WWE Hall of Famer The Undertaker revealed the shock name Vince McMahon wanted to end his WrestleMania streak in 2009.
Undertaker’s legendary undefeated run at WrestleMania came to a shocking end in 2014 when Brock Lesnar beat him after a whopping 21 consecutive victories at the Showcase of the Immortals.
Undertaker revealed the shock name Vince McMahon wanted to end his WrestleMania streakGetty
Brock Lesnar ended The Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak in 2014Alamy
WWE owner Vince McMahon wanted Vladimir Kozlov to end Undertaker’s streakNot known, clear with picture desk
But WWE owner McMahon had other names in mind before Lesnar’s triumph at WrestleMania 30, some of them were legends like Edge who refused to go over at WrestleMania 24 out of respect.
But there was another shock name involved, and that was none other than WWE flop Vladimir Kozlov.
Undertaker told Ariel Helwani on BT Sport: “By the time we got to WrestleMania, we pretty much knew what was going to go down, but there were a few people I guess that he wanted to break the streak.
“Kozlov, he wanted him. It was early on, and I think he wanted Edge to go over and Edge refused.
“He said, ‘No. I can’t do it’. That’s how much he respected the streak and me and what that streak meant to the business.
“I didn’t know that at that time. I didn’t know that until years after. That says a lot about the human being he is.”
Kozlov joined WWE in 2008 and was booked as a force to be reckoned with as he enjoyed a long undefeated streak.
The Ukrainian-American grappler, though, failed to win over the WWE Universe as his in-ring ability was limited and his personality appeared too stale.
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However, McMahon insisted on the heavyweight athlete and even had him pick up a shocking victory over Undertaker on an episode of SmackDown shortly before WrestleMania 25.
But the American supremo ultimately chose Shawn Michaels to face Taker that year at Mania and the two put together one of the finest ever performances at the Grandest Stage of Them All.
Kozlov would quickly drop down the card after WrestleMania as he had a hapless stint at ECW before joining RAW, where he formed an oddball pair with Santino Marella.
The Moscow Mauler and Marella won the WWE Tag Team Championships before his release in 2011.