The Undertaker defeated CM Punk to extend the streak at Wrestlemania 29

photo courtesy: wwe.com

To the shock of no one that knows the wrestling business, The Undertaker continued his undefeated streak at WrestleMania by defeating CM Punk Sunday night at the 29th installment of the annual event.

The Undertaker is now 21-0 on the WrestleMania stage.
In what was an amazing match, Punk proved he belonged with The Undertaker and reclaimed the urn that he had been seeking throughout the feud. This bout was an instant classic and an early Match of the Year candidate.

There were serious questions about how The Undertaker would perform at the WWE’s marquee event—the veteran was coming off two surgeries and had been reportedly questionable for the show until mere weeks before (h/t Wrestling Inc.)—but The Deadman performed great as usual.

It also helps to have arguably the most talented all-around wrestler in the world right now in Punk helping to carry the 48-year-old Undertaker through one of the most interesting matches of his career.

As great as the Undertaker was Sunday night, Punk deserves immense credit for the performance he got out of the WWE legend despite the Undertaker’s limitations.

Punk may have taken the loss at WrestleMania, but the rub he received from fighting a bona fide superstar like The Undertaker on the biggest stage in wrestling has taken him to another level.

CM Punk interrupts Undertaker's tribute to Paul Bearer: Raw, March 11, 2013

While the WWE will still view Cena as the unquestioned No. 1 star in the company, Punk’s performance Sunday proved that he is just as valuable to the WWE as any other wrestler in the entire company.

Now that The Undertaker will likely disappear for another year until WrestleMania 30, Punk must find a feud worthy of the momentum he built Sunday.

According to F4WOnline (h/t Wrestling Inc.), though, that may be an issue. Punk has been reportedly removed from all May live events and is not currently being advertised to perform at the Extreme Rules pay-per-view.

Punk has been working through injuries (h/t Wrestling Inc.). While eventually allowing him to rest is the smart move, not immediately capitalizing on his match with The Undertaker is a bad decision for the WWE.

The former champion will get a huge rub from the Undertaker. This opportunity to build Punk up as a mainstream star is one the WWE can’t pass on.

Punk must fight someone worthy of his presence and beat them convincingly at Extreme Rules or the company will risk losing all of the heat the feud with The Undertaker created on the road to WrestleMania.

source: bleacherreport.com