'The Phenom vs. The Beast: SummerSlam Reckoning' Top Moments and Reaction

By making Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar feel more like a collision of mythological beings than a match, The Phenom vs. The Beast: SummerSlam Reckoning bolstered the hype around SummerSlam's main event.

In a WWE Network special (subscription required) that aired immediately after Monday's Raw, the company recapped the two rivals' recent history. This was not flush with new material aside from a few interviews. Instead, its strength was how it wielded existing footage to make a marquee bout feel even bigger.

Its best moments arrived when the focus was on Undertaker's streak ending and when the roster spoke of Lesnar with both fear and admiration.

With neither Lesnar nor Undertaker in town for Raw, WWE instead leaned on its production team to galvanize fans for the upcoming show. 

That meant that the WrestleMania 30 rematch got the benefit of slick production, timely editing and the added significance that comes with a video package of this magnitude. The Phenom vs. The Beast, despite its imperfections, bettered the build for Undertaker vs. Lesnar and perhaps begins a tradition of similar specials to follow.

Style, Scope

In cinematic fashion, WWE told the story of Undertaker and Lesnar's rivalry beginning with their showdown at last year's WrestleMania and ending with the pull-apart brawl that erupted the night after Battleground.

Clips of their previous battles popped up onscreen, as Dean Ambrose, Big Show, Triple H, Steve Austin and others weighed in on the feud. Dramatic music played in the background. The narrative unfolded over the course of 30 minutes. 

It's hard to make something this long taut and enthralling. That showed with the WWE Network original special.

In fact, the five-minute version that aired on Monday's Raw was more entertaining, more powerful:

After years of composing so many top-notch video packages, WWE has trained its audiences to have high expectations.

The Phenom vs. The Beast was not a stellar production, but its mere existence made Lesnar vs. Undertaker, and SummerSlam overall, feel more momentous. The special treated this match as if it were an epic, world-changing battle. 

Not every showdown gets this treatment, though more of them should. 

The Streak Remembered

When the narrative focused on Undertaker's shocking loss at WrestleMania 30, the electricity picked up.

This was one of the points where more talking heads interjected and where they added the most to the special. A number of Superstars talked about the significance of that moment and what it felt like to see The Deadman finally fall at the event where he won 21 times in a row.

Big Show said of it, "It's like the day the music died."

Triple H talked up how tough of an opponent Undertaker was, especially at WrestleMania. He said, "Undertaker is the measuring stick for ass-kickers." Seth Rollins talked about how disturbing it was to watch Lesnar beat up this larger-than-life figure.

These interviews did well to paint Undertaker as an immortal of sorts and made Lesnar's victory feel like the biggest accomplishment in company history.

In Awe of The Beast

Wrestlers don't need a script when it comes to talking up Lesnar's intimidating presence and unsettling physical gifts. That was clear when The Phenom vs. The Beast focused on Lesnar, when his peers laid out their thoughts on him.

The special helped build up The Beast Incarnate's monstrous aura. Not that he needed assistance in that department, but the more WWE can make him come off as some hellish creature who crawled out from the underworld, the better.

John "Bradshaw" Layfield talked up Lesnar's accomplishments. He described the powerhouse as a destructive force and seemed genuinely in awe of what he saw him do in the ring.

Big Show and Rollins both talked about what's it like to be in there with Lesnar. Austin compared Lesnar to Frankenstein. Orton said that he was "physically superior to everyone."

Ambrose said of him, "Lesnar is King Kong. He's barely human."

It sounded at times as if these wrestlers were telling tall tales, describing some being from American folklore, not an athlete. This was when the special was at its best, making Lesnar feel more larger than life than he already does, making it seem unfathomable that he could lose.

Undertaker didn't get quite as much of this treatment. After the WrestleMania streak part of the story was over, much of the focus was on the human wrecking ball that is Lesnar.

What It Lacked

Should WWE compose a similar product for two other marquee stars headed for battle, it should learn from where The Phenom vs. The Beast misfired.

The special needed more new material, for one. The vast majority of this was a recap. There wasn't much other than the talking-head interviews that fans hadn't already seen. 

And there were long stretches without any of those interviews.

It would have been beneficial to see more backstage footage. Hearing from Brock Lesnar and Undertaker more would have been good as well.

Credit: WWE.com

There should have been more of a presence from the legends, too. Austin popped up a few times, but other than that, the names from the past were mostly quiet. Getting Ric Flair, Mick Foley and Edge to offer their thoughts on the rivalry would have allowed it to feel even bigger.

It's odd that there was no mention of Bray Wyatt's match with Undertaker. There had to be a way to work that into the story. It felt like that bout didn't happen, which diminishes the power that it has on The Eater of Worlds' career.

Still, the slickly produced commercial for SummerSlam's top match worked. The clash feels huge.

This special elevated the magnitude of Lesnar vs. Undertaker without WWE having either man appear live.