The Undertaker Retires
Pro-wrestling is one of those forms of entertainment that divides many people. It is close to impossible to mention it online without someone feeling the need to shout FAKE at you at the top of their lungs.
The perils of wrestling fandom
On the other side of that coin then you have the die-hard card carrying members of the infamous Internet Wrestling Community or IWC.
This subsection of fans are a frustrating bunch spend most of their time moaning and complaining about how WWE books their product.
Pro wrestling really can be a tough fandom to be a part of for these reasons. But despite all that, I have been a fan for most of my life.
The characters, the stories, the crowd reactions and the spectacle as a whole. I love professional wrestling.
For whom the bell tolls
For those of us wrestling fans out there, last Sunday April 2nd 2017, was a date of great significance. Last Sunday was Wrestlemania 33, WWE’s yearly stadium show entertainment extravaganza.
What was particularly significant about Wrestlemania 33, was that it featured the curtain call of one of the industry’s greatest ever performers, The Undertaker.
Losing in the Main Event of Sunday night’s event to the IWC’s favourite whipping boy Roman Reigns, the aftermath of the match produced a poignant for all wrestling fans past and present.
A storied career
Whether you were a wrestling fan during the Hulkamania era of the late 1980’s, the Attitude Era of the 1990’s or the 2000’s and beyond, it is impossible to not be a fan of The Undertaker.
From his debut at Survivor Series 1990. His feud with Ultimate Warrior in 1991 (my earliest memory of wrestling). His many feuds with his storyline brother Kane. The Hell in a Cell Match with Mankind at King of the Ring 1998. And of course his 21-0 streak at Wrestlemania, The Undertaker has given most of us a lifetimes worth of memorable moments.
Dance with the devil in the pale moonlight
This weeks video is a tribute to The Undertaker’s career done by the SportFeed Youtube channel. The final moments of Taker’s WWE career can be seen around the 3:50 mark in the video.
Following his aforementioned defeat to Roman Reign, Taker removes his gloves, along with his iconic hat and duster coat and leaves them in the centre of the ring.
Taker then walks slowly up the ramp, stopping briefly to soak in the adulation of the live Wrestlemania crowd one last time. He then raises his arm and disappears via a lift built into the Wrestlemania set, out of sight.
Undertaker’s gear was left in the centre of the ring until well after live crowd had left the stadium as a mark of respect to a truly great showman and performer.
Check out the video below:
