Wrestling Forum banner

Undertaker Set to Retire from WWE.

18K views 123 replies 91 participants last post by  robertdeniro 
#1 ·
Regarding an update on the WWE status of the Undertaker, the feeling backstage is that the reason that Michelle McCool retired at the Extreme Rules pay-per-view last weekend was so that she could spend more time with her husband instead of being on the road. Although Undertaker is not letting it be known, the backstage feeling is that the Undertaker has basically retired from the company. Despite only having one match within the past few months at WrestleMania 27, Undertaker is more injured than what is being let on.

However, it should be noted that many people expect Undertaker to be in better shape and ready to go for next year’s WrestleMania, where he will go on to possibly up his streak to the milestone 20-0. Many expect that he will return in Miami, win the match, and retire from the company. There is backstage talk and obvious hints dropped on programming that he will face Triple H in a rematch. Undertaker was also banged up heading into this year’s match with Triple H at WrestleMania 27, and performed well, which was apparent in the contest.

http://wrestleheat.com/the-undertaker-more-injured-than-being-let-on-set-to-retire-from-wwe=6469

Sad news , but it's better for him and for his health.
Thank you Taker
 
See less See more
1
#62 ·
Pied Piper, no offense, but what you seem to keep missing on this Cena/Undertaker deal is this: No, Undertaker never wrestled Andre the Giant, Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Roddy Piper, The Ultimate Warrior, Bret Hart, Mick Foley, Steve Austin or The Rock at Wrestlemania.

Do you want to know why?

Because he wasn't big enough for them.

You're acting like Undertaker has always been a carved-in-stone top-of-the-card main event legendary superstar. For the most part of the 1990s especially, Undertaker was a side show attraction who Vince used for "freak matches," quite honestly against guys like Giant Gonzalez, Fake Undertaker, King Kong Bundy, Diesel, Sid all the way to Kane. (And you could even include Mankind, but I have too much respect for both Foley and their feud that was never to my knowledge designed to go to a Wrestlemania anyway.)

Undertaker wrestled Steve Austin a bunch of times during Austin's height, and their most notable match was the heavily-hyped Summerslam 1998. But Austin/McMahon was the big draw of that time, and only got hotter in the following months, and Rock was on fire, so Rock/Austin was a bigger match by early 1999 than Austin/Undertaker, which was very big and worthy of Summerslam. Two years later, no one on earth would have wanted Undertaker vs. either of those guys, but the world was hot for Rock/Austin II. The following year, Undertaker/Austin would probably have been a better match-up than Austin/Hall but WWE went with the nWo angle, and Undertaker was kind of an upper midcarder during that time period, feuding with RVD, killing Maven, killing Ric Flair, etceteras. The next year he was feuding with Big Show and A-Train while Rock/Austin III was unfurled and Hogan was wrestling McMahon. A year later, it was back to Kane.

I don't wish to take an inadvertent shot at either Undertaker or his Streak but it wasn't until 2005 that the Streak came to matter all that much, against Orton. And as soon as that was done with, while Undertaker was experiencing an in-ring renaissance vs. Orton, Kurt Angle and a few others, he was back to the freak match template with Mark Henry a year later.

It really wasn't until WWE opted to have Undertaker win the 2007 Royal Rumble, leading to him challenging Batista--who was definitively the #2 draw of that era--for the WHC, with Batista going for the Streak, at Wrestlemania XXIII, that The Streak became as huge a deal for Wrestlemania as it is today. But it was then after having the consecutive matches with Shawn Michaels that the Streak became even bigger, and now against Triple H following that, it's as big as it's ever been.

Which is also why there's such a clamor that a Mark Henry type scenario wouldn't work anymore (to address another theme within the thread) because the Streak today demands at least someone who's tremendously built up, at the very least and probably a huge name star who poses some kind of legitimate threat to it.

Undertaker has, in the past five years, gone up against Dave Batista, the #2 starring draw of his time; Edge, who holds the record for championships in WWE history; Shawn Michaels twice in the twilight of his legendary career; and Triple H, the biggest Attitude Era star to remain in WWE and one of the company's biggest, most consistent draws.

