Originally Posted by Lee_Smith2:
“It doesn't need to be face vs. face though and they've shown disregard for the old formula only recently. For example, HBK's career vs. 'Taker's streak in Arizona, Cena going over The Rock in the NY metropolitan area, and only last year the match with Sting and Triple H - i.e. NWO playing babyface, the handshake at the end...”
Erm... Michaels/Taker was very much played as face vs. face though. Cena/Rock was as well (although fans didn't exactly play along with that one). Sting/Triple H was totally built as a heel vs. face. The events of the match itself make absolutely no sense.
The problem with Shane/Taker isn't so much how fans will react to the match itself but how they react over the next few weeks heading into Mania. Its not clear how they play that story out. Who do they want the audience to root for there? Is it just going to be a weird free for all? Seems messy. It doesn't help that Shane doesn't have the legacy of someone like Shawn Michaels so its going to be difficult to fully engage with face vs. face in that regard.