At some point, Undertaker is going to hang up his boots. The man who returns to action every WrestleMania shrouded in darkness and mystery, has been a mainstay with WWE since 1990. To put that in perspective, I had just started college when the Dead Man made his first appearance in Vince McMahon’s neighbourhood.
Undertaker is one of the most respected men in the locker room, the most tenured wrestler on the company roster and one individual whose shtick doesn’t get old. It’s not about changing the format, although the company toyed with that a bit (The American Bad Ass), it’s all about giving the fans what they want.
Somethings get better with age. Regardless of rumours and pictures of the 51-year-old hobbling around, he still answers the bell and gives one hell of a performance.
When the time comes and he does have his final match, a chapter of WWE and wrestling history will be closed. One which cannot be repeated or filled no matter how hard WWE tries with incarnations of other superstars.
One of the last connections to WWF, The Attitude Era and Ruthless Aggression is close to the end. Still, fans come out in droves to see The Undertaker, knowing it might be his last ride in a wrestling ring.
Here are five reasons the fans still love Undertaker.
#1 Hello darkness, my old friend
The look sums everything up. There is a darkness that’s now synonymous with Undertaker which the fans just love.
His cryptic entrance music, the black costume, the fire and brimstone; all of it is carefully orchestrated to make him the ‘baddest’, most evil man to walk the planet.
And even in that kind of character, he is still one of the most popular babyfaces of all time.
Regardless of how many different eras there have been in his time in the company, the adaptation of his character remains true in any situation.
#2 The Streak
Regardless of the fact that Brock Lesnar beat the one who was 21-0, “The Streak” is the most impressive part of WWE lore.
Brock Lesnar has said on record he did not want to be the one to break the 21-0 streak (although it was built up beautifully by Paul Heyman). Records are made to be broken, but part of WrestleMania’s mystique for years was seeing who might come close to taking down the big man.
Randy Orton, Triple H, CM Punk, Bray Wyatt, Shawn Michaels and Randy Orton; none could do what Lesnar did. It made for outstanding theatre.
#3 He’s my brother
The greatest story ever told in professional wrestling is the one of The Undertaker and his “brother” Kane.
Storylines are usually written by script writers and acted out in the ring. In this case, with the help of Paul Bearer, these two men wrote their own novel.
To this day, fans want to see Undertaker and Kane in a casket match, Hell in a Cell, just about anything that will give us another chapter in this rivalry.
Just like Ricky Steamboat and Ric Flair could go back in time and recreate the magic that they once displayed, so could these two big men. Whether it was on opposing sides or as the Brothers of Destruction, fans got their monies worth.
#4 Kayfabe
While the thought of Kayfabe is now all but extinct, Undertaker remains in character whenever he is in an arena.
It’s a show of respect. It’s a tribute to his craft and how well he works at making his character one of the best of all time. The only time I have ever seen Undertaker break character was when WWE saluted Ric Flair at his retirement farewell.
For a man who has so much respect for the business to come out of the back and pay his respects to Flair, in front of millions on television, shows that he knows who laid the groundwork for his success. It also shows how he has carried on tradition despite changing times.
#5 Both Sides of the Fence
Undertaker has been successful and popular while playing both the babyface (that’s hard to say knowing the type of character he portrays) and villain. The recent matches with Lesnar prove how great he can be in either role.
The Hell in a Cell match with Shane McMahon forced him to play the role of the enemy when in reality, he was just as popular as McMahon during the match. Wrestlers who can reinvent themselves as good and bad guys make them great. Undertaker was great from the beginning and continues to prove he is one of the best of all time.
For latest WWE News, spoilers and rumours visit our Sportskeeda WWE section.
