The Streak (Wrestling)
The Streak is a series of 21 straight victories for professional wrestler The Undertaker (Mark Calaway) at WWE's biggest yearly event, WrestleMania. Both WWE and news outlets used this term to refer to Calaway's victories.[1]
The winning streak began at WrestleMania VII in 1991 when he beat Jimmy Snuka, with the final win coming against CM Punk at WrestleMania 29 in 2013; The Undertaker was absent from WrestleMania X (1994) and WrestleMania 2000, owing to injury.[2][3] Overall, he defeated 18 men during The Streak, which included three matches with Triple H and two each opposite Kane and Shawn Michaels. At WrestleMania XXX in 2014, The Streak was broken by Brock Lesnar, who defeated The Undertaker by pinfall.[4]
Background
WrestleMania
WrestleMania is a yearly event of the largest professional wrestling promotion in the United States, WWE. Formed as a counter to Jim Crockett Promotions' successful Starrcade event, WrestleMania I was broadcast to one million nationwide via closed-circuit television and pay-per-view. WrestleMania's widespread success helped transform the sport of professional wrestling and made WWE the most successful wrestling promotion in the world, prompting WWE to promote the event as the "Super Bowl of sports entertainment".[5]
The Undertaker
Born Mark William Calaway on March 24, 1965 in Houston, Texas, The Undertaker is an American retired professional wrestler. He has worked for WWE since 1990, making him the company's longest-tenured in-ring performer. Calaway began his wrestling career with World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) in 1984. After wrestling for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as "Mean" Mark Callous from 1989 to 1990, he signed with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, later WWE) in 1990. In WWE, The Undertaker is a seven-time world champion, having won the WWF/E Championship four times and the World Heavyweight Championship three times, as well as the winner of the 2007 Royal Rumble. He is recognized as the fourth youngest WWF/E Champion in history, having won the title aged 26 years, 8 months, and 3 days.[6]
Match statistics
| Undefeated WrestleMania streak of The Undertaker[7] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Streak | Date | Match time | Venue | Note |
| 1–0 Jimmy Snuka |
March 24, 1991 WrestleMania VII |
4:20 Pinfall |
Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena Los Angeles, California |
The Undertaker was managed by Paul Bearer. |
| 2–0 Jake Roberts |
April 5, 1992 WrestleMania VIII |
6:36 Pinfall |
Hoosier Dome Indianapolis, Indiana | |
| 3–0 Giant González |
April 4, 1993 WrestleMania IX |
7:33 Disqualification |
Caesars Palace Las Vegas, Nevada |
The Undertaker was managed by Paul Bearer, while Giant Gonzalez was managed by Harvey Wippleman. This was the only match in The Streak to be decided via disqualification. |
| 4–0 King Kong Bundy |
April 2, 1995 WrestleMania XI |
6:36 Pinfall |
Hartford Civic Center Hartford, Connecticut |
The Undertaker was managed by Paul Bearer, while King Kong Bundy was managed by Ted DiBiase. Larry Young was the special guest referee. |
| 5–0 Diesel |
March 31, 1996 WrestleMania XII |
16:46 Pinfall |
Arrowhead Pond Anaheim, California |
The Undertaker was managed by Paul Bearer. |
| 6–0 Sycho Sid |
March 23, 1997 WrestleMania 13 |
21:19 Pinfall |
Rosemont Horizon Rosemont, Illinois |
This was a no disqualification match for the WWF Championship |
| 7–0 Kane |
March 29, 1998 WrestleMania XIV |
16:58 Pinfall |
Fleet Center Boston, Massachusetts |
Kane was managed by Paul Bearer |
| 8–0 Big Boss Man |
March 28, 1999 WrestleMania XV |
9:48 Pinfall |
First Union Center Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
This was a Hell in a Cell match. The Undertaker was managed by Paul Bearer. |
| 9–0 Triple H |
April 1, 2001 WrestleMania X-Seven |
18:17 Pinfall |
Reliant Astrodome Houston, Texas |
|
| 10–0 Ric Flair |
March 17, 2002 WrestleMania X8 |
18:47 Pinfall |
SkyDome Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
This was a no disqualification match |
| 11–0 A-Train and Big Show |
March 30, 2003 WrestleMania XIX |
9:45 Pinfall |
Safeco Field Seattle, Washington |
This was a 2-on-1 handicap match |
| 12–0 Kane |
