A complete look at the history of Mark Calaway from his early beginnings in Texas, through his many characters in the start of his career and his eventual 21 match winning streak at Wrestlemania.
1. JIMMY SNUKA
4 minutes and 20 seconds. The seventh match on the card. No build and minimal storyline going into the match. When The Undertaker defeated Jimmy Superfly Snuka at Wrestlemania 7 in 1991, nobody paid it much attention.
The relative newcomer to WWF, The Undertaker made quick work of the industry legend Snuka in a rather unremarkable match. This was Taker’s first take of facing off against someone the calibre of Superfly Snuka in WWF. Who was happy to help establish a new star in the industry at the time:
“I looked forward to that, brother, when Vince Jr. told me to wrestle The Undertaker. Brother, I loved it. I loved it. I said, "Why not?". Here's a kid that's blowing up. He looks the part. He looked good. It was a pleasure for me to go in there and work with him.” - Jimmy Snuka
During the match, as Snuka attempted a springboard dive, The Undertaker caught him, positioned him and finished him with the Tombstone piledriver. A signature move which would go on to be one of the key components of the success for the Undertaker over the next quarter century.
As the evening rolled on to the next match The Ultimate Warrior vs Macho Man Randy Savage, the Undertaker’s first Wrestlemania victory disappeared without any fanfare. Little did we know that we had just witnessed the start of what has become known as the greatest winning streak in all of sports entertainment.
2. JAKE THE SNAKE ROBERTS
In the months leading up to Wrestlemania 8, The Undertaker had formed an alliance with Jake The Snake Roberts the two men drawn together for their penchant for the phycology of a wrestling match and their desire to spread evil amongst the roster.
In February Jake Roberts attacked Macho Man Randy Savage And Miss Elizabeth on Saturday Night’s Main event. This proved one step to far towards the dark-side, and the Undertaker stepped in to stop the onslaught.
Naturally, this caused Jake to become suspicious and a few weeks later, on a ‘funeral parlour’ segment, when Jake Roberts asked the Undertaker whose side he was on. The deadman famously replied ‘Not Yours’ and the match for Wrestlemania was set.
During the match in the Hoosier Dome in Indiana – Jake Roberts continued his evil ways by targeting The Undertaker’s manager Paul Bearer outside of the ring. As he did so, The Undertaker caught Roberts unaware and delivered a brutal Tombstone Piledriver outside of the ring, rolled Roberts’ body in the ring and earned his second Wrestlemania victory in 6 and a half minutes.
3. GIANT GONZALEZ
By 1993 The Undertaker was embroiled in a feud with manager Harvey Wimpleman. Each week the Undertaker would become enraged at Wimpleman and attempt an attack only to presented by on of Wimpleman’s proxies. Each week the Undertaker would destroy these wrestlers in the attempt to get his hands on his new nemesis.
When the Royal Rumble came around, Harvey Wimpleman had one last trick up his sleeve. During the match, he introduced Giant Gonzalez an enormous man who was presented as a literal animalistic giant, but who was in fact just a large person in a hairy, muscular onesie.
Regardless, the size of the Giant was clear for all to see and his plan, instigated by Wimpleman was devilish too. Giant Gonzalez eliminated the Undertaker during the Royal Rumble with the knowledge that he would certainly get a chance to face the deadman at the upcoming Wrestlemania.
As these two man-mountains came face to face in Las Vegas for Wrestlemania 9 the match was over before it began. Giant Gonzalez deciding not to use his strength and size to win the match, but for some unexplained reason brought a rag with chloroform soaked into it to the ring and attempted to suffocate The Undertaker.
Gonzales was immediately disqualified for his actions and the match fizzled out to nothing more than a 3rd victory for the Undertaker.
4. KING KONG BUNDY
When The Undertaker suffered his first big injury of his WWF career in 1994 he was unable to compete throughout most of the year.
