WWE Star, The Undertaker, Retires
After 30 years with the WWE, Undertaker has seemingly finally retired. Mark Callaway, the Undertaker, heavily alluded to his retirement in Chapter 5 of the WWE Network docuseries, The Last Ride.
The Last Ride is a five-part docuseries about Mark Callaway trying to find closure for his WWE career. The series starts at Undertaker’s match with Roman Reigns at Wrestlemania 33 and follows Callaway through his injuries, matches, and everything in between leading up to his Boneyard Match with AJ Styles at Wrestlemania 36.
Undertaker was supposed to retire after his Wrestlemania 33 match with Roman Reigns with him leaving his hat, coat, and gloves in the middle of the ring. However, after a match filled with botches and miscues, Undertaker left the Show of Shows with a pit in his stomach.
Callaway then spent the next three years struggling through matches and injuries in search of closure to his illustrious career. At Wrestlemania 36, Undertaker found his closure.
After sitting out Wrestlemania 35, ‘Taker looked to return to the Grandest Stage of them all against mutual friend, AJ Styles. Unfortunately, with the coronavirus outbreak, Undertaker couldn’t close out his career in front of tens of thousands of his adoring fans.
However, as Vince McMahon always says, “The show must go on.”
Triple HHH and the WWE Production team pulled through with the Boneyard Match. This would be a cinematic match taking place at a small, abandoned farm made to look like a graveyard.
The feud between Callaway and Styles got personal when AJ repeatedly insulted ‘Taker’s wife, Michelle McCool. In the docuseries, Callaway said that because the feud had gotten so personal, with this match he would be combining three of his personas for his character in the Boneyard Match: The Undertaker, The American Badass from the early 2000s, and Mark Callaway, himself.
The match was one of the most impressive in Callaway’s career. Callaway admitted he was extremely pleased with the glowing reviews his match received.
Then, somewhat shockingly, he seemingly announced his retirement. ‘Taker commented, “There’s nothing left for me to conquer. There’s nothing left for me to accomplish.”
The Undertaker has hinted at his retirement for years now, starting at his Wrestlemania 33 match in which he left his gear in the ring; however, this time seems permanent. “This time the cowboy really rides away,” said ‘Taker.
The last ten minutes or so of Chapter 5 featured a touching tribute to Undertaker and his incredible thirty-year career including snapshots of his career and well wishes from former opponents and colleagues.
Callaway is regarded as one of the best wrestlers and the best character in WWE history and is responsible for some of the most memorable moments in the promotion’s history. Whether it be throwing Mankind off the Cell at the 1998 King of the Ring pay-per-view or beating Triple HHH at Wrestlemania 28 to extend his Wrestlemania streak to twenty consecutive wins, Undertaker always excited.
Callaway’s retirement marks the end of an era. Although his retirement is incredibly sad, the ‘Taker has finally found his closure, and his fans are more than happy for him.
While I, myself, am incredibly saddened to see him go, all I can do is thank Undertaker for his decades of dedication to his fans. He is a true warrior and is more than deserving of a long, happy retirement.
Pierson Scheinberg is a student who lives in California, and attends the College Preparatory School. Pierson lived in Baltimore, Maryland until August 2017 when he moved to the Bay Area. Pierson is an avid golfer who enjoys watching all sports. He is a writer and sports analyst for At the Buzzer.
What to Read Next...
At The Buzzer, or ATB is the place for those who love sports, life, family, community, and so much more. We are far from the run-of-the-mill 24/7 sports news websites. We not only bring you what’s happening in the world of sports in terms of trades and breaking news, but we also bring you the news that goes on behind the scenes, like big life moments, and so much more. So take a minute and read one of our articles, we promise you won't regret it.