They are two men who have transcended an entire era in the WWE. That era almost surely will come to a conclusion April 3 at Wrestlemania when Triple H makes his 2nd attempt to end the Undertaker's fabled winning streak at the big dance.
10 years ago, Triple H was the most despised man in the business. His storyline marriage to Stephanie McMahon would later become a reality, but WWE-TV was getting boring. HHH would win almost every main event he was in, even when the title wasn't on the line. His arrogance knew no boundaries, but injury forced the Cerebral Assassin to the sidelines in late May after losing the tag titles. Marriage and fatherhood have changed "The Game". Two torn quads and other, assorted injuries have forced him to rethink his career goals, and there is talk he may actually follow best pal Shawn Michaels into retirement, hence the rematch of his Wrestlemania 17 bout with Undertaker.
In a way, he was right on Monday when Triple H said that he & Undertaker were the last outlaws. Hunter Hearst Helmsley arrived during the New Generation era of the mid-90s. Undertaker came 4 1/2 years before him. Together, they've seen & done just about everything. Adding all the titles up, they have a couple dozen between them, considering the tag titles and secondary singles titles. Both have won the Royal Rumble. HHH in 2002, Undertaker in '07. Both are now into their 40's, and retirement is right around the corner, as is the inevitable inductions into the WWE Hall of Fame.
10 years ago, it was the sound of Limp Bizkit's "Rollin'" that led Undertaker down to the ring as he rode his motorcycle down the ramp. Today, it is the late Johnny Cash's "Ain't No Grave". The American Bad Ass gave way to the supernatural Dead Man in 2004, and the shift in musical taste from the rap-rock of Bizkit to the haunting melody of one of country music's legendary "Highwaymen" is appropriate. We associate the term "undertaker" with the Old, Wild West, so why not apply a Western theme to the Phenom in 2011?
There, of course, are two schools of thought to Streak vs. Career II, to this 2nd Wrestlemania meeting between the Dead Man and the Cerebral Assassin. The fans will be split, as both men are currently babyfaces. The leaders of their respective locker rooms will meet in Atlanta, presumably for the last time, because there is no guarantee Undertaker will be back in 2012 to try to go 20-0, assuming of course he gets past Triple H, and that is not as certain as it was 10 years ago. Time, age, and injuries have slowed both men, Taker moreso than Triple H, and at this point, it doesn't appear as though either man is going to try to wrestle 'til they turn 50 or even 60.
In the course of the last year, Triple H has seen Shawn Michaels retire, and Kevin "Diesel" Nash return to WWE at the Royal Rumble after spending parts of the last 6 years with TNA. Nash is 50, soon to be 51, and has had more knee surgeries than Joe Namath and Rey Mysterio combined. He's all but retired. No one has forgotten the embarassment that befell Nash in '02 when he tore his quad in a tag match on Raw on the very night he had returned from an arm injury, only to go right back onto the DL. It's safe to think Nash has never really been the same since. They say the same thing about Triple H, that he's not been the same since that first quad injury in '01. As he said in an interview earlier this week, he wants to be able to pick up his three daughters in 10 years. Can you blame him?
So, who will win at Wrestlemania? I'd not be surprised if it ends up a draw, which would save Triple H from retirement, at least for a little while. However, a draw at Wrestlemania just wouldn't cut it. No, there has to be a winner. Come April 4, we'll see Triple H on Raw, in the same position Shawn Michaels was in a year ago, letting his little girls know that Daddy will be coming home. Maybe then, Stephanie can finally get back to work and slap some sense into the creative team. Yes, I think Undertaker will go to 19-0, then, health willing, go for 20 next year.
But will Triple H go into the Hall in 2012? No, I don't think so. That would be too blatant on Vince's part. Then again.......