He was quickly becoming one of the companies bigger stars and Vince McMahon didn’t want a character which he had put so much screen time on, to be forgotten by the fans.
Thus, the imposter Undertaker, managed by Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase was brought in as a surrogate.
Upon the return of the real Undertaker, the two versions faced off as the real Undertaker tried to get at the mastermind of the plot to replace him, DiBiase. When The Undertaker defeated this poor imitation, Ted DiBiase sent his best man in to finish the job.
At Wrestlemania in 1995 the human thumb, King Kong Bundy represented DiBiase in a match against the Undertaker. One which saw the giant Bundy slammed off his feet before receiving a jumping clothesline from the Deadman and the 1,2,3.
5. DIESEL (KEVIN NASH)
During the Royal Rumble pay per view in early 1996, The Undertaker had a match against the WWF champion Bret Hart for the belt and was seemingly in a position to win the WWF Championship.
Only, the hand grabbing Mack truck being Diesel had other ideas. When Big Daddy Diesel interjected and cost Undertaker the match, the Deadman was set on revenge.
At In Your House; Rage in the Cage, karma bit back as The Undertaker caused Diesel to lose in his very own title match.
This bad blood led to a match at Wrestlemania 12 in California where the two man-mountains collided in a slow and methodical 16 minute match. One which saw The Undertaker capture the victory after delivering a Tombstone Piledriver. With Diesel going on to leave the company shortly after.
6. (P)SYCHO SID
When Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels was forced to vacate his World Championship in 1997, the belt was opened up to four contenders.
Bret Hart, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Vader and The Undertaker, the men facing off in a four-way elimination match which saw Bret Hart claim the title.
The jubilation for Bret was short lived as we saw him drop the belt the very next night on Monday Night Raw to Sycho Sid. Then, Bret Hart would focus his attention on Steve Austin and leave the number one contender spot open.
At Wrestlemania 13, Sycho Sid faced off against fellow former member of the Skyscrapers in WCW, The Undertaker.
After a gruelling 21 minutes with no clear victor in sight, Bret Hart uncharacteristically made his way to interfere in the match, even going as far as to attack Sid with a steel chair and incapacitating him.
Undertaker seized the opportunity, delivered the tombstone piledriver and continued the streak.
7. KANE (PART ONE)
As 1997 continued to roll around, The Undertaker lost his WWF belt at Summerslam, to Bret Hart due to a supposed accidental interference from guest referee, Shawn Michaels. Naturally, The Undertaker was furious and demanded a match to get revenge. At In Your House; Ground Zero the two men faced off but the match was declared a no contest.
The bad blood had boiled over and The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels were scheduled to fight inside a steel cage, however due to the magnitude of the men involved, WWF needed to take it to the next level.
With the inspiration coming from Jim Cornette The Hell In A Cell structure was devised and for the first time we saw two men competing in this unforgiving cell. During the match long term ally of The Undertaker, brought in Kane.
A demonic figure who was calling himself Undertaker’s brother. Kane was darker, scarier, taller and more muscular than his older brother and caused him the match, handing Shawn Michaels the victory.
At the Royal Rumble in 1998 during a casket match between Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker, Kane once again interjected into the event and cost his older brother another loss.
There was nothing more for it. The Undertaker and Kane’s rivalry had surpassed mere sporting spectacle and become increasingly personal. The two brothers with a hidden past would come face to face at Wrestlemania 14.
By this point the newcomer Kane had truly been built up to be a monster in more ways than one, with his menacing attire and powerful entrance on top of his in-ring dominance.
This was never more evident than when he managed to kick out of The Undertaker’s Tombstone Piledriver in a moment that shocked fans around the world.
As Kane’s head was then slammed once again into the mat with a forceful second piledriver from The Undertaker we collectively breathed a sigh of relief, it was over.
As the referee counts for 1, 2 … Kane’s arm raised his shoulder off the mat and the crowd where in disbelief, how could a man withstand such punishment, unlike anyone before him?
