A packed arena is silenced when all the lights are suddenly turned off. In the dark, the crowd eagerly awaits the sound of a large bell to signal the melody of a death march in the background. DONG … DONG … The entire arena is lit up with a spark of lightning and an eerie mist envelops the long path that leads to the ring. Then suddenly Undertaker emerges and starts his long slow march down the hall.
If you’re a fan of wrestling whether you want it or not, you have to applaud the dead man for giving each and every one of us match after match of simply stunning performances. Although he has had many highly acclaimed fights throughout his career, his battles during WrestleMania have defined him in some way: Buried Alive, Casket Match, Last Ride match, and Hell in a Cell.
All of these exciting matches have been associated with the Phenom and have either headlined WrestleMania as the main event or acted as a third main event. Even if he wasn’t the headline, his fights have surely received the most publicity. How could I not? The presence of his mother in the ring was enough to speak alone. Somehow this has also led to an unexpected and unplanned story in the already illustrious Undertaker career: the streak.
At the end of the 90s and at the dawn of the new Millennium, his supposed “streak” was nothing more than a series of consecutive victories. Snatch fans and announcers never talked about it and it was never really a problem. The Streak seemed to have come to life on its own; and the whole organization was smart enough to figure it out. From his bouts with Sean “The Heartbreak Kid” Michaels to Triple H, Hunter Heart Helmsley, the man from Death Valley, has, time and again, risen from the dead for the referee to count his opponent.
But this streak has also been frowned upon by others. Some say you were in the right place, at the right time. Others believe their first matches were against poor opponents whose careers had already peaked and were looking for an anticlimactic outlet. Whatever the debate, it is obviously evident that this has immortalized him in a way that no other superstar can replicate.
With the arrival of WrestleMania, fans are expected to come by the millions to see if the Phenom will be able to continue on his winning path or finally rest in peace.