WWE WrestleMania 30: 10 Reasons The Undertaker Losing The Streak Was A Waste Of 22 Years
10. The Match Wasn't Great
Leading into their WrestleMania XXX encounter, one of the main concerns among fans was whether or not the two behemoths could deliver in the ring. With Taker's advanced age, he was likely getting to that point in his career where he needed a younger, more active worker to help carry the match. Brock Lesnar is very similar. While much more athletic and explosive than Taker, he's still bulldozer of a man who isn't going to be running all over the ring. Part of what made the Deadman's matches with Michaels and CM Punk successful where the two quicker men creating movement around him as he built the drama. When these two faced off during Lesnar's first run with the company they had an extended series of matches that yielded good, but not great results. And that was over a decade ago. Fans were skeptical on whether or not the two men could create magic and live up to the lofty expectations of Undertaker's annual Mania appearance. Right out of the gate they worked a slow and almost lethargic pace, seemingly gassing minutes into the affair. For truly the first time, Undertaker looked like an old man in there. For his part, Brock stalked around the ring and seemed to lack his usual unbridled violent offense. Part of the drama of a streak match is all the near falls, but we didn't see that many. We did get a repeat of the spot where Brock powerbombed his way out of Hell's Gate twice, which one can only assume was done due to the lack of impact of the first one. Lesnar delivered a couple of german suplexes that it seemed Taker just deadweighted him on, and the later stages of the match got even uglier. They did nothing to build suspense for the finish, and when it came there was no fervor from the crowd because everyone expected Taker to kick out of the F5 after a close two count. In the end our worst fears were confirmed as two of the greatest workers were victims of a styles clash (not a run-in from AJ) and failed to deliver a match to remember.
Brad Hamilton is a writer, musician and marketer/social media manager from Atlanta, Georgia. He's an undefeated freestyle rap battle champion, spends too little time being productive and defines himself as the literary version of Brock Lesnar.
