Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar: Full Grades for WrestleMania Feud and Match

It will no doubt be remembered as the most pivotal and influential match in WrestleMania and WWE history.

The infamous streak that has been richly defended at 21 previous editions of WrestleMania was brought to a dramatic halt at WrestleMania XXX.

Brock Lesnar did the unthinkable and managed to put a number other than zero in the loss column of The Undertaker at WrestleMania. It is still hard to believe, but the streak is indeed done.

The match was a good few weeks in the planning, with a decent enough amount of promo work to build up the match. In all fairness, matches involving The Undertaker at WrestleMania do not need a great deal of pushing.

With that in mind, let's grade the feud, the match and several other aspects of this amazing rivalry.

The Promo Work

Naturally, most of Lesnar's promo work for this match was done by the enigmatically superb Paul Heyman. He is a master with the mic and takes a lot of the pressure off Lesnar.

Some people don't like the fact Lesnar doesn't talk too much. However, if you have a manager who can do the work for you, why bother?

It was one of the last rivalries on the WrestleMania card to really get going, but it did have some bright spots in the lead-up to the event.

The contract signing was a typically Undertaker-like moment, as he jammed the pen into Lesnar's hand.

Then you have Heyman's master promos. The most notable one where he stood on the ramp and outrageously tore Taker apart with the power of the mic was brilliant. It captivated the audience and really did make everyone get excited for the match.

All in all, there was some great work put into the match by the respective men.

The final tease before the match saw Lesnar take down Taker with an F-5. It laid the foundations for what was about to happen magnificently.

Grade: B+

The Overall Feud

It was years in the making, dating back to when The Undertaker appeared at a UFC event and unequivocally asked Lesnar, "You wanna do it?"

You get the impression that WWE wants us to forget that Lesnar and Taker actually had a bit of a feud during Lesnar's first run with the company. They wanted this to be unique and a match that had a great deal of intrigue around it.

Lesnar seemed like the perfect foil for The Undertaker in many ways. He was effectively the only real contender on the roster who could break the streak and have us believe there was at least an outside chance of something amazing happening.

They had some good chemistry when the rivalry got going in the last few weeks before WrestleMania and the addition of Paul Heyman was a solid plus point too.

If this was Taker's last match, it was a pretty good feud to go out on.

Grade: C+

The Match

The Undertaker's last few efforts at WrestleMania have produced some outrageously good matches. His tussles with Shawn Michaels were iconic and his bouts against Triple H were also pretty decent.

Fighting Brock Lesnar is a completely different kettle of fish to anyone else, though. He brings a unique brand of brute force and physicality, and is a real powerhouse.

Credit: WWE.com

Unfortunately, the fact that both men are not the most mobile made it a little bit sluggish in some stages. That led to a bit of a dour affair in terms of the actual wrestling that was being witnessed.

However, there were some good segments. The three F-5s, the Tombstone that Brock kicked out of and the multiple near-misses for both men. That helped to create a real sense of drama and genuine intrigue as to when the match would end.

When the ending did come, it was simply unbelievable. That ending alone merits the match getting a ludicrously high grade.

Grade: A