michaels, Rey Mysterio, Chris Benoit, and Eddie Guerrero were changing the business and my style wasn't putting butts in the seats anymore.  I learned that you have to stay relevant to stay in the business and you have to change with the times.  I couldn't do either.  I have always heard that once your love for the business dies, you better get out before you or your opponent gets hurt.  In late 1996, I retired from wrestling.  

While I didn't make it to the WWF (now WWE) and my dreams of headlining Wrestlemania came to an end, the fact that I was able to take my wrestling character and do something with him means everything to me. Through wrestling, I found myself and that's something that no one can take away from me.  Those hot, smelly nights at the Dallas Sportatorium weren't for nothing.  Just think, it all started 20 years ago!

Wrestlemania 29 Predictions

 

It's that time again!  On April 7, history will be made once again as the WWE superstars enter Metlife Stadium and perform at the Showcase of Showdowns, Wrestlemania 29.  The stage is set, here are my predictions on how the night will shake out.

There was a time when the Intercontinental title was considered the co-main event of Wrestlemania.  I think of Steamboat & Savage, Rick Rude vs. Ultimate Warrior, but now, we are regulated to the pre-show.  Either way, we have Wade Barrett vs. The Miz.  My prediction:  Wade Barrett.  Barrett is being groomed to hold the World Heavyweight title and taking the belt off of him at Wrestlemania will stop whatever momentum he has in going forward, especially when Del Rio retains it, but that's for much later.

Would of much rather of seen Antonio Caesar take on Jericho for the U.S. title, since both men have had excellent matches leading up to Wrestlemania, but for the "entertainment factor", I can see what Vince has in mind.  Not sure if he's taking shots at Dancing with the Stars, but Fandango will wrestle his first match and win it, which will suck if you're Jericho.  So far, his babyface return hasn't turned into anything, and a lose to Fandango will do nothing for him.  Plus, you don't build Fandango up and have him lose his first match.

 

A timewaster match, to say the least, which sucks if your Cody Rhodes.  Bringing the Bella twins back only did one thing, and that keep John Cena and Daniel Bryan happy backstage (both men are currently dating the girls).  If I had to pick a winner, it would be Rhodes Scholars and the Bella Twins.  Tensei has sucked since he's been back, and Brodus Clay has always sucked.

 

Team Hell No has kept the titles longer than anybody expected, and that's due to the lack of competition in the tag team ranks.  While I would like to think that Wrestlemania will be the final resting place for Team Hell No, they have wasted Dolph Ziggler down to nothing since he won the Money in the Bank.  Unless he uses it against the winner of the Del Rio/Swagger match, we might have seen the last of the Money in the Bank competition.  Big E. Langston will debut in the ring, finally, but who cares.  Team Hell No will walk away with the titles.

 

Mark Henry's back, Ryback is not main eventing, this match has shades of the Davey Boy Smith/Warlord encounter from Wrestlemania VII.  Two big strong guys, who are going to out muscle each other.  Personally, I have more of an interest in the Jericho/Fandango match.  If I have to pick a winner, I say.....no one.  A double countout or DQ will occur, and nothing will be solved.

 

The Shield is the best thing going on the WWE today, so having three of the big heavyweights, who do not have title matches this night, beat these guys would deflate any momentum The Shield has.  However, while everyone is looking for The Big Show to turn on Orton and Sheamus, I look for Orton to finally turn heel and attack Sheamus and Big Show, causing them to lose and for The Shield to have the direction they need.

 

Bringing in Dutch Mantel has done nothing for me to think Jack Swagger can beat Alberto Del Rio.  Del Rio, who is becoming one of the most popular superstars in the WWE (honestly, I don't why), will walk away with a title defense....until Dolph Ziggler cashes in the MIB and wins the title.  

 

It has been a while since Triple H or Shawn Michaels has had a win at Wrestlemania (thanks Undertaker) and Brock Lesnar is not a big Wrestlemania performer (remember Wrestlemania XX against Bill Goldberg).  Since Lesnar has the first win from Summerslam, and I don't believe Triple H is ready to leave his career behind, Triple H will win this one, but we will return to the Attitude era, if just for this match.

