I loved The Undertaker's Hall of Fame speech except for this controversial topic...

I loved the marvelous speech The Undertaker delivered to the WWE Universe at the 2022 Hall of Fame ceremony. Oh wait, that wasn't The Undertaker. That was Mark Calaway, the man who portrays The Undertaker.

As he stood in the ring reminiscing about his incredible career and giving kudos to those he "worked with," I enjoyed it on one hand but didn't on the other. Let me explain.

Growing up as a wrestling fan, I believed that maniacal wrestlers like "Crazy" Luke Graham, Dick "The Bulldog" Brower, The original Sheik, Abdullah the Butcher, and other bloodthirsty bad guys were like that in public at all times. They would never stand to sign an autograph or be nice to fans.

I was hesitant to approach them outside as they left an arena where my friends and I hung out, hoping to get autographs or snap a photo. That is not the case these days. The crazed rule-breakers are not feared by fans. They have seen the human side of superstars on television talk shows, comedies, and quiz programs. They see the human side.

I guess I just can't get used to that, especially after The Phenom completely abandoned his persona and let the man who acts as The Undertaker take over.

One of my neighbors told me that his 10-year-old son Brad was totally confused.

"He said this guy looks something like Undertaker but it can't be him. He believes what he sees on TV wrestling. I felt bad that when he heard The Undertaker was going into the Hall of Fame he didn't get to see The Undertaker. He was this nice man named Mark, making a really long speech but it wasn't The Undertaker to him," the neighbor told me.

Jeff Miller is The Metal Maniac. He has wrestled all over the world, and while speaking with him about keeping that character on 24/7, I asked him to email me his thoughts.

"Like Mark Calaway, I am also a character wrestler. No matter what show, no matter what circumstances, no matter if I was signing autographs, selling T-shirts, painting faces, I was still in character mode and I never broke my character around those kids who came to believe at a wrestling show," Jeff wrote.

Dave LaGreca is the host of the "Busted Open" on Sirius XM. Like me, he's in that keep in character mindset.

"Watching 'Mark Calaway' being inducted into WWE Hall of Fame last week was so surreal. Being a pro wrestling fan, I only knew and wanted to know the character The Undertaker, but as a fan of pro wrestling of over 40 years it is still real to me. I am still adjusting to social media, shoot interviews, and behind the scenes documentaries. That interests the new fan but kills me as an old school fan. I will always struggle with this. I know as a host of Busted Open on SiriusXM I need to adapt with the times but its extremely difficult for me, Dave said.

Mark Calaway's portrayal of The Undertaker was so great that it's a given that no one could have brought the "Dead Man" to life like he did. But again, should Mark have at least given The Phenom some presence at the Hall of Fame? I truly think that a Tombstone Piledriver on an unsuspecting "planted" crew member would have been apropos.

Dan Zimmerman is a blogger, podcaster, and of course, follows the wrestling business. You can find him at NerdyDan.com. Dan started watching wrestling in the Hulkamania days. I found his comments about Undertaker highly analytical and wanted to share them here:

"The Deadman", "The Phenom", and "The American Badass" are just a few names that the Undertaker has gone by during his WWE tenure. From his introduction at Survivor Series to his entry into the WWE Hall of Fame, he never wrestled in the WWE as Mark Calaway. So some may be wondering why he gave his epic Hall of Fame speech as Mark Calaway and not as The Undertaker. The truth of the matter is Mark Calaway was always there. If it was not for Mark Calaway, we would have never had the decades of sports entertainment excellence that we all witnessed. It could never be The Undertaker giving the speech. The Undertaker can't show emotion. The Undertaker can't cry. The Undertaker can't pour his heart out. Mark Calaway can do all those things because he is the man under the hat. He is the man that should get all the credit for being this iconic character for 30+ years. That's why it always had to be Mark Calaway giving the acceptance speech. The Undertaker may have burst onto the scene in 1990, but Mark Calaway should be the one walking off into the sunset," Zimmerman said.

As I was writing this column, I was also watching Monday Night RAW. A crazed Veer Mahaan totally destroyed Dominik Mysterio. He forced Dominik to submit, and when the referee signaled to let Dominik out of the deadly grip, he refused. The referee signaled for help, and a few of the WWE agents came to the rescue and forced him to release the hold as Dominik's face turned red.

A stretcher was brought out, and Dominik was rushed to the hospital. Mahaan was scary in the mold of the old "Wild Samoans." Can you imagine what would happen if the Undertaker/Mark Calaway scenario happened with this guy? The character would have totally lost believability, and that would not sit well with some of us "old school."

I know I don't represent everyone, but it would be nice to go back to the "It's still real to me" days!

Let me know your thoughts, and were you comfortable with the Mark Calaway-Undertaker Hall of Fame situation? Should Mark Calaway have morphed into The Phenom at the WWE Hall of Fame?

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