10 WWE Storylines That Horribly Backfired

1. The Beast Beats The Streak

Nearly a year later, everyone€™s got an opinion on the Undertaker€™s vaunted undefeated streak at Wrestlemania: whether it was really the big deal it was painted to be; whether Mark Calaway should have taken the Streak into retirement; whether Brock Lesnar was the man to break it; whether someone else should have been given the rub; whether there was actually a rub in breaking the streak at all; whether there was any other angle, with any other opponent, that would have been preferable to what actually took place. It€™s one of those stories in pro wrestling that fans and industry professionals will spend the next two dozen years picking over and fantasy re-booking. WWE clearly wanted Lesnar to look genuinely unstoppable prior to lifting the big belt later on in the year, and his handy defeat of the company€™s biggest legend at their biggest event certainly made waves €“ it€™s been called the biggest surprise win in Wrestlemania history. Not only that, but at Summerslam 2014 Lesnar was booked to absolutely crush WWE€™s biggest star John Cena for the WWE world heavyweight championship, further cementing his aura as the monster heel to end all monster heels (literally €“ on his way to Wrestlemania he destroyed both Mark Henry and the Big Show). However, Brock Lesnar isn€™t remotely committed to WWE on a personal level or a career level. The only logical reason to build the aura of a part time, disinterested wrestler to such a monstrous degree is to give a huge rub to whatever babyface star is booked to finally slay the dragon€ in this case, one Leati €˜Roman Reigns€™ Anoa€™i, the man WWE have earmarked to be the next John Cena and who will almost certainly beat Lesnar to win the WWE world heavyweight championship at Wrestlemania 31. Whatever the outcome of that match, it seems fairly clear that the Roman Reigns project is not going WWE€™s way at present. He€™s not even nearly as over as he should be: a month after his disastrous Royal Rumble victory, Reigns is still getting divisive reactions, the company scrambling to run damage limitation before his big night. He€™s not even nearly as ready as he should be: Wrestlemania 31 will only be his third pay-per-view singles encounter, and he still has trouble stringing sentences together (although the terrible material he€™s been given doesn€™t help). It€™s supposed to be about what€™s best for business, after all. Breaking the Undertaker€™s streak to give an up-and-comer the rub only makes good sense if that up-and-comer can benefit the company by doing so. Brock Lesnar won€™t (scuttlebutt €“ like gossip with freaky genetics €“ says that he wants his next contract to allow him to work for UFC and WWE at the same time), and it€™s increasingly obvious that Roman Reigns can€™t (this is a man even The Rock can€™t get over). And what about the man who gave up the legacy of his undefeated Wrestlemania streak for all this? A special event since around 2011, the Dead Man only had Wrestlemania and the Streak left, and after €˜Taker was broken and humbled by Lesnar and vanished for a year, the character€™s rep is in tatters. Scheduled to face a lacklustre Bray Wyatt at this year€™s Wrestlemania, the Undertaker has little to no heat for the first time in his entire career. The Streak is gone forever: you can€™t unring that bell. The greatest gimmick in pro wrestling history isn€™t looking as legendary as it used to€ Now you've read the article, watch the video... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yaAPfIUdko

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Professional writer, punk werewolf and nesting place for starfish. Obsessed with squid, spirals and story. I publish short weird fiction online at desincarne.com, and tweet nonsense under the name Jack The Bodiless. You can follow me all you like, just don't touch my stuff.