The Deadman. The Phenom. The One & Only Undertaker has finally hung up his boots like so many other greats of his time.
Though this is professional wrestling and I will take anyone's retirement with a grain of salt (Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, Goldberg, etc.) it seems like at 52 years of age with recent hip surgery and I'm sure numerous other injuries and hindrances that Mark Calaway really is finished. Between symbolically leaving his iconic ring gear in the middle of the Wrestlemania ring, to actually "retiring" at the PPV synonymous with the Undertaker and his legendary streak, to kissing his wife Michelle as he left ringside (breaking kayfabe which Undertaker has never done), I actually believe it when he did retire. Why do I say they could have done it better though, they even used the leaving his iconic hat and coat in the ring before walking off into the back at Wrestlemania like I really hoped they would, why do I think they could have done better. Simple. They mishandled the entire "feud" and failed to do anything with Roman Reigns. Again.
Am I one of those people on the internet or in real life that hates Roman Reigns and the push he's getting from WWE, no not entirely, I hate how the entire thing is being handled though. Roman Reigns is the product of the internet age of wrestling, back in the day no one knew anything prevalent about how WWE did their booking backstage and who was and wasn't going to receive a push from the company. Yet, in today's modern age of wrestling where everything is available online, everyone knew who Big Vince & WWE wanted to be the golden goose of the company: Roman Reigns. The issue is, the kid is a good talent, an excellent worker, has the proper devastating moveset for a big man like him but he encountered his first big push from the company at the wrong time. When he received his first big push was the Royal Rumble at a time when Daniel Bryan was the fan favourite and white hot in the company. The fans wanted him to win desperately and when it came down to him being eliminated halfway through the Rumble, he was booed almost out of the building in Philadelphia. What has proceeded since then has been huge fan backlash towards Reigns, I said he was a solid worker though I never said talker because Roman's mic skills are awful and need a lot of work. Here's where I think they went wrong with the Undertaker & Roman match and how it could've gone better. I'll also for just time's sake say that the feud itself was weak and there was no real reason for it to happen but it was the same thing with Shane McMahon and Undertaker last year.
Though this is professional wrestling and I will take anyone's retirement with a grain of salt (Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, Goldberg, etc.) it seems like at 52 years of age with recent hip surgery and I'm sure numerous other injuries and hindrances that Mark Calaway really is finished. Between symbolically leaving his iconic ring gear in the middle of the Wrestlemania ring, to actually "retiring" at the PPV synonymous with the Undertaker and his legendary streak, to kissing his wife Michelle as he left ringside (breaking kayfabe which Undertaker has never done), I actually believe it when he did retire. Why do I say they could have done it better though, they even used the leaving his iconic hat and coat in the ring before walking off into the back at Wrestlemania like I really hoped they would, why do I think they could have done better. Simple. They mishandled the entire "feud" and failed to do anything with Roman Reigns. Again.
Am I one of those people on the internet or in real life that hates Roman Reigns and the push he's getting from WWE, no not entirely, I hate how the entire thing is being handled though. Roman Reigns is the product of the internet age of wrestling, back in the day no one knew anything prevalent about how WWE did their booking backstage and who was and wasn't going to receive a push from the company. Yet, in today's modern age of wrestling where everything is available online, everyone knew who Big Vince & WWE wanted to be the golden goose of the company: Roman Reigns. The issue is, the kid is a good talent, an excellent worker, has the proper devastating moveset for a big man like him but he encountered his first big push from the company at the wrong time. When he received his first big push was the Royal Rumble at a time when Daniel Bryan was the fan favourite and white hot in the company. The fans wanted him to win desperately and when it came down to him being eliminated halfway through the Rumble, he was booed almost out of the building in Philadelphia. What has proceeded since then has been huge fan backlash towards Reigns, I said he was a solid worker though I never said talker because Roman's mic skills are awful and need a lot of work. Here's where I think they went wrong with the Undertaker & Roman match and how it could've gone better. I'll also for just time's sake say that the feud itself was weak and there was no real reason for it to happen but it was the same thing with Shane McMahon and Undertaker last year.
So this was the scene when he beat the Undertaker, this is who they wanted to win that match. but to this day WWE doesn't realize a simple fact. No one wants to cheer for Roman Reigns. Period. No matter the feats he accomplishes he will always be someone the fans don't want to see as "the guy". How do you make a guy that no one likes "popular" or at least fit his character, it's a tale as old as pro wrestling you turn him heel but it's something WWE won't pull the trigger on because they want him to be the face that runs the place when Cena retires. He's not a face, at least not a good one. Going into this match, no one liked Roman, coming out of this everyone knew that unless Undertaker beat Roman clean everyone would despise Roman. This match was the perfect opportunity to do that. You have a guy no one likes against a guy who is going to retire soon, someone respected by all, loved by all...no way the guy people hate comes out of that with a clean win looking like the good guy.
