WWE WrestleMania: Brock Lesnar ending Taker’s Streak was the right call
It’s been almost six years since WWE decided to end The Undertaker’s undefeated streak at WrestleMania. It’s time to say why they made the right call.
If you’re like me and just about every other wrestling fan who had nothing better to do while self-quarantining the other night, then you probably saw ESPN’s rebroadcasting of WWE WrestleMania XXX. While it’s a memorable event in its own right, most of us tuned in to rewatch one single solitary moment: the three count.
Oh, that historic three count. In just three solid seconds, after more than two decades in the record books, The Streak was over. Then, the only numbers that mattered were 21-1.
It’s a moment that has long been debated ever since and continues to be debated to this day, as far as if The Streak should have ever ended, if Brock Lesnar was the right man to do it, etc. While that first question is a little more subjective, I think that if it had to end and WrestleMania XXX had to be the place to end it, then Brock Lesnar was the right choice.
In fact, I’ll go a step further than that. This is going to sound like blasphemy or, worse, absurdity, but Brock Lesnar needed to beat The Streak.
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It might be easy to forget, but five years ago, Brock didn’t have the same aura that he does now. He didn’t feel like the same OP unstoppable Beast he is now and he certainly wasn’t booked like a former UFC Heavyweight Champion beyond everyone else’s league.
After his return to WWE, he walked into WrestleMania with a 3-2 win-loss record. Which is decent, but it’s a far cry from what’s expected of the special attraction he is today. The former Next Big Thing didn’t look so big right out the gate.
That changed when he beat The Streak. Suddenly, WWE felt compelled to book Brock as some unstoppable machine worthy of being the One in Twenty-One and One. Then came OP Brock booking. Then came Suplex City and, well, the rest is history.
Brock Lesnar had the background to – on paper at least – look like a legit contender to The Streak and based on the promo before the match, WWE wants us to believe we all felt like The Streak was in jeopardy. No one felt that way.
Not because it looked inconceivable to think The Streak could be beaten, but because Brock Lesnar lacked the aura it took to feel like a believable threat. If this match was booked today, then yes, we’d all think The Streak was in trouble, but going into the match, a guy who was 3-2 since 2012 and got dropped by Undertaker every week leading to Mania (Brock didn’t get any heat back till the Raw before) was just that: a guy.
Before beating The Streak, fans just viewed Brock as an ex MMA guy who popped up one or two times every year for a paycheck. After beating Taker, he had the oomph needed to turn non-believers into believers and let new fans finally see him as The Big Thing.
Next. Give Brock Lesnar praise for his role in Drew McIntyre’s rise. dark
Beating The Streak finally made Brock Lesnar feel special. He started being booked how he should’ve been the moment he returned and it gave way since to some memorable feuds and matches.