Why 'The Streak' Does Not Define The Undertaker

Does it matter that Don Bradman got out for a duck in his last test Innings? Does it even matter that Sachin Tendulkar did not score a Test hundred in the last two years of his otherwise splendid career? Does it take away the sheen from their legacies?

And, from a Sports Entertainment point of view, does it matter that The Undertaker’s 'Streak’ was broken?

Now, for all those who have been following WWE, there is no need to even elaborate on what ‘The Streak’ means to the WWE Universe. It was a feat that was beyond comprehension - a feat that put The Undertaker on a pedestal that other mortals cannot even fathom; a feat that made The Undertaker ‘Immortal’; a period during which arguably the greatest superstar to have ever set foot in the ring won 21 consecutive matches at 'The Grandest Stage Of Them All'.

But then, in sport, as in life, nothing lasts forever. So, on the night of April 6th 2014, something happened that shook the WWE Universe: The Undertaker lost at WrestleMania.

Yes! It is as simple as that! We should all understand this. All good things come to an end. But then, people called it the ‘greatest upset’ of all time, told that this was the worst booking decision that Vince McMahon had ever made. I think that someday, we had to realize that The Undertaker too, is human - that can be beaten after all. The biggest mistake that we make, in my eyes - and I can even call it blasphemy - is that once The Undertaker lost at ‘The Show of Shows’, it somehow took away from the 21 previous matches that he won. Does one loss disregard the countless occasions where he put his body on the line, year after year, decade after decade?

Does it consume the mystique, the occasions when a sea of humanity erupted at just the sound of the gong that heralded the arrival of ‘The Phenom’? Does it diminish the moments where he captivated and bewitched us the way only he can? Is his failure to get the shoulder up, on the night of April 6th 2014, a blotch in his splendid legacy?

In fact, only after his loss did it hit many of the WWE Universe that we will never see anyone else like ‘The Deadman’, that such a feat can never ever be replicated. Only afterwards did the magnitude of the achievement truly take shape, because we value something only when it is taken away from us.

It is not a stretch to say that most fans had taken The Streak for granted. We took for given that, no matter what, The Undertaker will not succumb at WrestleMania. But then, he did!

The loss just goes to show that no man is above the sport, that the ravages of Father Time will catch up with even the ‘Greatest Of All Time’. Nothing in this world lasts forever.

But then, are we ready to accept that?

Yes, the ending of the Streak was a defining moment, but it does not mark the end of Undertaker's legacy, or the point of decline. It does not define The Undertaker, not nearly as much as the 24 wins at the Showcase of Immortals. We can be sure of one thing: this feat of ‘The Phenom’ will not be replicated in our lifetime, and it took The Undertaker to lose at WrestleMania to make us realize that.