From Jack-Hammer:
I love Taker, he’s been one of my favorites since I was all of 10 years old; I liked him even during the times he’s been in such awful programs with the likes of Kamala, King Kong Bundy and Giant Gonzales.
However, Taker will be 53 years old by the time WrestleMania comes around and it’s gotten to the point where they’re just flogging a dead horse. The streak is gone, he looked like he was retiring after losing to Roman Reigns last year and it’s obvious that he’s not remotely what he once was inside the ring, thus making for some pretty sub par performances. We always had fun talking/debating whether or not Taker would/should return over the course of the last 7 or 8 years in particular as that seems to be the time when all the wear & tear has caught up with him but beginning with his match against Lesnar at WrestleMania XXX, he’s gone beyond downhill from an in-ring standpoint. He’s still got the charismatic presence and people still love and respect the hell out of him, but it’s gotten to the point where Taker is like we saw with Ric Flair during his few times wrestling in TNA: he’s lost so much that you almost feel embarrassed to be watching.
As I mentioned, the streak has ended and that’s probably when Taker should’ve hung it up. If it was going to end, I’d have much preferred it be someone who actually gained something from doing it, but that’s neither here nor there. Taker can’t really get it done in the ring anymore and the only reason he’d really have to return would be for the sake of nostalgia and while I can’t speak for everyone else, I’m pretty damn tired of seeing WrestleMania turned into a convention of part timers and special attractions. I’ve said this in other threads regarding the landscape of WrestleMania for this year and the way it looking right now is that we’re all but guaranteed to have have matches for Brock Lesnar, Triple H, Kurt Angle, John Cena and Shane McMahon. Taker’s match, if he returns, maybe against Cena and it may not and if it’s not, there’s a 6th match for the card featuring a part timer. I’ve also read reports/rumors that Batista is interested in a return and if that was to happen sometime over the next few months, there’d be match #7. Finally, we’ve all read the reports that Ronda Rousey looks like she might be heading to WWE and whether it’s just her or her with the other Four Horsewomen of MMA in a match against wrestling’s Four Horsewomen, there’d be match #8 headlined by a part timer/special attraction.
At any rate, I think there’s a better than average shot that half of this year’s WrestleMania card, at the very least, will contain matches featuring part timers. So that should be 5, maybe 6 matches, that will probably garner most of the TV time and attention as Vince has relied far more on nostalgia for years than he has on sustained build for new or fresher talent to headline the biggest show of the year.
I just think it’s time for Taker to hang it up. He’s got nothing left to prove and he just can’t deliver competitive, entertaining matches anymore.
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