The Undertaker:True End of An Era
April 2,2017 wrestling fans from around the world witnessed not only the wrestling superbowl, the showcase of the immortals that is known as Wrestlemania(33) they all witnessed the end of one of the last Immortals of wrestling(Sports Entertainment) the final match for The Undertaker, as he took off his gloves, coat and hat and left them in the ring 70,000 + fans all chanted “Thank You Taker”.
Before we focus on the end, let’s go back to the beginning. It was November 18,1990 Survivor Series,where we were all first introduced to the man from Death Valley made his than World Wrestling Federation debut, he was big, scary and very athletic, fans were in shock and awe of this man who was so cold and heartless at a time where everything was big, loud and colorful.
An year later at the same Survivor Series ppv, The Undertaker took on the immortal Hulk Hogan for the World Championship and in a shocker he defeated Hogan for his first of 7 total world title wins(2 against Hogan)
1991 saw the beginning of The Undertaker (21–0) winning streak at Wrestlemania as he took on “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka, not really a great match but those would come later as The Deadman would make a character(gimmick) become something that transcended the world of wrestling be more than what It should have been in the hands of another guy given that role.
As the years went on The Undertaker was never looked at as the Top Guy, Hogan, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, The Rock, Triple H, John Cena would all be that all of his years in WWF/E but has those guys retired or took on different roles within the company, The Undertaker stood alone as the cornerstone of the company.
He could have great matches with guys half his size or interesting/bizarre brawls with guys bigger than him. at near 7' ft tall The Undertaker could move around the ring with the ease of someone 6'ft tall and have the agility of a cat, with his trademark Old School move of walking the top rope.
What made The Undertaker so unique and once in a life time attraction was that as most guys careers seemed to be cut short because of injuries, leaving to go to another company, or going off to Hollywood, etc. The Undertaker was the one who never left and always gave the fans a show.
One of the most interesting things about The Undertaker who started out as a stoic dark creepy character who rarely talked, slowly became more of a talker and during a 3 1/2 yrs peried (2000–2003) he broke away from the deadman character and became the “American Badass” biker, even with this drastic change fans still loved him and even made him a bigger star.
In 2004 he changed back to being The Deadman but still a hint of the badass biker, he continued to put on great matches with newer guys who were trying to make a name for themselves, some succeeded and some didn’t.
At the 25th anniversary of Wrestlemania in 2009, The Undertaker faced off against Shawn Michaels in what is considered “The Greatest Match of All Time” a match that went 30 minutes long it has some of the best storytelling that the likes of some Hollywood writers could only imagine, it is truly something to see and could be the match for non fans or just casuals could be shown and not given the backstory, and still be fully invested in the match.
The Undertaker over his long and storied career had countless matches against some of the biggest names in the business and always held his own. His Wrestlemania streak unfortunately came to an end in 2014 at Wrestlemania 30 against Brock Lesnar, but he continued to fight and entertain the fans until he knew the time was right to retire.
April 2, 2017 Wrestlemania 33 in Orlando, FL for the last time The Undertaker made his entrance where he came up from underneath the ramp, the slow stroll that has been one of his trademarks was made that much more special since it would be his last, he entered the ring against Roman Reigns and the two put on a decent quality match, we saw the last Immortal put on a show and give the fans want they came for has he fended off Reigns as best and as long as he could until he couldn’t anymore and with the final spear…1…2…3… Reigns was victories.
The live crowd was not pleased with the Reigns victory who left the ring all to The Deadman, who slowly rose up and dawned his trademark hat, a long coat one final time…we all watched as The Undertaker took off his gloves(which he never does), his hat and coat one final time and placed them in the center of the ring, he took one final look around to all of the fans who have supported him for the past 3 decades, he exit the ring to the crowd who praised him and chanted Thank You Taker, he talked the ramp one final time, and left the same way he came in.
I have been a fan of The Undertaker since 1994 when I first saw him on Monday Night Raw when I started watching WWF/E. I can’t tell you exactly what it is about him that drew me to him as a character, technically he shouldn’t be beloved by fans but from old to young, everyone loves The Undertaker.
He gave his all, each time and every time he entered the ring, he never cheated the fans, he never made it about him and always did the best thing in the long run for the business and himself, and to never break character even during a time now where Social Media is everywhere he always protected what we all love about the character and gimmick and what started out as something paper than that shouldn’t have last more than a year or two.
It turned into a 26 year character that evolved and stayed relevant and never got stale, even in his advanced age he could still give a good match with guys half his age and size…for all that he has given me, fans all around the world for so many matches and years…Thank You Taker.
