WWE’s commentary team was just as shocked as the fans when Brock Lesnar conquered The Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak in April 2014. Speaking to Sportskeeda’s Backstage Pass, John ‘Bradshaw’ Layfield shared just how in the dark everybody was on that fateful night in New Orleans.
“I just assumed the Undertaker was going to win, and so did Michael [Cole.] When Brock pins the Undertaker, Michael Cole says something to the effect of, ‘And the streak…’ He was going to say continues, is what he was going to say. Then we saw the three and Michael said, ‘has ended.’ He just looked at me, ‘What the f***.”
Layfield, who battled The Undertaker over the WWE Championship in 2004, admitted that while he was surprised, that only made his performance on the night better.
“All of a sudden we realize the streak has ended, then we saw the reaction and the crowd. Sometimes your reaction is so much better when you don’t know what’s out there.”
The match itself was an unfortunate send-off to The Undertaker’s streak with the Phenom suffering a concussion early into the contest that hampered his performance. Vince McMahon infamously left WrestleMania early after the match as the Deadman was taken to a nearby hospital to be checked out. Many backstage were angry to see The Streak end the way it did, The Undertaker revealed a one-man-show last December.
Fans have debated for years as to whether The Streak should have ended, with some believing it never should’ve been broken. Others, however, believe that Lesnar’s legitimate fighting skills made him the perfect choice to end The Undertaker’s series of wins. Whichever way fans may feel, the end of The Streak was certainly a shock, both to the fans and those within WWE at the time.
