July 17, 2020
By Ryan Porzl
In recent months, the WWE had been releasing parts of a new documentary called "The Undertaker: The Last Ride" which chronicled The Undertaker coming to terms his legendary career was coming to an end and was seeking that one great match he can close his career on. The documentary was praised and at the end of it, Taker hinted at retirement after competing in the Boneyard Match at Wrestlemania 36 Night 1 against AJ Styles. Following this, social media was flooded with the hashtag #ThankyouTaker as fans paid tribute to The Dead Man and his 30 year WWE run. However, I can't help but think because of Taker's legacy that fans are overlooking certain things namely the fact he should've called it a career long ago as his work was deteriorating and it was just painful to watch a talented legend just limp and stumble through match after match like some aging punch drunk fighter who shouldn't be fighting anymore but can't stop until they get that elusive win or that "one more big run" that will never come. Perhaps even more painful, people also ignore Taker's selfishness towards the end of his run and the damage he did for WWE whether it be his refusal to lose to up and comers in order to establish new stars for the future to flat out burying young stars with potential and not giving them the same opportunities he was given by legends before him to taking big spots at Wrestlemania when he should've taken a step back and let the next generation take center stage and overall, despite long being considered a locker room leader, he failed to lead by example. This article will do what many don't want to do and that is take off the rose colored glasses and reveal that while Taker has earned respect, it shouldn't be "Thank You Taker" but rather "Good Riddance".
I'll start with Taker's quality and how it's been slipping for years. In the 1990s and 2000s, you can make a strong argument Taker was one of the best in the world as he had many good to classic matches and rivalries that he and his fanbase can enjoy. However, by the 2010s, especially after the Wrestlemania XXVI match with Shawn Michaels, Taker's work began becoming hit or miss as his next three WMs with Triple H and CM Punk were very well received but his 2010 rivalry with Kane was a lousy rehash. By 2011, Taker also began competing less and less, sometimes only wrestling once a year at Wrestlemania. After the Punk Wrestlemania XXIX match, Taker's workrate dropped off a cliff as he largely failed to recapture the magic. His matches with Brock Lesnar were a shell of their 2002/2003 matches. His match with Triple H at Super Showdown was not on par with previous encounters. The matches with Bray Wyatt, The Wyatt Family, Rusev, The Shield, etc. were all forgettable. The Hell In A Cell with Shane was overbooked. The Roman Reigns Wrestlemania 33 match was terrible to the point where Taker clearly didn't want to go out on it. Then there was his misadventures in Saudi Arabia which were disastrous trainwrecks such as the tag match with Kane against Triple H and Shawn Michaels and the dream match with Goldberg that turned into a nightmare. In all, Taker wrestled 22 times post Wrestlemania 29 to Wrestlemania 36 and of them, only two matches have really been considered "good" which were the Extreme Rules 2019 match with Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre and Shane McMahon and the Wrestlemania 36 Night 1 Boneyard Match with Styles and even then, those were good for 2019 Undertaker and 2020 Undertaker but other than the Boneyard match being possibly his last match, is anyone going to remember those two matches the same way they remember the Hell In A Cell matches with Michaels or Mankind or the first Boiler Room Brawl? Probably not. Along with the declining quality of work, what was even the point of sticking around? Taker was barely working anymore, he had nothing to prove, he'd been world champion many times, he main evented several Wrestlemanias, and he probably didn't need the money. The last reason to stick around was defending his Wrestlemania streak but that ended at Wrestlemania XXX in 2014. After that Taker just felt "there".
Another issue nobody wants to talk about regarding Taker and what's being ignored was his selfishness towards the end of his career. This will be a two parter as the first part we'll explore Taker taking up spots that he shouldn't have. The WWE is in a position where they need to make new stars and Taker's best days were behind him so the last thing WWE needed was Taker coming in for a featured spot at Wrestlemania or a main event when he couldn't go anymore. People, I'm sure, will make the argument that Taker gets such big pops and reactions as if that justifies it but legends typically get big pops and it's usually what they did 10-20 years ago instead of lately because most of these legends are like Taker, guys and girls in their late 40s or 50s, broken down, and way past their prime. Sure, people pop for the entrance but the fun usually stops when the bell rings and you're reminded the legend's best days are behind them. In Undertaker's case, sure his entrance looks great and it reminds you of the good old days but while the entrance is reminiscent of 1990 or 1996 or 1997 Undertaker, when the bell rings, it's not 90s Undertaker but 2020 Undertaker: 55 years old, broken down, has tons of mileage on his body, and had hip replacement surgery.