A sneaky chair shot (yes I know Calaway is 52 but I'm sure he could take a bump) or a dirty pin and then a massive amount of gloating on RAW the following night for his win, a not clean win, over the Deadman and one that ended his career. Roman would be a heel that drew the most heat in professional wrestling in years it would've been excellent to see. Then you go on to have him team up with the new faction Triple H is creating with Samoa Joe & Kevin Owens and you have a legitimate talent in Reigns a monster heel people want to see. Whether it would increase his popularity or not remains to be seen but at least it would fix his character situation to match the way people see him.
Though, Roman didn't want it this way to be honest, he knew this was going to happen and if it wasn't for Undertaker wanting to pass the torch and if it wasn't for Undertaker being the one to make this call then I don't think it would've happened. I believe he would have won the match in a swan song type fashion.
That's the biggest reason they could've handled Undertaker's retirement better, I know that Calaway wanted to put the younger guy and one that's supposed to be "the guy" over in his last match, but to have Reigns do it as a face made no sense just like the feud made no sense. That's why the next night on RAW you got people hijacking the crowd yelling "Fuck you Roman", "Roman Sucks", and in such unison that they must've had to do a lot of editing in production so that wasn't heard. At least if Reigns beat him by cheating or hurting the Undertaker, that heat would have been justified towards a heel, so just pull the trigger and make him a heel WWE.
As for Undertaker, I remember you fondly as a big part of all the eras of professional wrestling that I watched from matches against Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, and Shawn Micheals in the early days, to the Ministry of Darkness and other things in the Attitude Era, to your brief time as the American Bad Ass riding your motorcycle to the ring while Limp Bizkit played, to the Return of the Deadman. Your legendary streak at Wrestlemania, your character, charisma, love and respect for the business and the people in it, all the physical sacrifices you made as a person for the enjoyment of us your fans over the years, we respect that, I wish that you could have gone out on top with a win but nothing in life is perfect. I know we see retired wrestlers come back to wrestle again but in your condition, I hope you and Michelle enjoy your life together, take it easy, take a rest, you've earned it the same way you've earned all our respect. There aren't many like you and I can't wait to see your induction into the 2018 WWE Hall of Fame Class.
Thank you for everything, Undertaker. Now may your career................rest...........in.............peace...............
A sneaky chair shot (yes I know Calaway is 52 but I'm sure he could take a bump) or a dirty pin and then a massive amount of gloating on RAW the following night for his win, a not clean win, over the Deadman and one that ended his career. Roman would be a heel that drew the most heat in professional wrestling in years it would've been excellent to see. Then you go on to have him team up with the new faction Triple H is creating with Samoa Joe & Kevin Owens and you have a legitimate talent in Reigns a monster heel people want to see. Whether it would increase his popularity or not remains to be seen but at least it would fix his character situation to match the way people see him.
Though, Roman didn't want it this way to be honest, he knew this was going to happen and if it wasn't for Undertaker wanting to pass the torch and if it wasn't for Undertaker being the one to make this call then I don't think it would've happened. I believe he would have won the match in a swan song type fashion.
That's the biggest reason they could've handled Undertaker's retirement better, I know that Calaway wanted to put the younger guy and one that's supposed to be "the guy" over in his last match, but to have Reigns do it as a face made no sense just like the feud made no sense. That's why the next night on RAW you got people hijacking the crowd yelling "Fuck you Roman", "Roman Sucks", and in such unison that they must've had to do a lot of editing in production so that wasn't heard. At least if Reigns beat him by cheating or hurting the Undertaker, that heat would have been justified towards a heel, so just pull the trigger and make him a heel WWE.
As for Undertaker, I remember you fondly as a big part of all the eras of professional wrestling that I watched from matches against Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, and Shawn Micheals in the early days, to the Ministry of Darkness and other things in the Attitude Era, to your brief time as the American Bad Ass riding your motorcycle to the ring while Limp Bizkit played, to the Return of the Deadman. Your legendary streak at Wrestlemania, your character, charisma, love and respect for the business and the people in it, all the physical sacrifices you made as a person for the enjoyment of us your fans over the years, we respect that, I wish that you could have gone out on top with a win but nothing in life is perfect. I know we see retired wrestlers come back to wrestle again but in your condition, I hope you and Michelle enjoy your life together, take it easy, take a rest, you've earned it the same way you've earned all our respect. There aren't many like you and I can't wait to see your induction into the 2018 WWE Hall of Fame Class.
Thank you for everything, Undertaker. Now may your career................rest...........in.............peace...............