The Undertaker is one of the greatest WWE wrestlers of all time, and part of that can be attributed to his incredible WrestleMania undefeated streak.
The Deadman managed 21 straight victories at the biggest show of the year, felling foes like Ric Flair, Batista, Triple H and Jake Roberts in impressive fashion.
The Streak was one of the most impressive in the entirety of sports, with nobody else showing the longevity that Undertaker managed, and on the biggest stage of them all.
His yearly matches regularly stole the show, and fans waited patiently to see how The Phenom would raise the stakes even more, compared to the years prior. This came to a startling end at WrestleMania 30, where a nothing build up involving Brock Lesnar turned into one of the most shocking losses of all time.
Brock Lesnar accidentally concussed The Undertaker, before hitting three F5’s before pinning him for the victory. The crowd went deathly silent as the referee counted the pin fall, in disbelief at what they’d just seen.
Fans have argued for years over whether Lesnar was the right man to end The Streak. The argument persists that the big win should have gone to a younger, less established star that could have been made by the victory, as opposed to Lesnar, who was a main event talent regardless.
The Undertaker went on to wrestle five more times after losing at WrestleMania for the first time. He beat Bray Wyatt, Shane McMahon, John Cena and AJ Styles, but lost to Roman Reigns in the main event of WrestleMania 34.
In this article, we’ll look at all of the wrestlers who almost ended The Undertaker’s streak, whether that was suggested by Vince McMahon, if they turned down the honour or any other reasons.
Wade Barrett
Wade Barrett was meant to wrestle The Undertaker at WrestleMania 27, with it being suggested that the former Nexus leader would finally end the legendary streak.
After the Nexus helped Kane to bury The Undertaker, the plan was to book The Undertaker vs Wade Barrett at WrestleMania 27. This would have been the biggest match of his short career, and the best way to come back from losses to John Cena and Randy Orton.
There were tentative plans for Wade Barrett to end The Undertaker’s streak. He was the leader of the top faction in the company and looked to have bags of potential. It would have made Barrett a main event star for the next decade, had he beaten The Undertaker at WrestleMania.
Sadly, the match was canned due to WWE wanting to “do something with Shawn Michaels” at the event. The Heart Break Kid joined his friend Triple H at ringside, as he took on The Undertaker in an excellent match at WrestleMania 27.
Ryback
There were some in the WWE that thought that Ryback should have been the man to end the streak. Ryback was the hottest wrestler in the company for a spell, garnering huge pops and being compared to WCW legend Goldberg.
Chris Jericho has had huge praise for The Big Guy in the past. He even claimed that, at one point in time, Ryback was over with the crowd he could take on The Undertaker at WrestleMania.
To make an ever bigger statement, he claimed that Ryback could have been the man to end the Undertaker’s undefeated streak at WrestleMania.
There were rumours at the time of a Undertaker vs Ryback match at WrestleMania 29. However, reactions online were negative and could have been a reason why Vince nixed the idea.
“There was a time when Ryback was so popular, that I suggested he should be the guy that beats the Undertaker. He’s the one. And it didn’t go that way, and sometimes there are complaints about his work.”
Kurt Angle
Olympic Gold Medallist Kurt Angle never wrestled against The Undertaker at WrestleMania, although it was at one point planned in 2006.
The two men faced off at No Way Out 2006, in the final pay per view before WrestleMania 22. This match was for Angle’s World Heavyweight Championship, and is widely considered to be one of the best WWE matches ever.
The Undertaker had wanted to face Angle at WrestleMania 22, telling Angle so back in December 2005. However, Vince McMahon shot down the match, stating that he didn’t want to have Angle ending the streak yet.
“Taker actually wanted to face me at WrestleMania [22], he told me this back in December before I had the match at Royal Rumble. I said that’d be fantastic, he said we’re going to have to go to Vince [McMahon] and ask him. “
“We went to Vince and Vince said ‘No, I’m not ending Taker’s undefeated streak.’ He didn’t tell me why I would have to end his undefeated streak, but the reason was because I was going to win the World title and go to WrestleMania and wrestle somebody holding the world title. “
“I think Vince McMahon felt I was going to hold the World title after WrestleMania, which I didn’t. It was really awesome to have him at No Way Out and the reason Vince booked it is because we wanted the match at WrestleMania so Vince said no but we’ll make it at No Way Out.””
Vladimir Kozlov
It may sound shocking, but at one point, WWE considered having Vladimir Kozlov end the streak. The Ukrainian grappler was never a top star in the company, and never came close to becoming a world champion.
However, he did hold a victory over The Undertaker. He beat The Deadman clean during a match in 2009, although he lost the rematch two weeks later and was soon relegated to ECW.
The Undertaker revealed in an interview with Ariel Helwani that Vince McMahon did consider Vladimir Kozlv to end The Streak, but ultimate settled elsewhere for a man to face Undertaker at WrestleMania 24.
“By the time that we got to WrestleMania, it was pretty much known what was going to go down, but yeah, there were a few people, I guess, that he [WWE Chairman Vince McMahon] wanted to break the streak.
“[Vladimir]Kozlov. He wanted Kozlov. It was early on [in Vladimir Kozlov’s career]. I think he wanted Edge. Edge refused.”
Edge
WWE offered Edge the chance to end The Undertaker’s undefeated streak at WrestleMania 24. The pair main evented that WrestleMania event, with The Deadman chasing Edge’s World Heavyweight Championship.
Just like many wrestlers before him, Edge was offered the chance to end the streak but turned it down.
This was out of respect for The Undertaker, and was ultimately the correct decision, as they had an incredible match in the main event of WrestleMania.
Roman Reigns
Whilst Roman Reigns did defeat The Undertaker at WrestleMania, this was after Brock Lesnar had already ended the streak.
In an interview with Adrien Hernandez, the Undertaker revealed that he wishes Roman Reigns has ended his streak, stating that Brock Lesnar did not need the rub for the win, as he was already established as a top star.
“I don’t think Brock needed it… Brock was a major attraction, he was a star. I don’t know if it enhanced him anymore.” Undertaker admitted.
“I think it would’ve been great for Roman. I don’t think that it elevated [Brock’s] stardom like it could’ve helped someone else.”