One more the Undertaker picks up his brother, and once more he slams Kane onto the top of his head. After 17 minutes, The Undertaker picks up the victory for his 7th consecutive Wrestlemania victory.
But not before putting on a match which solidified Kane as a true contender in WWF with a bright future:
“Getting to work with The Undertaker right off the bat was a tremendous opportunity. It was an opportunity to be a career-maker, and fortunately I was able to take advantage of that.” — Kane
8. BIG BOSS MAN
The Undertaker began to slide deeper into madness, across further to the dark side by the middle of 1998 when he formed the Ministry Of Darkness and would have the full support of the group as he once again began the journey to regain the WWF belt. At this time, The Undertaker drew opposition from the Corporation, who at the time controlled most of the decisions in the company.
In order to try and bring down this powerful foe, the Undertaker would challenge The Big Boss Man, a body guard of sorts for the Corporation – to A Hell In A Cell Match, the very first to take place at the biggest show of the year.
The match itself was typical of the time with less focus on grappling and holds and more about character work and punching.
The stand out moment occurred when after delivering a brutal Tombstone piledriver to the Boss Man, The Undertaker pinned him before attaching his lifeless body to a noose with the help of His Ministry of Darkness, with fans in attendance horrified at the site of the Boss man’s body hanging above the ring.
Something which WWE have retroactively removed from lots of their online versions of the events, with videos of the match cutting out just before the hanging occurs.
9. TRIPLE H (PART ONE)
The Undertaker took some much deserved time off in 1999 to rest an injury, and took the time to completely reinvent his character for the new millennium. When The Undertaker returned in 2000 he was no longer the bringer of death.
The American Badass Taker was born and immediately went back to where he had left off, taking on the evils in the company which he deemed unjust, specifically boss Vince McMahon, his daughter Stephanie and her husband Triple H.
As The McMahon-Helmsley faction was rightfully scared, and also were in control of who faced off against who in matches, the likelihood of any of them openly fighting this new reinvigorated Badass Taker were slim.
This forced Taker, now paired with his younger brother Kane, to hold the Boss’ daughter hostage and threaten to throw her down the stairs if they were not granted their desired matches at the upcoming Wrestlemania.
In what has turned out to be the biggest and most iconic Wrestlemania of all time. The Undertaker faced off against Triple H and saw the pairs hatred spill out of the ring and fight around the arena.
As they fought their way back to the ring, The Undertaker delivered a new powerbomb finisher, known as The Last Ride and picked up his first victory at Wrestlemania against Triple H.
10. RIC FLAIR
Another case of a feud starting because of interference for Mark Calaway, saw Ric Flair getting stuck into The Undertaker’s match against the Rock at No Way Out in 2002.
This led to a match at Wrestlemania 18 between the Nature Boy and The Undertaker in a no D.Q match which ended with a signature Tombstone Piledriver and both men covered in blood.
After the match, Undertaker raised all ten fingers to indicate for the first time that he was undefeated and thus began the acknowledgement of the streak.
11. BIG SHOW & A-TRAIN
A storyline injury, caused by the Big Show saw The Undertaker off our screens at the end of 2002. Allowing for anticipation to build surrounding his return at the Royal Rumble early in 2003 where he set straight to work in confronting the man who had side-lined him.
This let to a submission match between the two men at No Way Out. Seemingly becoming the norm for the Undertaker leading up to Wrestlemania season, after Taker’s victory he was interrupted by A-Train who saw to align with the Big Show in taking down The Undertaker.
For some unknown reason, Nathan Jones a bit-part actor and even less of a bit-part wrestler came to the Undertakers aid and helped fend off the two attackers.
This led to The Undertaker’s first tag-team match at Wrestlemania 19 being scheduled, seeing him pair with Nathan Jones to take on Big Show and A-Train. However before the match could start Jones was attacked backstage and left unable to compete.
The Undertaker took on both men in a handicap match which he won by Tombstone Piledriver to A-Train.
