I started watching wrestling with my spouse back in '05. One of the first matches I saw was Batista vs. Chris Benoit [may he rest in peace]. I instantly took a liking to the latter and got hooked. Not long after that, I saw the Undertaker. And he grabbed my attention even faster than Benoit. Why? Because he has one hell of a commanding presence, one that no one has really ever been able to match or even beat throughout the years.
I mean, seriously. Who even uses psychological aspects and warfare when they fight like the Undertaker does? The only other person I can immediately say who used to was the Boogeyman. But he quit/retired/something years ago so because of that alone, I almost don't really count him. Just because he hasn't continued to maintain his presence and such.
Now there is a point to my background with wrestling before anyone inquires.
All the streaks that the Undertaker had, prior to this loss, were already a feat in itself. And there isn't just his Wrestlemania streak we need to look at, but his overall career. He's been one of the best wrestlers ever, whether he's been in a solo match or tag team with Kane as one half of the Brothers of Destruction.
Still, when all is said and done, we also need to remember something else; he's almost 50 now. He's been in this industry for longer than I've watched it. I know because my dad remembers him and a few others, especially Hulk Hogan.
I remember the Undertaker supposedly saying he was intending to retire earlier this year or sometime in 2013 I believe. While the news saddened me, I wouldn't honestly blame him. He's had a good run and it's his choice in the end.
But furthermore, when all is said and done, I agree wholeheartedly with a comment I saw on a critic's website. It's not the exact quote but the message is close enough. More or less though, it said that in the end, no one's going to give enough of a damn that Brock took away the Undertaker's streak. Why? Because he'll never have the respect and charisma that the Phenom has had and kept for so long.
So true ... so very, very true.
Furthermore, this was bound to happen sometime. Even if it hadn't been this year or to Brock Lesner, Undertaker would have had to lose at one point in time. I admit, I never would have seen it being to someone like Brock and I'm pretty sure few others did also. But the fact is, it still occurred.
While his defeat is akin to the death of his reign, it's not as sad to me as it probably should be. Why not? Because when I think on him, I have too many fond memories. I haven't seen many times anyone has been able to defeat him and what few times I did see such events, most were cheats and unfair endings. Seriously, illegal items like brass knuckles and such were used but of course, the damn referees never saw even if the viewers did.
So because of the cheating aspects, I don't really view those as losses, per se. Not official ones anyways.
I'm not trying to say no one shouldn't be sad or upset because even now, I'm still a bit astounded. But I'm not going to let it bother me for the rest of my life. Besides, who says he can't get revenge on Brock should he decide to stay in the wrestling industry long enough?
That's my view on it all. And to help properly celebrate and decorate this, I'm including a few things as a tribute to my forever favorite wrestler, now and forever, The Undertaker.
