That RAW Recap 19.10.15

This week's RAW featured a few key moments.

You just had to know where to look for them. Here's a hint: they weren't in the Nikki Bella and Alicia Fox v Naomi and Sasha Banks match, or the throwaway Bad News Barrett, Sheamus and Rusev versus Dolph Ziggler, Cesaro and Adrian Neville six man. Nor were they in Kevin Owens versus ark Henry. Although, for the record all three good for what they were. Nikki over as the serious title contender she should be considering her tenure and status as longest reigning Divas champ ever. The six man was a fun match which got some over lads on the show and gave them time to do their thing. And Owens v Henry featured Owens hitting his pop-up power bomb on 'The World's Strongest Man', establishing that he's strong enough to hit Ryback (his HIAC opponent) with it should the opportunity arise.

But, as I say, these things weren't anything noteworthy. The big segments from this week's RAW were the Undertaker and Lesnar confrontation, a dressing down of WWE champ Seth Rollins by Shawn Michaels, and an impromptu Shield reunion and match opposite their old foes the Wyatt Family.

This was fun to see but what an unbelievable waste.

The Shield reunion wasn't. It was Rollins agreeing to team up with Ambrose and Reigns to demonstrate to Shawn Michaels that he could "stop the show" then turning on them at the end of the match. Because the whole point of Rollins' character is that he's a dick who deserves a slap. In theory this worked but in practice it was incredibly wasteful. The first teaming of 'The Hounds of Justice' since their split in the summer of last year should have been a huge deal.

Instead it was a transparent attempt to increase ratings and it didn't even get that right. The least WWE should have done if this was their plan was to announce the match a week in advance and plug it non-stop to get people watching next week. Okay, that may have made some people think it was a full-time reunion but the answer to that would have been simple: have Rollins give a promo about not needing Ambrose and Reigns and Ambrose and Reigns say they don't trust Rollins but need him for this one match. It would have made time for word to spread and people to get excited about the match, increasing the chance of a larger viewing figure.

But it was more than that. The Shield shouldn't be something tossed out as a ratings grab. It will devalue their inevitable full-time (until the equally inevitable second split at least) reunion whenever it comes. The three men, though particularly Rollins and Reigns, are all clearly going to be big parts of the WWE landscape for years. They should be protected. And that means planning things like a reunion far in advance, working towards it and getting it right when it happens, not giving it away on free TV with only an hour's build-up.

On top of that things just felt off. Erick Rowan returning to the fold is fine. It actually helps get across Wyatt's cult leader deal because he slotted in with new lad Braun Strowman beautifuly. But Luke Harper not being involved was wrong. He and Wyatt are more over than Rowan and Strowman by a significant margin. He clearly should have been in the match yet he wasn't even at ringside. Rowan and 'The Black Sheep' are both very good in their roles but they can't hold a candle to Harper's ring skills and compelling weirdness.

Strong mic work from HBShizzle here.

HBK dressing down Rollins worked. The gist of Michaels' argument was that 'The Future' is content with the accolade of being the new Shawn Michaels when he should be concentrating on making his own name mean more and creating a legacy for himself. Which is hard to argue against (although it's worth noting that comparisons between Rollins and Michaels haven't been as frequent as this segment would suggest). Not to say that Rollins' doesn't have name value of his own, he clearly does, but he seems content to accept mediocre booking in exchange for getting to be world champ. Stories of 'The Heartbreak Kid' from the 90s make it hard to imagine him standing for this sort of booking.

Of course WWE now is different to the WWF then. And, perhaps more importantly, Vince McMahon has some bizarre attitudes towards the "millennials" that make up the bulk of his roster. That he was about as close to a Michaels mark as he could be in the 90s is a factor here too. Vince was less inclined to knock 'The Heartbreak Kid' than he is his current stars. But these political undertones, Michaels acting as Vince's mouthpiece, just added another layer of enjoyment to the situation.

It worked on the intended level of a respected veteran returning and condemning the current champion and as an insight into the backstage manoeuvrings of the promotion. Michaels and Rollins were both excellent. Particularly 'The Showstopper'. The only bad thing about it is that it made people (by which I mean me) want a Rollins v Michaels match that will never happen.

The showdown between Undertaker and Brock Lesnar was good because of how everything was slotted together. Despite having basically become a guy obsessed with avenging the loss of his WrestleMania Streak and being willing to make cheap shots to do it 'The Dead Man' was presented as the face here. The reason for that is that he was introduced by 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin (hey, he was there anyway, I've been saying since the podcast specials started that I think it makes sense to put him on RAW) and they were in Texas. Despite being announced from Death Valley he's a Texan and this audience was not going to boo him.

In Your House: Mind Games.

'Taker was basically there to remind anyone who's forgotten what is motivation is and to react to Brock Lesnar's advocate Paul Heyman. He gave 'The Last Outlaw' plenty to react to, explaining the story of the rivalry one final time, making clear what both men stand to gain from a win, and, of course, hammering home that his client, Brock Lesnar, conquered The Streak. 'Taker tried goading Lesnar into leaving the ramp and getting into the ring to fight. Hothead Lesnar was ready to accept this challenge before being convinced to hold off by Heyman. This framed 'The Beast' as a coward to the live crowd but the wider point was that Heyman knew 'Taker was trying to get inside Lesnar's head to gain an advantage going into their match, another cheap move by 'The Phenom' (although not one out of character, to be fair). The segment worked as a hype job for the Hell in a Cell main event and left the two men ready to take their correct roles: Lesnar the monster face and 'Taker the subtle heel desired desperate to win at any cost.

It wasn't the most exciting episode of RAW ever. But it was memorable and significant because of and for these segments. With such a clear unwillingness from WWE to formulate a long term creative plan, alter the way they present their performers, or do something different to what they've been doing for the last fifteen years, that's the most that we can realistically hope for on a Monday night.

WWE SummerSlam 2015 preview

Probably the most interesting thing to note about this year's SummerSlam is that it's the first time in what feels like years that there's been a WWE pay-per-view involving what feels like a substantial mid-card. It's become the norm to toss non-main event names into matches for the Intercontinental and US championships or pit them against established top boys like John Cena and Randy Orton in a token effort at getting them over. It's an approach that has yielded success occasionally (Cena v Owens) but has failed more often than not (Cena v Rusev, Cena v Wyatt).

I picked Cena as an example there deliberately. Despite being the biggest star on the roster it's actually Cena that's been at the heart of this mid-card resurgence. The Owens versus Cesaro rivalry has spun off from the Owens versus Cena rivalry. During that Owens was able to defeat Cena once, in a non-title match. He lost subsequent matches in which the US championship was up for grabs. Meanwhile Cena also made spirited defences against 'The Swiss Superman', with Owens interfering in many of them as he became increasingly frustrated at his own inability to beat Cena for the gold. He didn't want to see Cesaro accomplish something he was unable to.

We could also attribute the Rusev and Ziggler feud to Cena too, although his involvement there is less direct. He was the man who not only took the United States championship from Rusev but also handed him his first loss. This embarrassed 'The Super Athlete', causing him to flip out at his manager and girlfriend Lana¹. She left him and became empowered by her newfound single status because that's what happens in the good ol' US of A. There is no oppression for women, only empowerment. Anyway, while Lana was getting said empowerment (by hooking up with a new hot guy, obvs) Rusev suffered further televised losses, highlighting how important Lana had been to his career prior to their split.

