The Undertaker in my view will always be the most greatest performer in the business, he paved the way for every single superstar there is. Even though he is retired i just reminisce on his time with the business.
Undertaker's Wrestlemania Streak
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The Undertaker in my view will always be the most greatest performer in the business, he paved the way for every single superstar there is. Even though he is retired i just reminisce on his time with the business.
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What about Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage's, Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels' contributions to the WWE's biggest show? Wrestlemania is more than just a streak.
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I'll just say I'm glad the Streak broke. Not thrilled with who broke it but I would've hated if he retired with it intact. Was definitely something special though, loved the series with HBK & HHH.
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The Undertaker didn't pave the way for everyone in the business. That statement just is not justifiable on any level.
The way professional wrestling is today, Gorgeous George paved the way. He was the first over the top character, which allowed others to follow. He opened the doors for characters like the Undertaker.
The way to look at Undertaker is not that he paved the way for anyone. But to look at him as someone who had a deeper loyalty to what he was doing than almost anyone. Here was a man who not only stayed with WWE through the thick and thin, but for decades would not break character in public, would not do out of character interviews, who would continue to hold his respect for the traditions of the business even as most others gave them up.
For me, that is Undertaker's greatest accomplishment. Compared to that, the streak is nothing.
The way professional wrestling is today, Gorgeous George paved the way. He was the first over the top character, which allowed others to follow. He opened the doors for characters like the Undertaker.
The way to look at Undertaker is not that he paved the way for anyone. But to look at him as someone who had a deeper loyalty to what he was doing than almost anyone. Here was a man who not only stayed with WWE through the thick and thin, but for decades would not break character in public, would not do out of character interviews, who would continue to hold his respect for the traditions of the business even as most others gave them up.
For me, that is Undertaker's greatest accomplishment. Compared to that, the streak is nothing.
I actually wish the streak never ended, would have been awesome to have that as a part of wrestling history forever, and maybe have a future talent at least come close to breaking it, at the very least, just a good storyline for the future generations imo.
I was actually one of those people who cheered against the Streak. However, the first time I cheered for Taker (I was always a fan of the man, not as much of the character) was the match Lesnar won. And the loss, to me and many others, makes no sense at all. Brock Lesnar didn't need that win in any way to be put over.
It was then that I realized, that I actually loved the Streak. I had so many years of fun cheering for Taker's opponents, and I couldn't have done that if Taker didn't win every year. And then after the Streak ended... the Taker matches at Mania were not as fun anymore for me.
The Streak should have never been broken.
They also ruined his retirement moment. Seeing his gear in the ring really tugged at heart strings. It was a great way to get people’s emotions going for a man who’s been in our wrestling lives for decades, made a huge impact on the industry…and then he returns, anyway, and makes that retiring moment just useless.
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That was more of an Undertaker decision than a WWE one. He said as much in the Last Ride.
Haven’t seen TLR in a long time, so, my memory is failing me right now. Either way, the moment was ruined for me and it’s a shame, that was a great send off.
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To me Undertaker will always be One of the greatest of all time...
WWE knew there was something special about him from the beginning.
What makes him legendary is a combination of great things not just The Streak.
Thru each era he has lived up to his his legacy, He has the most PPV wins ever in WWE, and more.
He's got one of the most legendary characters of all time.
No one no matter what nobody can downsize his legacy.
Even though I wanted the Streak to never end I wish someone else ended it besides Brock.
There's countless people who were supposed to end it. Like Kurt Angle and even Mark Henry. But I know one thing Brock Lesnar was last on my list to end it
WWE knew there was something special about him from the beginning.
What makes him legendary is a combination of great things not just The Streak.
Thru each era he has lived up to his his legacy, He has the most PPV wins ever in WWE, and more.
He's got one of the most legendary characters of all time.
No one no matter what nobody can downsize his legacy.
Even though I wanted the Streak to never end I wish someone else ended it besides Brock.
There's countless people who were supposed to end it. Like Kurt Angle and even Mark Henry. But I know one thing Brock Lesnar was last on my list to end it
Speaking from an old school perspective, I disagree. His legacy is built on opportunity and quick success to ensure cheap cashins. His first victory was flawed in three ways:
One: he'd just landed in the company and risen to pay per view status. No prep time over the years, just a glorified bonus in only six months of working for the WWF.
Two: With comparative little experience, he beat a veteran, a very unfair event, given how there is supposed to be a hierarchy of wrestlers, founded on besting others when the wrestlers have become more skilled.
Three: Jimmy Snuka was a much smaller opponent. The weight and height were uneven, so Undertaker had too many advantages.
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I guess I should probably elaborate on my terse thoughts about how I'm glad the Streak ended to provide the counterpoint since the other side has been discussed, and quite frankly, I'm bored and it's something to do.
First thing I'll say is that Undertaker continuing to wrestle after XXVIII never made much sense to me. I guess it'd be a little odd if his final moments were sort of group thing and the WM 33 ending definitely would've been more fitting, but the End of an Era Hell in a Cell match seemed like a more natural stopping point, and it's one of my favourite matches of all-time. I remember watching it live with my friend & father, dad wanted Taker to lose, friend wanted Taker to win. They hit Taker with the Superkick/Pedigree combo and it was fun to watch as my father pre-emptively celebrated and my friend was freaking out that Taker was going lose and I sat there snickering at them because "He's going to kick out". I am a prick.
