Sunday night saw the end of one of the WWE's greatest ever in-ring performers, and possibly it's most enduring character. Monday morning was characterised by cries of animal pain when a lot of UK fans realised that the Undertaker's 21-match undefeated streak at Wrestlemania had been brought to an unexpected and anti-climactic end at Wrestlemania 30 by Bu-rooooock Lesnar. Since then, the sudden death of the newly-inducted Hall of Famer, The Ultimate Warrior, has seen some of the anger directed towards WWE's scriptwriters tempered.
Three days down the line though, and the decision to end what was considered an immortal streak is beginning to make sense. In fact, it was a night that revealed why nothing should be considered immortal. The opening to Wrestlemania 30 saw the host, the 'immortal' Hulk Hogan deliver a doddery and disappointing promo, calling the Superdome the Silverdome. Behind his outdated sunglasses and hair extensions, Hogan has been delivering limp, disconnected promos for weeks in the run-up to Wrestlemania and needed Stone Cold and The Rock to save his blushes in what would have been a dire opening without the stars from the Attitude Era. Immortality getting its ass kicked, take one.
The first televised fight of the night was Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H, and there was only ever going to be one winner here to allow, as predicted, Daniel Bryan to go on to win the Triple Threat championship match and see 75,000 fans chanting 'Yes!' amid a storm of ticker tape. A surprise here would have seen the whole event fall flat on its face and, other than an unlikely CM Punk return, the customary surprise pop that makes Wrestlemania infamous had to come from somewhere else. Other than the new Andre The Giant Battle Royale match, where else would you find that shock factor that keeps wrestling fans coming back? The rest of the card all looked like foregone conclusions, including Lesnar vs. The Streak.
And that's where the danger lies. Every year up until this point, you gave the challenger a sporting chance of beating The Dead Man. This year, Lesnar's challenge was credible but didn't carry the weight of a Triple H or a Shawn Michaels. For someone to beat The Streak, they sure had to be one of the immortals themselves. Brock Lesnar may well become a Hall of Famer one day, but he is not an immortal.
The Streak also had to end cleanly. Imagine the outcry had an interference ended the Undertaker's legacy. Ending it clean meant that we could all move on - no one got screwed and the Undertaker was shown to be what he is: a 49-year-old wrestler who had had his day and wanted to call it a day. The match itself was extremely dull, lacking in intensity and proved that Taker needs pacier opponents to help him through matches. Much the same can be said for Kane, and his star waned long ago on the basis that he is still performing regularly.
The end of the streak also does wonders for Lesnar and, to an even further extent, Paul Heyman. Heyman's work with CM Punk and Lesnar has been one of the main reasons to tune into Raw over the last two years, and carrying the client that beat The Streak re-enthuses his character. We know Paul Heyman puts over the bad guy, but now he has enough weight behind him to continue doing so with other big names once Lesnar leaves.
The other point is that, as well casting Lesnar's heel status in iron, who else could beat The Streak and live with themselves after it? Lesnar has no link to the fanbase; he's an irregular performer written to be a prizefighter. Shawn Michaels had to be asked in-ring by Ric Flair to end the Nature Boy's career - the Undertaker character meant that it had to be an unwilling end, and that could only be done by a mercenary with no plans to be anything otherwise. Lesnar, based on his UFC credentials, is also probably the guy you would least like to fight in real life. Him beating the ageing Phenom on any other stage but Wrestlemania doesn't seem so unbelievable.
The hollowness that followed that much was surreal. It was like that gasp of air a warrior takes after being stabbed. No one expected the loss. Every time the Undertaker kicked out of an F5, you saw it coming - the fun was seeing how late he could leave it. As predictable as wrestling can be, no one should be unbeatable, and that's what The Undertaker had become. All the best wrestling plots come from out of nowhere.
The end of The Streak may have felt like the lights coming on at a party, but all parties have to end, and there'll be others. Thank you, Taker.
read more "Mourning The Streak"
Three days down the line though, and the decision to end what was considered an immortal streak is beginning to make sense. In fact, it was a night that revealed why nothing should be considered immortal. The opening to Wrestlemania 30 saw the host, the 'immortal' Hulk Hogan deliver a doddery and disappointing promo, calling the Superdome the Silverdome. Behind his outdated sunglasses and hair extensions, Hogan has been delivering limp, disconnected promos for weeks in the run-up to Wrestlemania and needed Stone Cold and The Rock to save his blushes in what would have been a dire opening without the stars from the Attitude Era. Immortality getting its ass kicked, take one.
The first televised fight of the night was Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H, and there was only ever going to be one winner here to allow, as predicted, Daniel Bryan to go on to win the Triple Threat championship match and see 75,000 fans chanting 'Yes!' amid a storm of ticker tape. A surprise here would have seen the whole event fall flat on its face and, other than an unlikely CM Punk return, the customary surprise pop that makes Wrestlemania infamous had to come from somewhere else. Other than the new Andre The Giant Battle Royale match, where else would you find that shock factor that keeps wrestling fans coming back? The rest of the card all looked like foregone conclusions, including Lesnar vs. The Streak.
And that's where the danger lies. Every year up until this point, you gave the challenger a sporting chance of beating The Dead Man. This year, Lesnar's challenge was credible but didn't carry the weight of a Triple H or a Shawn Michaels. For someone to beat The Streak, they sure had to be one of the immortals themselves. Brock Lesnar may well become a Hall of Famer one day, but he is not an immortal.
The Streak also had to end cleanly. Imagine the outcry had an interference ended the Undertaker's legacy. Ending it clean meant that we could all move on - no one got screwed and the Undertaker was shown to be what he is: a 49-year-old wrestler who had had his day and wanted to call it a day. The match itself was extremely dull, lacking in intensity and proved that Taker needs pacier opponents to help him through matches. Much the same can be said for Kane, and his star waned long ago on the basis that he is still performing regularly.
The end of the streak also does wonders for Lesnar and, to an even further extent, Paul Heyman. Heyman's work with CM Punk and Lesnar has been one of the main reasons to tune into Raw over the last two years, and carrying the client that beat The Streak re-enthuses his character. We know Paul Heyman puts over the bad guy, but now he has enough weight behind him to continue doing so with other big names once Lesnar leaves.
The other point is that, as well casting Lesnar's heel status in iron, who else could beat The Streak and live with themselves after it? Lesnar has no link to the fanbase; he's an irregular performer written to be a prizefighter. Shawn Michaels had to be asked in-ring by Ric Flair to end the Nature Boy's career - the Undertaker character meant that it had to be an unwilling end, and that could only be done by a mercenary with no plans to be anything otherwise. Lesnar, based on his UFC credentials, is also probably the guy you would least like to fight in real life. Him beating the ageing Phenom on any other stage but Wrestlemania doesn't seem so unbelievable.
The hollowness that followed that much was surreal. It was like that gasp of air a warrior takes after being stabbed. No one expected the loss. Every time the Undertaker kicked out of an F5, you saw it coming - the fun was seeing how late he could leave it. As predictable as wrestling can be, no one should be unbeatable, and that's what The Undertaker had become. All the best wrestling plots come from out of nowhere.
The end of The Streak may have felt like the lights coming on at a party, but all parties have to end, and there'll be others. Thank you, Taker.