This would be the last time we would see The Undertaker in this current state of The American Badass aside from one very memorable moment which we’ll talk about later.
12. KANE (PART TWO)
Since the death of the Badass Biker Taker persona, The Undertaker had been delivering in-ring justice under the moniker of Big Evil in 2003.
A hybrid of sorts between his more demonic, un-dead Undertaker and the Sons of Anarchy, bike gang leader Taker. Although short lived as a focus of The Undertaker’s character, The Big Evil name would stick and remain as a common nickname for Mark Calaway throughout the rest of his career.
It’s so simple, descriptive and fitting for The Undertaker who in his size in undeniably big, and in his demonic actions, undeniably evil.
By the time Survivor Series 2003 rolled around Big Evil was taking on the boss once again in a historic Buried Alive match against Vince Mchamon.
I know what you’re thinking. This one is in the bag for The Undertaker. The Undertaker. That’s his job. Burying people. But no. Surprise, surprise – there was interference in one of Undertaker’s matches leading to a feud going into Wrestlemania.
When The Undertaker’s brother Kane caused him the match against Vince McMahon and buried Big Evil, the character died with it.
Later, Kane would be haunted by audio in the arena, lighting malfunctions and the inevitable challenge from his older sibling.
This time, resurrected as The Deadman the Undertaker would defeat Kane with a tombstone piledriver at Wrestlemania 20 in 2004 for his twelfth consecutive victory in Madison Square Garden New York.
13. RANDY ORTON
When Wrestlemania 21 rolled around in 2005 the feeling of The Undertaker’s streak had begun to rear into the forefront as Randy Orton challenged The Deadman to a battle at the biggest event of the year expressing his intentions to be the one to end the run.
This is the first time that The Undertaker’s feud going into Wrestlemania would be built around the idea of protecting his streak and it’s the time when so much more of the focus of the whole event was on The Deadman’s match.
Randy Orton had been quickly rising through the ranks and taking out various Legends on his path on destruction, in order to gain the attention of the Undertaker and earn a match.
The Undertaker was initially reluctant, seeing Orton as too young and not worthy of a shot, however, when Randy’s attention turned to The Undertaker’s girlfriend Stacy Keibler and long term ally Jake The Snake Roberts, The Undertaker could no longer ignore The Legend Killer’s actions.
Randy Orton was cocky throughout their entire match at Wrestlemania 21. Attempting to embarrass the Undertaker by delivering a Tombstone Piledriver of his own.
However the legendary Deadman was able to reverse the move and crunch Orton’s head into the mat with a Tombstone of his own, giving The Undertaker his 13th victory.
14. MARK HENRY
On March 3rd 2006, The Undertaker was deep into a World Heavyweight hampionship match with then champion Kurt Angle.
As it was so close to Wrestlemania, WWE couldn’t possibly resist having the match interrupted.
This years interuptee was non other than Sexual Chocolate, the world’s strongest man Mark Henry, who cost Undertaker the mtch and his chance at the belt.
In retaliation Undertaker did what he does best and defeated Mark Henry at Wrestlemania 22 by laying him softly into a cushioned box, otherwise known in WWE as a casket match victory.
The Undertaker’s 14th victory was an unre-MARK-able one, with the story and match itself being fairly forgettable for most, none the less the legacy of the Undertaker continued to grow through the rest of 2006.
15. BATISTA
“When we get in the ring together, I think it's magic. I think we always have the same goal, and that's just to give a heck of a competitive match. It's not easy with us both being babyfaces, but as long as we’re competitive and we're physical and give the crowd their money's worth and take them on a ride, then it's going to work. It's like a dream come true. Him being such a large man and so athletic, he's the perfect opponent for me.” — Dave Bautista
Due to the fact that when the 2007 Royal Rumble took place, there were 3 potential Championships for the winner to choose from, gave The Undertaker, after winning the match his pick from Batista, who was the Smackdown World Heavyweight Champion, Bobby Lashley who was the current ECW Champion and John Cena who held the WWE Championship.
