Again are you saying no talent has "jeopardised" his health and role as a dad etc for the business? Again the history of the business is littered with people who have done that. If he had not jeopardised his health etc in the past it's highly unlikely his career would have got to the level it has

He is a highly competitive individual who is from a time when the talent was expected to do that. He would want to outdo everyone one the roster as that has been his mindset throughout his career

With his history of injuries and personal issues him being in the best shape for at least 4/5 years is setting a very low bar

Out of the ring he was a tremendous character actor by wrestling standards. The way he could believably change with ease from comedy geek to legit badass was amazing.
Then again, this a WWE which has somehow dragged Foley down into a segment bore.

With 2017 just starting what are your WWE 2017 Predictions?

Who will hold titles
Who will sign
Who will be released - quit or retire
Who will be called up from NXT
Who will turn face/heel
And whatever else you want


For me.

If Undertaker is in the Rumble I can see him winning and taking the title at WM but also retire as Champion.

I can also see Cena going heel at the moment he is everything he ever said he wasn't a part timer who leaves WWE for months at a time to do movies and TV shows exactly what he has called others out for plus given he is a part timer now they can afford to turn him heel.

Paige will be gone sooner rather than later.


New Day will split.

Fin Balor will regain the Universal Championship.

AJ vs Balor will happen either one will switch brands in the trade or a cross brand match.

Ellsworth will be released.

Cruiserweight Tag Titles will debut (But be exclusive to 205)

Joe is to obvious to be called up so Nakamura and Roode will debut.


Angle and both Hardys will return.

There will be rumours of a Cody Rhodes return but it will not happen.

Stroman will hold the US Championship and maybe tag.

Has anyone else ever held a title and retired as champion? I can only think of Trish Stratus.

I'd put money on Kenny Omega being in the Royal Rumble. I'm not saying I'm supremely confident of it happening, but it'd be worth a punt.

Trying to think outside of the box because a year ago who would have thought: Shane would return, they'd bring back the cruiserweights, Reigns would fail a drug test, Lesnar would get squashed by Goldberg, Styles would get a mega push, the women would headline a PPV in HiaC, and the brand split would be brought back in a half hearted way.

- CM Punk returns
- Cena hints at heel turn, Taker hints at retirement. Neither really happens.
- Rousy signs with WWE
- Mojo Rawley gets a huge singles push
- Itami goes back to Japan
- President Trump makes a recorded vappearance
- Strowman becomes Universal champion; Corbin becomes WWE championship

That's why I would bring him back in the non wrestling role.

He could fill a number of places for TV and for the Network.

He could play the GM role, a great comedy character (for Raw/Smackdown or on his own show) head of a faction etc etc and all with an awful lot less risk of any former issues coming back and even if they did they could probably reduce the fallout by highlighting the fact they gave him a non ring role to protect himself from those issues

If Taker is going to retire, I think the way to go is to have him get to the last two of the Rumble but just lose to Strowman. Then in his desperation for one last title match, he puts his career up against Cena for the title at Wrestlemania.

But I think he should job on his way out.

I really don't want to see Strowman in a Wrestlemania main event...not yet at least. I don't think he's quite ready at the moment.

I like your scenario though. I'd like it more if Strowman was replaced by Balor.

I'm honestly at the point now where I think I'd find Strowman more entertaining to watch than Balor in the ring but Reigns will get a good match out of either. I'm assuming he wins the title from Owens btw.

But I just took Strowman and Undertaker as the examples because they're the two favourites to win the Rumble atm in my opinion.

I think if anybody deserves to retire as Champ and with a win it's Undertaker.

He's already given his WM win streak up so he deserves this one.

Me neither I don't think he should be main eventing anywhere near yet.

I wouldn't mind him beating Reigns for the US Championship and retaining at WM.

Since we're approaching that time of year, how about some Fantasy Wrestlemania cards? There's quite a lot of approaches we could take this year, so it'll be interesting to see what direction people go in. Here's mine (winners in bold):

Pre Show:

1. Promotional RAW vs. Smackdown Tag Team Match - Non Title
Cesaro & Sheamus vs. American Alpha

2. Big Show vs. Shaquille O Neal

3. Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royale
Tye Dillinger


Main Show:

1. Seth Rollins vs. Triple H

2. WWE Women's Championship Match
Charlotte (C) vs. Bayley

3. The Miz vs. Daniel Bryan

4. Intercontinental Championship Match - 6 Man Ladder match
Dean Ambrose (C) vs. Baron Corbin vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Kalisto vs. Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton

5. United States Championship Match
Roman Reigns (C) vs. Braun Strowman

6. Smackdown Women's Championship Match
Alexa Bliss (C) vs. Becky Lynch vs. Mickie James

7. Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg

8. WWE Universal Championship Match
Kevin Owens (C) vs. Chris Jericho

9. WWE World Championship Match
AJ Styles (C) vs. The Undertaker vs. John Cena

Notes:

1. I realise that this card is extremely flawed. I've struggled to find room for Sami Zayn, Rusev, many tag teams and the likes of Finn Balor and Samoa Joe, who both may be wrestling on the main roster by March. It's hard with limited space on the card. I don't envy the bookers who do this job. I'm half tempted to throw Rusev into the KO/Jericho match because I bloody love him, but I'd struggle to make it make sense.

