The Undertaker has officially confirmed his retirement from WWE after a storied 30-year career. He stepped into the ring for the final time at Survivor Series on Sunday night, addressing the WWE Universe for one last time.
The Undertaker made his debut in Sports Entertainment 30 years ago at Survivor Series. It is kind of ironic that on his thirtieth anniversary with the company, ‘The Deadman‘ is finally hanging up his boots.
During his speech, Mark Calaway – the man behind the iconic character – explained why he’s chosen now to step away. “For 30 long years, I’ve made that slow walk to this ring and have laid people to rest time and time again,” he said.
“Now, my time has come. My time has come to let The Undertaker rest… in… peace.” He made one final walk to the ring to soak in the applause of a crowd – albeit virtual – for one last time before doing his signature pose and returning to the back.
There was no interruption, no post-speech attack… nothing to set up a WrestleMania match. So there’s only one thing left to say really… thank you, Undertaker.
Whether it was throwing Mankind off Hell in a Cell, or beating 21 straight opponents at WrestleMania, you brought it every single night and gave wrestling fans a lifetime of memories.
Mark William Calaway (born March 24, 1965), better known by the ring name The Undertaker, is an American retired professional wrestler. He was signed to WWE until his retirement. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, ‘The Undertaker’ is a seven-time world heavyweight champion in WWF/E, having held the WWF/E Championship four times and the World Heavyweight Championship three times.
Calaway retires as WWE’s greatest ever icon and his three decades in the ring have given wrestling fans a lifetime of memories. On his final night, The Phenom was seen off by WWE legends including Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Kane, The Big Show, members of the Bone Street Krew and of course, Vince McMahon.
Although wrestling fans won’t want to believe it, this really does seem like the end. The Deadman has always reminded us that anything is possible in WWE and to ‘never say never’ but his appearance at Survivor Series really did seem final.