The Undertaker proving himself a true blue, chose to contend the Smackdown belt with Batista and their match was set for Wrestlemania 23 in April 2007.
The two men faced off in a hard-fought battle which saw both kicking out of each-others powerful finishers, to the shock of the crowd in attendance.
After slogging it out through Batista Bombs and chokeslams, The Undertaker countered a second powerbomb attempt by Batista and delivered a Tombstone Piledriver for the 1,2,3 and the World Heavyweight Championship.
The Undertaker left that night with the belt held high in the air and 15 consecutive victories to his name.
16. EDGE
The Undertaker would go on to retain his title against Batista inside a Steel Cage. Old foe Mark Henry would then come out to attack The Undertaker and leave him almost destroyed in the ring.
Barely able to regain his feet, The Undertaker laid there unable to defend himself.
Then, Edge came out, The Ultimate Opportunist had already cashed in a money in the bank contract on a fallen opponent 2 years prior against John Cena.
Edge has also just captured the Money In The Bank briefcase only a short while prior and was marching to the ring with his declaration in hand.
Quickly taking the title belt away from The Undertaker with a sneaky pin. After the match The Undertaker crushed by defeat, took some time away to recover.
Upon his return, The Undertaker entered straight back into The World Title scene, which consisted of Batista and Edge leading to a triple threat between the men at Armageddon in 2007 which Edge would win to take home the title.
When the Elimination Chamber match rolled around, The Undertaker was victorious in The Smackdown match and earned a shot against Edge at Wrestlemania 24.
The story this time, slightly different, with higher staked for both men than we had seen from any of The Undertaker’s previous Wrestlemania fueds.
Not only was the Undertaker now set to defend a 15 match undefeated streak against Edge who had also never lost a match at Wrestlemania at that point – but also, now the Heavyweight Championship was on the line.
“It was the biggest match of my career, bar none. The main event, against Undertaker for the world title, it doesn't get any better" – Edge
The magnitude of the event was matched in the ring by two men in their prime.
As The Undertaker began to run through his arsenal of classic moves, which he’d been successful with time and time again, Edge seemingly had a counter for it all.
It was clear The Undertaker would have to try something else.
As the hard-fought battle drew to it’s conclusion, Edge attempted a spear only to be caught in a Hell’s Gate submission by The Undertaker.
As Edge tapped out, The Undetaker ended the night with it all.
His undefeated streak was now standing at 16 and for the second year in a row, he had won the World Heavyweight Belt on the biggest stage in WWE.
17. SHAWN MICHAELS (PART ONE)
“What more could you ask for as a wrestling fan?” - Jim Ross
In March of 2009 Shawn Michaels challenged The Undertaker to a match at Wrestlemania 25.
A fitting tribute to 25 years of Wrestlemania history, to have two men who had been a part of so many of the iconic moments over the previous quarter century.
Leading up to the event, the spectacle was build around these core ideas of history and legacy.
As the two men stood face to face in the ring in the state of Texas where they grew up, in front of all of those thousands of fans in the Reliant Stadium in Houston. Still, nobody could have known what we were about to witness.
Possibly the greatest Wrestlemania match of all time. The bout between Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker saw both men delivering every move in their arsenal, but still coming up short of victory.
This half hour epic was as emotionally draining as it was physically. With the world witnessing two master artists performing through moments they had both spent their entire careers building towards.
Reversal after reversal, 2 count, followed by false finish, a near tap out hear and a rope break there – by the time Shawn Michaels climbed to the top rope and attempted a moonsault flip, it seemed as if both men had almost ran out of ideas.
As the Undertaker caught Michaels in mid-air the fans knew – this was it. Undertaker delivered his now iconic Tombstone Piledriver and won his 17th victory in a row at Wrestlemania.
If you only go back and watch one match of this entire streak. I would recommend this one.
