I know this topic has been done to death at this point but I've never really had an outlet to throw my two cents in. Please bear in mind that what I am about to say is only my opinion and in no way am I preaching this as gospel. It's been well over three years since the Undertaker's undefeated streak at WrestleMania ended. In my opinion, the streak should have remained intact and I like to pretend it never ended. There are those who share my opinion and there are those that were happy about the streak ending. There may even be some who were indifferent towards the whole thing.
For those in the camp of wanting the streak to end, let's talk about the man who conquered the streak, Brock Lesnar. Many questions arose concerning this topic. If it ends, who would be the man to end it? Was Brock Lesnar the right man to do it? If not, who else would have made sense? I've heard many people say Brock Lesnar was the most credible person to do it. With Lesnar's UFC background, I can see how this would make sense...if I wanted the streak to end, that is! People also use Lesnar's ending of the streak and decimation of John Cena for the WWE Title later that year as validation for Lesnar's booking going forward.
I've also heard people mention it should have ended at the hands of John Cena. Since it did end, I'm glad a heel was the one who did it. I'm not sure a face would have fully recovered after that! If John Cena for instance, did it as a face, I'm not sure the cheers would ever come back. Of those who feel Cena would have been the perfect person to end the streak, some feel a long awaited Cena heel turn would be the perfect way to do it. I'll be honest, even though I wish the streak never ended, the heat for that moment would be tremendous! If you're going to do something the crowd doesn't like and are likely to get booed anyway, you might as well go all the way with it.
Another person people claim should have ended the streak is Roman Reigns. While Reigns did end up potentially retiring the Undertaker by defeating him at this past WrestleMania, how would his win have been received if he had actually broken the streak? Shortly after WrestleMana XXX, the Shield broke up and Reigns went to to a very successful singles push, winning the WWE Title and main eventing WrestleMania. Had Lesnar never broken the streak, what would have been the result of Reigns doing it?
Let me just discuss why I feel the streak never should have ended. First of all, it was special to me, as it probably was for many others. To those that felt it was his duty for the streak to end and that he needed to put someone over, I say that's nonsense. All Undertaker did for years was put people over. He lost willingly at every other PPV so I say, why not let him have WrestleMania? I'll admit, since the streak ended, I haven't cared nearly as much about his WrestleMania matches. Perhaps that's why the streak should have remained! Now that the streak is over, it's harder to garner interest. If the streak had remained, there would always be the question of "will it ever end?"
I feel the streak wasn't hurting anyone. It was fun and a big seller for WrestleMania. The continued t-shirt sales may have been a good reason to keep the streak alive as well. Beyond the controversy of the streak ending, people still aren't clear on exactly what went down in that match. Some claim that due to the early injury the Undertaker sustained during the match, it changed the outcome. The injury definitely hindered the remainder of the match, that's for sure! Some believe that the Undertaker was supposed to kick out or the referee was not supposed to count to three. I've also heard some say the referees are always instructed to perform normal counts, regardless of the predetermined outcome.
Also, was the referee aware of the ending or not? How many people were in the know? I'm sure it was only a handful of people at the most. My guess would be Vince McMahon, Triple H, Brock Lesnar, Undertaker himself, and possibly Paul Heyman and/or the referee. Regardless, many people were shocked and many memes were created, most notably of a certain fan in the audience.
Another reason I thought the streak should have remained was it killed the rest of the PPV and not as many cared for Daniel Bryan's triumph to end the night. I feel it left the crowd deflated! I sure was! I didn't care about anything else after that. Those poor women never had a chance after that match. As happy as I was for Daniel Bryan finally beating the odds, I wasn't as enthused due to the streak ending. Of course, my dislike for the result became trivial two days later when the Ultimate Warrior suddenly passed away. It got me off my high horse and back to the reality that life is short.
Now, it's time for the topic at hand. Did ending the streak accomplish anything? From what I understood, the purpose of ending the streak and subsequently at the hands of Brock Lesnar, was for someone else to come along and conquer the man that conquered the streak. As we all know, that man was supposed to be Roman Reigns. However, people who kept hijacking shows and booed everything Reigns did made everyone change gears and thus Seth Rollins cashed in his "Money In the Bank" and ultimately saved WrestleMania from ending on a sour note. That was a great moment but I can't help but feel Reigns got cheated.
Even if we get the extremely likely Lesnar/Reigns match at WrestleMania, does it even matter? Reigns ended up defeating the Undertaker himself and a win against Lesnar isn't something people will necessarily care about. Also, had Lesnar lost to the Undertaker, he still would have been looked at as the beast. He's Brock Lesnar! No loss is going to damage him at this point in his career. He still could have believably been booked the same even if he was the one to take the loss a few years ago. Because of all that, I continue to ask if ending the streak did anything for anyone. In my opinion, nothing positive came from it. I'm curious to know what others think!
