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The Phenom is back! The Undertaker made his return this past Monday on Raw to challenge Brock Lesnar and what a great impact he made in just a few minutes. The match had been rumoured for weeks, if not months, and it will no doubt be the most anticipated match on the card at WrestleMania 30.
One has to wonder though – can The Deadman keep up with The Beast?
For years, The Undertaker has stolen the show at WrestleMania with his various opponents. No matter who he has been in the ring with, whether it was Shawn Michaels, Triple H, CM Punk, Edge or countless others, he’s been able to show that he’s one of the greatest workers in the history of professional wrestling. With every passing year, his matches have been the talk of WrestleMania.
This year provides him with a whole different challenge. Obviously Taker and his previous opponents have worked their match prior to the event to make them great, but is Brock Lesnar willing to put the work in?
Brock’s rough, tough, physical and crucially, he’s 12 years younger than The Undertaker. This match will be one of the biggest challenges Taker has faced at WrestleMania, simply because of stamina. He will have to match Lesnar in terms of his fitness levels, strength and wrestling ability. Both men are great wrestlers and fighters, but age is a factor that can make all the difference.
In Shawn Michaels and Triple H, he was up against 2 men who are passionate about professional wrestling and working hard in the ring to steal the show. They are 2 men who would go beyond the call of duty to make sure the fans witnessed a match worthy of being a WrestleMania main-event. They were similar in age. They know how to work a match to show each other’s strengths in the ring, and to work at a pace that would suit both of them.
When it comes to Brock Lesnar, I just can’t see him working at a pace other than full speed ahead. His style of wrestling is fantastic to watch. It’s hard-hitting and brutal, so if this match is to live up to the standard of The Undertaker’s previous WrestleMania matches then Lesnar is going to have to put the time in to work with Taker before their match.
We’ve seen these two men feud and have some good matches before, but that was a decade ago. Brock was a rookie and Taker was a legend with a lot of gas still left in the tank. Times have changed though and neither of them work a full-time schedule. This could be both a negative and a positive.
The negative view is ring-rust. It’s obvious that wrestling’s in their blood and it comes naturally to them, but will the fact that they very rarely wrestle affect the standard of what could be an excellent match?
The positive way to look at their part-time schedule is that they will be fresh going into their match. The other matches on the card will feature superstars who work night after night on house shows, as well as on weekly TV. They may be as eager to steal the show as Taker and Lesnar, but they’ll be tired and fatigued.
Undertaker and Brock have the chance to come in, work hard, show the young superstars how to steal the show and live with the satisfaction of knowing that they can take time off, when others can’t afford to.
I think If Brock’s willing to put the time in and work with Taker on how their match is going to go, then it could steal the show. Lesnar will have to try and contain his physical power to a certain degree – not that The Undertaker wouldn’t be able to handle it, but he isn’t as young as he used to be.
The bottom line is that this short feud could be fantastic, leading up to an excellent match that will have fans talking for years. Both men just need to work together to find a pace to suit each other. I’m sure Taker would have no problem giving Lesnar a stiff right hand during the match if he got out of line.
In the end, it’ll be another victory for The Undertaker, solidifying his legacy – the amazing (and untouchable) Streak.
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