18. SHAWN MICHAELS (PART TWO)
The story leading into the next year at Wrestlemania 26 was one of redemption for Shawn Michaels.
Who wanted to amend his loss from the previous year and defeat the Undertaker and his streak.
The only problem for Shawn was that The Undertaker simply wasn’t interested and felt the matter had already been settled.
"A rematch at this year's WrestleMania will only result in more bitter disappointment for yourself. Shawn, I've got nothing to prove to you. My answer is 'No'" – The Undertaker
This called for drastic action to get the attention of the now World Heavy Weight Champion Undertaker.
At Elimination Chamber in 2010 Shawn Michaels took a leaf from the Undertaker’s playbook and appeared from beneath the ring.
He quickly struck the Undertaker with a Sweet Chin Music Superkick and afforded the challenger Chris Jericho the pin and the belt.
The Undertaker now laser focused on the destruction of Shawn Michaels as a wrestler and his legacy once again – agreed to fight at Wrestlemania 26 with an extra stipulation – Streak Vs Career.
As the night came in 2010 the feeling from the year prior had returned. This time the outcome was even less certain.
Surely the Undertaker cannot lose at Wrestlemania? At this point, it’s one of the key focus of the entire show and it’s build up for months. The Streak is Wrestlemania by the time 26 is here.
But on the other hand, Shawn Michaels, Mr. Wrestlemania – arguably one of the greatest WWE performers of all time, both men living legends. But at Wrestlemania 26 – one of those legends had to die.
The story of the match was different this time. The Undertaker had gained the upper hand when Shawn dived from the top rope out to the announce table and seemingly incurred huge damages.
In the ring Shawn was visibly defeated, down on his knees at the mercy of The Undertaker who was willing to end the match with a pin.
However, always defiant Shawn slapped Taker which enraged him, Undertaker then picked the limp Shawn Michaels upside down and delivered a tombstone piledriver which ended the career of one of the brightest lights of his generation.
19. TRIPLE H (PART TWO)
At Wrestlemania 27 the story was one of brotherhood and revenge.
Triple H a close ally of Shawn Michaels vowed to end the streak in honour of his fallen brother.
The history between Triple H and Undertaker was one that had stretched through most of these men’s careers, thus making the build to the match feel more personal and organic than had been the case in many years prior.
Two older veterans, in-ring generals and masters of the art of pro wrestling, The Undertaker and Triple H told an intriguing story during their match of being past their primes, but never wanting to go out on their back – always ready for that one last fight.
As The Undertaker caught Triple H desperately in the hells gate submission after a gruelling half hour match – both men looked exhausted and as if they had given everything to this moment.
Even though the Undertaker’s streak remained in tact and his number rose to 19 consecutive victories.
For many, the state that the Undertaker was in after the match, showed the toll that holding up such a legacy had taken on his body – with the deadman, for the first time showing a real human side with his inability to complete his legendary walk backstage, needing aid to make the journey.
20. TRIPLE H (PART THREE)
A Helll in A Cell Match between Triple H and The Undertaker at Wrestlemania 28, with Shawn Michaels as the guest referee.
This concoction of sublime pro wrestling ingredients led to one of the most interesting stories within a match I’ve ever seen.
The emotional journey that all three men go through on this night is remarkable. The Undertaker wants to regain his pride after what he felt was a poor showing the previous year.
Triple H wanted revenge for his loss to the deadman and Shawn Michaels, coming out of retirement to get into the ring, caught in the middle, between two lifelong friends in the real world.
The veil of pro wrestling was dropped during the match, leading to an incredibly display of memorable moments and heart wrenching close calls. In a battle that stretched for over half an hour there are far too many great moments to recall right now – but by the end, as The Undertaker delivered a Tombstone piledriver and Shawn Michaels counted to 3 all three men could stand tall.
For even though the winner of the match and his consecutive 20th victory at Wrestlemania – all three men had been a part of one of the greatest matches in WWE history and deservedly would go on to be known as the ‘End Of An Era’ for these 3 men.
