Finn Balor Should Retire the Undertaker
As the Royal Rumble becomes a memory and the WWE spins up “WrestleMania” season, one match more than any lingers on most fan’s minds. During Raw 25, the Undertaker gave a strange and ominous promo. Simultaneously sounding like a retirement speech and segment setting up another match, the Undertaker’s fate was in limbo. Rumors swirled that it would be John Cena, possibly avoiding the chance to break Ric Flair’s championship record for as long as possible, would be the one to finally retire Taker at WrestleMania. But it shouldn’t be Cena, it should be Finn Balor.
I’ll gladly own up to having a deep appreciation for Finn Balor both inside a wrestling ring but also as an intense goofball outside of it as well. However Balor fits the lengthy list of requirements most fans and critics would want out of one final bout from the Undertaker. First, Balor is still relatively new to the WWE. For longtime NJPW fans Balor is a known, talented, quantity but even if you’ve been watching him since NXT you might not have the recognition of his larger body of work. A win over the dead man, at the year’s most important event, would put Balor among legendary names. Also, having to work with Taker who is easily past his prime would endear Balor to many fans, especially if Balor was able to put together a good looking match.
Balor’s real asset is his alternate character, The Demon. Rarely used, rarely beaten, and coming from the same supernatural space that Undertaker’s undead persona has resided in for decades. Balor’s demon has, smartly, been a rare sight for most of Balor’s time in the WWE. However if this side of Balor were to show up at WrestleMania, and beat the Undertaker, it would make the demon a truly scary occurrence. No longer would audiences recognize The Demon as some makeup and tassels, instead it could carry some of the Undertaker’s gravity and heft. The Demon would become a real weapon within the WWE, something to be feared.
CM Punk should have retired the Undertaker at WrestleMania 29. It was Taker’s last decent match and featured a young and talented star who earned the win. A year later at WrestleMania XXX, Taker looked tired and beaten even before Brock Lesnar pinned him. Taker’s legacy should be one of intense commitment to wrestling and to the WWE. A man who refused to let the institution that gave him so much ever fade away. Since then Taker’s WrestleMania matches feel more like a requirement than a special event. The stipulations feel forced, the storylines even worse, and the matches and outcomes rarely worth even seeing. With Balor’s potential to grow into a WWE legend I hope both Taker, and the WWE, use the Undertaker’s legacy wisely and hand the baton off to another wrestler.
