Undertaker wins Rumble, set for Wrestlemania

Actually, it has been done twice the hard way as both the Heart Break Kid Shawn Michaels and most recently, Chris Benoit in 2004, entered the Rumble at number one and held on through 29 opponents to win. Both Vince McMahan and last year?s winner, Rey Mysterio entered at two and won the Rumble in years past.

With his win, the Undertaker will now get to choose whose title he wants to challenge at Wrestlemania. Anyway he goes, whether it be RAW, Smackdown or ECW, he?ll be putting his streak of 13 straight Wrestlemania wins without a loss on the line in a streak versus strap match. However, in doing this, recent history is on the Deadman?s side as every Rumble winner since Stone Cold Steve Austin in 2001 has gone on to win the title at Wrestlemania. By the way, Austin, who holds the record as the only three-time Rumble winner (1997, 98, 01), will likely be showing up soon on RAW to promote his new movie, although aside from drinking beer and issuing some Stone Cold Stunners, I don?t know if he?ll be seeing any actual wrestling time.

Conventional wisdom would have the Undertaker face Batista seeing there is already some heat between the two due to recent incidents between them on Smackdown. However, those watching Monday night saw the Deadman appear at the end of RAW, seemingly to issue a challenge to Cena for his belt. Regardless, as things stand right now, it would be a face versus face match anyway he goes, unless we have a last minute face turn by one of the champions.

Personally, I think it will be Taker versus the Animal and Cena versus Orton at WM, but that could easily change between now and April 1 as WWE will likely continue to tease which brand Undertaker will pick, just as they have since Benoit shocked fans and switched to RAW back in 2004 after his Rumble win. I just don?t see another match at Smackdown worthy of WM as the Batista versus Kennedy feud is concluding, and I don?t see headliners like Edge or Orton stepping from the RAW spotlight to the lesser rated Smackdown show. And, according to Kurt Angle, now of TNA, Michaels was the reason he had to go to Smackdown since HBK refused to leave RAW a few years ago. Take that for what it?s worth since Angle tends to elaborate sometimes.

In the meantime, as we wait for the final matches at WM, the WWE is giving us an interesting storyline on RAW as they have everyone turning on everyone. Old friends are beginning not to trust one another as everyone is looking or a main event shot at WM.

Orton and Edge, which wouldn?t be a bad match at WM itself, are seemingly about to break up, the new champs Cena and HBK were about to erupt into a slobber knocker Monday night until the Taker showed up. Even Ric Flair is in the mix, getting into Cena?s head by suggesting prior to Monday night?s tag title match that HBK might put some Sweet Chin Music on him, a statement which proved prophetic as Shawn was tuning up the band just as the Takers music hit.

I think we?ll see this mistrust continue for the coming weeks, perhaps even turning friends on one another, putting heel against heel and face against face.

I think we?re in for a good couple of months leading up to the grandest stage in sport entertainment.