While I don't think it's a good thing for CM Punk to lose three PPV's in a row, I think The Undertaker's streak is safe for this match.  I think CM Punk will help elevate the match, much like Shawn Michaels did, but in the end, CM Punk is NOT the one to end the streak.  Regardless if CM Punk held the WWE title for over a year, he's still not big enough to be THE ONE LOSE.  Don't know how much longer Undertaker has, but at least they're giving him time to help prolong his career, even if he has to wrestle 3 times a year.  

Prepare for Cena to turn heel!  That is the only way he will get the title back from The Rock.  Not that he can't beat The Rock as a babyface, it's that he needs to completely turn and have EVERYBODY boo him out of the building, and he can turn 10 years of frustration and vengeance on The Rock.  Personally, I like seeing people who wrestle for the WWE on a night to night basis represent the WWE with the title.  Much like the Lesnar/Triple H match, this one will split also, with a third and FINAL match at either Summerslam or next years Wrestlemania.

John Cena needs to turn heel at Wrestlemania

This has been a long time coming for John Cena.  For the last two years, his popularity with the WWE Universe is the most polarizing thing the WWE has had since "Bret screwed Bret".  For the last 10 years, Vince has put everything on Cena, forcing him down the throats of the WWE Universe, and after last night (April 1, 2013), it's time, buddy!

After watching The Rock dominate in his war of words with Cena leading up to Wrestlemania, it's obvious that Cena has lost the crowd.  Nothing Cena can do will win these fans back, especially the 18-34 demo.  The Rock is a reminder of the WWE when it was beyond marketable.  Cena represents the WWE when the action tame, no more ass, hell, damn, piss, or anything else that the Attitude era brought out.  With a new title belt (thanks, Rock), comes in a new era!  Along with that, Cena needs to change.  

Back in mid-2011, when CM Punk reminded the WWE Universe how powerful microphone work could be, Cena couldn't gain any traction from Punk's dominance.  Even when Punk turned heel and brought in Heyman, the crowd is pro-Punk all the way.  Why, because he's honest with the crowd!  John Cena's problem is Vince McMahon.  Vince had the Hogans, Harts, Austins, Rocks, Savages, and he tried to do that for Cena, but the WWE Universe won't let it happen. 

Remember when Hogan took on The Rock at Wrestlemania.  Hogan didn't do anything special for that match, the crowd changed the match.  With the crowd changing, Hogan followed suit and that saved the match.  If John Cena wants to continue dominating the WWE, he needs to take the title from The Rock and turn on the crowd.  A turn for Cena will draw an honesty to the WWE Universe that could possibly turn the tide of the anti-Cena faction to become more pro-Cena.  Cena can start telling the crowd, "I gave you want you wanted, it wasn't enough.  Now it's my time to prove everyone wrong!"  As a heel, his talents will shine brighter, not playing to the crowd as much, and eventually the crowd will accept him!

Just my opinion!

A look at how impressive The Undertaker's streak is and how it could of been more impressive

No one can take away the impressive streak that The Undertaker has at WrestleMania.  But when you look at some of the wins on the list, it does make you question if WrestleMania was ALWAYS his place to shine.    

WrestleMania VII - The Undertaker (w/ Paul Bearer) pinned Jimmy Snuka at 4:19 with the tombstone after catching Snuka as he attempted a slingshot into the ring

For his first WrestleMania appearance, The Undertaker performed beyond expected against a future Hall of Famer.  He dominated Snuka throughout the entire match, which at that time, was just how The Undertaker matches were going. 

WrestleMania VIII - The Undertaker (w/ Paul Bearer) pinned Jake Roberts at 6:41 following a tombstone on the floor as Roberts attempted to steal the urn away from Bearer

Storyline wise, this match made sense, however, if the Hogan/Flair match hadn’t been changed, I would of loved to see Sid Justice and The Undertaker face off, since they were a tag team in WCW less that three years before this.  Plus, they could of kept Sid a babyface and allow him to pick up where Hogan left off at WrestleMania, and allow The Undertaker to keep being a heel.  Jake was heading to WCW around that time, so his involvement with WrestleMania could of landed him a match with Randy Savage instead, just so they can finish the storyline of Jake and the Undertaker interrupting Randy’s wedding. 