Now, I'm not saying Taker couldn't be at Wrestlemania or Summerslam but he needs to be in the undercard with fellow aging legends like they do in Japan or losing to up and coming stars with great potential or in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal not in featured matches high on the card or in the main event. What I'm proposing isn't out of the ordinary. Some of the best examples would be in Japanese Wrestling such as New Japan Pro Wrestling as they in 2020 have legends like Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, and Yuji Nagata and they have their biggest show of the year in the January 4th Tokyo Dome show. Now, while Tenzan, Kojima, and Nagata are still very popular, they're also in their late 40s/early 50s and past their prime. Some years they weren't on the biggest show of the year and when they are, it's usually on the pre show or the New Japan Rumble (similar to WWE's Royal Rumble) or the opening match. Hell, Jushin Thunder Liger, arguably the greatest and most decorated junior heavyweight of all time, had his retirement match as the opening match this year at WrestleKingdom 14 In Tokyo Dome Night 2. Now, before anyone says "well, that's Japanese wrestling, it's different" then consider the fact this has also happened for several WWE legends at Wrestlemania. The first two I'll look at are Tito Santana and Greg Valentine as both were featured players in early Wrestlemanias but by their later ones, they were either low on the card putting over young talent, not wrestling, or on the preshow. In Santana's case, he was in the first match in the history of Wrestlemania at I taking on The Executioner ("Playboy" Buddy Rose). At II, he was in the second to last match teaming with Junkyard Dog against The Funk Brothers. III, he was in a featured match teaming with The British Bulldogs against The Hart Foundation and Danny Davis. IV, he was defending the Tag Team Championship with Rick Martel against Demolition. V, he was part of a memorable angle as Strike Force broke up when Martel abandoned him against The Brain Busters. Then by VI, he started moving down the cards as he lost to Barbarian then at VII, he lost in the second to last match against The Mountie in less than two minutes, VIII, he lost to Shawn Michaels in the opener, and at IX, he defeated Papa Shango in the preshow match. As for Valentine, he was the defending Intercontinental Champion against Junkyard Dog at I and the defending Tag Team Champion with Brutus Beefcake against The British Bulldogs at II. Then at III, he and Beefcake had their break up after defeating The Rougeau Brothers. IV, he was in the WWF Championship tournament making it to the quarterfinals before losing to eventual winner "Macho Man" Randy Savage. Then, beginning with V, Valentine began sliding down the card as he teamed with Honky Tonk Man in a midcard match against The Hart Foundation. At VI, he didn't even wrestle as he and Honky sang their new song "Hunka, Hunka, Honky Love" and at VII, he lost to Earthquake in a popcorn match. Now, before anyone says "Well, Undertaker is bigger than those guys", I will counter with my other two examples who are bigger than Taker: "Macho Man" Randy Savage and John Cena. Savage was a huge part of Wrestlemanias II to VIII as he was the defending Intercontinental Champion against George Steele at II, the defending Intercontinental Champion against Ricky Steamboat at III, won the vacant WWF Championship in a 14 man tournament at Wrestlemania IV, defended the WWF Championship against Hulk Hogan at V, teamed with Sensational Sherri against Dusty Rhodes and Sapphire in the first mixed tag match at Wrestlemania at VI, was in a featured Career Ending Match against The Ultimate Warrior at VII, and regained the WWF Championship against Ric Flair at VIII. Then, after being in title matches, main events, and/or featured matches at Wrestlemania, Savage took a step back in his final two Wrestlemanias as he didn't even wrestle at IX but did color commentary with Jim Ross and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan and then was in the third match against Crush at X. As for Cena, he was a major fixture from Wrestlemanias XX to XXIX usually being in title matches, feature matches, and/or main events. At Wrestlemania XX, Cena was in the opening match but he beat The Big Show for the United States Championship. At 21, Cena was in the second to last match defeating JBL to win the WWE Championship. Then he went back to back successfully defending the WWE Championship in the main event at 22 and 23 against Triple H and Shawn Michaels, respectively. At 24, he lost a WWE Championship three way to Randy Orton with Triple H as the other participant. At XXV, he won the World Heavyweight Championship against Edge in a three way also involving Big Show in the second to last match. At XXVI, he defeated Batista in the second to last match on the show to win the WWE Championship. At XXVII, he lost to The Miz in a WWE Championship main event. At XXVIII, he lost to The Rock in the main event and at XXIX, he defeated Rock in the main event for the WWE Championship. But then, by Wrestlemania XXX, Cena's stock began to drop and aside from Wrestlemania 31 where he won the United States Championship from Rusev, he really hasn't done many big things. At XXX, he defeated Bray Wyatt in the middle of the show. At 32, he was injured and only appeared helping Rock fight off the Wyatt Family. At 33, he was in a mixed tag match with Nikki Bella against The Miz and Maryse. At 34, he lost an inpromptu squash match to Undertaker. At 35, he didn't even wrestle but did a skit with Elias reprising his old Doctor of Thugonomics gimmick. At 36 Night Two, he lost an acid-inducing Firefly Funhouse match to Bray Wyatt's alter-ego The Fiend although it was second to last on the show. So overall, legends and big stars in WWE as well as elsewhere have shown they can take a step back on the big shows so why couldn't Taker?
