When the Streak ended last April it was met with universal hate and venom from Wrestling Fans. The heat generated from it ending was nuclear- luckily the WWE had the one person on the planet who could channel that heat in Paul Heyman. Heyman was the only guy with the mic skills to make the legitimate hatred toward the decision work within the confines of the "WWE Universe". Giving the Streak to Brock was another hated decision- but the fact is in terms of legitimacy Brock was the only guy who's active that could have ended the streak in my opinion. Before you lot get on to me about it being wrestling- so legitimacy doesn't really matter, Brock ending the streak generated mainstream news attention- it was the first time not involving CM Punk that WWE had gotten mainstream news attention from something that didn't involve someone dying in I don't know how long, and the fact it was a supposed "real" fighter who broke it added to it.
The Title
Brock already had losses to Triple H & Cena under his belt since his return- which I strongly disagreed with when they happened. Brock was starting to lose his "anything can happen" "big fight" feel surrounding every time he stepped into a wrestling ring in his fight shorts. As much as it pains people to admit it- Brock is a one of a kind specimen, everything that Heyman says to hype him is essentially true. Assuming Brock is going to leave WWE after 31- which is what is strongly looks like, he needed the belt to make his last year in WWE mean something; and because of the way he was booked prior to 30 he needed the Streak to get the Title. While his opponent at 31 is essentially confirmed to be Roman Reigns- with an outside chance of it being turned into a Triple Threat with Bryan being added, but we'll still get the same outcome of Roman looking strong; and while Heyman still has effectively 2 Months to build the feud(s) for the last match of Brock's Title Run- which could be a damp squib, every match beforehand has had a really good feel to the match (outcome not necessarily delivering).
Paul Heyman
Heyman is a top draw manager (or advocate) without a doubt, the problem before the Streak was ended was that a lot of what Heyman was saying meant absolutely nothing because Brock didn't deliver during the matches- which affected his standing from a legitimacy standpoint as far as a manager (advocate) goes. In the build to the match, Heyman said (I Can't Remember the exact quote) that Brock winning wasn't a prediction- it was a spoiler. In the build to the match everyone assumed Taker was going to make it 22, and it was another empty statement from Heyman. The fact Brock won- from a casual perspective, which is what it seems WWE lives for; means everything Heyman says suddenly has a meaning behind it. You always see "Superstars" say the good Promos have a degree of truth to them; but the best promos in my opinion are believable from an audience perspective. With respect to Cena and Triple H- Brock would kill them in a "shoot" fight, and that had neutered some of his legitimacy- he was no longer the UFC Champion, he was a Wrestler with an average record since he returned; in fact I think at 1 stage he was 1-2. This meant when either Heyman or the Commentators put over him being an NCAA, UFC, WWE Champion it was meaningless from a casuals perspective because they saw him as a guy who looks like he could kill you but ultimately doesn't deliver. While Brock eventually beat Triple H 2-1, beat Punk and then beat Big Show only one of those matches was a Main Event- which from a casuals standpoint is all that really matters, because that's what WWE have conditioned them to believe.
Bray Wyatt
This is what prompted me to write this- because I was looking at Bray's two "Undertaker Promos" which started me thinking about permutations, and possible stipulations for the Undertaker v Bray Wyatt match at Wrestlemania.
(This is going to look really stupid if it isn't Taker v Wyatt now)
As I've already said the heat generated on whoever ended the Streak would have been nuclear- and I'm sure everyone who follows my Wrestling Blogs knows I'm a Huge Fan of Bray; but his promo style doesn't lend itself to channeling a crowd as Heyman's does- because he has an indirect style. Now onto this years Wrestlemania, again- this is under the assumption that it is in fact Bray v Taker. It seems judging from Bray's 2 Promo's he's done so far his "mission" will be to unleash the monster within The Undertaker, However, I think they should eventually develop it into a "There Can Only be One Monster" type thing- which eventually evolves into a Retirement Stip for their match at Mania. Bray ending The Streak would have been the wrong move, Bray retiring Taker could be a proper "Torch Passing" moment- and crucially it'll work for Bray's character. Bray should go his entire career without winning a title, because his character shouldn't "covet" them and The Streak essentially became a Title of Sorts- a notch on whomever's belt it should eventually land. The career of the legendary Undertaker on the other hand supersedes a title- The Streak became what The Undertaker was about in the latter stages of his career, but his career is so much more than The Streak
Should Bray Wyatt end the career of The Undertaker he'll be set for however long he should continue wrestling, and crucially the heat from the fallout will be manageable from Bray's Point of View- because his promos; like Heyman's will once again have an air of legitimacy about them.
Thanks for reading as always, whether Bray does indeed go over at Mania is another debate; but he's a lot more likely to go over now than he would have been should the Streak still be in tact- because as I've said to an extent already; Current Day Undertaker needed the Streak as much as The Streak needed The Undertaker- so if we are to get one final flourish from Undertaker, with no streak- just a monster it'll be a perfect way to end his established, and prestigious career on his back.
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