2. Everyone wants The Undertaker vs. Cena and I get that. But I'd retire The Undertaker at Survivor Series (where he debuted) in a match against John Cena, who'd turn heel in his desperation for number 16, which eludes him all year. The Undertaker would win and retire as Champion. This is assuming that Taker could tour as champion part time. I feel like people would the part time status of the title in this case.

3. Jericho is another who deserves one last title run. I'd turn him face, and have him win CLEAN over KO, something Jericho has never managed to do in a title match. He's in his mid forties now but is the most entertaining part of RAW right now. He deserves it. He can get in a couple of successful defences against people like KO and maybe Rusev, before eventually dropping it to Balor sometime in the summer.

4. A 3 way feud between Bliss (heel), Lynch (face) and James (tweener) could be a thing of beauty. Lynch to regain the title clean (make her look strong again), and as the veteran who's job it is to put over talent, James would take the fall. This protects Bliss then.

5. I understand Daniel Bryan has medical issues, but he was cleared by just about every doctor OUTSIDE of the WWE. Combine this with the fact that The Miz is probably the safest worker in the WWE right now, and I feel like this would be a risk worth taking. The story up to this point has been epic, and given the in ring talents of both men, this match would probably be excellent. Daniel Bryan could then retire on his terms, by winning at Wrestlemania.

6. Wrestlemania needs a strong opener. Seth Rollins vs. Triple H is a fast paced, viseral match would be an excellent way to set the tone for the rest of the show. Charlotte vs. Bayley in a slower, more technical affair can settle the audience down, and then we back to fast paced violence in a good old fashioned ladder match.

7. I don't care if Shaq is a celebrity, and I don't care if this is Big Show's last Wrestlemania, the match is gonna blow and it deserves nothing more than pre show treatment.

8. Ambrose wins the ladder match purely because I don't want EVERY title changing hands on the same night. I'd put it on Corbin at the next Smackdown PPV.

As much as we would all like to see one more Bryan match, it simply will not happen, he is retired now, and I think even he has come to terms with that.

Any match featuring a celebrity like Shaq, will not be on the pre-show, they will want to get and grab as many headlines from it as possible, no matter the standard of the match, so it will be on the main card.

Eorl Crabtree, who played rugby league for England and is Big Daddy's nephew, had a tryout at the performance centre today.

Give him 'we shall not be moved' as a theme, WWE.

No one 'deserves' to retire with the belt. That's not how you book wrestling. Don't be sentimental, put someone over.

Undertaker should be the acception to the rule given how long hes been there.

Get him on the UK tour after the UK tournament.

On Braun Strowman when Big Damo gets his call up I'd actully like to see them tag as a monster tag team.

You let someone leave without losing with the belt and the guy to get the belt next is dead moreso with someone like The Undertaker and more so with today's fans who cannot accept reality and like to they booking the show.

Yes he deserves something like this but the cost is just too much going forward. Let him have his main even let him have his retirement angle and let him have his spotlight as the PPV ends and then let him go off into the sunset

No he shouldn't. Austin went out on his back, Flair went out on his back, Shawn went out on his back, Rock's last match so far was a clean job and I'm willing to bet that Cena will go out doing the job too.

I don't think the Undertaker is such a mark that it'll really eat him up that he didn't win his last fake wrestling match. They can still give him a nice retirement and keep things ticking by putting someone over him on the way out.

EDIT: Plus if he goes out at the 'rightful' champion then you'll always get people clamouring for him to come back for another match.

As much as I love Taker, and think it was too soon for him to lose The Streak, I have to agree with this.

It's a rule in wrestling - you go out on your back. You can bet your bottom dollar that if Mania is Goldberg's last match he will take his first ever clean pinfall loss and retire as well.

Watching Taker lose his last match to Cena though would be pretty crappy 'Mania moment.

If that is his last match I wouldn't have it as a title match, but I would have him win.


He says, in a post telling us how Undertaker should be booked.

If he still had the streak then I would almost reconsider but now that it's gone they're basically free to beat him and Cena is the last big match they've never made. In fact, they really should have done that years ago. Cena trying to break the streak would have been incredible.

At this point I'm far from convinced Taker will have a definitive retirement/final match. Mostly because it seems people have been talking about it for about a decade. Then it looked like it might happen in 2011, then end of an era in 2012, then for the 30th Mania, Sting possibility in 2015, Survivor Series 25th anniversary... That he's still on the roster after a WM in his own state in front of a claimed record audience makes me think Vince is keeping it an open book.