But I tell that story because I do love that the Streak happened obviously, and that four year angle is perhaps my favourite storyline in WWE history. It felt grand, and to be honest, even though Punk is probably my favourite wrestler ever, his feud with Taker for the Streak felt perfunctory. "We need someone to fight Undertaker, and Punk's not doing anything, we sure as hell can't let him main event when we could just do the same main event as last year instead!" He won the opportunity in a fatal four way like it was a number one contender's belt for a championship, it sucks but Bearer's death was the only thing that gave that feud any texture. It mostly just felt like another notch in Taker's belt. And not that I ever went into a Taker Mania match expecting him to lose, but the Streak itself never carried much weight to me on it's own. That's why the WM 23-XXVIII were the peak of the Streak for me, who really cared about the Streak when he was fighting Mark Henry?
Mostly though, I just don't see the benefit of Undertaker retiring with a 27-0 WrestleMania streak. What benefit is there that doesn't already exist? It's a more impressive record but it's not like the Streak is something so flimsy that a lose truly invalidates it's prestige. Taker still went 21-0, a feat that will literally never be repeated again, absolutely historic. 25-2 is again, the greatest record in WrestleMania history, and it just won't ever get topped. The two losses do take away a bit of the aura for sure but it's still widely beloved and cherished part of wrestling history. I don't think that changes from it being broken. If anything, it probably strengthened fan reception to it, there's evidence of that in this thread.
Look, I haven't seen Lesnar vs. Taker but I've seen the three count. I've seen the fan reaction, I've seen that "Yes" guy a million times on the internet since that monumental event. That experience alone, justifies the Streak being broken. A lot of people value crowd reaction as an integral part of the wrestling experience, and there's probably something similar to the atmosphere of Taker losing at Mania, maybe when Bruno finally lost, but it's definitely a rare occurrence. I totally understand trading the guy who broke the Streak, I don't think it should've been Lesnar either but I can't understand trading that atmosphere and experience just so the feathers in Taker's cap would be fluffier.
Finally, streaks and records are meant to be broken. If Taker retired undefeated, the Streak would've felt incomplete to me. But I also believe when you retire you go out on your back, so I still have a bone to pick with Taker I guess lol. Honestly though, if anyone's earned the right to leave with their hand held high, it's Undertaker, so that doesn't bother me much. I also got my wish about him losing the Streak, albeit in a very Monkey's Paw way, so I can't complain too much about.
I'll just reiterate will quickly, I'm not saying Brock should've ended it but I definitely think it was better to have Taker's streak be broken at some point rather than retired undefeated.
First thing I'll say is that Undertaker continuing to wrestle after XXVIII never made much sense to me. I guess it'd be a little odd if his final moments were sort of group thing and the WM 33 ending definitely would've been more fitting, but the End of an Era Hell in a Cell match seemed like a more natural stopping point, and it's one of my favourite matches of all-time. I remember watching it live with my friend & father, dad wanted Taker to lose, friend wanted Taker to win. They hit Taker with the Superkick/Pedigree combo and it was fun to watch as my father pre-emptively celebrated and my friend was freaking out that Taker was going lose and I sat there snickering at them because "He's going to kick out". I am a prick.
But I tell that story because I do love that the Streak happened obviously, and that four year angle is perhaps my favourite storyline in WWE history. It felt grand, and to be honest, even though Punk is probably my favourite wrestler ever, his feud with Taker for the Streak felt perfunctory. "We need someone to fight Undertaker, and Punk's not doing anything, we sure as hell can't let him main event when we could just do the same main event as last year instead!" He won the opportunity in a fatal four way like it was a number one contender's belt for a championship, it sucks but Bearer's death was the only thing that gave that feud any texture. It mostly just felt like another notch in Taker's belt. And not that I ever went into a Taker Mania match expecting him to lose, but the Streak itself never carried much weight to me on it's own. That's why the WM 23-XXVIII were the peak of the Streak for me, who really cared about the Streak when he was fighting Mark Henry?
Mostly though, I just don't see the benefit of Undertaker retiring with a 27-0 WrestleMania streak. What benefit is there that doesn't already exist? It's a more impressive record but it's not like the Streak is something so flimsy that a lose truly invalidates it's prestige. Taker still went 21-0, a feat that will literally never be repeated again, absolutely historic. 25-2 is again, the greatest record in WrestleMania history, and it just won't ever get topped. The two losses do take away a bit of the aura for sure but it's still widely beloved and cherished part of wrestling history. I don't think that changes from it being broken. If anything, it probably strengthened fan reception to it, there's evidence of that in this thread.
Look, I haven't seen Lesnar vs. Taker but I've seen the three count. I've seen the fan reaction, I've seen that "Yes" guy a million times on the internet since that monumental event. That experience alone, justifies the Streak being broken. A lot of people value crowd reaction as an integral part of the wrestling experience, and there's probably something similar to the atmosphere of Taker losing at Mania, maybe when Bruno finally lost, but it's definitely a rare occurrence. I totally understand trading the guy who broke the Streak, I don't think it should've been Lesnar either but I can't understand trading that atmosphere and experience just so the feathers in Taker's cap would be fluffier.
Finally, streaks and records are meant to be broken. If Taker retired undefeated, the Streak would've felt incomplete to me. But I also believe when you retire you go out on your back, so I still have a bone to pick with Taker I guess lol. Honestly though, if anyone's earned the right to leave with their hand held high, it's Undertaker, so that doesn't bother me much. I also got my wish about him losing the Streak, albeit in a very Monkey's Paw way, so I can't complain too much about.
I'll just reiterate will quickly, I'm not saying Brock should've ended it but I definitely think it was better to have Taker's streak be broken at some point rather than retired undefeated.
I was a bit shocked at the time but looking back I definitely think Brock was a good choice to break it. I didn't anticipate him staying around as long as he has. For the longest time afterwards he definitely had that 'final boss' appeal in WWE and put over some guys. Beating Brock is one of the few rubs left in WWE which is great for anybody to get.