Report: Referee Chad Patton Had No Idea He Would Deliver the Three-Count that Would End the Streak

According to a new report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, referee Chad Patton had no idea he would deliver the three-count that would end the Streak at WrestleMania XXX. Patton, who officiated the Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar bout on April 6, was actually told the Undertaker would be going over and the Streak would remain in tact prior to the match beginning.

The report claims that Patton was informed that the Undertaker would be going-over in the match, which is why so many people noticed Patton hesitate on the last count at the finish. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter says Patton, “hit the mat once, and then twice, and then didn’t know what to do.”

Just like every fan that was in attendance for WrestleMania XXX in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on April 6, Patton believed that the result of this match was a given from day one. Undertaker wins, the Streak extends to 22-0. However, whether Vince McMahon changed the finish, or Undertaker selected Lesnar himself to be the one to make history that night, the arena stood frozen for what seemed like hours when the final slap of the mat occurred.

Even though Patton was told Undertaker would be the victor of the match, every WWE referee is told to abide by an even greater rule than the pre-planned finish. If the guy that is supposed to win doesn’t kick out of a pin, you must continue the count and award the victory to the other superstar. The slight hesitation from Patton was a result from him not wanting to be the guy that screws up and gives the Undertaker his first loss unwillingly, but once he waited long enough to give ‘Taker a chance to kick out and he did not, he made the third count.

Many reports claim the Undertaker picked Lesnar himself to be the man that would end the Streak, however a new report claims that McMahon wanted it to end at WrestleMania XXX and had to convince Undertaker to go along with it. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter claims that the honor of being the one that ended the most prestigious scripted Streak in the history of sports would have gone to whoever was booked against the Undertaker at WrestleMania XXX, as McMahon wanted to end it there.

The report also claims that only the Undertaker, McMahon, Lesnar, and a few others know for sure why the Streak ended at WrestleMania XXX, and why a part-timer such as Brock Lesnar was given the rub, but if you watch closely once Patton slaps the mat a third time, you can see Lesnar whisper to the Undertaker a “thank you,” proving that at least those two knew the finish prior to the end of the bout.

[sociallocker id=”20405″][highlight color=”blue”]FUN FACT ANSWER: Mabel[/highlight] [/sociallocker]

Editor’s Note: I’ll never forget what it was like to stand in the Superdome with that many people in shock as Brock Lesnar conquered the Streak. We saw the confused count of three, and stood there waiting for some clarity. The answer for us was a big graphic on the screen above the mat that said “21-1,” and as that graphic sat there, with Lesnar’s music NOT playing for 15-20 seconds, it really made you feel like this wasn’t supposed to happen. They even removed the graphic for about 8-10 seconds, then put it back up and started Lesnar’s music. That’s when the words “OH MY GOD” could be heard all over the arena, as well as boos, and a good number of people began heading to their cars. I’ll never forget that moment.