Deciding to show that he was totes over Lana, Rusev hooked up with Summer Rae and encouraged her to dress like Lana. Because he'd been cast as a psychology ex-boyfriend and that's totally what psycho ex-boyfriends do. Summer also proved willing to act more submissive to Rusev, a reversal of the Lana-Rusev relationship in which it was Lana who was the dominant force. All of which could have become a very interesting story exploring the nature of relationships, moving on, and getting hung up on exes. But it didn't. Not because wrestling is ill-equipped for this sort of thing (I actually think this type of story is something wrestling can excel at) but because it wasn't given enough thought towards the start and was later hampered by Dolph Ziggler, Lana's new beau, disappearing after a beating from big Ru².

Cena himself will be both defending his United States championship and challenging for the WWE world championship. He'll be in a title versus title match against Seth Rollins. The idea here is absolutely sound. Since becoming a four time US champ at WrestleMania Cena has, amazingly, made the title mean something with exciting weekly title defences against some of the best wrestlers on the roster. Meanwhile Rollins has been a cowardly world champion, relying on interference, favourable rules and other assorted cheating to keep hold of the belt.

The story essentially sees a worthy champion who takes pride in defending and retaining his prize the right way facing off with a champion who cares only about protecting his status. It's an interesting look at what it actually means to be a champion in wrestling, and is noteworthy because it is emphatically not the sort of thing WWE usually does. Despite the high chance of the match having a screwy finish (to avoid titles changing hands) I'm looking forward to this match, because another way of looking at the match is to see it as the natural culmination of Cena's streak of matches against The New School: he's facing the original NXT champion, Triple H's on-screen golden boy, Seth Rollins. It's basically the ultimate US Open Challenge without actually being part of that series.

Away from Cena-spurred plots there's been the issues between Stardust and Green Arrow star Stephen Amell. Stardust, believing himself to be a real life super villain, took exception to Amell being in attendance at an episode of RAW and attacked him. Amell leapt the barrier and fought back (which security allowed because WWE are marks for outside talent). 'Don't Call Him Adrian' Neville then got involved, because he wears a cape and performs a move called the Red Arrow, making him a natural Amell ally in Stardust's mind. Then King Bad News Wade Barrett I got involved too, because tag matches, playa³!

Summarised here it sounds entirely daft. It has been, but to be fair that's the point of it. Stardust is a deranged character and that's what's driven the story. It works and it's a nice change of pace from the stuff that usually makes it onto RAW.

The Sheamus versus Randy Orton rivalry has continued from last month. I failed to care about it then and I still feel the same way now. 'The Viper's' character is deathly dull right now and the most interesting thing about 'The Celtic Warrior' is that he has a Money in the Bank briefcase to cash in. I don't necessarily think it will happen on this show but if it did it would be the most interesting thing Sheamus did all evening.

Rounding out the non-tag mid-card action is a triple threat for the Intercontinental championship. Originally scheduled for last month's Battleground it had to be postponed because Ryback suffered some sort of super-gross hernia. That show gave us a brief altercation between Miz and Big Show, his scheduled opponents, that hinted at 'The World's Largest Athlete' turning face (again) with the match itself being postponed because it was too valuable to simply not do⁴. Ultimately Big Show would remain a heel, surprising the many of us who have become accustomed to frequent Show swerve turns.

In all honesty I quite like this triple threat. I don't mind Ryback and I can appreciate The Miz for the effective heel he is. Big Show isn't especially welcome but if he has to be on a card this is the sort of level he should be at. It's the kind of match that establishes 'The Big Guy' as a legitimate champ, beating two upper mid-card lads at once. It doesn't hurt the IC title either, and that's not something we've been getting to say much over the last several years.

Outside of the main event the rest of the card is comprised of tag matches. The natural culmination of the rejuvenated Divas division, a nine woman, three-way trios match, has been booked already. I understand why this was done: it gets everyone on the show. The trouble is that it's a match that fees like it should end the current era of the Divas division. As the current era only started on July 13 this feels premature.

Meanwhile the tag belts will be defended in a four-way match even more blatantly slung together to get more lads onto the card to kill time. If it gets long enough it should be fun but it will be too busy and spot-heavy to become something meaningful.

Which is something that can't be said for the Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose versus Wyatt Family match. This is a rivalry that started with Bray randomly attacking Roman and cutting enigmatic promos that seemed to hint at the involvement of the latter's kid. Family-stuff aside this shouldn't have come as a surprise to anyone: all Bray Wyatt feuds begin with him attacking someone for literally no reason at all.

The end of their singles match at Battleground saw Luke Harper run-in and throw Reigns into a ring post, allowing 'The Eater of Worlds' to win. This signalled the reunion of the Wyatt Family, a faction which makes the already enjoyable Harper and Wyatt so much better. Wyatt is more eerie when he has vacant followers at his beck and call, while Harper benefits from being associated with someone who can provide him with things to do.

Reigns brought in backup against the Family in the form of his buddy and old Shield teammate Dean Ambrose. The original plan was apparently for Sting to join up with Ambrose and Reigns but when Erick Rowan was unable to rejoin the Wyatt flock (because he's not healed up from an injury yet) that was nixed. Frankly it feels like a bullet was dodged there. 'The Stinger' would almost certainly have looked out of place alongside Reigns and Ambrose and I can't imagine a match involving him in the Seth Rollins spot could have done justice to the enjoyable Shield-Wyatts showdowns we had in 2014.

Which just leaves the main event: Brock Lesnar versus The Undertaker. There's so much history to this that I doubt I can do it justice in a couple of paragraphs but I'll give it a go...

WrestleMania XXX saw Lesnar hand 'Taker his first ever defeat at in the series' history. This was a significant deal because 'The Dead Man' had appeared at twenty-one previous 'Mania's and it was the sort of record that nobody in wrestling ever gets close to. It's something that not even the greatest of bookers could have planned.

This victory shocked pretty much everyone and set Lesnar up as an unstoppable beast, to the point where his advocate Paul Heyman actually began referring to him as 'The Beast Incarnate'. Lesnar went on a tear, trouncing John Cena in a staggeringly one-sided match for the WWE championship at SummerSlam 2014 and holding the gold until WrestleMania 31 eight months later. Though he lost the title at 'Mania he was not pinned or submitted: Seth Rollins cashed in his magical get-a-title-match-whenever-you-like contract and pinned Lesnar's opponent, Roman Reigns, to become the champ.

Naturally this annoyed 'The Beast' and he went nuts the next night on RAW. This caused on-screen bosses The Authority to suspend indefinitely. Surprisingly that suspension didn't actually last too long and Lesnar was brought back for his contractually obligated rematch with Rollins at Battleground. There 'The Pain' seemed to be on course to win the title back... until the lights cut out and came back on to reveal The Undertaker.

'The Phenom' made short work of Lesnar at Battleground, giving him a choke slam, a pair of Tombstone piledrivers and a kick in the privates. Things would be different the next evening on RAW: Lesnar was prepared and they had an intense brawl that saw a large portion of the roster hit the ring to join security in holding the two powerhouses apart. Since then Undertaker has (glossed over his return earlier in the year to defeat Wyatt at WrestleMania and) revealed that the reason he attacked Lesnar was that he was tired of Heyman going on and on and on and on and on and on about The Streak being taken from him. On the one hand you can empathise with 'Taker on that: it was humiliating. But on the other Heyman was obviously going to talk it up because it will go down as one of the biggest moment's of his client's career.

