It was a controversial move by the WWE to have The Undertaker’s Streak end at WWE’s WrestleMania 30 PPV. Most of us didn’t know if or when The Undertaker would lose. Many of us never expected it to happen at the event. Most of all, however, no one expected Brock Lesnar to be the man behind the loss.
Vince McMahon makes all the calls, this has been a fact since the beginning of WrestleMania years ago. Vince made the WWE into THE premier wrestling company in the world. WWE has made it so far that they are now competing against the major media and entertainment companies.
The Undertaker was a staple of WrestleMania year after year, and his streak was one of the major marks in the history of sports entertainment. The loss sent shock waves throughout the world and made many wrestling fans gasp as they saw the loss take place in front of them. When my friends and I gather to watch the match on video, we immediately go silent as did the Superdome in New Orleans, when the Undertaker was counted out live.
Vince may make all the calls, but many fans were outraged about the loss, and many of us were shocked for days after. Now, it seems that the WWE has started to rethink the entire thing, which is not uncommon for them to do AFTER the fact.
This decision is not one that they can go back and correct. The loss is still there, it cannot be corrected. It is completely different from the World Title changing hands or someone younger going over someone popular. It is not that type of match.
You cannot undo the loss here. As a result, you are stuck with your decision, so it all comes down to the fact that WWE top level management was confident about the decision. If they felt confident then, it would make no sense that they are not now. Of course, it is possible that only Vinny Mac was confident.
Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter tells an interesting story on the subject, saying that the WWE as a whole is not sure about the loss, especially not sure about the status of The Undertaker, saying:
“Right now there are people in the inner circle who believe Vince McMahon didn’t make the decision for Undertaker to lose at the last minute, but simply waited until the last minute to let anyone know. There is still a lot of internal belief that it was the wrong call, basically I’m told that’s the majority viewpoint but nobody can publicly say it, particularly since there is no indication Undertaker won’t be back for next year’s WrestleMania.”
There were rumors that The Undertaker was not happy about the call, which is easily debunked by knowing that Taker would do anything Vince asked him to do. He has done that since day one and made all the other wrestlers fall in line, so there is no reason to suspect he had a change of attitude this year. Many believe that The Deadman and Vince decided together that he would take the loss.
Whether or not that is factual is another case entirely. We do know now, however, that many people at all levels in the company feel it was a bad idea.
WWE certainly got people talking with the move, which may have been the idea the whole time. No one is entirely sure of WWE’s reasoning behind the loss. We simply know that it was not a popular decision to do it, and ultimately, Vince McMahon made that final call to end The Streak with Brock Lesnar.
There was a rumor going into WrestleMania that The Undertaker really wanted to work with Daniel Bryan. So, who knows if the WWE always planned to end The Streak at WrestleMania 30, regardless of who Taker faced. Ultimately, Bryan was in two matches, one for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, which he won. So WWE did a big thing for him there, but what if he was the guy who ended The Streak? Would the fans continue to support Bryan as their champion if HE was the guy who beat The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXX? It’s an interesting question, but alas, we will never know the answer, and Brock Lesnar seems more than happy to take the blame.
WWE now has a lot to think about. Undertaker may be back next year, and no one is sure who he will face. Although, Sting is a major possibility if Taker is healthy and Sting is signed to a deal by then. Now that there is no Streak to worry about, the match could really be one The Undertaker would be proud to end his career on, regardless of his opponent.
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