The Undertaker has been a Deadman walking for some time now.
You could argue that the writing was on the wall when Brock Lesnar conquered The Phenom's undefeated streak at WrestleMania XXX.
In his later years, The Streak had become the defining element of the Undertaker's legacy - without that, what was left?
Well, there was a return to winning ways at WrestleMania 31 against Bray Wyatt, after the Eater of Worlds had done all the heavy lifting in the build. Solid, if not essential.
And the reignition of his feud with The Beast gave some real meaning to The Undertaker's twilight years.
Parts two and three of Taker/Lesnar weren't perfect, but it told a story with some real depth. The finish angered some but had enough spookiness and potential to keep us believing.
Then came that unnecessary anniversary flourish alongside Kane at Survivor Series 2015. The Wyatt Family turned out to be an empty sacrifice for the Brothers of Destruction, rather than genuine competition.
Then came that last-minute Who's Yard Is It Anyway? WrestleMania 33 main event against Roman Reigns, who he last battled during that electric first run of The Shield.
Called by a returning Jim Ross, the Big Dog put down the Deadman, and as he left the stadium with his hat, gloves and cloak in the middle of the ring it looked like confirmation that yes, The Undertaker had retired.
But that was never officially confirmed. Taker remains listed as active on WWE.com. He is of course yet to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
More than that. The Phenom has actually been booked to appear at the 25th anniversary Monday Night Raw show at the Barclays Center and Manhattan Center in New York on January.
There's no word yet of a match, but for many of you any sort of appearance on WWETV comes too soon after what looked like retirement with such pomp and circumstance.
And then there's the recent comments of Jerry Lawler, who claimed that he saw Taker backstage at Survivor Series 2017 in fine physical condition, y'know, for a dead guy.
"I think he might have looked too good," Lawler said.
"When you hang around or you show up and you look that good, they in the WWE, they're ready for you to come back."
He added: "You know, closer to the time after WrestleMania... I think I said that I believe we've seen the last of Undertaker in the ring.
"Now, I'm going to I'm going to go back on my word. Just looking at him the other night, I think there's some more matches left in The Undertaker."
But the history of WWE is littered with the broken-down bodies of those who couldn't resist the allure of One More Match. Ric Flair and especially Mick Foley spring to mind.
Those who hang up their boots at the right time and actually stay retired are far fewer in number.
Despite the occasional bit of interference, Shawn Michaels hasn't wrestled a match since Taker retired him at WrestleMania XXVI - but then, he had the perfect retirement moment, which you can't quite say for The Phenom.
So should The Undertaker have one more match in the WWE? Vote in our poll below to let us know what you think and explain why at @digitalspywwe.
Posting Komentar