At WrestleMania 30, Brock Lesnar did the impossible when he hit a third F5 and broke The Undertaker's undefeated streak, which previously stood at 21-0. I was in attendance when the 3-count that broke The Streak happened, and the sound that was created by the Superdome crowd when they realized what had happened was like nothing I have ever heard before. It was like the stadium had just vacuumed up all the sound that the crowd was making (which wasn't really much since the match was so crap, but we'll ignore that), and very slowly, the shock, confusion and despair crept out in murmurs. It was bizarre. My jaw almost literally hit the floor, and no-one around me could quite believe what had just happened. We had all grown used to that number climbing higher and higher while the '0' always remained, but the mind-blowing graphic that showed up on the Superdome's screens confirmed it; '21-1' it read, and The Streak was over.
The immediate reaction was incredible. My brother went to the toilet afterwards, and told me that many people were pissed off and some were even leaving the stadium in anger. Most people were more subdued; I just watched the Divas match, still trying to digest what had just happened. How had The Undertaker lost? The guy behind me thought that it was a botch. No-one could believe it, and as I was leaving the stadium that night, even after Daniel Bryan's triumph, many people were still sombre, or just angry.
Now, 3 weeks removed from WrestleMania, we can really begin to analyze the implications of Brock Lesnar 'conquering' The Streak. And while many people still argue that it's ridiculous that a part-time guy who will be around for a couple more years at best got to break the most sacred accomplishment the WWE has, rather than giving the rub to a future main-eventer to cement his stardom, I'm going to argue against this. I'm willing to put my chips on the table and say Brock Lesnar was the best choice to defeat the Undertaker and end the streak, more so than Roman Reigns or Cesaro or any of the other people who have been suggested for the honor. I suppose I better back up that statement now...
Reason #1: A young guy breaking The Streak would have faced extreme backlash
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Roman Reigns can become an icon,
but not by breaking The Streak. |
In an alternate dimension, Roman Reigns speared The Undertaker at WrestleMania to defeat The Streak, while Brock Lesnar was eating a sandwich at Jimmy John's. So now Reigns is the conqueror of The Streak, and will become the next huge star of WWE, right? Except the night after WrestleMania, Reigns has to cut a promo explaining how awesome he is to have beaten The Undertaker, and the crowd dump all over it. They boo him, chant stupid things at him, and he delivers a poor promo under all the pressure. This reaction to Reigns is lesser the next week as the crowd is less rowdy, but it's still negative. The IWC turn against Reigns, saying that he's not good enough in the ring to warrant such a major push, and his push up the card starts to cool off because WWE can't book Reigns well enough (this is a safe bet with Creative's reputation). All the heat Reigns could have potentially have from defeating The Streak has gone in this nightmare scenario, and Taker's loss has been wasted.
With Brock Lesnar, WWE do actually take care to book him like a dangerous monster (most of the time). Paul Heyman's promo on the RAW after 'Mania was so captivating it prevented the crazy crowd from crapping all over it. Even though Lesnar isn't around right now, when he returns, you can be sure that Heyman will remind you of what he did.With Lesnar and Heyman, WWE know that the heat from The Streak ending is in safe hands, and it won't disparate as easily as it could with a younger guy. Every match Lesnar has from now on has the spectre of The Streak hanging over it, and they will be more interesting, dramatic, and just plain better because of it.
Reason #2: Lesnar has got his heat back in a huge way
Many people believe that Lesnar's loss to John Cena at Extreme Rules 2012 in his first match back was a mistake, and made Brock look less intimidating for future matches. I am definitely in that camp, and Lesnar's matches since then have never felt as important as that one did, because Lesnar had already been presented as beatable. His loss to Triple H at last year's WrestleMania further cemented this view, and it meant that heading into Brock's match with Undertaker this year, no-one was giving him a chance. That made his victory all the more shocking of course, but it also allowed Lesnar to win back the aura that surrounded him heading into his match with Cena. Lesnar feels 'unbeatable' again for the first time since 2012, and his future matches will feel more important because of that aura.
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| Lesnar feels really dangerous again. |
Reason #3: Lesnar can put over someone else in the future
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| Cesaro's link with Heyman can set up a big feud with Lesnar. |
I've already shown a potential nightmare scenario for a Roman Reigns beating The Streak, but there is a way of giving a potential main eventer the big rub they need to become a huge star in WWE without risking a backlash against them; have them beat the man who beat The Streak. Brock Lesnar, as 'The Conqueror of The Streak' now has a huge target painted on him, which WWE can wisely use to put over Cesaro, Reigns, or anyone else they want to heavily push. Lesnar can gobble up a few opponents between now and WrestleMania next year to look completely unbeatable, and someone like Cesaro can then step up to challenge him on the biggest stage. Lesnar vs Cesaro (especially now with the Paul Heyman link there) would be a huge match for next year's 'Mania, and a Cesaro win would cement him as a main event player. This would indirectly give the accolade of defeating The Streak to a younger guy without backlash from the fans, and it would allow for an incredible story to be told, both in and out of the ring. Because Lesnar conquered The Streak, a whole load of exciting options for storylines have been opened up. Now WWE just needs to take advantage of them.
What do you think about The Streak ending? Was Brock Lesnar the right choice to end it? The comment section below is all yours to debate and discuss.
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