WrestleMania IX - The Undertaker (w/ Paul Bearer) defeated the Giant Gonzalez (w/ Harvey Wippleman) via disqualification at 7:32 when Gonzalez smothered Taker with a rag soaked in Chloraphorm after headbutting Bearer off the ring apron

This match was horrible, and you can’t blame The Undertaker for it.  Vince wanted The Undertaker to slay giants, and bringing in El Gigante from WCW seemed like the next thing for The Undertaker.  However, you could of done a few different things here, since WrestleMania IX wasn’t considered one of their strongest.  You could have had Randy Savage challenge Bret Hart for the WWF title.  Bret and Randy could of put on one of the greatest matches in WrestleMania history, and it could have been a passing of the torch with Savage putting Bret over, since Hogan’s involvement in the WWF wasn’t helping the WWF’s ratings.  You could of taken Yokozuna, who won the Royal Rumble to earn a chance to wrestle Bret, and matched him with The Undertaker.  At the time, no one had beaten Yokozuna and facing The Undertaker would have been a great test for both.  But Hogan stepped in…..and the rest is history.

WrestleMania XI - The Undertaker (w/ Paul Bearer) pinned King Kong Bundy (w/ Ted Dibiase) at 6:40 with a boot to the face, a bodyslam, and a flying clothesline after sustaining the Avalanche

After taking a year off, The Undertaker came back to face another WWF legend, but King Kong Bundy’s giant days were past him.  With the WWF was deep in the new generation era, this would have been the perfect opportunity for The Undertaker and Bret Hart to lock up.  Bret Hart was put on the back burner at this time for Shawn Michaels and Kevin Nash to run things.  We eventually got this match at Summerslam 97, but a WrestleMania match would have been better.  Instead, we get Bret Hart and Bob Backlund an a ridiculous I Quit match. 

WrestleMania XII - The Undertaker (w/ Paul Bearer) pinned Diesel with a chokeslam and the tombstone at 16:47

With the events that would eventually happen for Kevin Nash and Scott Hall shortly after WrestleMania as they would head to WCW and launch the nWo,  this would have been the perfect opportunity for Vince to dampen their arrival to WCW by having them face The Undertaker in a handicap match.  Who knows how they would of entered the WCW and raised hell if the last impressions the wrestling audience was seeing them get whipped by The Undertaker at WrestleMania.  Hindsight is 20/20 right?

WrestleMania XIII - The Undertaker pinned WWF World Champion Psycho Sid to win the title at 23:54 with the tombstone after Bret Hart came ringside and dropped Sid throat-first over the top rope as Sid attempted the powerbomb

All I say is better late than never, but had Shawn Micahels not lost his smile, this would have been a rematch between Shawn and Bret for the title, no Sid.  Instead, we see The Undertaker defeat a Sid Vicious who had zero defense, zero heat with the crowd, and was champion too late in the game.  The Undertaker should have taken on Big Van Vader.  Vader came to the WWF and hadn’t made the impact they had hoped.  A match with The Undertaker would have done wonders for both.

WrestleMania XIV - The Undertaker pinned Kane (w/ Paul Bearer) following three tombstone piledrivers

No question about this one, Kane had come back after two failed gimmicks in the WWF at that time, one being Dr. Isaac Yankem and the other being the Fake Diesel.  Kane finally found the right character and being The Undertaker’s brother only helped. 

WrestleMania XV - The Undertaker (w/ Paul Bearer) pinned the Big Bossman in a Hell in a Cell match at 9:49 with the tombstone

While The Undertaker made a name for himself in the Hell in the Cell matches, one with Mankind and the other with Shawn Michaels, facing The Big Boss Man just baffles me.  A rematch with Mankind, or maybe bring in Cactus Jack, and have the rematch from Hell, because no one tuned in to see a washed up Boss Man in a cage match.  This wasn’t 1988!

WrestleMania X-7 - The Undertaker pinned Triple H at 18:17 with a powerbomb out of the corner as Triple H stood on the ropes punching away at Taker in the corner

This was a great match, although the wrestling culture had just changed the week before.  WCW was just bought by Vince McMahon, so a lot of the matches were sort of forgettable since we all knew that an invasion was coming.  Wouldn’t change a thing about this match, however, years later I wish this match was remembered when Triple H and The Undertaker tangled again at WrestleMania.