Basically this is being built as a big deal of a rematch. It absolutely is but there are slight problems with the premise. Firstly, the conflict between the two centres around Undertaker's Streak, so having them face off at event that isn't WrestleMania feels peculiar. Secondly, it feels strange for 'Taker to be positioned as the heel. And he is being positioned as the heel, whether people are going to react to him as one or not. He's kicked Brock low twice. It's nice in that it plays up Undertaker's I-will-gain-vengeance-at-any-cost mentality but at this point in his career (very likely less than a year away from retiring after playing the same character for two and a half decades) it feels like Undie should be a babyface.

Which isn't to say the match won't be good. It will be. Undertaker suffered a concussion in their WM30 showdown and he'll want to prove all the doubters that say he can't have a cracking match anymore wrong. When they feuded in 2003 (admittedly twelve years and many injures ago) Lesnar and 'Taker had wild chemistry. There's no reason to think they don't still have it. They just need to avoid head trauma to get through this.

All of which brings me to predictions. Rollins v Cena seems like a shmoz waiting to happen. Ryback retaining seems like a safe assumption seeing as it's his first title reign in WWE and he's not really gotten to do much yet, while the time feels right for a title change with the tag straps. I'd like to say the Lucha Dragons will win but I think New Day could regain to set up a proper title chase for Sin Cara and Kalisto (which they totally deserve). In the same vein I think Paige, Becky and Charlotte could win their Divas triple threat to set them up as the top contenders for Nikki's championship.

I'll be surprised if the celebrity special tag bout doesn't end with Stephen Amell proving he can defeat fully trained and experienced professional wrestlers, because WWE, as stated above, love to make outside stars look strong (although admittedly this wouldn't be the worst decision in the world). I expect the other big tag match to be won by Reigns and Ambrose. A swerve turn by Ambrose seems likely at some point because it's the sort of feud that could stretch for a while and see Reigns through to December or January, when he can start focusing on winning the WWE title again. SummerSlam seems the wrong time for it though: if it happened the NYC crowd would favour Ambrose, making Reigns look like a heel and a chump. I can't believe WWE would want to put their next golden boy, who they've been handling with kid gloves, in that situation.

Orton v Sheamus, Cesaro v Owens and Ziggler v Rusev could each go either way. I'll pick Sheamus, because it's his turn, Owens, because the company has seemed higher on him lately than tey have Cesaro (and they can book him to cheat), and Ziggler because Lana shenanigans are Rusev's Achilles heel.

The main event is tough. I could see each guy going over. Undertaker "needs" his win back and further rebuilding for his last hurrah next year (assuming it's coming). Lesnar needs to remain the dominating, unstoppable force he's been for much of the past few years. The Streak ending stalled Undertaker and caused the final years of his career to lose steam, because without The Streak he's pretty much just an old lad with a phantastical gimmick who may or may not deliver once the bell ring. Having the suspense his Streak provided really helped him. It's not on the same scale but Lesnar's continued dominance helps him in a similar fashion. It's for that reason that I hope 'The Beast' wins, just as I hoped he'd lose on the night he became 'The Conqueror of The Streak'.

***

Predictions summary:

Brock Lesnar to defeat The Undertaker
John Cena v Seth Rollins to end in a draw
Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns to defeat The Wyatt Family
Paige, Becky Lynch and Charlotte to defeat BAD and Team Bella
Kevin Owens to defeat Cesaro
Adrian Neville and Stephen Amell to defeat Stardust and King Barrett
Ryback to retain the Intercontinental championship against The Miz and Big Show
New Day to win the tag team championship
Dolph Ziggler to defeat Rusev
Sheamus to defeat Randy Orton

***

¹ Here I just want to pause and comment on the nature of the Rusev-Lana relationship. Between Rusev's debut and WrestleMania 31 the pair seemed to be nothing more than colleagues. Once Rusev went crazy and blamed Lana for his loss to Big Match Jern in an I Quit match this was retconned and we were informed that they'd basically been knocking boots all along.

Which would be fine if it weren't for the confusing wrinkle that Rusev and Lana are a real life couple who love together. When they were being presented as manager and client they were dating. Now they're separated on-screen but still dating. This is one of those times when the best thing to do is roll your eyes and say "Wrestling, eh?"

² In reality he was filming a probably terrible WWE Studios film.

³ Holla holla!

⁴ At least that's wat I'm assuming WWE thinks. Obviously Ryback versus The Miz versus Big Show is not an especially great match but at least assuming there's some value attached to it within the company gives it some logical reason for happening here.

Undertaker: The Final Months?

Undertaker and Brock Lesnar will headline SummerSlam in a rematch from last year's WrestleMania. You know, that match in which 'The Pain' ended The Undertaker's 'Mania winning streak. I've seen the match described elsewhere (specifically Cageside Seats) as God versus Death. I like that description, even though I think it'd be more accurate to cast Lesnar as the Devil, what with him being frequently referred to as 'The Beast' and all.

Catfight!

The match will probably be good. Lesnar has had nothing but excellent matches since he defeated Undi' last year and both men will likely want to erase the memories of that subpar outing (which suffered in quality because 'Taker got a concussion in the first few minutes) with a slobberknocker here. They already seem to be benefiting from a superior build: Undertaker's return at Battleground and the brawl the two had the following evening on RAW knocked spots off the clichéd and dull sequence of segments, culminating with a contract signing, the two slumped through before WrestleMania XXX.

There are arguments to be made for both men winning. 'The Dead Man' "needs" his win back and to be rebuilt as a strong force ahead of his presumed retirement match at WrestleMania Play Button. Lesnar needs to remain the most dominant force in the company because that's what people like about him. Obviously only one of them will win. It doesn't really matter who it is. The more interesting topic is what Undertaker is going to do after 'The Hottest Event of the Summer'.

Broadly speaking there are two things he could do. One is disappear again and only return when WrestleMania 32 is the company's focus (which would be any time from January). The other is to stick around and appear regularly until retiring at 'Mania.

I'd prefer the latter. If Undertaker is going to retire next year (and the smart bet is that he will) then he deserves to have one final semi-full time run. We don't need to see him wrestling on TV. In fact we don't even need to see him every week. But appearances on the monthly pay-per-views (or special events as they're styled now) would give 'The Phenom' the chance to work with guys he's never faced before he leaves. Guys like Sheamus, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, and Kevin Owens would all benefit from a 'Taker match on their CV. UT would benefit from wrestling these guys as he'd be getting fresh opponents eager to put in the extra work to make the bout memorable, lessening the pressure on him. The PPVs themselves would benefit from 'Taker wrestling as the matches could be pushed, subtly or not, as amongst the last of 'Taker's career.

Is this schedule, or a similar one, likely? We can't and won't know until SummerSlam's bee and gone. We can say that Undertaker looks healthy and put in a spirited performance on the July 20 RAW. But we can also note that he struggled ever so slightly when hoisting Lesnar up for the Tombstone at Battleground. If I had to guess I'd say that we won't be seeing Undertaker wrestling on that many shows between SummerSlam and WrestleMania, a shame because there are plenty of storyline opportunities for him outside of his current programme with 'The Conqueror'.

I'd love to be wrong, and I hope he gets to do something at Survivor Series, if only to allow him to celebrate his twenty-fifth anniversary under the gimmick. That would be fitting if he's on the cusp of retirement.

