Why Brock Lesnar Was The Best Candidate To End The Streak

Yesterday was the long awaited WWE pay-per-view, Wrestlemania 30, and while it was supposed to mark 30 years of the show of shows, you would have swore the world ended due to the public backlash after the event was over.  Why was this?  The 21 year streak that The Undertaker went undefeated at Wrestlemania was broken last night by Brock Lesnar, who handed him his first Wrestlemania loss.

Granted the streak ending is something a lot of us wrestling fans hoped to never see, but in reality it was a not so distant possibility everyone could ignore.  The Undertaker is getting up there in age and every year it comes out that he is in such bad shape physically that the only match a year he wrestles is almost always a guessing game as to whether or not he can do so.  As much as we, as fans of wrestling, would love to see the streak live on forever, it just can't.  Reality is it had to end at some point and this post explains why I think last night was the right time to do so.

Before I go any further it is worth noting that this post is not meant as a dig to The Undertaker.  He is a man who cemented his legacy as one of the industry greats and he has a record that likely will never be matched, let alone topped.  The purpose of me writing this is to defend the fact that what happened last night was absolutely fine and not the great travesty and injustice it is being made out to be.

I didn't get to watch the pay-per-view last night (I didn't feel like dropping $60 for a WWE Network subscription I likely would have only used just yesterday) but I followed the live results on the internet.  Unlike most of the people watching, I was not surprised that Brock Lesnar ended The Undertaker's fabled streak.  I was shocked when I read the news, as I was on the fence as to whether or not it would happen (more on that soon), but when reality of the news sunk in, I was not surprised at all.

When it was announced a few months back that this year at Wrestlemania, The Undertaker would put his streak on the line against Brock Lesnar, for the first time in years, I saw the possibility that if the streak was going to be broken, this would be the man to do it.  Unlike the past few years worth of opponents The Undertaker faced, Brock Lesnar had credibility that he posed a legitimate threat to the streak.  

For those of you who don't know, almost a decade ago, Brock Lesnar started out in WWE.  A few years in, he left to pursue other endeavors, most notably to fight in the UFC, where he climbed the proverbial mountain and became UFC heavyweight champion.  Mixed martial arts, which is what UFC is, is a much more grueling sport than professional wrestling.  If you can hold your own in the UFC's octagon, you have every right to call yourself a legitimate bad ass.  After a loss to Alistair Overeem in 2011, Lesnar retired from the UFC.  In the spring of 2012, he ultimately returned to WWE.  Despite an initially shaky record of losing to John Cena and HHH, Lesnar slowly began to become the beast he was once known for being by decimating his competition which included the likes of a final confrontation with HHH, former fellow Paul Heyman associate CM Punk, and most recently The Big Show.  

Where am I going with this?  Lesnar established himself as a force to be reckoned with through out the years, making him a fierce competitor and someone who could believably end The Undertaker's iconic streak.  The proof lies with the brief synopsis of Lesnar's career mentioned above.

Mattel WWE Basic Series 38 Review

The basic series of Mattel's WWE line are what I enjoy collecting the most.  While they do not sport the immense amount of detail or extra articulation the elite figures have, they still stand out due to the unique attires and affordable price point that generally sticks around $10.  I also am a sucker for the fact that they number each figure for the year as well (which you will see in the pictures).

I am both surprised and I am not as Series 38 just began hitting retail around me (Series 37 took longer than usual to show up here).  Two series' of these showing up back to back is a rarity, but I am not surprised given Easter being weeks away.

Basic 38 does not sport any debut figures like Elite 27 did, which for hardcore collectors like yours truly is a little disappointing, however that does not mean it is a terrible set.  Despite it not including any new to the line figures, I actually like the set and think it is a great entry point for new collectors and fans too.  Let's get started looking at them.

#19 - Chris Jericho: Chris Jericho was a favorite of mine growing up (and he still is) however he is not the active wrestler he once was.  Even though his main priorities are his band, Fozzy, and other projects in the entertainment industry, he still finds time to come back to the WWE every once in awhile.  Last year, he made an amazing surprise return (amazing because it wasn't spoiled on the internet) at the Royal Rumble event.  Shortly afterwards, he would engage in a feud with a debuting Fandango.

