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The Undertaker is one of the greatest of all time. Since Undertaker's debut in WWE in 1990, he has cemented his legacy inside the squared circle. With The Deadman seemingly retiring recently, we decided to look back at the career of a legend.
Undertaker has been famously protective of his gimmick over the years, only recently making certain exceptions. However, there have been many times in his career when he has been forced to unexpectedly break character momentarily. We take a look at some of these incidents. Before moving to that part, feel free to watch our tribute to The Undertaker in the latest edition of WWE Superstar Spotlight series!
#6 The Undertaker and the faulty pyro (Elimination Chamber 2010)
We start off the list with the incident at 2010’s Elimination Chamber PPV. Undertaker was a part of the main event on the night, defending his WWE Championship inside the chamber against Chris Jericho, John Morrison, CM Punk, Rey Mysterio and R-Truth.
The incident took place during The Deadman’s entrance. The Undertaker got caught up in the pyro while on the entrance ramp, and was immediately forced to break character to scurry away. Thankfully, the burns suffered by The Deadman were pretty minor and as a true professional, he went on to put in a great performance in the match, which was eventually won by Chris Jericho.
#5 Ric Flair’s retirement ceremony (Post-RAW, 2008)
One of the most famous instances of The Undertaker breaking character took place in 2008 during Ric Flair’s “retirement” ceremony after an episode of RAW. We all know how protective The Deadman is of his character, which makes it even more touching when we see him break character to pay tribute to Ric Flair.
Regarding the retirement ceremony, The Undertaker’s part actually took place after RAW went off the air. However, the footage was posted on WWE’s official website and later on YouTube.
After The Deadman made his way down to the ring, he looked Flair in the eye before shaking his hand. The two then hugged in the middle of the ring, with Taker clearly breaking character by this point.
#4 End of an area (WrestleMania 28)
WrestleMania 28 saw Triple H wrangle a second chance at breaking The Undertaker’s legendary streak. The match took place inside Hell In A Cell and saw Triple H’s close friend and former DX member named as the special guest referee.
There was some speculation going in that Triple H could end the streak but these just turned out to be rumors in the end, with The Undertaker prevailing after a classic battle between two of WWE’s greatest Superstars.
What is remembered even more than the match itself is what happened right afterward. In a show of respect and solidarity, all three men exited the devilish Hell In The Cell structure together, shoulder to shoulder, making their way to the back together.
For those fleeting moments, The Undertaker broke character to stand on the entrance ramp with Triple H and Shawn Michaels, looking out at the fans while embracing.
The match, which was billed as the ‘End of an era’, definitely gave us one of the most memorable WrestleMania moments of the last decade, as these three battled-hardened veterans put their on-screen personas aside for a second to show us their human side.
#3 After the streak ended (WrestleMania 30)
WrestleMania 30 was a monumental night for WWE. We saw Daniel Bryan overcome the odds to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the main event, as well as the even more significant result in The Undertaker’s match. The Undertaker's legendary streak was finally broken by Brock Lesnar, taking his record at the Show of Shows to 21-1.
The match itself did not go well. Undertaker got concussed early on in the match and was definitely hurt. As Taker stood in the ring concussed after the match, you could see the man behind the character for a second and feel his bitter disappointment.
The Deadman opened up about his streak ending in an interview with Ariel Helwani earlier this year:
It was always in the back of my mind that it would end. Although, most of my peers and people that I work with thought it was a horrible decision, and I just asked Vince, 'are you sure? Is this what you want?' He was like, 'if it's not Brock, who can beat you?' Alright, well, it's your call.
#2 Showing respect to Jeff Hardy (RAW, 2002)
Jeff Hardy was one of the hottest young stars in WWE in 2002. On an episode of RAW that year, Hardy got a chance of a lifetime - a shot at The Undertaker’s WWE Championship in a ladder match. The match itself is still one of the best title matches we’ve seen on RAW, and saw Hardy repeatedly get beaten down only to rise up again for another go.
The Undertaker, who was a heel at the time, beat the daylights out of Jeff Hardy, but in the end, despite losing the match, Hardy won Taker’s respect. Instead of leaving the arena after retaining his title, The Deadman broke character to come back into the ring as a show of respect for the younger Superstar, raising his hand in the process.
Undertaker's gesture went a long way in cementing Jeff Hardy as a potential singles star in the eyes of fans. Hardy went on to become a future WWE Champion and is definitely going into the Hall of Fame when he hangs up his boots.
#1 WrestleMania 33
The main event of WWE WrestleMania 33 saw Roman Reigns face The Undertaker. The match itself was actually quite good despite Taker not being at his best physical shape by this point, with Reigns doing a lot of the heavy lifting on the night. Reigns eventually won the match, becoming only the second person to beat The Deadman on the Grandest Stage Of Them All.
After the match, we saw The Undertaker break character properly, as he walked over to his wife Michelle McCool at ringside. The Deadman then laid his hat and his cape in the middle of the ring.
To everyone watching, it looked like this was to be The Deadman’s retirement but that was not to be. Taker ended up wrestling up until WrestleMania earlier this year, in the memorable Boneyard match against former WWE Champion AJ Styles and only recently teased that he may be retired for good.
What are some of your favourite instances of The Undertaker breaking character that we missed? Sound off in the comments section.
