Ending of Undertaker’s streak is far from dawn of a new era

Photos for Headline Surfer / The Undertaker's undefeated streak at Wrestlemania is ended by Brock Lesnar.
 
By HENRY FREDERICK
Headline Surfer

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- So much has been written about the Undertaker’s streak ending at Wrestlemania XXX, and to of all wrestlers, Brock Lesnar, as if that was some kind of letdown. 

This is far from the end of an era. A new chapter, perhaps. But end of an era? Absolutely not. That Undertaker could even show up and lace up the boots one more time was kind of sad, in and of itself. For a quarter century, Mark William Calaway has been bringing it. 

What most wrestling fans may not realize is Calaway’s tenure in the squared circle has an even longer life span, of more than a half a decade before that as well in several incarnations in WCW before the Undertaker persona became the lexicon of the wrestling universe. 

By putting Lesnar over, the Undertaker can exit the stage far more quietly than, if he had lost to the likes of  John Cena or Roman Reigns. With multiple wins over established mega-stars like Triple H and Shawn Michaels, the Undertaker’s legacy is preserved and that’s what matters more so than artificially continuing a statistic. 

If anything, the combination of the Undertaker’s loss and Daniel Bryan’s win in the triple threat match for the heavyweight championship over stalwarts Randy Orton and Batista, illustrates that the WWE may be in a state of transition, but far from the end of an era. The Ultimate Warrior's death just days after his Hall of Fame induction and less than 24 hours after his now-phrophetic speech on Monday Night Raw, was the end of an era. 

By putting Lesnar over, the Undertaker can exit the stage far more quietly than, if he had lost to the likes of  John Cena or Roman Reigns. With multiple wins over established mega-stars like Triple H and Shawn Michaels, the Undertaker’s legacy is preserved and that’s what matters more so than artificially continuing a statistic. If anything, the combination of the Undertaker’s loss and Daniel Bryan’s win in the triple threat match for the heavyweight championship over stalwarts Randy Orton and Batista, illustrates that the WWE may be in a state of transition, but far from the end of an era. The Ultimate Warrior's death just days after his Hall of Fame induction and less than 24 hours after his now-phrophetic speech on Monday Night Raw, was the end of an era. 

For it was Jim Hellwig himself who foretold his own ending, as he donned a face-paint mask for his larger-than-life character, saying in part: “Every man’s heart one day beats its final beat. His lungs breathe their final breath. And if what that man did in his life what makes the blood pulse through the body of others and makes them bleed deeper and something larger than life then his essence, his spirit, will be immortalized. By the story tellers, by the loyalty, by the memory of those who honor him and make the running the man did live forever.” 

The Undertaker Held his own for most of the match and at times was more of his former vintage self against 'The Beast Incarnate.'

The Undertaker goes home as Mark Calaway to his wife, former-diva Michelle McCool, with the possibility of an occasional return to ring action. And yes, the Ultimate Warrior lives on in us, the WWE Universe, or as Hellwig described, “true story tellers,” but with his sudden passing, there re no more return visits to the ring.

If anything, that, in and of itself, defines what is meant by the end of an era.

The writer, Henry Frederick, is an award-winning journalist and publisher of HeadlineSurfer.com, a 24/7 internet newspaper in Daytona Beach, Fla., who has interviewed dozens of professional wrestlers such as Goldberg, Diamond Dallas Page and Chris Jericho. Frederick, won a Florida Press Club award in 2013 for breaking news for his in-depth reporting on the gunshot suicide of retired wrestler Mike Graham who was visiting during the 2012 Biketoberfest motorcycle rally in Daytona Beach.