WWEditorials: The Undertaker & The Streak (21-1)

WrestleMania XXVIII – The Undertaker vs. Triple H III (20-0)

This was billed as “End Of An Era” match. During a segment between Triple H and John Laurinaitis the night after the 2012 Royal Rumble, The Undertaker made a surprise return and confronted Triple H. Feeling he has not done enough after the beating he took from the Game at the previous WrestleMania, The Phenom challenged his former opponent for another rematch at that year’s WrestleMania. Triple H, feeling that ending the streak would be bad for the business, refused to take the match. As weeks progressed, it was shown that every time Triple H refuses, The Undertaker started to and continuously cut his hair. On the February 20th episode of RAW, after another refusal from Triple H, The Undertaker made a notion to his other previous WrestleMania opponent, Shawn Michaels. He accused Triple H of living in his best friend’s shadow and thinks that Michaels was better than The Game. When Triple H hears about it, he becomes irritated and finally agreed to have the rematch, and promised that he would finish the streak and The Undertaker’s career once and for all, but under one condition. The Undertaker must face Triple H in a Hell in a Cell match (the second Hell in a Cell match in which The Undertaker competed in at a WrestleMania). Weeks later, it was revealed that Shawn Michaels was picked as the special guest referee. During their match at WrestleMania, The Game, and The Deadman picked up where they left off on their previous encounter. At first, Triple H dominated The Undertaker with chair shots just like their last match. Also, this match has full of emotions not only because of the two competitors, but also because of Michaels being the referee, contemplating to stop the match as his best friend instructed him to do because of The Undertaker looking like he cannot continue, or else The Game will “end it”. After being put on Hell’s Gate submission hold, Michaels hit a Sweet Chin Music to The Undertaker, which give Triple H and opportunity to also hit the pedigree. Many thought that after being hit by those two finishers, the match would end and the streak would be over, but the Deadman had the instinct to kick out. Afterward, The Undertaker somehow “came back to life”, and attacked Triple H with fury. The Deadman finally dominated The Game until the end of the match, leaving Triple H helpless even from Shawn Michaels. Afterward, the Game was pinned after an emphatic Tombstone Piledriver, finally, The Phenom having his revenge. He now extended his streak to perfect twenty straight wins. After the match, The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels helped carry Triple H back to the locker room and as they were standing on the stage, they hugged each other that signaled an end of an era.

WrestleMania 29 – The Undertaker vs. CM Punk (21-0)

On the start of March 4th episode of “Old School Raw”, The Undertaker returned after a year-long hiatus and made everyone known that he will be competing at that year’s WrestleMania. At the same night, after losing to John Cena in a number one contender’s match for WWE Championship at WrestleMania, CM Punk issued a challenge and promised that he would beat The Undertaker and end his undefeated streak. However, Randy Orton, The Big Show, and Sheamus, also wants to face the Phenom, and so Vickie Guerrero announced a Fatal-4-Way match between the four competitors. At the main event, CM Punk defeated the other three superstars and has fought The Undertaker at WrestleMania 29. The streak of the Undertaker survives yet another year, by defeating CM Punk: The Undertaker locked Punk in a Hell’s Gate which the latter countered with an Anaconda Vice, CM Punk tried everything he can to stop the streak (Jumping from the top rope into the table…) but it still wasn’t enough. The Undertaker puts Punk through a Piledriver but Punk miraculously kicks out of the pin, The Phenom then knocks out the referee unintentionally, while held by Undertaker for the Last Ride, Punk receives the Urn from Paul Heyman in the corner, CM Punk hits the Undertaker with the Urn in the back of the head. In the end, Undertaker with a second Piledriver ended the Match to extend the streak for another year.

WrestleMania XXX – The Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar (21-1)

The End of the Streak. On February 24, 2014, episode’s of Raw, Heyman stated that Lesnar had requested a match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, instead receiving an open contract to face anyone of his choosing at WrestleMania XXX. Heyman said that Lesnar felt insulted by this and that he would not be appearing at WrestleMania at all. The Undertaker then returned and choke slammed Lesnar through a table, setting up their match at WrestleMania. Lesnar would ultimately defeat and pin The Undertaker and end the Streak after delivering 3 F5s.

The Streak was one the reasons why The Undertaker is still one of the most popular superstars of the WWE. Today, his streak has become such a big part of his career that a match with The Undertake at WrestleMania was considered to be the same, or even as bigger as World Heavyweight or WWE Championship matches. Although there have been two other matches after Brock Lesnar defeated the streak (Bray Wyatt & Shane McMahon) it still has a nostalgic feel to fans who wonder what’s next for the legendary Undertaker.