“What goes up must come down.”
Sir Isaac Newton
When Sir Isaac Newton declared this statement, he was referring to the act of an apple falling from a tree; his way of explaining the meaning of gravity.
On April 6, 2014, The Undertaker’s Wrestlemania streak came to an end. After 22 matches, 19 different opponents and three Championship victories, Brock Lesnar became the one in 21-1, defeating The Undertaker and breaking the streak spanning over two decades.
As the hand of the referee came crashing to the mat for the third time, fans in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome were left completely stunned. Brock Lesnar’s music did not play, the referee did not hold up his hand at the time and the body of The Undertaker lay motionless in the center of the ring. As time passed, doubt filled the air. Was this real? Was this supposed to happen? Fans in New Orleans started a “Bullshit” chant, partly in disbelief of what happened and hoping to see the result overturned and the match restarted. Then, the realization set in when something was shown on the titantron.
21-1
No pyros, no fancy Ministry cross, no Gong. Plain, bolded text in white and the sinking feeling that this was indeed the outcome. That’s when we all knew. The shocked faces stood still, as did time itself. Some people began to cry. Others made their way to the exits to leave the building. Myself, I sat in front of my television, unable to comprehend what just happened.
What the loss means to The Undertaker
One has to believe this is it for The Phenom. Retirement may be on the horizon.
After suffering the loss, it was reported that Undertaker had suffered a severe concussion. Reports suggest he was driven to the hospital right after his match and would be later released the next day. Vince McMahon even went with him to the hospital and skipped the main event. Given the fact that Undertaker has compiled a long list of injuries and he is getting up there in age, it could be time for The Deadman to finally hang up his boots for good.
On this week’s episode of Raw, Undertaker did not participate. A good thing too, as severe concussions pose a problem for those who work in a place with extreme lighting and sound — in this case, the WWE, a work-place that consists of extreme lighting and sound, not to mention physical activity involving bodies flying all over the place.
Will we see him again? Yes. He will be back but it will just be to say, “Thank you and good-bye.”
What the win means to Brock Lesnar
Everything.
As mentioned in this article that I wrote before Wrestlemania 30, Brock Lesnar was undefeated against The Undertaker in singles competition. In four matches, Brock went 2-0-1 against The Undertaker, with that one match ending in a double disqualification. In other words; a no contest result. To continue the history of Lesnar’s dominance over The Undertaker in singles competition will only push Lesnar’s character to another level. If only the WWE mentioned this during their broadcast. But, I digress.
From a booking standpoint, I’d have given the streak to a young buck like a Roman Reigns or a Cesaro but I’m no booker. When you look at Lesnar’s record since his loss against Triple H at last year’s Wrestlemania, you’ll notice he is undefeated. Sure he’s only wrestled three times during that stretch, but take a look at HOW he has won those matches. A brutal steel cage match against Triple H. A No Disqualification match against The Best in the World CM Punk. How about the time he dismantled The Big Show, destroying a couple of chairs over his back? While the quantity may be minimal, the quality of destruction is astronomical.
Now the booking team has potential gold on their hands and a chance to create something that could change the foundation of this industry. You have the man that ended the streak go on to eventually win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Behind him, he leaves a path of destruction, dismantling any opposition that gets in his way. This builds into Wrestlemania 31, where you have created a challenger to stand in his way. It could be Daniel Bryan, Roman Reigns, Cesaro, whoever. The point is, there is a challenger. Said challenger defeats Brock Lesnar on the grandest stage of them all and he becomes the guy that put an end to the beast that ended the streak. You may believe ending the streak in itself is a greater accomplishment but there has always been the argument that Undertaker’s age plays a role in it. Instead, a guy who is ten years in his prime just got defeated after owning the company’s top talent for close to a year, all after ending the streak. It is money in the making.
For Lesnar, this feat of being “the guy” is just another notch in his belt of accomplishments in the WWE.
What the streak ending meant to me
Personally, it all started for me at Wrestlemania XIV. At the time, I was 10 years old. A sample glimpse into my life; my parents were still married, I lived in a beautiful two-story house and wrestling was my life. This Wrestlemania event was the very first PPV my parents ordered for me and it is one I won’t forget. While Stone Cold Steve Austin winning the WWF Championship against Shawn Michaels was the highlight, watching Undertaker tombstone Kane three times to finally put his “brother” away was the thing that remained in my mind forever. Since that day, I watched each and every match of his attentively, cheering him on.
His run as the biker-form Undertaker to his return back to The Deadman gimmick at Wrestlemania XX, I was there watching. His back-to-back Wrestlemania World Heavyweight Championship victories, I was there cheering and celebrating. At the age of 21, I found myself acting like a child as I jumped in the air and fell out of my seat countless times during The Undertaker’s battle with Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania XXV. The WWE then felt the need to give me a heart-attack the very next Wrestlemania when we were treated to Taker vs. Michaels, part II. That Sweet Chin Music into a pedigree at Wrestlemania XVIII is the first time I thought, “Oh my God, this is it…”
But he kicked out.
When the count of three was made at Wrestlemania 30, and it was The Undertaker’s shoulders that were pinned to the mat, I sat on my couch in complete silence. I did not move, I did not speak. I just watched, unable to make a sound. At one point, my wife turned to me and asked if I was alright. I was able to mutter just three words.
“I’m emotionally devastated.”
And I was. As I fought back the tears, I realized just exactly what this meant to me. Ironic in a sense because just one year ago, I was rooting for CM Punk to end The Undertaker’s streak and become the “1 in 20-1”. Yet here I was, just one year later.
I remembered the times I spent with my father while watching The Undertaker — his favourite — keeping the streak believe. Two years after his win at Wrestlemania XIV, my father was gone from my life. While my childhood would become shattered like the Southern regions of a victim of Goldust, one thing remained in tact; Wrestling. Wrestling was always there to keep me from imploding.
Then last year, Paul Bearer passed away and I felt that same feeling inside; something that I held dear to my life was gone. Something that I held dear to my life, something that held meaning was taken away. One year later, it was all gone. The Undertaker. His streak. All of it taken away.
It was then, when the 21-1 record was shown on the titantron, that I realized that the final piece of my childhood had vanished. The Attitude era and everything remaining to this day was finally over. Granted, I am pushing 27 years old and have been married for close to eight years now, all while fathering three children, I sat on my couch on April 6th and felt myself become that 10 year old boy for the very last time.
The streak, Wrestlemania and wrestling in general may be scripted, but when you invest close to three decades of interest into a product and it’s characters, you become emotionally connected to it all.
In closing
The streak may be over, but the memory will always remain in us all.
While reports indicate that The Undertaker is expected to retire, I as well as the rest of the WWE Universe will always remember all the memories that The Undertaker provided us with during our childhood leading into adulthood. It’s no wonder that the hashtag #ThankYouTaker was trending WORLDWIDE, not only during the Wrestlemania broadcast but 24 hours AFTER, leading into Raw.
Thank you, Undertaker. Thank you, Brock Lesnar. And thank you WWE.
Photo: WWE.com
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