Depending who you ask, breaking The Undertakers undefeated WrestleMania streak would either be the best or worst thing that could happen for WWE. On one hand, if Undertaker loses to CM Punk Sunday night, it cements Punks legendary status and will help the wrestling promotion earn more money in the coming years by featuring the hated heel who put the 1 in Takers 20-1. From a passing-of-the-torch perspective, its the right thing to do for the business.
On the flip side, Undertaker means so much both on screen and behind the scenes in WWE, that as long as he wants to wrestle, his streak should remain alive as its one of the true selling points at each years big show. Besides, Undertaker beating Punk also keeps open the opportunity for John Cena to challenge the streak at WrestleMania 30 (talk about a money maker).
But not so fast, as I had the chance to get CM Punks perspective on his upcoming match, his recent use of the piledriver, and where he sees his career headed post WrestleMania.
Heres what the controversial wrestler loaded with verbal pipe bombs had to say. Let the explosions begin.
ESPN Playbook: What would beating The Undertaker at WrestleMania do for your legacy?
CM Punk: I think it would do something tremendous for anybodys legacy. Some people get excited just because theyre wrestling The Undertaker at WrestleMania, but Im not really in awe of anybody I wrestle; Im here to beat him. Its one of the only things I can possibly do to top my career moment I had in Las Vegas when I cut that infamous promo.
Undertaker is known as the locker room leader in WWE. With him being gone for almost a year, who filled his role behind the scenes?
Im not really sure anybody could fill Takers shoes, and I dont think anybody is trying to, either. God help us all if Im the leader, but when you look around the landscape, theres really nobody else besides myself and John Cena. Thats about it.
The Rock took your title and broke one of the most historic championship streaks in years, then is too busy to attend every Raw leading into WrestleMania. Do you think its bad for the company when the champion isnt even on the show?
I do, yeah, but its not my company, so thats where we are with that. [laughs]
Do you hope for a third match against The Rock sometime in the future?
I dont think its in the cards, but I wouldnt say no to it.
Paul Heyman is acting as an advisor to both you and Brock Lesnar. Are we ever going to see you guys join forces in a tag team?
Id love to. Thats actually something were discussing, yes.
How about a match against Brock? Is that something we can expect in the future?
I think that would be horrible for him. He doesnt want to fight me.
Do you think fans appreciate enough all of the little things Paul Heyman does on screen that helps add to the atmosphere, like all of his facial expressions and the way he used to hold your belt high over his head?
I think the ones who are in on it do; and the ones who arent, they hate his guts. And thats his job, to get people to hate him.
As a fan, what WrestleMania match are you most looking forward to watching?
Fandango versus Chris Jericho. You probably dont believe me, but its true. I cant remember the last time somebody debuted at WrestleMania, and Fandango is actually one hell of a talent, so Im excited to see where this goes. Besides, its Chris Jericho. You cant go wrong with a Chris Jericho match.
How about as a kid growing up, is there a WrestleMania moment that stands out as your favorite. Maybe something that happened that made you want to become a wrestler.
I only got to pay attention to what other people were saying about WrestleMania because I didnt start religiously watching them until about WrestleMania X. Bret (Hart) versus Owen (Hart) is one of the best WrestleMania matches ever, so if anything made me want to become a wrestler, that match was it.
The Shield has debuted in huge fashion. What do you think of the potential of these three newcomers both as a team and individually?
I think theres huge potential for all three of them. Roman Reigns came in as a relative unknown, but hes more than pulled his weight. I think you can definitely see any three of those guys becoming a future world champion.
Looking at the WrestleMania 29 card, when the show is over, what do you think people are going to leave MetLife Stadium talking about the most?
My match. Im out to prove people wrong again. I dont think its a secret that I wanted to be in the main event at WrestleMania and I dont think its a secret that people are like, But youre in one of the main events, youre wrestling The Undertaker. But Im not one for consolation prizes. Im out to steal the show, and Im out to do the improbable. If Im able to do that, that remains to be seen, but well find out.
Your match against John Cena on Raw a few weeks ago was one of the best matches Ive seen this past year. I like how he busted out the hurricanranna and you busted out the piledriver
it made the match feel special with these big moves. Can we expect something similar against The Undertaker?
Absolutely, especially with me. [laughs] You never know what Im going to do.
Isnt the piledriver a banned move? Did you get in trouble for doing it on Raw?
I sure did.
How did the move get banned? Its something that has been in wrestling for years.
It has a bad history of injuries and accidents, so its better safe than sorry. Its really sort of not worth it, but I wanted to show that I was really trying to win that damn match.
Funny how doing a move that is banned ended up working in your favor and giving the match a more epic feeling.
Funny how that works out sometimes.
You were on the cover of WWE 13, and now 2K Sports is taking over development of the new game coming out this year. Is there anything youd like to see in the upcoming game that they werent able to capture in WWE 13?
Oh God, it will be interesting to see what they bring to the table, video game-wise. THQ always did such a great job. I cant think of anything that they need to add. Its always kind of creepy to look at myself in the game. Its almost like looking at still photos.
Im not sure about Undertakers health and if hell stick around much after WrestleMania, so after your big match this weekend, who do you see yourself feuding with next?
I would honestly love to tag with Brock Lesnar. If it was up to me, I would do that and take on Kane and Daniel Bryan or Dolph (Ziggler) and Big E., whoever has the straps after WrestleMania.