The Future of 'The Beast'

Brock Lesnar. Right now he’s the WWE world heavyweight champion. Come Monday 30 March that probably won’t be the case. Because that’s the night after WrestleMania 31 and if Lesnar doesn’t lose the title before he’ll definitely lose it on that show.

There are two main reasons for this. First is that last year Lesnar ended The Undertaker’s WrestleMania winning streak. That’s a winning streak that consisted of twenty-one victories over a variety of names, compiled over twenty-three years. Since at least 2008, though arguably several years earlier, The Undertaker’s annual defence of his undefeated status had been one of the major selling points of the show.

Lesnar being the man to defeat ‘The Phenom’ was a big deal. The next person to beat Lesnar will be elevated by the victory. They’ll not only be beating a big star they’ll be pinning the man who ended The Streak, the man who beat the man. The longer this chain becomes the less impact it will have but that’s not important here. Whoever beats Lesnar next gets a significant boost, and if he’s the champion come WrestleMania he’ll be in a position to give that boost at the biggest WWE show of the year, ensuring a huge number of people are watching and bolstering ‘Mania’s status as the premier event of the company.

Secondly, and far more mundanely, Lesnar’s contract expires shortly after WrestleMania. Nobody outside of the company knows exactly when but it’s known that Lesnar signed a two year extension in 2013 that runs through WrestleMania 31. It’s presumed to include the following evening’s RAW too, because post-‘Mania RAWs have become pretty big deals too in recent years.

What will this guy be doing in April?

It’s been impossible to miss the talk of Lesnar’s contract. There have been reports of MMA outfits UFC and Bellator (who, just for laughs, I’ll remind you were once affiliated with TNA) both preparing to make hefty offers and counter-offers to the current wrestling champ. It’s not clear how keen WWE are to keep Lesnar around but you’d assume they’d at least make a token offer to retain his services.

So there’s a choice coming up for Lesnar. He can return to the MMA world, where he was successful for several years and made good money. He can stay with WWE, where he has also been successful for several years and made good money. Or he can take all his good money and return to his log cabin in the woods, leaving the fighting game, both real and predetermined, behind.

MMA and WWE provide Lesnar some of the same things. They both allow him to pursue his own sponsorship deals, pay him well, and present him as a major box office attraction. But there are things unique to both too. MMA allows him to sate his competitive desires in a way that the world of pro wrestling never would. WWE provides a safer working environment and a less gruelling training regimen.

At 37 Lesnar is not old but he’s also significantly older than many of the men who compete in companies like UFC and Bellator. While he wouldn’t have the same stigma he carried on his initial foray into MMA (thanks to the fact that he’s already proven he can succeed in the real-righting world) he would still be a marked man. In addition to being a former UFC champion he’s coming off a hot year as a pro wrestler. Is it far-fetched to believe that an MMA guy would want to beat Lesnar to brag about being the man who beat ‘The One’? I don’t think so. MMA and wrestling are very different things but they ape one another in certain ways, one of them being the fashion in which MMA guys promote themselves with wrestling style promos. And dropping in references to beating Lesnar after the year WWE’s given him is great material for that.

It’s also worth noting that Lesnar has a five- and a four-year-old at home (plus a teenager from a previous relationship). Would he want to risk any sort of serious injury with a return to the MMA world, limiting the way he can interact with his kids?

Actually, I think he might. Anyone involved with MMA can’t afford to have the attitude of “What if I get really hurt?” It’s not a mindset that matches the sport. Looking back at Lesnar’s career, which saw him go from amateur standout to WWE, to trying football, before moving into MMA, tells us that he’s a man who wants a steady stream of challenges and an environment that allows him to be competitive. He also has a knack for getting himself very cushy deals: his current WWE schedule and the fact that he’s the only man in company history to be allowed control of his own sponsorship deals tells us that. I can’t imagine he’ll retire before he hits 40.

A new contract with WWE isn’t out of the question but I think it’s more likely that Lesnar will use his status as a top WWE star to leverage a sweet deal with an MMA company. The likeliest one is UFC, because they’re bigger. WWE could probably scrape enough cash together to compete with them financially for Lesnar’s services, but I doubt they’d want to grant him even more concessions or a lighter contract. After a couple of years in UFC I could just as easily see Lesnar returning to wrestling for one final run. Because they’ll have him back. They’ll always have someone like Lesnar back. He knows that and he’ll use it to his advantage.

23-1

Yesterday I wrote about Vince McMahon’s peculiar assessment of his roster with regard to ending The Undertaker’s WrestleMania Streak. You can read that here. The gist is that Vince was wrong to say that there was no chance a fresh face couldn’t be prepared to convincingly defeat ‘The Phenom’ within a two year period. This is the fantasy booking half of that topic.

It’s seems likely that Undertaker will retire at WrestleMania 32. Vince’s comments about having two years to prepare someone tallies with this. The show is apparently being held at AT&T Stadium in ‘Taker’s native state of Texas. With WWE expected to set a new attendance record at that show there could be no better way for him to go out. And after, by that point, twenty-six years with the company and becoming one of their most successful wrestlers ever, he would deserve to go out in such a manner.

They're pushing Reigns anyway. Why not give him The Streak?

This would have given WWE two years to take a guy climbing the ranks. From the current crop of full-timers that’s basically anyone but John Cena, Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan. The obvious choice would have been to focus on the Shield guys, which is what they ended up doing. At the time of WrestleMania XXX, when Vince decided he couldn’t get anyone ready within two years, they were the company’s second hottest act behind D-Bry. They’d shown they could get over collectively. They looked like they could get over individually.

The summer split has confirmed that. Rollins is lead heel while Ambrose’s popularity has gone from strength to strength. Reigns has struggled to keep up, but his apparently legitimate Superstar of the Year Slammy win shows there may be hope for him yet. As do the rumours that he’ll be the man to defeat Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 31.

Had Vince had a little more foresight he could have had ‘The Dead Man’ defeat ‘The Pain’ at WrestleMania XXX and continue his Streak at WrestleMania 31. He ideal opponent there would have been Cena. As stated in yesterday’s post, he was the man most people would have pointed to had they had to select a Streak ender from WWE’s current crop of stars. That the reason would be “Cena wins everything” isn’t important. What matters is that he, WWE, and Undertaker could have convinced a lot of people The Streak was coming to a close at Cena’s hands.

Which would have made it all the more surprising when Cena lost. Undertaker would have been free to head into ‘Mania 32 with a 23-0 record. That could have been advertised as his retirement bout, the last chance for someone to end his run of dominance at the biggest annual wrestling show in front of WWE’s biggest crowd ever.

That brings us back to The Shield. At time of writing all three are in positions that could lead them to a WWE title reign in 2015. Obviously if one man had to be picked over the others as the man who’d face Undertaker at ‘Mania 33 it would be Reigns, but for what I’ll suggest below it could have been any of the three.

What WWE could have done at the beginning of 2015 is assess which of the three Shield members was best positioned to go to WrestleMania 32 as champion to defend against The Undertaker. Ambrose, Rollins or Reigns defending the WWE championship against a still-undefeated-at-‘Mania Undertaker in his final match would have been huge. By that point whichever Shield member was facing him would have been in WWE for three and a half years, just about enough time to be settling in as a mainstay of the main event. The title being on the line could have thrown some doubt on the outcome, as would the fact that it was ‘The Dead Man’s’ last match and in his home state.

