10 Mistakes WWE Never Recovered From

3. Ending The Streak

Steve Austin, Vince McMahon, WrestleMania 17
WWE

Is nothing sacred anymore? In the world of WWE, obviously not. Truth be told, so much of being a fan of professional wrestling is based on escapism. We all know that these grown humans in tights aren’t actually fighting, but we so strongly desire the rose-tinted glasses of childhood joy that we can look past it. When we watch good professional wrestling, the world stops turning. All that matters is excitement, amazement and hope.

Nobody thought Mark Henry was going to end The Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak, but fans were still able to talk themselves into thinking the impossible might be possible. The same could be said of all ‘Taker’s Mania matches from WMXX to 29. Undertaker’s victories were never in doubt, but the real pull was in fans cultivating the smallest seed of doubt and allowing it to blossom with every near fall. When ‘Taker finally pulled out the victory, the relief was palpable. In a world defined by uncertainties, Undertaker finding a way to win at WrestleMania was something to believe in.

Then Brock Lesnar beat him. Yes, it gave the wrestling world a shocking moment the likes of which will never be replicated, but it also took the collective wind out of a world of fans like nothing else. With Chad Patton’s third slap of the mat, the best part of being a wrestling fan came crashing down. It was like eating a gorgeous sandwich, only to notice that the bread is mouldy. It might just put you off sandwiches for life.

Hope dies last.

Contributor
Contributor

Born in the middle of Wales in the middle of the 1980's, John can't quite remember when he started watching wrestling but he has a terrible feeling that Dino Bravo was involved. Now living in Prague, John spends most of his time trying to work out how Tomohiro Ishii still stands upright. His favourite wrestler of all time is Dean Malenko, but really it is Repo Man. He is the author of 'An Illustrated History of Slavic Misery', the best book about the Slavic people that you haven't yet read. You can get that and others from www.poshlostbooks.com.