This Chris Jericho figure boasts an entirely new head sculpt to reflect his updated hairstyle and overall look.  He also is sporting his "Y2J 2013" attire he wore for much of his recent WWE run. As I said, this series doesn't boast much in terms of totally new stuff, aside from a lot of what went into this new Chris Jericho figure, so it is really easy for me to say this is my favorite of the set.

#20 - Dolph Ziggler: Dolph Ziggler is another favorite wrestler of mine, who actually grew on me during his run as a villain (he is floundering on TV at the time of writing this, but that is a story for another day).  Aside from the attire, there isn't much more new about this figure as Dolph has been in the line plenty of times before and a few last year sporting that trademark show off smile.

The age old argument "real men wear pink" comes up again here as more often that not now, Ziggler wears pink trunks to the ring, so it is great to get one in that color as opposed to the usual black or silver attires Mattel frequently does in figure form.  While not particularly new, the attire choice makes this Dolph Ziggler figure stand out, and as a huge fan of his work in the ring, I'm not going to complain about getting more figures of him.

#21 - Vickie Guerrero:  Women and Non-wrestlers are a huge rarity in the WWE line (Mattel claims they do not sell but I beg to differ) so any time they decide to include them in a set, you won't see me complaining.  While Vickie has been in the line before, this is her first single figure release since 2012.  Meant to reflect what she was wearing when she was "fired" from Raw last summer, I can't help but wonder if this figure could have been done better or if they should have just went with a different outfit of hers.

The tones of this outfit are confusing.  It looks as if it is very revealing due to the borderline skintone color, but if you look very closely, it is not.  It's meant to reflect an all cloth outfit.  Also, if you see Vickie on TV, in terms of scale weight-wise, this figure is a little generous compared to who she is based off of.  While Vickie is a welcome return to the line, I believe the figure could have been done better simply by going with a different outfit she wore.

Mattel WWE Elite Wave 27 Pick-Ups & Reviews

The latest figures I managed to get to add to my WWE collection come from the highly anticipated Elite Wave 27.  While quite the set in recent months, it comes with a bittersweet side as Elite figures are running close to $20 a pop now, so these may wind up being some of, if not the last Elite figures I buy.  The only reason I even got as much as you will see in this post is thanks to last week's Toys R Us flyer which advertised WWE Elites 2 for $20, that Target reluctantly priced matched for me. Anyway, let's get to the figures.

Rikishi (1st Time in the Line) - If you read my prior post about my recent meet & greet travels, you will know that I recently had the privilege of meeting Rikishi just a few days ago. In short if you didn't get the chance to read that, growing up I wasn't a huge fan of Rikishi, but jumped at the chance to meet him since I got his figure a few days before he would be in the Philadelphia area for a signing.  He was a very nice and humorous guy in person, changing my thoughts about him completely.  Mattel always really goes the extra mile with their Flashback Elites (the term Flashback is reserved for figures of no longer active wrestlers or drastic past differences in the looks of a current wrestler).  Rikishi here does not sport a ton of detail like some Elites usually do, but where he lacks there, he makes up with unique accessories (a sarong and pair of sunglasses).  

No, I didn't open my signed figure.  Because of the 2 for $20 sale flyer, I got two Rikishis (something I only really do now with debut figures - 1 to display open, 1 to keep mint for signing), where the opened one currently resides on my shelf of wrestlers I have met, while the signed one sits with other signed Flashbacks I have in my collection.  The picture above is to show Mattel's ability to nail the look of the wrestler in question to perfection.  While the sarong on the figure doesn't get around his waste to well (it could have been made a little bigger) there is no question that that is Rikishi.

Fandango - Fandango is a ballroom dancer known for his flamboyant attires, who just happens to be a wrestler as well.  Prior to this figure, Fandango got his first one in the Basic line a few months ago as part of Basic Wave 36, so I only got one of his Elites.  If I ever get the chance to meet him, this figure will be coming along to get signed for sure (I prefer to take Elites to signings as they make great display pieces).  The detail in this figure's attire is incredible as well as more than usual for the average Elite.  Mint or opened, this figure will stand out anywhere.  As of right now, this is the definitive Fandango figure, and I'm not quite sure if Mattel will ever top it.

