?Taker ready to pass the torch

Even the Dead Man himself is not immune to the bite of the injury bug, a bite which will likely cause a premature end to what was to be a long and likely, at the age of 42, a final title reign for the Undertaker which began when he stretched his undefeated streak to 15-0 at Wrestlemania 23.

In this case, a torn biceps will require surgery for Mark Calaway, likely writing him out of the Smackdown storyline for several months. The injury will also likely mean he will drop the belt this week (I say likely since you never know for sure nowadays) against Batista in the cagematch Friday.

And no, it won?t be Mr. Kennedy cashing in his money in the bank to take the title Friday as the loud-mouthed Smackdown heel will also be out for several months after tearing a triceps at a house show, explaining why he lost his Money in the Bank in a short match with Edge Monday night at RAW. Too bad, Kennedy was my favorite.

With the apparent loss of the Undertaker, Dave Batista, no spring chicken at 38, may benefit for the age-old rub passed on by an established star to a newer star. Giving another wrestler the ?rub? or ?passing the torch? is an important part of wrestling as it helps propagate the business by elevating a midcarder to main event status. The smart veterans know that elevating the younger talent is not a threat to their jobs but instead is a benefit to everyone in the industry because it creates more legitimate contenders and competition.

The best example of the passing of the torch was Andre the Giant losing to Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania 3. In that match, Hogan bodyslammed the wrestling legend, and, from that point forward, became the face of professional wrestling. Andre knew the significance of putting Hogan over as did Hogan, who confessed he was worried Andre would back out of the plan in the middle of the match. Hogan noted that if a 500-pound giant doesn?t want to be slammed, then all the Hulking up in the world won?t get it done.

Years later Hogan attempted to return the favor in the waning days of WCW when he tried to pass the torch to Bill Goldberg, a torch the former Georgia Bulldog dropped a short time later despite getting the rub from the immortal Hulkster.

In fact, even though he has been called a prima donna and an egomaniac and has final approval of the outcome of any match he is in, Hogan has gone a long way to pass the torch to the next generation, taking defeats to the likes of Kurt Angle, the Rock and even the Undertaker.

And, another guy who gets a bad rap because of his 10-title reigns and the fact he is married to the boss? daughter, Triple H, has bent over backwards to legitimize young talent. Trips single-handedly made the careers of both Batista and Randy Orton in their feuds after grooming them in their group Evolution. Plus, he helped elevate John Cena to his position by losing to him at WM22. Heck, Trips even lost to Shelton Benjamin in an attempt to elevate the athletic grappler to singles glory.

This, after he himself was given the rub by the Nature Boy Ric Flair, who, many years prior, was given the rub by the original Nature Boy Buddy Rogers back in the NWA. If it wasn?t for the passing of the torch, the business would live and die kind of like preacher religion, like it almost did just a few years ago with the departure of Stone Cold Steve Austin and the Rock, neither of whom bothered to give the rub to their younger wrestlers. Actually, it?s rumored Stone Cold left so suddenly because he didn?t want to give the job to Brock Lesnar. The end result was a decline in the business after they left because there were no anointed successors to their places atop the business.

And, it?s not just retirement as much as a rash of injuries that was one of the things which killed WCW years ago as there were no successors in place to step up and fill the void left by injuries to people like Sting, Lex Luger and Kevin Nash. It shows that passing the torch isn?t just a gesture, it?s a part of insuring the future of the business.