A piece I wrote for WrestlingMayhemShow.com..
WrestleMania has come and gone. Kid Rock did an admirable job. The Divas were used. Kind of. New champions. JBL quit.
But the thing this Mania will be remembered for is the amazing Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels, with the streak on the line.
The build up was fantastic. Undertaker, standing at 16-0 at the big show, reiterated that Shawn wasn’t any different from his other victims. But Michaels did something others didn’t do as effectively. Fight back in the mind games. The funeral, the walk in the cemetery, and the white druids. And through it all, Taker couldn’t get his hands on Shawn. It was enough to make you think “maybe this is the one”.
On a show where we had an excellent buildup to the main title match, another changing hands in a decent three way dance, and other titles wholly ignored or relegated to the untelevised “pre-show”, one thing seems to clear. Belts don’t matter.
These days, the belts are passed around the same faces that we don’t care so much anymore. It takes so much for us to care. A fan favorite that is just getting the chance (CM Punk, Jeff Hardy), A surprise title switch (Edge at No Way Out). This isn’t the day and age of the WCW title changing hands twice a Nitro almost on a weekly basis, but there’s still something missing.
The Streak is the greatest “title” anyone could have. 17 years. How many kids watching today weren’t even born when his streak started?? And this year, we had the perfect storm of this streak, and someone who could have very well taken it away. I could never believe they would consider Mark Henry, or Prince Albert, or even Kane taking this away. But so much is at stake. This is a win that could have changed history in the business. It’s more important than being the guy that ended the long runs of guys like Rob Van Dam (ECW TV Title), Nigel McGuiness (ROH Title), or even Bruno Sammartino (WWF Title).
Do you agree that Undertaker own the “greatest title ever”?