Let’s say it was Reigns versus Undertaker. They could have had a good match with Reigns working heel. Undertaker could have taken it to Reigns early on before taking a beating and the commentary team acknowledging that he may not have it in him anymore. ‘Taker getting his second wind could have blown the roof off the place (metaphorically speaking, obvs) and they could have had a great exchange of pin attempts and submissions based around their signature moves.

This would've been better than Lesnar v Undertaker. Fact.

Then Ambrose and Rollins could have shown up for a three-on-one beatdown of Undi’ (because a match like that would be no DQ). Ambrose could have given him Dirty Deeds. Rollins could have given him a Curb Stomp. Reigns could have given him a Superman punch (a way better finish than his ropey spear). And Undertaker could have kicked out. That would call for the triple power bomb to be busted out, finally putting Undertaker down for a three count at WrestleMania.

This would have accomplished several things. Firstly, Reigns would have been the man to end The Streak. A completely unique bragging right that could be brought up for years to come (because, unlike Lesnar, Reigns will be around for years). Secondly, it would have reunited The Shield after nearly two years of them being apart. It’s going to happen sooner or later, why not do it at the biggest show of the year and get some real heat on them by having them steal Undertaker’s Streak from him. Okay, so it wouldn’t have been clean. That’s not ideal but it would have been good for Reigns’s career and plot development, and would have allowed WrestleMania 32 to go off the air with a great visual of the reformed Shield doing their fist bump pose over the defeated Undertaker.

This idea won’t be to everyone’s tastes, obviously. But it would have done more for Reigns, Ambrose and Rollins than the ‘Mania XXX victory did for Lesnar. And that’s what WWE should want.

On Confidence and The Streak

As you’ll probably know, Vince McMahon appeared on a special edition of The Steve Austin Show last month. Besides a comment about the locker room being unmotivated, which seemed intended to bait the locker room into “proving him wrong”, a particularly backward way of thinking in 2014, one of the most interesting comments Vince made pertained to his decision to end The Undertaker’s Streak. He defended the decision by saying that he looked at the roster and didn’t feel there would be anybody ready to convincingly end The Streak within a two year timeframe. He went with Lesnar, at least in part, because he felt he was the only choice available.

Poor old Undi'.

It’s an odd sentiment for Vince to express. Two years is a long time in professional wrestling, especially when it comes to establishing a top star. There are plenty of examples of guys who went from nothing out of the ordinary to huge stars within that time frame.

Most obviously there’s Hulk Hogan. He returned to the WWF in late 1983 after several years away. Previously he’d been an unspectacular mid-card guy. Less than a month after his return ‘The Hulkster’ won his first WWF championship. By the time the first WrestleMania rolled around in March 1985 he was the man the promotion revolved around.

Then there’s Steve Austin. His famed 3:16 speech at the King of the Ring 1996 captured people’s attention and started a chain of events that would see him become the hottest act in the company by the same time the following year. By late ’97 it was clear he was the main man in the company, his first world title win at WrestleMania XIV was merely his official inauguration.

That’s two of the most important names in the history of the company who went from being just a face in the crowd to the man the company revolved around within two years. The point is that WWE can turn the right guy into a star within that time if they put their minds to it. They have more than enough talented guys to be able to have had someone ready to defeat ‘Taker by WrestleMania 32.

Even if that weren’t the case, they still had John Cena (who, for the record, is another guy who was clearly the hottest act in the company within two years of the decision being made to get behind him). Cena could have convincingly ended The Streak. In fact before ‘Mania XXX I was sure if anyone was going to beat Undertaker at WrestleMania it would be Cena. He’s not only the top act but he’s a guy WWE loves giving accolades to. It just seemed natural, and for Vince to say Lesnar was his only real choice while Cena was still around is flat out incorrect.  

Things could have been different had the chairman had some faith in his roster, and his own ability to elevate people. Had Roman Reigns or Dean Ambrose been given a sustained push and protected from uninspired segments and feuds they could have been ready. The same goes for Bray Wyatt, especially if he’d beaten Cena at ‘Mania XXX instead of losing to him. Daniel would have been accepted as someone significant enough to end The Streak last year. The treatment Seth Rollins has actually had would have been ideal for prepping someone as a Streak-ender. And any of these guys would have benefited more from the accolade than Lesnar. They’d have stuck around longer too.

21-1

On March 24 1991 The Undertaker made his WrestleMania debut at WrestleMania VII. He defeated Jimmy Snuka in the show’s seventh match. Twenty-three years later he suffered his first loss at the annual event, falling to Brock Lesnar in one of the evening’s most heavily anticipated matches. In recent years The Undertaker’s Streak has become a big part of ‘Mania. It was something WWE could market just as much as any championship bout or meeting of icons.

The annual defence of The Streak was a big thing. ‘Taker’s imposing stature, coupled with his length of service in the company and supernatural trappings made him (and indeed still makes him) a unique performer. He has an aura unlike any other wrestler there’s ever been. The Streak became part of the magic of the character, something ‘The dead Man’ was known for as much as his eerie mood lighting powers or supposed zombie origins.

It helped that WWE took care of The Streak from around 2001, helping to make it appear something special in wrestling and a meaningful achievement. Undertaker’s opponents were selected more carefully, and for the most part a good job was done keeping ‘The Phenom’ linked to big names at the show. The challenges mounted by Ric Flair, Edge, Batista, Randy Orton, Shawn Michaels (twice), and Triple H (thrice) were all exciting affairs that added to the aura that accompanied the feat of The Streak, and did more than balance out less than stellar challenges from Mark Henry and Big Show and A-Train (the latter two at the same time in a handicap match).

The dream is over.

I never thought The Streak would end. This wasn’t through a desperate urge to see ‘The Last Outlaw’ ride off into the sunset (or should that be moonlit night?) with his greatest accomplishment intact. It was based on a feeling that WWE would want to bestow the honour of a lengthy undefeated record on a man who has arguably been their most loyal in-ring performer for well over two decades.

I certainly didn’t think Brock Lesnar had a chance at ending The Streak. The build-up to the match had been subpar, with Undertaker outwitting and dominating ‘The Pain’ in all but one of their encounters (the March 31 RAW). In hindsight it’s possible that this was a deliberate ploy to help convince people that this year’s Streak match would be business as usual, although I hope not because that would indicate WWE set out to short change their fans. Not that they’ve never done that before, of course.

It was more than just a ponderous build that had me convinced ‘Taker would slay ‘The Beast’. There were still men for him to defend The Streak against. Daniel Bryan could have presented a credible challenge to The Streak, and if WWE set their minds to it Bray Wyatt and Roman reigns could both have been ready by next year. The challenger I’ve mentioned many times before was John Cena. The match would have had such a great atmosphere: the most heavily pushed, unstoppable star of the company for well over a decade challenging the most impressive record in the business. It was the one match that WWE could have convinced people beforehand might not go ‘Taker’s way. It was the one thing Cena, the man who’s done it all, had not accomplished. That alone would have convinced people he was the most credible threat to The Streak ever.

These matches can still happen, of course. Just not for The Streak. It’s still too early to say whether or not it’s a good or a bad thing that it’s gone. Certainly WWE have deprived themselves of a key feature at WrestleMania but they of course knew that before the match took place. Presumably they have a draw in mind to replace it. It’s possible the feeling was that Undertaker’s career was in danger of becoming overshadowed by The Streak. While it’s clearly the thing for which he’ll be most remembered he has done other things in the company. WWE wanting to protect the legacy of one of their biggest ever stars seems utterly plausible.

