What’s the story?
The one thing WWE fans don’t want to hear around WrestleMania season is news of The Undertaker requiring another surgery. Of course, not a month goes by without someone prophesying The Undertaker’s retirement, but each warning must be treated with a degree of caution.
Allwrestlingnews.com are this month’s harbingers of doom as they have reported that whilst The Undertaker looked fine when announced his entry into the Royal Rumble match, word is that his 2016 hip surgery was merely a temporary measure.
Eventually, and somewhat unsurprisingly, the site has reported that ‘Taker may well eventually need to undergo hip replacement surgery. It is likely that surgery will be put off until The Phenom has retired, but many ‘Taker fans could be forgiven for entering Royal Rumble week with a certain amount of trepidation.
In case you didn’t know...
Every year The Undertaker comes out for a match at WrestleMania, and every year it is claimed that it will be his last. The Deadman is 51 years old, and almost three decades of active competition in World Wresting Entertainment has understandably taken its toll on The Phenom.
‘Taker is widely regarded as one of the most respected men in the history of professional wrestling, and nobody would begrudge him a much-deserved retirement and a new hip.
The heart of the matter
Many believed ‘Taker’s career should have come to an end after he suffered his first defeat at WrestleMania when Brock Lesnar conquered The Streak on that famous night in 2014. The Undertaker has since performed at both subsequent WrestleMania events, defeating first Bray Wyatt and then Shane McMahon.
Time waits for no man, however, and it may well be creeping up on the iconic Superstar.
What’s next?
It is still unclear as to who The Undertaker will face at WrestleMania 33, but whoever it is may well have the honour of being ‘Taker’s last ever opponent at the Show of Shows. Whilst it is still a thrill hearing the gong and seeing the Deadman, it is clear to see that the end may well be near.
Sportskeeda’s take
The Undertaker is as guaranteed a Hall of Famer as you can get, a man whose accomplishments are only bettered by the respect afforded him by his colleagues and fans alike. He is that rarest of performers, a wrestler about whom nobody has a bad word, and a man with nothing left to prove in the wrestling industry.
If this is to be ‘Taker’s last WrestleMania, here’s hoping he goes out with a bang.
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