Billy Gunn (1st Time in the Line) - Billy Gunn comes as a welcome addition to the Elite line, as his tag team partner and fellow Degeneration X member, "Road Dogg" Jesse James debuted in the prior wave of Elites, 26.  For fans of wrestling in the 90s, this completes their Mattel versions of the infamous New Age Outlaws duo.  Ironically, these two men recently returned to television and the active roster right before the mass retail release of their figures, making their Flashback status questionable at the moment.  Billy comes with 2 plastic DX shirts and 2 headbands.  While that is more accessories than usual for an Elite, I don't care too much as when the line first started the figures came with cloth shirts as opposed to the bulky plastic ones they come with now.

Again, the detail and likeness here are remarkable.  However, because this figure is meant for adults and kids alike, a few things here are absent due to Billy hailing from an era of wrestling that wasn't primarily geared towards kids.  First off, as you can see, no lips on the crotch of the figure.  Also, nowhere on this figure will you find his iconic "Mr. Ass" nickname.  Aside from these omissions that had their reasons, this is another great figure.

March Madness - 3 Recent Meet & Greet Trips

Watching wrestling and collecting action figures of the wrestlers are two of my current favorite hobbies to partake in.  As this month winds down, I will reflect on 3 meet and greets I had the privilege of attending this month in particular, which is a lot for such a small time frame for me.  I enjoy going to these meet and greets to meet the people I like watching every Monday night on television and have them sign their action figures as well as chat with them to briefly get to know the performer behind the on screen persona. For the past 3 weekends as of writing this post, I have went to 3 different meet and greets, met a total of 6 different wrestlers, and left with a lot more signed figures to add to my collection and display.

On Saturday, March 15th, I traveled to Sports City in Harrisburg, for one of the easiest events to get to that I have ever been at, as this was approximately 20 minutes from my house.  A local wrestling promotion, UWE (Ultimate Wrestling Experience) was having their annual "Knight of Glory" event, which included special guests Kevin Nash & AJ Styles.

AJ Styles is a well-known wrestler who spent majority of his career with TNA (Total Nonstop Action)/Impact Wrestling.  In fact, he was with the company since its inception 12 years ago.  However, due to poor management and recent bad financial decisions, his contract with TNA was not renewed when it expired at the end of 2013, which is a shame because the man is a gifted performer and athlete as well as a genuinely nice guy.  Prior to this, I had met him once before at a TNA event in Delaware, which would wind up being one of his last.  At that time, I got 1 figure I had of his signed, and my picture with him.  This time, I wound getting a figure of his signed that came out during the holiday rush (one could assume his last figure) based off of his "lone wolf" persona, he portrayed until his exit from TNA.

Also at the UWE event, was Kevin Nash, known for his tenure in WWE as "Diesel" and as a member of WCW's infamous Outsiders & nWo (New World Order) factions.  Since those days almost 2 decades ago, Kevin has made rare surprise appearances as an entrant in WWE's annual battle royale, the Royal Rumble.  While I didn't get my picture with Kevin (I wish I did in hindsight), I did get both my Diesel & Kevin Nash figures signed.  Mattel (the current manufacturers of WWE figures) released these two figures back in 2012 as part of Wave 16 of their collector-centric Elite line.  These two figures are widely-considered some of the rarest figures in the entire Mattel WWE line, due to a poor decision where 2 separate case assortments were made for retailers (1 containing Diesel, the other containing Kevin Nash).  The Diesel boxes were what ultimately made it to most retailers, driving up the price of the Kevin Nash figure due to its scarcity, and it only showing up in select WWE holiday shippers sent to K-Mart of all places.  I just happened to luck out and find it at a K-Mart, the only time I ever saw it in a store.  Anyway, Kevin Nash was a quiet but really cool guy in person.  He knew of the stories about the figures I brought for him to sign.  My aunt (who I told I was meeting him), asked if I could ask him if he was in for Magic Mike 2, since he was in the original.  I did and he thought it was a funny question, especially coming from a guy.

The following weekend, I traveled to Voorhees, New Jersey, to meet one of my favorite groups of guys on WWE television today, The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, & Roman Reigns).  These guys play a faction on television, dressed in riot gear, bringing "justice" to WWE.  I have seen them since their debut, and have enjoyed their presence on TV, especially their recent feud with fellow 3 man faction, The Wyatt Family.  Sadly, it has been teased in recent weeks that the group will split and pursue singles careers, but it made this trip that much more special since it was potentially the last time all three guys would be together at one signing.  Because they are among my favorite active wrestlers, I went all out for this trip, buying a VIP pass that entitled me to a picture with all 3 guys, and numerous signatures from them as well.