WrestleMania X-8 - The Undertaker pinned Ric Flair in a No DQ match at 18:47 with the tombstone after fighting off an interfering Arn Anderson

When you wrestle Ric Flair at WrestleMania, you are one of the few.  Having said that, he took on a Ric Flair who was depressed, lost, and at that time, admittedly not what he used to be.  However, this match gave Flair his confidence back, and The Undertaker had a lot to do with that!

WrestleMania XIX - The Undertaker defeated the Big Show & Albert in a handicap match at 8:45 by pinning Albert with the tombstone

If they wanted to make this match better, take Albert out!  Big Show vs. The Undertaker would have been a better sale, although The Big Show was not The Big Show he is today. 

WrestleMania XX - The Undertaker (w/ Paul Bearer) pinned Kane with the tombstone

This was a different Kane, without the mask, but it was still a match we have all seen before.  Maybe a match with JBL would have been better, but that was Eddie Guerrero’s moment.  The Undertaker vs. Kane rematch took a lot of magic out of the first one.

WrestleMania 21 - The Undertaker pinned Randy Orton by reversing a tombstone attempt into one of his own

Randy Orton was coming into his own, and a match with The Undertaker would only add to, what turned out to be, a promising career.  Wouldn’t change a thing!

WrestleMania 22 - The Undertaker defeated Mark Henry in a casket match at 9:27 following a plancha to the floor and the tombstone

If The Undertaker took on Mark Henry of 2010-2011, I would have been interested.  Instead, we get an unfinished Mark Henry, and lossing to The Undertaker wouldn’t of helped his career at that time.  Looks like Vince was going light (if you can say Mark Henry is going light) on the Undertaker that year.

WrestleMania 23 - The Undertaker pinned World Heavyweight Champion Batista to win the title at 15:48 with the tombstone after ramming the champion into the corner

Batista was one of the hottest names in the WWE at that time, so to see The Undertaker take on one of the future WWE superstars and take the title from him was a great thing.  If he couldn’t take on Batista, he needed to take on John Cena.

WrestleMania 24 - The Undertaker defeated World Heavyweight Champion Edge via submission to win the title at 23:48 with the leglock choke as Edge attempted a cover on the challenger after hitting the spear

Two guys who came up through the Attitude Era face off and The Undertaker facing “this” version of Edge was awesome.  Edge was one of the top heels of the company and to have a title match against The Undertaker almost makes up for the crappy matches that Undertaker had with Giant Gonzalez and Big Boss Man.

WrestleMania 25 - The Undertaker pinned Shawn Michaels at 30:43 with the tombstone after catching Michaels attempting a moonsault off the top

4 words:  Match of the Year

WrestleMania 26 - The Undertaker pinned Shawn Michaels in a No DQ, no count-out match at 24:01 with a jumping tombstone, moments after Michaels kicked out of the tombstone, struggled to his feet, gave Taker his own thumb across the throat signal, and slapped Taker across the face

Most rematches can’t top what they did before, see Kane/Undertaker II.  But this match was far and away better than can be expected.  It was a great way for Shawn Michaels to end his career and The Undertaker, for me, went from being a WWE Superstar to WWE Legend!  If I was to change anything, I would have had Triple H face The Undertaker this year, and have Michaels take on Undertaker the following year, so it would be like both men would try to top each other year after year for 4 years.  Instead with get 2 rematches for 4 years, back to back.

WrestleMania 27 - The Undertaker defeated Triple H via submission in a no holds barred match at 29:21 with the Hell's Gate

Every thing I said about Michaels’ matches with The Undertaker, ditto for Triple H as well.  These two took us to place that very few go to.

WrestleMania 28 - The Undertaker pinned Triple H in a Hell in a Cell match at 30:53 with the tombstone after striking Triple H in the head with his own sledgehammer

Shawn Michaels’ involvement helped this match, but it didn’t need any help.  Like the year before, the seeds were planted, the match was well executed, even though The Undertaker was out of shape.  This took Undertaker to 20-0!