WrestleMania XXX has come and gone. It was much better than yours truly initially expected following the results of Royal Rumble and Elimination Chamber. More so than in years prior, WrestleMania as an overall show was fun and thoroughly enjoyable. There were a good number of great moments from Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock all in the same ring and Daniel Bryan's winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship after having the odds stacked against him to Cesaro slamming Big Show over the top rope and The Shield's triple powerbomb on both members of the New Age Outlaws. While a couple matches did not live up to this writer's expectations namely John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt and Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar, it was a pleasant surprise to see the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal and Daniel Bryan vs. Batista vs. Randy Orton exceed my low expectations. Out of everything that happened at WrestleMania XXX, one moment in particular clearly defined this event and cemented its spot in wrestling history. That moment was the end of The Streak at the hands of Brock Lesnar.
Over the course of the Undertaker's illustrious career, no accomplishment has been greater than his winning streak at WrestleMania. As countless wrestlers fell to the Deadman at WrestleMania year-in and year-out, The Streak grew in prestige and importance. One could easily argue that The Streak was the most prestigious and important accomplishment in the WWE and professional wrestling as a whole. To break such an unprecedented streak would be greater than winning any match or championship in wrestling. Considering the lacklustre events leading up to the match between Undertaker and Brock Lesnar, no one could have imagined The Streak would end in that very match. You would expect the WWE to pull out all the stops and put together some epic build for a result this monumental and polarizing to even considered. Wrestling fans have been so invested in The Streak that it is understandable to see such a wide array of emotions come from it ending. Being of the camp that never wanted The Streak to be broken, I am personally surprised at how well I have received it. Even though Brock Lesnar is a part-timer and has already established himself as a premier athlete, I am perfectly fine with him ending The Streak. Actually, having Lesnar end The Streak gives the Beast nuclear heat that will never wear off and establishes him as THE dominant force in the WWE. Also it sets up whoever beats Lesnar next, which better be Bryan, as a bona fide superstar in the WWE. Personally, I am bummed out that Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar could not develop into a great match. While it was still a pretty good match at best, they could never take the match to the next level and really get our blood pumping like all of the recent Undertaker matches at WrestleMania. Not putting on an excellent match to rival the moment of The Streak ending just made things feel surreal and uncomfortable. The match did show that it is definitely time for Undertaker to hang up the boots for good. People may be concerned about how WWE will book a possible Sting vs. Undertaker match for next year, but this writer would rather not see that smoke-and-mirrors show become a reality especially since neither Sting or Undertaker can perform anywhere close to the level they use to.
WWE could not rely on The Streak to solely sell WrestleMania forever; now is the time to let it go and make new selling points for WrestleMania. To launch the WWE into a new era, it is beneficial to honour both the Undertaker and The Streak as an important part of WrestleMania and wrestling history with Raw tonight and the 2015 Hall of Fame at WrestleMania 31. As hard as it may seem for some, the unthinkable has happened. The Streak is over and we all have to come to accept it one way or another. WWE took an incredible risk with ending The Streak, but the only way to know if it was truly the right call or not is to see what happens next. Tonight's Raw is the first page of this next chapter. Will you be watching?