A match with Cena, whether it takes place next year or the year after, or whenever, at Wrestlemania only makes sense. It wouldn't be like this in 1991 with Hulk Hogan or 1999 with Steve Austin or 2002 with The Rock, because those guys were, quite frankly, bigger than Undertaker at the those times by wide margins and also, The Streak itself has only become a monster of a huge deal in the last half-decade or so (one could argue six years, due to the Orton challenge in 2005). The only major league star, who happens to be the biggest star in WWE, who has yet to have a program with Undertaker since his ascent to the top, much less challenge for The Streak, is Cena.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Magic and Headliner
#87 · (Edited)
I appreciate your argument, but that does not change this fact one bit: The Undertaker has never faced an active WWE Icon at Wrestlemania, thus not facing Cena won't hurt anyone.

Besides, Undertaker has met Cena before at Vengance 2003.

A good story would usually do but it isn't going to cut in this situation. This isn't some normal match, it's The Streak. Taker pretty much killed himself to win this time. If all it took was a good story then anybody could be put in there. The fact is that nobody is going to buy Jericho as a credible threat because he just isn't a big enough name, that's all there is to it. Everybody that has become before him, bar Edge who was probably on the same level, was a bigger star. Like I already said, HBK made it his mission 2 years in a row to end the streak and he couldn't. Triple fucking H tried, brought Taker to the absolute limit and he still couldn't do it. No amount of build in the world is going to be able to portray Jericho as a credible threat after all that, it just isn't going to happen.
Again, would it really be impressive if in his final match ever Taker defeats a man he ALWAYS defeated?

I'll tell you, practically every single person that was asked this question at Axxess thought HHH was going to win. I went to 4 Axxess sessions, when they were asking just regular fans their opinions on who would win each match I'd say it was like 70-30 thinking that HHH was going to win. It shocked the hell out of me because of the shitty build but it happened. When they asked the overall crowd the reaction was completely split. People did believe that HHH could end the streak with such little build, that's how credible he is.

Jericho? Not in a million years. Lol at him being the first Undisputed Champion. Yes, it's an achievement but it doesn't add any legitimacy to him at all tbh. When people look at Jericho that's not what they see is it? Besides, they had a match in 09 or so and not that many people were impressed. I'm not saying that they couldn't create something epic but based off that they didn't seem to have a lot of chemistry together.

Anyways, I'm done arguing over this. I've stated my opinion and I feel like I'm just repeating myself. I don't want HHH/Taker III but I feel like it's the only option. Jericho isn't a big enough name to face Taker at Mania and I stand by that. We'll just have to wait and see.
Same here. But nice discussing with you. Let's do it again sometimes. :cool:

I disagree with the majority of this. I think Orton is a fine choice to face Undertaker at Mania and I don't think he's overrated at all.
Not overrated? Okay, let's see Orton's track record at Wrestlemania since his Wrestlemania 21 match against Undertaker:

Wrestlemania 22 = Overshadowed by Mysterio & Angle in a 10 minutes so-so match.
Wrestlemania 23 = Outshone by the rest of the players in MITB.
Wrestlemania 24 = Just a decent match with HHH & Cena. The match didn't even begin to touch the level of Taker vs Edge after that.
Wrestlemania 25 = A main event worse than Undertaker vs Sid (WM 13) despite the colossal build up. To top the dead crowd off, some of the crowds were seen walking out halfway during the match.
Wrestlemania 26 = Just an average match with Rhodes & DiBiase. Nothing to write home about, really.
Wrestlemania 27 = Despite having CM Punk as opponent, still didn't manage to steal the show or become the best match of the night as two injured veteran did so. As someone who isn't overrated as u say, the crowd didn't go crazy like during Taker/HHH nor do we see a wrestling clinic or insane story-telling at Punk/Orton.

That's not the track record I would count to make the grandest retirement match of all time.

I'll agree with the fact that there's no way Orton can follow the HBK matches with Undertaker ring work wise. However with the others, I think he's more than capeable of it. The match with Batista was great I agree, but I think Orton can equal it, the match with Edge was fantastic but I think Orton can equal it, and I'm not as high on the match with HHH as others are, I think he could do better than it to be honest. When with the right opponent, Orton can be a great ring worker.
Any of the Randy Orton match u mentioned received a 4 star rating?