If you have any further thoughts on this topic, let me know in comments. Heck, let us all know on The WAR Report podcast, every Tuesday at 7PM EST, brought to you by TagMeADate.com, the first and only dating site for wrestling fans. Go to askthewarreport@gmail.com or #askthewarreport. For TagMeADate members, our Android and Apple apps are vastly approaching so stay tuned!
For those in the camp of wanting the streak to end, let's talk about the man who conquered the streak, Brock Lesnar. Many questions arose concerning this topic. If it ends, who would be the man to end it? Was Brock Lesnar the right man to do it? If not, who else would have made sense? I've heard many people say Brock Lesnar was the most credible person to do it. With Lesnar's UFC background, I can see how this would make sense...if I wanted the streak to end, that is! People also use Lesnar's ending of the streak and decimation of John Cena for the WWE Title later that year as validation for Lesnar's booking going forward.
I've also heard people mention it should have ended at the hands of John Cena. Since it did end, I'm glad a heel was the one who did it. I'm not sure a face would have fully recovered after that! If John Cena for instance, did it as a face, I'm not sure the cheers would ever come back. Of those who feel Cena would have been the perfect person to end the streak, some feel a long awaited Cena heel turn would be the perfect way to do it. I'll be honest, even though I wish the streak never ended, the heat for that moment would be tremendous! If you're going to do something the crowd doesn't like and are likely to get booed anyway, you might as well go all the way with it.
Another person people claim should have ended the streak is Roman Reigns. While Reigns did end up potentially retiring the Undertaker by defeating him at this past WrestleMania, how would his win have been received if he had actually broken the streak? Shortly after WrestleMana XXX, the Shield broke up and Reigns went to to a very successful singles push, winning the WWE Title and main eventing WrestleMania. Had Lesnar never broken the streak, what would have been the result of Reigns doing it?
Let me just discuss why I feel the streak never should have ended. First of all, it was special to me, as it probably was for many others. To those that felt it was his duty for the streak to end and that he needed to put someone over, I say that's nonsense. All Undertaker did for years was put people over. He lost willingly at every other PPV so I say, why not let him have WrestleMania? I'll admit, since the streak ended, I haven't cared nearly as much about his WrestleMania matches. Perhaps that's why the streak should have remained! Now that the streak is over, it's harder to garner interest. If the streak had remained, there would always be the question of "will it ever end?"
I feel the streak wasn't hurting anyone. It was fun and a big seller for WrestleMania. The continued t-shirt sales may have been a good reason to keep the streak alive as well. Beyond the controversy of the streak ending, people still aren't clear on exactly what went down in that match. Some claim that due to the early injury the Undertaker sustained during the match, it changed the outcome. The injury definitely hindered the remainder of the match, that's for sure! Some believe that the Undertaker was supposed to kick out or the referee was not supposed to count to three. I've also heard some say the referees are always instructed to perform normal counts, regardless of the predetermined outcome.
Also, was the referee aware of the ending or not? How many people were in the know? I'm sure it was only a handful of people at the most. My guess would be Vince McMahon, Triple H, Brock Lesnar, Undertaker himself, and possibly Paul Heyman and/or the referee. Regardless, many people were shocked and many memes were created, most notably of a certain fan in the audience.
Another reason I thought the streak should have remained was it killed the rest of the PPV and not as many cared for Daniel Bryan's triumph to end the night. I feel it left the crowd deflated! I sure was! I didn't care about anything else after that. Those poor women never had a chance after that match. As happy as I was for Daniel Bryan finally beating the odds, I wasn't as enthused due to the streak ending. Of course, my dislike for the result became trivial two days later when the Ultimate Warrior suddenly passed away. It got me off my high horse and back to the reality that life is short.
Now, it's time for the topic at hand. Did ending the streak accomplish anything? From what I understood, the purpose of ending the streak and subsequently at the hands of Brock Lesnar, was for someone else to come along and conquer the man that conquered the streak. As we all know, that man was supposed to be Roman Reigns. However, people who kept hijacking shows and booed everything Reigns did made everyone change gears and thus Seth Rollins cashed in his "Money In the Bank" and ultimately saved WrestleMania from ending on a sour note. That was a great moment but I can't help but feel Reigns got cheated.
Even if we get the extremely likely Lesnar/Reigns match at WrestleMania, does it even matter? Reigns ended up defeating the Undertaker himself and a win against Lesnar isn't something people will necessarily care about. Also, had Lesnar lost to the Undertaker, he still would have been looked at as the beast. He's Brock Lesnar! No loss is going to damage him at this point in his career. He still could have believably been booked the same even if he was the one to take the loss a few years ago. Because of all that, I continue to ask if ending the streak did anything for anyone. In my opinion, nothing positive came from it. I'm curious to know what others think!
If you have any further thoughts on this topic, let me know in comments. Heck, let us all know on The WAR Report podcast, every Tuesday at 7PM EST, brought to you by TagMeADate.com, the first and only dating site for wrestling fans. Go to askthewarreport@gmail.com or #askthewarreport. For TagMeADate members, our Android and Apple apps are vastly approaching so stay tuned!
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