'The Conqueror'.

And this is a boon for Lesnar, of course. It becomes a bragging right for the former UFC champion and in theory makes him a more interesting man to watch for WWE fans. Certainly ending The Streak is a feat nobody else will get to have, and it lends something to Lesnar’s “big box office draw” appeal. It’s a questionable decision, what with Lesnar not being a man fully committed to WWE’s long term future: his current contract ends shortly after next year’s ‘Mania and even if he re-signs it will only be another short, limited dates deal. The accomplishment would have been better going to a younger guy who’s going to be on TV to benefit from it for another ten years. But I can’t argue that Lesnar is a credible winner: his credentials make that impossible to deny.

I suppose some space should be dedicated to hypothesising as to why The Streak ended. I’ve already mentioned that WWE may simply have wanted to divorce Undertaker from The Streak. Another popular theory is that Undertaker was simply too knackered to continue and felt it was time. I’m not convinced by this.

Undertaker wrestles one match a year and there’s nothing in his repertoire that’s going to injure him too badly. The topé could simply be dropped. The Tombstone requires some strength but is more about precision, and it’s more risky to the person taking the move than Undertaker himself. The person taking the choke slam does most of the work. And the Hell’s Gate is a rather fancy rest hold that has the benefit of having been built up as a match ender. More to the point ‘Taker seemingly felt so good last year that he stuck around and wrestled a few matches on RAW and SmackDown against The Shield. Yes, he left because he suffered an injury and he has years of them accumulated but I think the man has it in him to wrestle his current schedule (the lightest realistically possible) for another year or two.

What’s so interesting at this point is that ‘Taker’s future is so unclear. Does his loss of The Streak mean he will retire? That’s the assumption many, including myself, have gone under for years. Will he return to TV for a rematch with Brock Lesnar at some point? His absence from the post-‘Mania RAW, despite being backstage, makes me think he’ll be gone for a while. He’ll definitely be back. But until the return happens we won’t know if it’s to get back in the ring or enter the Hall of Fame.

And somehow that feels right. The Undertaker, the closest thing wrestling has to a mythic figure, should not be someone we should know inside out. Mystery has always been a crucial part of the character. No matter what his future holds that's something that should never change.

WrestleMania XXX review

I realised a few hours before WrestleMania XXX that I was looking forward to the card as a whole more than I could remember looking forward to any WrestleMania card in years. There was the Triple H and Bryan match, the likelihood of Bryan advancing to the main event and winning the title, The Shield having their second united outing on the show, The Streak match I’d wanted to see since Brock Lesnar returned to WWE, and a battle royal I felt had a lot of potential for some fun nonsense.

There were a fair number of storylines with months of work behind them and one of the most passionate wrestling crowds there will be anywhere all year. There was, I thought, a real chance to could end up being one of the more memorable WrestleManias, perhaps even coming close to toppling WrestleMania X7 as my personal fave. Even if that didn’t happen, it could still be a significant event for WWE, a turning point for many.

The evening’s festivities kicked off with a live pre-show, broadcast on YouTube and (presumably) the WWE Network. It featured the four-way tag team title match. Jimmy and Jey Uso defended against RybAxel, Los Matadores and The Real Americans. Everyone was wearing new gear, and Ryback and Axel had new music. 'The Big Guy' was dressed in red and yellow. He must be a Hogan fan. Or maybe he was trying to get people talking about a match between him and 'The Hulkster'. If so it didn’t work. I think his time in the spotlight is done.

This would not be the most impressive part of Cesaro's evening.

The match was fast and wild. Everyone got their moment to shine, as predicted. Even El Torito, who performed a dive (that was only partially botched) from the turnbuckle to a gaggle of bodies outside the ring. A large portion of the match was dedicated to Cesaro and Swagger tangling with the Usos after the other teams had been eliminated. Ultimately 'The Swiss Superman' would fall to a double splash from the champs following an energetic sequence that the live crowd ate up.

After the match Swagger shouted at his teammate and briefly slapped on the ankle lock. Zeb broke that up and demanded the two shake handsa. Cesaro looked to the crowd, who chanted "No!", before taking Swagger down and giving him a Big Swing (something which had only been teased during the match. That got a good reaction, as did his use of the "We the people" pledge before leaving the ring. That's too good and too over to leave with heels or be abandoned altogether. Rejigging it as a Cesaro face thing would be a good call.

There was a pause of a few minutes between the pre-show ending and the event proper beginning. Old footage reworked into a street carnival. The event’s opening video package featured old WrestleMania footage spliced into a street carnival in a New Orleans street. Austin was shown celebrating a title win stood in a throng of people and Shawn Michaels ziplined across the street on a journey to nowhere in particular. It was well done but a bit peculiar. In fairness I don’t know what else they could have done.

After the obligatory nonsense intro from Cole (this year's tag line is “WrestleMania: then, now forever”) Hulk Hogan was introduced. Hogan reminded us he was at the first WrestleMania and that he and Mr T won the main event. He also referred to the Silverdome. Twice, then corrected himself and acknowledged he was actually in the Superdome. He was, he said, distracted thinking about body slamming Andre the Giant. I’ve lost count of the number of times he’s mentioned that since he came back. He seems to think about nothing else.

Ten years ago this could have been quite the draw.

As Hogan talked about WrestleMania Moments™ glass broke and 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin marched out to provide another one. The crowd went nuts for him. Austin started out by jokingly referring to the Silverdome before moving on to more serious business of giving the audience the chance to chant "What?" and putting Hogan over for everything he’d accomplished in and done for the business. It was a special moment., certainly one that qualifies as something uniquely “WrestleMania”.

And then The Rock joined them.

'The Great One' got in on the Silverdome gag too, then said that he was in the ring with not just two of the best ever but also his buddy and his childhood hero. Rock cut a decent-if-you-like-that-kinda-thing rhyming couplet promo about babies being conceived because of WrestleMania excitement before the three ran through their segment ending catchphrases and shared a beer. It was a great way to start the show and helped to distinguish WrestleMania as special as a WWE pay-per-view but also special among the ‘Mania pantheon.

Daniel Bryan versus Triple H was the first match of the supercard. The video package for the match focused not just on Bryan's rise to the top and problems with The Authoruty bit also his career-long drive to be the best, with footage from the beginning of his career (taken from an early stint working under a developmental contract) being used very effectively. It did an excellent job of explaining why Daniel Bryan is so well liked by fans. Which proves WWE do understand his appeal. It ended with footage of Bryan leading a "Yes!" chant on RAW as Triple H said there was no Yes Movement.

Is that Jillian Hall?

Stephanie McMahon provided an in-ring introduction for Triple H, who this year combined some of his previous entrances by sitting on a throne wearing a gold mask in front of Castle Grayskull. Three blondes were on hand to help remove his headgear (which Steph seemed fine with) as classical music played. Then he made his usual entrance to Motörhead. The crowd cheered him and chanted his name, respectful of his accomplishments presumably.

Bryan's entrance was less overblown. He simply came out in a T-shirt with a towel and yessed his way down the aisle. The crowd helped make it feel special though. They were really into him and a sea of Yes placards could be seen when he stepped into the ring.