Finally, there's the fact that Taker has had seven years to work with up and comers and lose to them in order to create new stars but never did. For the past seven years, Taker wrestled 22 matches (counting live events) and lost seven times which doesn't sound bad as it means he lost 1/3rd of his matches. Unfortunately, outside of losing a six man tag to The Shield in 2013, everyone that beat Taker were guys who didn't need it and were already established like Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns or aging guys who are either retired or semi-retired in Shawn Michaels and Triple H. Every chance Taker worked with someone who could've benefited from a win over him not only lost but in some cases felt like they weren't treated as being on Taker's level. After losing the six man tag with Team Hell No vs. The Shield, Taker had a match with Shield member Dean Ambrose on the April 26, 2013 Smackdown and while Ambrose got some offense in, Taker still beat him in less than five minutes. Sure, Taker took a beating after the match but why give Taker not only the win but in less than five minutes when he's past his prime, he doesn't work full time anymore, and WWE is trying to get The Shield over as a massive threat that is getting compared to The Four Horsemen and the nWo? At best it's 50/50 and doesn't make The Shield look like a threat. Then there's the matches with Bray Wyatt and The Wyatt Family which Taker won every encounter including Wrestlemania, three live events in Mexico, and Survivor Series and again, for the most part, he didn't even make them look like much of a threat. At Royal Rumble 2017, Taker was in the Rumble and not only eliminated guys like Baron Corbin and Sami Zayn who could've benefited from eliminating Taker but there was guys like Apollo Crews, Cesaro, Rusev, and Tye Dillinger to name some who could've done it but he was ultimately eliminated by golden boy Roman Reigns who didn't need it and it set up a match at Wrestlemania nobody really asked for. At the Greatest Royal Rumble event, he beat Rusev in less than 10 minutes in a casket match. Even the mentioned Extreme Rules match, he could've lost to Drew McIntyre who was less than a year away from winning the WWE Championship at Wrestlemania 36 Night 2. Now, I know some will say Vince has the say on who wins and loses or the creative team but you mean to tell me Taker doesn't have enough stroke to say no if he wants to? You telling me he couldn't volunteer to lose to someone and go out of his way to make a new star especially for the good of the company that had employed him and given him opportunities for decades? I suppose it's even worse given all the people Taker was made to look great against on his way to the top. Aging legends like Dusty Rhodes and Jimmy Snuka allowed Taker to destroy them and beat them up in their encounters. On his way out of the company, Jake "The Snake" Roberts was not only squashed but Taker got up twice from his signature DDT. Even the WWF's then superheroes Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior allowed themselves to look human and vulnerable against Taker all the while occasionally showing fear in their eyes. When has Taker done this stuff for a young up and comer? When has he let talent squash him or get up from his tombstone like he did with Roberts' DDTs or make him look vulnerable and human even showing fear in his eyes? I suppose you could say Mankind and Kane in the latter example but those were 20 years ago not lately.
Now, I will defend Taker on one thing and say that he's hardly the only selfish legend and it's simply a case of Vince not looking at the future or letting the inmates run the asylum. Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, and Batista all could've put over a new guy on their way to retirement but instead lost to fellow aging legends who didn't need the win. Triple H is still in featured matches at Wrestlemania and even main evented Wrestlemania 32 four years ago despite the fact he hasn't wrestled full time in a decade. Even guys like The Rock and Big Show, who aren't known for backstage politics, haven't done the promotion any favors with Rock squashing Erick Rowen in six seconds at Wrestlemania 32 and Big Show recently beating Andrade and Angel Garza in a handicap match. So, it's not just Undertaker but a big problem for a long time in WWE.
Overall, Taker is the latest legend who fans put rose colored glasses on for. Yes, he had a great career and there will never be another like him, but don't act like he's infalliable. It's the same situation we got when guys like Ric Flair called it a career or when Bruiser Brody was murdered. In Flair's case, yes, he was another one of a kind talent and legend but people tend to overlook the times where he was a problem backstage, refused to lose the World Title, booked himself in main events, and took the NWA World Heavyweight Championship with him to the WWF which many could consider was extremely unprofessional. As for Brody, he was another unique legend who people fondly remember for being a groundbreaker in brawls and hardcore wrestling who unfairly was murdered in cold blood and his killer was never brought to justice. However, people also forget that Brody was also a notorious, unprofessional, selfish jerk at times who was in it for himself. People tend to overlook the fact that getting him to lose or show vulnerability to his opponent's offense was like pulling teeth or the fact he was known for burying talent everywhere he went and promotions were left worse off after he left or the fact he would purposely put on bad matches and make a company look bad if he didn't like the promoter.
In the end, I'm not trying to bash Undertaker but trying to call it fairly. For those who don't know, I'm a big Undertaker fan. He was my favorite wrestler in the Attitude Era and I remember many shows rooting for him and wanting him to win. However, as much as I like Taker, I feel I gotta bring up how he wasn't perfect and that as much as people want to thank him for a long career, you can't help but be reminded of the fact he stayed around way longer than he should have and at times was selfish and failed to give the next generation of wrestlers the same chances he had from past legends. Taker will be missed if he truly is retired but you also have to admit him hanging it up was good for everyone involved.
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