March 14, 2004 WrestleMania XX |
7:45 Pinfall |
Madison Square Garden New York City, New York |
The Undertaker was managed by Paul Bearer. |
| 13–0 Randy Orton |
April 3, 2005 WrestleMania 21 |
14:14 Pinfall |
Staples Center Los Angeles, California |
The first time the Undertaker was challenged explicitly to end The Streak. This was also where The Streak was given its name. |
| 14–0 Mark Henry |
April 2, 2006 WrestleMania 22 |
9:26 Casket |
Allstate Arena Rosemont, Illinois |
This was a casket match |
| 15–0 Batista |
April 1, 2007 WrestleMania 23 |
15:47 Pinfall |
Ford Field Detroit, Michigan |
This match was for the World Heavyweight Championship |
| 16–0 Edge |
March 30, 2008 WrestleMania XXIV |
24:03 Submission |
Citrus Bowl Orlando, Florida | |
| 17–0 Shawn Michaels |
April 5, 2009 WrestleMania XXV |
30:44 Pinfall |
Reliant Stadium Houston, Texas |
|
| 18–0 Shawn Michaels |
March 28, 2010 WrestleMania XXVI |
23:59 Pinfall |
University of Phoenix Stadium Glendale, Arizona |
This was a No disqualification streak vs. career match, therefore Shawn michaels retired from professional wrestling. |
| 19–0 Triple H |
April 3, 2011 WrestleMania XXVII |
29:24 Submission |
Georgia Dome Atlanta, Georgia |
This was a No Holds Barred match |
| 20–0 Triple H |
April 1, 2012 WrestleMania XXVIII |
30:50 Pinfall |
Sun Life Stadium Miami Gardens, Florida |
This was a Hell in a Cell match with Shawn Michaels as special guest referee |
| 21–0 CM Punk |
April 7, 2013 WrestleMania 29 |
22:07 Pinfall |
MetLife Stadium East Rutherford, New Jersey |
CM Punk was managed by Paul Heyman |
Following the Undertaker's WrestleMania XXX loss to Brock Lesnar, he had further matches at the annual event against Bray Wyatt (WrestleMania 31),[8] Shane McMahon (WrestleMania 32),[9] Roman Reigns (WrestleMania 33),[10] John Cena (WrestleMania 34),[11] and AJ Styles (WrestleMania 36),[12] winning all but the Reigns encounter. The Undertaker announced his retirement from professional wrestling at Survivor Series (2020), therefore ending his career with a 25–2 WrestleMania record.[13]
References
- ↑ "Undertaker". WWE. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
- ↑ Shoemaker, David (August 14, 2014). "What's at Stake When John Cena Wrestles Brock Lesnar at 'SummerSlam'". Grantland. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
- ↑ Woodward, Buck (January 29, 2011). "Undertaker, Royal Rumble, Vickie Guerrero and more". PWInsider. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
- ↑ Schwartz, Nick (April 6, 2014). "The Undertaker lost at WrestleMania and fans can't believe it". USA Today. Archived from the original on January 15, 2022. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
- ↑ "The Home of the Jets and the Giants Will Become Body Slam Central for a Night". The New York Times. 6 April 2013. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
- ↑ Powers, Kevin (9 August 2013). "10 youngest WWE Champions ever". www.wwe.com/. WWE Official Website. Archived from the original on 30 September 2018. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
- ↑ "WrestleMania Cards". www.profightdb.com/. The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
- ↑ Caldwell, James (March 29, 2015). "CALDWELL'S WM31 PPV RESULTS 3/29: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of WWE World Title match, Taker's return, Sting vs. Triple H, Cena vs. Rusev, Rock/UFC surprise, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved March 29, 2015.
- ↑ Caldwell, James. "4/3 WrestleMania 32 PPV Results – CALDWELL'S Complete Live Report on Mainland PPV". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
- ↑ Burdick, Michael. "Roman Reigns def. The Undertaker". WWE. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
- ↑ Benigno, Anthony. "The Undertaker def. John Cena". WWE. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
- ↑ "The Undertaker vs. AJ Styles". WWE.com. Archived from the original on March 17, 2020. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
- ↑ Chaudhury, Shuvangi Sen (November 23, 2020). "My Time has Come" – The Undertaker Gives an Emotional Speech on his Final Farewell at Survivor Series". Essentially Sports. Archived from the original on February 20, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2020.