After an electric flurry in the opening moments the pace slowed, Bryan taking the initiative and out wrestling 'The Game'. They headed out of the ring fairly quickly, D-Bry leaping off the top rope to take out the COO. Trips took control with an arm bar takedown on the announce desk, then working over the already injured arm. This included a crossface chicken wing and a Crippler crossface.

Daniel Bryan flies on to the WWE COO.

After absorbing punishment for several minutes Bryan made a comeback, hitting 'The King of Kings' with kicks, punches and a series of German suplexes. Tripper put a stop to that with a tiger suplex. A trip to the top rope resulted in Bryan hitting a sunset bomb. The multiple running drop kicks followed that, though it didn't last long as Tripper cut Bryan off with a lariat on the third. Bryan reversed a Pedigree attempt and scored with his KO kick. The flying headbutt was countered with a raised knee and then Triple H reapplied the Crippler crossface.

Bryan stayed in the hold for close to a minute before slipping out and applying the Yes lock to 'The Cerebral Assassin'. That was a lengthy application too, Triple H only escaping the hold when he reached the ropes. His decision to slip outside of the ring proved ill-advised as Bryan followed him out with a suicide dive. Back in the ring he hit a top rope drop kick and blasted a kneeling Triple H with a series of kicks.

Triple H countered the running knee with a spinebuster and immediately followed up with a Pedigree. That proved to be a convincing false finish as the audience erupted when Bryan kicked out. A sneaky small package wasn't enough to get Bryan a win. Trips tried a pedigree again but Bryan flipped into a pinning predicament and then dead weighted to avoid another attempt made at the move. Trips dropped knees on his foe then attempted his finish again but wound up taking a running knee for a clean Bryan victory.

After the match Triple H held his head in his hands at ringside as Bryan led a chant in the ring. Stephanie joined him and pummelled him with slaps, which he laughed off, and then Triple H hit him from behind. He wrapped Bryan's injured arm around a ring post and then left with Steph, promising there would be no happy ending as he posed at the top of the aisle.

The New Age Outlaws were the first men out for the second match. Road Dogg's shtick was interrupted by The Shield's entrance (which may have been a time constraint thing). Any hopes for another great 'Hounds of Justice' outing were disappointed as they made short work of their foes, defeating them in just under three minutes. They hit all their top spots (Reigns’ Superman punch and spear, Rollins’ crazy energetic flying, and Ambrose’s deliberately ugly take downs and punches) and won with a triple power bomb on both Outlaws at the same time.

The short length could be seen as disappointing but I think it was a good call. The Shield should be able to make short work of anyone at this point. There are other matches in their back catalogue for anyone who wants to watch them wrestle lengthy six mans. That wasn’t what this match was about. It was about showcasing what an excellent team they make.

Backstage Sergeant Slaughter, Jim Duggan and Ricky Steamboat had their toys taken away by Ted DiBiase. Then Ron Simmons entered and said damn. Someone somewhere found it hilarious. Probably Vince McMahon.

The battle royal went on third. There were more than thirty participants. It was basically the entire roster who didn’t have a match elsewhere, minus Bad News Barrett. Even David Otunga was in there. There were, however, no special guests. While that hadn’t been confirmed the fact that WWE had gone out of their way to state there would be thirty entrants and only announced twenty-seven made it same as if some significant names would appear. I wasn’t disappointed by the development. More surprised.

Yoshi Tatsu was the first man eliminated. Kofi Kingston got a Royal Rumble style spot when he was launched over a turnbuckle by Cesaro and landed on the steel steps, avoiding elimination by not letting his feet touch the floor. It was inventive but looked incredibly dangerous. When it happened I thought Kofi had been seriously injured.

The final four were Big Show, Cesaro, Sheamus and Alberto Del Rio. ‘Great White’ and ADR eliminated each other, leaving Cesaro along with ‘The Giant’. After avoiding a few elimination attempts Cesaro scooped him up and slammed him out of the ring for the victory. It was a simple idea but a stunning feat of strength from Cesaro. The trophy he was presented required five men to get it into the ring. Cesaro hoisted it up singlehanded. Like a boss.

The video package for Wyatt v Cena focused on Cena being a popular man who's considered a hero and Wyatt wanting to end his legacy (which could apparently be achieved by beating him in a match). It was good but not a patch on the Triple H and Bryan video.

Star entrance treatment?

Wyatt got star entrance treatment. First a woman performed what was probably a voodoo ritual (hey, New Orleans is about more than parties) and got played to the ring by Mark Crozer and his band. Members of the band were wearing seventeenth century plague masks, which were eerie and a beautiful fit for the Wyatt character. Wyatt himself was sporting a new black hat and a brown leather coat. He mostly heard cheers when he blew his lantern out and the music cut.

Cena got his regular entrance and heard boos. Which was fine. There's not a huge amount that can be done with his mad dash to the ring and he's had some distinct ones at ‘Mania over the years. Wyatt warranted the special treatment more and has a character that lends itself to something a bit different.

The story of the match was that Wyatt wanted to turn Cena into a monster and expose him as a fraud to people. That could have been made clearer in his promos leading up to the show but at least the commentary team did a decent job of getting it across. Cena began by refusing to attack a kneeling Wyatt and was driven to acts of excessive aggression during the course of the match, including wielding steel steps and chairs (he always chose not to use them against his opponent). Whenever Cena stopped to consider his actions 'The Eater of Worlds' regained control.

Air Cena.

There were several memorable moments during this match. Cena managing to set Wyatt up for a Five Knuckle Shuffle only to be freaked out by Wyatt’s crab walk; Wyatt countering Cena’s top rop leg drop into a power bomb; Wyatt performing a DDT on the apron; the audience signing He's Got the Whole World in His Hands; and Cena leaping off the top rope to the outside to wipe out Harper and Rowan were among my favourites. Wyatt was also permitted to kick out of an AA and survive an STF. In return Cena kicked out of Sister Abigail, but that was always going to happen.

The finish saw Wyatt hand Cena a chair and ask to be finished, telling him to be a monster. Cena did use the chair, but on Erick Rowan. Wyatt snuck in with a rollup, which felt like the finish, but Cena kicked out. The pair botched a Sister Abigail, which Cena slipped out of anyway, and then Wyatt got blasted with an AA for the Cena victory.

It was a decent match but the wrong result. Cena didn't need to win. Wyatt's career and momentum are not harmed by the loss but they could have been enhanced with a win. Beating Cena in his WrestleMania would have been a wonderful moment for Wyatt. His standing can still increase and he can still get a victory over Cena in a rematch, but WrestleMania was the show that meant more. It’s the company’s premier event, the one watched by more people, and was the first official encounter between the two men.

The Hall of Fame class was brought out onto the stage next. To my ears it sounded like Lita and Scott 'Razot Ramon' Hall got the loudest responses. They would have been the two I’d have cheered for most if I was there, so it’s possible I’m wrong. Maybe Carlos Colon got the biggest response.

Backstage we were shown Daniel Bryan being tended to by a doctor. He was in pain lifting his arm. Underdog, you say?

The Streak video first established that The Streak has been built up over decades and is an impressive feat. Then it switched to Heyman talking about how Lesnar will end it as footage of the handful of meetings between the combatants was shown. It did as good a job as it could it making Lesnar look like a contender but I can't imagine it convinced many people 'The Pain' would be winning.

Witch hunter Undertaker.