With Triple H calling it “One of my favourite matches out of hundreds in my career”.
21. CM PUNK
CM Punk was selected as The Undertaker’s 21st opponent for Wrestlemania 29.
A story which built around the disrespect shown by CM Punk and his manager Paul Heyman in the lead up to the big match.
Following the death of Paul Bearer, Paul Heyman dressed up as The Undertaker’s recently deceased friend and made his way to the ring to mock The Undertaker, accompanied by the classic smokey druids of years past.
Such a disrespectful move drew the attention of more than just the Undertaker as many felt offended by the WWE’s use of such a recent real-life tragedy.
Either way, as CM Punk revealed himself to be one of the druids in attendance, he raised an urn said to contain the ashes of the recently cremated Bearer and poured them onto the Undertaker.
These actions blew up a storm of anger which saw CM Punk face off against The Deadman in New Jersey in 2013.
During the match CM Punk once again produced the urn and repeatedly attacked The Undertaker with it, in a battle which turned personal and nasty before the bell had even rang.
In the end, The Undertaker was able to achieve a reversal from CM Punk’s deadly Go To Sleep knee, turning it swiftly into a Tombstone Pile driver for the achievement of 21 victories in a row at Wrestlemania.
21. Let that sink in. 21 is A number which will stand as a marker of The Undertaker’s unmatched history within the WWE.
Nobody will ever been this achievement, nobody ever deserves to. In a career which perhaps did not see The Undertaker adorned in the gold of championship belts as much as others with his level of continued success – the 21 win undefeated streak devised by the WWE and performed by Mark Calaway is today and forever will be my answer for the question “Why do you watch wrestling”.
21 & 1. BROCK LESNAR
In 2010 Brock Lesnar was the UFC Heavyweight Champion defending in a match which he lost to Cain Velasquez.
After his defeat as he made his way through the crowd, he was confronted by Mark Calaway with a short sentence which would ignite the spark that would eventually burn down the Undertaker’s undefeated streak.
"You wanna do it?" – Mark Calaway
At this time, The Undertaker had taken a 10 month hiatus from WWE in order to heal his wounds and rest his ever ageing body. He had been utterly destroyed by the dominant Shield Faction and sent home after being sent through a table.
When Brock Lesnar returned to WWE, it was clear that he and his newly re-aligned manager Paul Heyman, were only focused on one goal.
Eat, sleep conquer the streak.
The terrifying prospect of being hunted by such an apex predator, Brock Lesnar wanted to dismantle the story of The Undertaker by inserting himself as a ‘spoiler’ 1 in 21 and 1.
Paul Heyman did the best work of his career in the lead up to this match as the mouth-piece for his client.
Explaining each week exactly what was going to happen to the Undertaker at the hands of The Beast Brock Lesnar. Heyman told us it was a spoiler that Brock would win not a prediction. But even then, I didn’t believe him.
By the time Wrestlemania 30 had drawn to a close, the whole world would have to believe.
A moment which many thought impossible, beyond reason and logic. Brock Lesnar got into the ring and systematically took apart the Undertaker. Hard punches to the jaw, left The deadman limp.
German Suplex’s threw this giant around the ring like a child. Brock sweated and grew ever more red and his anger surged through his blood he was unrelenting and unwavering in his control.
The look in the Undertakier’s eyes, filled with sadness as the consciousness seems to flicker back and fourth – the old man seemed just that as he was out of his depth and out on his feet.
Brock delivered 3 F-5’s and there was no retourt, no last minute reprieve fromt The Undertaker. 1, 2,3 for the first time in the history of Undertaker’s career, they were not the sound of his victory.
And as tears and gasps escaped from millions of wrestling fans around the world. Even Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar themselves could not believe what had just happened.
A legacy of a quarter century ended in an instant and a quiet fell in the arena as we witnessed the death of the streak. 21- 1.
Now that’s a story!