The Undertaker’s Streak Almost Ended a Decade Before Brock Lesnar Conquered It, Here’s How

The Undertaker, to many fans, is truly immortal. One of the many reasons for this belief is the world-famous ‘Streak’. Taker had not lost a single WrestleMania match until 2014 when Brock Lesnar finally laid the streak to rest. A WWE Legend recently discussed the risks that The Deadman had to take, giving Arn Anderson’s spine-buster as an example.

Ric Flair is no stranger to wrestling fans. The 73-year-old WWE icon has won 16 championships during his forty years in the squared circle, and dominated over other wrestlers with charm and flair like no other. While talking to WWE promoter Conrad Thompson, the topic of WrestleMania XVIII naturally came up.

What happened to The Undertaker at WrestleMania XVIII?

The Undertaker faced off against The Nature Boy at WrestleMania XVIII in a packed stadium of around sixty thousand people. What shocked fans, though, was the unexpected entry of Flair’s close friend and AEW manager Arn Anderson. Anderson slipped into the ring, surprised Taker with an earth-shattering spine-buster.

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“I’ll tell you what, when Arn hit him with that, it was equally as loud as anything else I heard that night. I can’t say it was a bigger pop than the Rock and Hulk, but man, when Arn slipped in there and gave him that, they thought we had him,” said Flair about the move. Even Anderson himself has called it one of his favourite interactions in the ring.

Could Anderson have retired the Undertaker?

Things look much more grave for wrestlers when we consider the sheer amount of medical problems they face. As Flair said, “People have the nerve to ask me if wrestling’s real. Even to this day. Some guy sitting across me says ‘That’s not really real!’ I just came and talked to him, we got you know, you look at the guys that have suffered broken necks and careers ended.” Even The Naitch has injured himself many times over his 40 year career.

It would have been horrifying for The Undertaker if he bust his spine at WrestleMania XVIII. More than the tremendous loss to the world of wrestling, fans cannot imagine having one of their childhood icons suffering in pain because of wrestling. Sadly, this is the reality for most wrestlers after retirement, even wrestlers that take the ultimate caution. Fortunately, with advancements in technology, fans can expect most wrestlers to have safer lives both in and outside the ring.

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