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The Undertaker will go down in history as the greatest WWE Superstars to have ever embraced the ring. He is so much more than just a WWE Superstar for us fans who have watched him perform throughout his career. Well, from the looks of it, The Undertaker has finally made up his mind to call it a day, as witnessed in the final chapter of "Undertaker: The Last Ride" on WWE Network.
The five-chapter documentary has been receiving huge praise from fans and critiques as we have got to take an in-depth look at behind-the-screen life of the man behind the legendary character of The Undertaker - Mark Callaway.
There were speculations about whether The Undertaker will finally announce his retirement on the last chapter of the docu-series, and he more or less did say that he no longer has any desire to get back in the ring. While he did mention the "never say never" saying, he was firm in his statement that he is finally ready to accept his retirement. If that's the case, this would be the "End of an era" in every true sense.
Let's take a look at five reasons why The Undertaker seemingly announced his retirement from WWE on the final chapter of The Last Ride. Be sure to comment-down your favorite moment from his career.
#5 There's nothing left for The Undertaker to conquer
The Undertaker has left such a huge legacy on this business that he will be remembered for generations to come as one of the greatest ever. Making his WWE debut in 1990, The Undertaker last wrestled earlier this year at WrestleMania 36. Talk about the longevity!
Not many in WWE can compare their accomplishments to those of The Undertaker. He is a 7-time World Champion who has also had numerous reigns with the Tag Team Championships while also winning the 2007 Royal Rumble. Not to forget, his once undefeated WrestleMania streak of 21-0, something which I firmly believe will never happen again.
After decades of entertaining the fans, having numerous memorable feuds and matches, there's nothing more left for The Undertaker to accomplish in WWE. He himself stated the following on the final chapter of The Last Ride -
"I'm at a point, it's time this cowboy really rides away. There's nothing left for me to conquer or accomplish. The game has changed. It's time for new guys to come up. The time just seems right. This documentary has helped me discover that and opened my eyes to the bigger picture and not judge myself as harshly these last few years." (h/t Fightful)
He truly is The Phenom, a once in a generation Superstar!
#4 The Undertaker finally got the closure that he was looking for
Throughout the documentary, The Undertaker could be seen struggling to decide when to call it a day. He was all set to bid goodbye to the ring at WrestleMania 33 after his match against Roman Reigns, but he was not happy with his performance and couldn't let his career end in that manner.
The last chapter focused on The Undertaker's Boneyard match against AJ Styles at WrestleMania 36. The match was highly praised by fans and critiques, with many even calling it The Undertaker's best match in years. The Undertaker was all but praises for AJ Styles and accepted that if there was ever a perfect ending to his career, it has to be the Boneyard match against AJ Styles!
"I believe I'm at a place now, post-Boneyard, which was a hellacious battle against one of the best in the business. Here you are, climbing on your motorcycle and taking off. There was a lot of thought and a lot of emotion, one of those being 'are you happy enough with that?' It was a powerful moment. You don't necessarily always get those. If there was ever a perfect ending to a career, that right there was it. If Vince was in a pinch, would I come back? I guess time would only tell there. In case of emergency, break glass, you pull out The Undertaker. I would consider it. At this point in my career, I have no desire to get back in the ring," (h/t Fightful)
After that Boneyard match, he left all his fans wanting more of that, and isn't that the way he wanted to retire? On the top of his game!
#3 The Undertaker finally accepted his physical condition
Let's be honest, as fans, we would never want our favorite WWE Superstar to retire. It is in fact one of my dreams to watch him perform live. But then again, the last thing the WWE Universe would want is to see The Undertaker get severely injured trying to entertain us.
The Undertaker has been constantly struggling with his physical conditions, getting surgery after surgery, trying to get in shape for one more match. His body has taken a lot of toll throughout these years and one has to accept that there's only so much he can do. The Undertaker himself accepted that he is putting himself at risk by stepping into the ring at this age, as things could go south at any moment.
He spoke about his match against Goldberg at WWE Super ShowDown 2019 and how the botched Jackhammer could have proven to be fatal as he was inches away from breaking his neck.
"I was inches away from making my wife a widow and my kids fatherless"
The Undertaker is a legend who has a lot more to give to this business by mentoring the younger generation of WWE Superstars.
#2 The Undertaker finally broke Kayfabe in The Last Ride
The Last Ride was arguably the best WWE Network documentary, and that's some compliment as all the originals have been exceptional. This was the first time when The Undertaker allowed WWE cameras to film his life and gave us all the chance to get an in-depth look at the man behiind the character - Mark Calloway.
After maintaining Kayfabe throughout his career and practically living the gimmick of The Undertaker, he finally broke it all in The Last Ride, revealing us the human side of The Undertaker. He revealed the following in the fourth chapter of the series -
"It's time for me to cash in on the things and be able to do some things that I never would allow myself to do for the sake of the character and the sake of business.”
He has started doing more out-of-character interviews, has joined social media, and a bunch of other things. Looks like The Dead Man has finally decided to enjoy his life outside of The Undertaker gimmick, and he deserves to do so after giving his all to the business throughout these years.
#1 This was The Undertaker's way of going out in his own style
The Undertaker appeared on Stone Cold Steve Austin's Broken Skull Sessions podcast recently and revealed that he plans to write his own ending of his career. The Last Ride was indeed a unique way to give his fans a glimpse into his life outside of the ring. We got to see his relationship with his wife, Michelle McCool, and their daughters. We also saw the respect and love that he shares with Vince McMahon.
Being in this business for over three decades, he deserves to end his career the way he wants it and that's exactly what The Undertaker said during the closing moments of the final chapter of The Last Ride -
"This business has given me everything. It's ingrained in me, it's always going to be a part of me. I did things my way, and I'm gonna leave it my way. And I'm good with that!"
If this was indeed the final goodbye from The Undertaker, I would just like to say that we were all really lucky to witness him perform in the ring. There will never be another Undertaker. Take a bow, sir!
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