Footage of all of 'Taker's 'Mania outings preceded his entrance, accompanied by the familiar Chanting Monks volume 4 soundtrack. When the gong hit 'The Dead Man' ambled onto the stage and posed in the smoke. Then, because he's magic, he opened a casket with 22 written on it by turning his head. Halfway down the aisle he set said casket on fire with a lightning bolt. Again, magic. His outfit had a witch hunter vibe to it, which I dug.

The crowd was completely dead for the first several minutes of the bout. This was not through lack of effort from the competitors. While the action was not as polished or layered as recent Undie matches it was far from bad. The trouble was that people know Streak matches are going to be lengthy affairs and have been conditioned not to respond until the big moves start getting wheeled out.  

Even when it got going the action was far from quick but there as a logic behind it. Unfortunately it was hurt by too much time between signature spots.Lesnar kicked out of choke slam. Undertaker survived F5. Lesnar powered out of the Hell's Gate before 'Taker survived a kimura and then applied the move to Lesnar. Lesnar yanked ‘The Phenom’ down from an old school rope walk into a second F5, which was survived again. Undertaker countered some turnbuckle posing into a Last Ride. Lesnar kicked out of the match’s sole Tombstone (going by things said in other promotions the Louisiana State Athletic Commission was not fond of the piledriver or any variant of it).

And then it happened. Lesnar connected with a third F5 and went for a cover. The referee counted one, two… and three. Just like that, seemingly from out of the blue, The Streak was ended. The audience sat shocked as Lesnar and Heyman sneered at their accomplishment and headed to the back. Watching it live I originally thought the referee had botched the finish somehow. But the reactions of everyone involved told me that wasn’t the case. The decision had been taken to have The Undertaker suffer his first loss at a WrestleMania, twenty-three years after his debut at the event.

Undertaker stood in the ring for several minutes waiting for thank you chants that took an eternity to arrive. It wasn’t that the crowd was unappreciative, they were simply shocked that The Undertaker had lost. Very few people truly expected it to ever come and most of those who did didn’t think it would be this year against Brock Lesnar. There was a wonderful shot from high in the arena as The Undertaker walked to the back. By that point there was a standing ovation.

After an advert for next year’s WrestleMania Michael Cole and Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler moved on to jauntily shilling Kid Rock and next year’s spectacular. It rendered the sombre tones they’d employed during Undertaker’s post-match walk to the back utterly hollow.

The Divas had the difficult task of following the end of The Streak. Vickie Guerrero stood and watched the shambles that ensued from a podium at ringside (it may or may not have been Bad News Barrett’s regular podium redressed). With fourteen wrestlers involved it was never going to be pretty but it would have been better without the loud spot calling from Nikki Bella (she is Cena's girlfriend, I suppose). AJ won with the Black Widow and there was no descent between her and Tamina. The match was the complete filler everyone expected it to be.

Backstage ‘Mean’ Gene Okerlund was joined by Hulk Hogan. 'The Hulkster's' diatribe about WrestleMania XXX (which probably would have led to talk of how he pressed Andre the Giant over his head in 1987) was interrupted by Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff. 'Mr Wonderful', who was sporting a lovely handlebar moustache, claimed that people ask him on a weekly how it feels to be the man who lost the first main event. They don't. Mr T rocked up to provide backup but the four ended up shaking hands.

Hall of Famers Bruno Sammartino, Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart, Dusty Rhodes, Bob Backlund and Harley Race were shown at ringside before the main event. Hart got the best reaction. Backlund looks the youngest. These are the sorts of things I pay attention to during segments like this.

WWE champions Randy Orton was played to the ring by Rev Theory for his main event title defence. He got very little reaction. The crowd still seemed very deflated about The Undertaker's loss. Batista did better: he brought genuine heat to the table. He didn't get a pyro though. For whatever reason it failed to go off. Batista’s response was to (ahem) deal with it. Bryan came out gingerly favouring his arm and managed to drag a "Yes!" chant from the fans. Even Bryan couldn’t fully lift the crowd’s spirits.

Bryan was kept on the sidelines selling for much of the match, encouraging fans to rally behind him when he did involve himself and casting him even more as the underdog of proceedings. When Orton and Batista were left to their own devices they provided the level of quality you'd expect. WWE, and fans, are very lucky Bryan got added to the match. Orton and Batista proved here that they would not have been capable of holding attention had they been in a singles match.

Around the halfway mark Bryan had Orton locked in a Yes lock until Triple H and Stephanie ran in through the crowd and yanked the referee from the ring. Batista planted Bryan with a Batista bomb as Scott Armstrong (the crooked referee who helped frame Bryan last September) showed up to count the fall. Despite being a crooked official he provided a fair count and then got knocked out of the ring by D-Bry. He huddled with Trips and Steph at ringside and absorbed a suicide dive. ‘The Game’ pulled out his sledge from under the ring but Bryan kicked him and grabbed it from him, then lamped him straight in the face with it, much to the approval of fans. A rollup on Batista was broken up by ‘The Apex Predator’ and then the two Evolution boys double teamed Bryan to get him out of the match.

Make them a tag team and give them this as a finish.

Trips was helped backstage as the announce tables were cleared by Orty and Batsy. The audience sang goodbye to him. Bryan was hoisted up onto one announce desk and hit with a picture perfect Batista bomb-RKO combo through another table by his opponents. 'The Animal' was the only man left standing after that. Medics showed up to carry out Bryan backstage as Batista and Orton started back up against one another. They didn't last long as Bryan fought his way off the stretcher and got back into the match, immediately getting pasted by 'The Viper'. An RKO got reversed into a Yes lock. That was broken by Batista. Seconds later Orton returned the favour when Batista found himself in the hold.

Bryan got wiped out by an awkward spear. Batista turned around into an RKO, but managed to kick out. Orton tried for a punt but got clocked with the running knee. Batista tossed Bryan out and tried to steal the pin but Orton kicked out (the first man to survive Bryan’s knee strike finisher). Seconds later the champ took a Batista bomb and rolled to the outside, leaving Bryan to scoot back in to nail the Royal Rumble winner with another running knee. Moments later Bootista tapped out to the Yes lock and Daniel Bryan became a three time WWE champion.

The beginning of Daniel Bryan's third WWE championship reign.

The celebration saw streamers and confetti showers pumped up into the air from strategically placed cannons. Bryan stood in the middle of it all, leading a “Yes!” chant and looking genuinely happy. It was the ending everybody wanted for the show: the underdog earning his way into the title match and proving that he belonged on top, overcoming months of storyline marginalisation.

The first and last matches of the main show did everything that could have been realistically asked of them. The Shield looked superb as they effortlessly squashed three veteran performers. The pre-show tag match was a lively tussle. Cesaro looked like a man to watch when he won the battle royal. There were, in short, things to enjoy at WrestleMania XXX.

It was one of the best entries in the show’s history. The best? I don’t think it was that good. The Divas match was a washout and the battle royal, despite a handful of dazzling moments, wasn’t much better. Cena v Wyatt was a good match marred by a depressing result. But it was the Lesnar versus Undertaker match that sealed the deal. After years of show stealing performances it was disappointing to see ‘The Dead Man’ stuck in such a sluggish, awkward outing here. That he lost only made it worse of course.

WrestleMania XXX got a lot right. There’s a chance it’s going to go down as The One Where ‘Taker Lost and Bryan Won. But I hope not. It deserves more because it did more.