Opinion: The Undertaker - The last of his kind

Father Time almost always has the last say. For, with every passing year, the cloak of time envelops an athlete and takes him closer to the sunset. And, there are various occasions where the athlete gets reminders -- the body might not be moving as swiftly as it used to, years of battles leave an athlete battle worn, and even the 'Greatest Of All Time' cannot escape from the claws of time.

The Undertaker has, without a shadow of a doubt, been one of the greatest icons in the history of Pro Wrestling. ‘The Phenom’ has outlasted his peers, has morphed and changed with the requirements of the business, and adapted to the physical limitations that the body might impose due to encroaching age.

But then, even ‘The DeadMan’ has fallen prey to Time’s cruel act. The last three years have been very indifferent to The Undertaker. ‘The ‘DeadMan’ laboured in the ring against Roman Reigns at WrestleMania XXXIII, and was handed his second ever loss at the ‘Grandest Stage Of Them All’. Then, at the Super Show Down, he and Triple H put up an extremely forgettable performance, and if those were indications, then, WWE Crown Jewel confirmed that The Undertaker is just a pale shadow of his former self.

And, also for the first time in almost two decades, The Undertaker missed WrestleMania this year. Yes, The Undertaker will enter the ring again on June 7th against Goldberg at Saudi Arabia, but the question is -- Does The Undertaker have what it takes to put up another stellar performance? Can ‘The DeadMan’ conjure something that can remind us of his heyday? Can he put his body on the line, yet again, and bewitch us?

These are some of the important thoughts that will be in the minds of millions of his fans as The Phenom steps into the squared circle against Goldberg. And, that is because The Undertaker should not go out as a pale shadow of his former self. People are now pointing fingers at him, and his lacklustre performances.

But then, if there is one journey that has made us sit on the edge of our seats in unbridled joy, with excitement running down our spine, then it has been this illustrious, unparalleled journey of The Undertaker.

The sound of the gong, the mystical walk, the countless chokeslams and tombstones that tamed the very best in the business. And of course, the countless moments when he made the WWE Universe sit up and gape at him in unabashed awe.

That epic match against Mankind, where the Undertaker sent his opponent plummeting down from the top of ‘The Hell In A Cell’’, the Streak Vs Career Match, where Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker took the fans on an emotional roller coaster ride, that brutal and vicious ‘Hell In A Cell’ encounter against Triple H at WrestleMania XXVIII, where these two men pushed each other to the limits of human endurance, before The Undertaker finally prevailed.

And then, of course, that fateful night in March 2014, where Brock Lesnar did the unthinkable, and put an end to ‘The Streak’, and made the Undertaker appear mortal for the first time.

This journey, lasting three decades and traversing a couple of generations, has been a journey like no other, a journey that has towered over every other journey in the Pro Wrestling world. But then, just like everything in life, this one too has to end. And, so it will, in the near future. For, all of us know that The Undertaker cannot keep going on, and nothing in this world lasts forever.

But then, whatever happens during the course of the rest of the journey, we can all be sure of one thing. There can be no Superstar who can make a crowd go berserk with just the sound of the gong, like how The Undertaker did for decades. For, The Undertaker was the last of his kind and is a man who can never ever be replaced.