On the go-home episode of RAW last night, the Beast Incarnate finally got the upper hand on the Dead Man with a little help from his advocate, blasting the Undertaker with a devastating F-5 after Heyman provided the distraction.
Thus far, there has been little physical contact between the few, with the only instances being the Undertaker chokeslamming Lesnar through a table during their contract signing and Taker hitting Lesnar with a few punches after popping out of a casket.
To say that this feud has not been fully fleshed out would be a serious understatement. In fact, I would not even hesitate to call it a complete disappointment.
Unlike Undertaker’s feuds the past few years, this one seems rushed together with no backstory, made even worse by the fact that both superstars are part-timers who have rarely appeared on television together.
Last year’s feud with CM Punk was a masterful build, with a compelling backstory (Punk stealing the urn and mocking Paul Bearer), a weekly confrontation between the two leading up to WrestleMania, and action that actually made the feud feel personal (Punk dumping the contents of the urn on Taker).
This year has been the polar opposite. The two are fighting simply because Lesnar said he has accomplished everything in WWE except conquering the streak. I get that breaking the streak is a valid reason for a feud. After all, it was the reason CM Punk originally wanted to fight the Undertaker in the first place.
However, the difference between last year and this year is that last year’s feud was actually escalated throughout the weeks leading up to WrestleMania, while the Lesnar/Taker feud is literally in the exact same place as it was on the night of the contract signing weeks ago.
It is a shame too, because it is not like creative did not have material to work with. They could have mentioned the infamous confrontation between Lesnar and Taker after Lesnar’s UFC fight a few years back, or their previous feud back in 2002. Instead, it almost seems like the Undertaker has no stake in fighting other than defending the streak, and Lesnar seems disinterested as well. There were elements in place to make the feud seem personal but creative has failed to do so.
