Why did WWE choose Brock Lesnar to end The Undertaker's WrestleMania streak?
If you are a wrestling fan, you remember exactly what you were doing when Brock Lesnar pinned The Undertaker that fateful night at WrestleMania XXX. A streak that lasted nearly a quarter of a century ended in three seconds as the entire world sat in shock and disbelief.
A third F5 was what it took for Lesnar to beat the most dominant man in WrestleMania history. What made the moment so iconic was the fact that everyone thought there would be a kickout. When the referee slapped his hand on the mat for the third time, WWE created a moment that would remain etched in history.
Much has been made of whether it was the right call or not, why WWE would have the Streak end at 21 wins, and why The Beast was given the honor of taking the win. If you want to know why WWE chose Brock Lesnar to end The Undertaker's WrestleMania streak, read on to find out.
The decision to have Brock Lesnar end The Undertaker's iconic run was made by former WWE CEO Vince McMahon. During a podcast interview with 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin, he candidly spoke about how he made the call.
“When you consider, looking down the line when you look at the talent roster, who else could Undertaker possibly work with and at that time, give back in the biggest possible way he could to help them be a star? When you look down the roster, who else was it going to be? No one on the roster, potentially. And the following year, year after that – it was timing. The one person whose time was there at that moment, who Mark thought ‘Okay, this is it’ – it was Brock....I made the decision.” [H/T Talksport]
Should Brock Lesnar have ended The Undertaker's Streak?
To this day, wrestling fans have passionately debated whether or not Brock Lesnar should have been the One in 21-1. Vince McMahon's claim of him being worthy of the rub is a fair point, but we can't help but think that it could have been given to someone else.
Think about it - Lesnar was far from an up-and-coming star. Before his match at WrestleMania XXX, he had defeated Triple H, CM Punk and The Big Show. All three names were top superstars on the roster, meaning The Beast was already an upper-tier competitor at best.
In our opinion, WWE should have had The Undertaker win at WrestleMania XXX and take his first loss a year or two later. They should have had Bray Wyatt defeat John Cena at the show and then best The Phenom to become the next monster heel of the company. Think about how much success he would have enjoyed instead of the countless losses he racked up since then.
Even Roman Reigns, who at the time was enjoying a huge wave of popularity, would have been a better choice than Lesnar. That would have also avoided the debacle at WrestleMania 33, where Reigns handed 'Taker his second loss at 'Mania and put a dent in his run at the Show of Shows. Finn Balor's 'Demon King' persona was another notable star who could have benefitted from the win given his undefeated streak in the paint.
Ultimately, it was Brock Lesnar who wrote his name into the history books. He would go on to achieve a ton of success, including multiple world titles and dominant wins. However, we can't help but look back at April 6, 2014, as a missed opportunity.