One of the most shocking moments in the history of wrestling – the end of The Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak – should never have happened, claims the legendary Arn Anderson.
In an exclusive interview with Inside The Ropes, Anderson revealed to Gary Cassidy how he even got the blame of the streak ending from several talents in WWE, but that it never would have happened if it were up to him.
“My opinion, and I’ve said this from day one… At about the the ten-year mark of the Undertaker, I started to see that that streak was the biggest thing at WrestleMania. It was bigger than the World Title, it was bigger than the Intercontinental Title, it was bigger than any issue that they might have, any personal issue. It got bigger than life and it became its own thing. And I said then, ‘This guy deserves to walk away from the business with the streak intact.’ That one match that year, he was unbeatable. I could get behind that, you could get behind that, and you would never have to beat the guy on that day. I’m sure that that was discussed in a lot of closed door meetings.”
Brock Lesnar shocked the world when he ended the streak at WrestleMania XXX, with The Deadman going from 21-0 to 21-1 in three seconds that changed the landscape of wrestling. The Enforcer discussed how The Miz and Heath Slater, among others, would look at him like they wanted to kill him the second Brock Lesnar pinned The Deadman at WrestleMania XXX.
“Trust me, the night that it went down, I had already went up to where the talent viewing area was and the guys had their families and were having a few drinks, and that thing went down, when the streak was broken, and everybody looked at me like they wanted to kill me! This is the backstage inside story. Miz and Heath Slater and all these guys are looking at me and I’m like, “I didn’t do it! What are you mad at me about?” But they really was like… “What the hell was that all about?” And it didn’t matter who the opponent was, it shouldn’t have been anybody. I think a lot of talent feel that way.”
Double A went on to say Lesnar most definitely didn’t need the win and that Undertaker deserved to walk away with the streak in tact.
“Do you think Brock Lesnar needed that shot in the ass? I don’t. He’s Brock Lesnar, for God’s sakes. So, I mean, that’s my opinion on Taker. He was just he was just such a positive influence on the industry the last 30 years, I think he deserved that.”
Arn Anderson had recently been named as the “greatest technical wrestler” by Undertaker when we spoke with him. The Enforcer reacted to The Deadman’s kind words to us at length, as well as explaining what Mark Calaway was like behind the scenes, and how he would advise younger talents.
Thanks to Arn Anderson for taking the time to chat with Inside The Ropes. You can read the full interview here.
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