The Streak - the Final Frontier

Bear with me, but I was reflecting on the Undertaker & HHH promos for their up and coming match at Mania and I've come to the conclusion that they're absolutely right about the Streak being the only thing left; for either man. However it is greater than that. We often talk about the decline in the quality of the product of the WWE; and I think a large part of that is because the WWE has no where else to go; it has reached its pinnacle and has now plateaued. Think about it - just like the original American colonists and their quest for manifest destiny, trail blazing their way across America to finally reach the Pacific Ocean conquering all the land in their wake; the WWE has fulfilled its Manifest Destiny - what else is left other than to continue existing? The company is a global, international product; it has experienced the two booms of the 80s and 90s; it has fought and won the war with its greatest rival (WCW); it has pioneered gimmick matches such as the Royal Rumble, Iron Man match, HIAC, the EC and MITB. It has created and established the biggest Wrestling extravaganza in all of wrestling history (Wrestle Mania). What else is left? I suppose there are still further gimmick matches that could be created but all gimmick matches are just variations of the same theme. Even individual accomplishments are hard to top nowadays - HBK became the first Grand Slam Champion after he won the now defunk European title; Jericho became the first Unified world champion; Orton became the youngest ever world champ at 24 (a record I don't think can realistically be broken), the list goes on. Vince may have created a wrestling empire but eventually that empire will naturally stagnate without fresh, innovative ideas and competition.

This brings me to my point: The Streak is the only frontier left; ending the streak is the only thing left. That is why I believe the Streak must be broken. I am not necessarily saying HHH should be the person to do it, but I do think that the Streak should be ended before Taker retires. It is not going to tarnish the legacy of the Undertaker or his streak, whether it is 18-1 or 19-1 or even 20-1 that is still an incredible accomplishment, one which will not be beaten for a long time if at all. This is why I find the current angle between HHH and Taker (being the 'last outlaw') so compelling - as soon as the Streak ends Taker dies, and as far as the WWE goes it is the last thing they have left - the last record to be broken, the last feat to be achieved, the final accolade to be earnt. Where the WWE will go after the Streak comes to an end or Taker retires I don't know. I would imagine it is a very daunting task for the creative team. WWE will need to create or find something to be able to break new ground again with, but it will not be easy. There will always be wrestling fans and there will always be wrestlers to entertain them but whether the WWE has anything left to achieve is an entirely different matter. HBK talked about HHH creating his own mountains to climb because there are no other natural mountains left in his career and I believe the same is true of the WWE as a company. What shape those mountains will take is another thing.

Thoughts?

If HHH did beat Taker, which, may I add, I think he has no chance of, I think the who can beat Taker this year will become who can beat HHH and wrestlemania will now have a match v HHH rather than Taker since he can probably carry that for another 5 years or so even wrestling part time. Taker doesn't have as long.

I don't think HHH wants to carry on wrestling for another 5 years, even part time. I listened to an interview on youtube with him where he said he wanted to retire while he was still in his 'prime' like HBK, before he became an embarrassment in the ring. And considering the angle that the WWE have chosen to go with that HHH will either end the streak or 'die trying' suggests that this will be HHH last Mania.

I know some fans would be unhappy to see HHH win because he 'doesn't need it' but he is the only 'legendary' name left to take it; otherwise it has to go (if the WWE want the streak to be broken) by a relatively new wrestler. In a couple of years time that could be Barrett if he is booked properly and maybe become world champion, or even Sheamus although I don't think with his current treatment the WWE would give him something as prestigious as the Streak. Then there's Morrison but he has been around for a while and still hasn't truly broken through to main event level. CM Punk is another possibility and I would love for Punk to end the Streak but he has already had a feud with Taker and was completely buried by it. I don't think WWE would like Punk to take it unless his fortune has changed in their eyes. I really don't want Cena to take it, HHH has given more to the business even if Cena currently makes more money for the WWE.

I know this feud hasn't had alot of build up but what they have done so far has impressed me more than I was expecting - the HBK interviews have been great, the two video packages Taker and HHH have shown have been well edited and put together and so far HHH has shown the necessary aggression (pedigreeing Sheamus through the commentary desk) to make us believe he is going to be a very formidable opponent against Taker. All that remains to be seen is which direction the promos will go in the 3 weeks left before Mania. I think the match itself will be good, obviously HHH is a completely different opponent to HBK, who being the smaller man Taker could 'man handle' far more easily - he's not going to be giving HHH any Last Rides; but nevertheless I expect Taker to up his game and the same for HHH. Both men have good submission skills when they want to use them; both have impressive power moves in their arsenal and with the no holds barred stipulation I look forward to seeing some interesting spots no doubt involving chairs and a certain sledge hammer.

Nice Article.

I agree with you the Streak is the last thing and i would say the most prestiges thing left in wrestling today,with all of the Titles being pretty much worthless know.
Ask any wrester in the buisness what they would rather take between the Title and the Steak i think most if not all would choose the streak.Which in a way is a sad state of affairs.

randy-poffo wrote:Nice Article.

I agree with you the Streak is the last thing and i would say the most prestiges thing left in wrestling today,with all of the Titles being pretty much worthless know.
Ask any wrester in the buisness what they would rather take between the Title and the Steak i think most if not all would choose the streak.Which in a way is a sad state of affairs.

In a way this is true, it is sad that a streak has become greater than the world title; however this is what sets wrestling apart from real combat sports. The WWE have a choice - to end the streak or not. No real combat sport has that same choice. I don't think Dana White wanted Lesner to lose the heavyweight title to Velasquez but he did and there was nothing Dana could do about it. Vince on the other hand can use the Streak any way he wants and I believe the WWE should use it as the asset it is. Yes it helps PPV buyrates at Mania but it is also more than that. It is a legacy in its own right. How many years does Taker realistically have left before he literally just turns up at Mania to defend the Streak? Two at the most? If it was between Cena and HHH then my vote would be HHH to take the Streak all day long. If it was to go to a younger guy whose career would be propelled to the stratesphere because of it then my vote would either be Punk (though unlikely) or Tyler Black aka Seth Rollins. I know Black hasn't debuted yet in the WWE but in a year or two's time he could be the next big thing and I definitely see him becoming world champion one day. But he would have to be introduced and booked strong from the start to make him a credible opponent let alone a Streak threatening one.

But then once its gone either by way of defeat or retirement where does the WWE go then? Which mountain is left to climb? TNA are not in the same league as WWE yet and may never be. WWE have revolutionised wrestling but is there anything left to accomplish?