And LOL at Orton can equal Edge & Batista. None of Taker/Orton match ever received **** star rating, let along higher than that. How is that equaling, exactly?

His series with Cena (the majority of them), his series with HBK, his matches with Sheamus (especially the Hell in a Cell) were all great. Given a good opoenent who he meshes well with, Orton can put on a great show. Just look at the match with Christian this week on Smackdown. With Undertaker, I think it's already proven they work well togehter. At WM21 they had a fantastic match with Orton looking like he could get the win, he then had a series with Undertaker incudling another great HIAC match.

By that time, they will have built Orton as a viable threat to the streak. The guys already basically the number two babyface in the entire company. So with Cena caught up in something else, he would make a good choice (since I dont want HHH to get the spot again). Cena/Rock, Undertaker/Orton sound good to me for Mania.
And Orton has never had a shot at The Streak before?

If it's not possible then that's a shame because I really think these guys could pull off a great match. Ultimately it's up to Taker, Jericho and the WWE to decide whether or not it'll happen.

But based off of what you're telling me, Cena will get the nod for this.
Um, what do u mean by Cena will get the nod for this?

Some people just can't understand that when he retires, its different to others... The Undertaker character will die forever when he goes 20-0, and I wouldn't bet against it being the last time we see Calaway in front of the camera. Some people here who say, "Oh well he's been missing 7-10 months every year for a couple of years... he's barely around anymore why's this a big deal?" are complete and utter dumbasses, Taker may be away a lot now because of injury but he's always, ALWAYS on the back of our mind and he ALWAYS returns, when he's gone in a year all I can say is the WWE are fucked, he's still one of the biggest draws they have, he sells tickets for tours like crazy, perhaps second only to Cena. Plus, his backstage work is just as important to the WWE and while he doesn't wrestle often he's usually backstage and his influence will be missed.
People tend to ignore the value of someone, until that someone leave them for good.
 
#8 ·
Very sad but not surprising news. The real question is who should be his final opponent... If only Angle were coming back to the WWE, him and Taker have such excellent chemistry in the ring they would completely tear the house down in Taker's last match. I guess the best we can hope for at this point would be Chris Jericho, but alas I feel it will end up being Triple H again.
 
#12 ·
Honestly, that's a great idea. Disappear for nearly 2 years, return as the 30th (or 40th) entrant in the 2013 Royal Rumble, and screw John Cena. After eliminating Cena, just leave the ring.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Phenom
#49 ·
Who else is there though that can do a match this huge justice? The only other guy is Cena and he's facing Rock. Jericho is simply not a big enough name and Orton, while more credible than Jericho at this stage, still isn't big enough either imo. Unless they hold off until Mania 29 and do it then against Cena I see no other option. I don't want it but it looks like they are stuck with nobody else but HHH. Unless of course they push someone like a fucking BEAST from now until then but I have a better chance of flying before that's going to happen.
 
#4 ·
I almost expected this to be honest. The Undertaker is really banged up, and it's for the better that he retires. One more match at Wrestlemania 28 next year, and retire at 20-0.
 
#7 ·
Well, it's nothing we didn't know, but reading it from a source is something else, isn't it?

It seemed pretty obvious that he's as-good-as gone from the business. Randy Orton took over the 'locker room leader' role on Smackdown (if we are to believe reports), a role that has forever been the Undertaker's. His wife has walked away from the business as well, putting over her friend, and a greatly improved Layla. Almost all of the deadman's contemporaries are/should be retired looking at their current state. He's done-it-all, and the only thing that's keeping him from hanging up his boots forever, is the mountainous responsibility of defending the streak in show-stealing matches.

Let's hope he can pick a good opponent, perform a stellar match, and retire 20-0. He'll have given his life, his health, his everything to wrestling, and in return, he is going to be remembered as one of the, if not THE best of all time.
 
#11 ·
I don't want HHH to face Taker agine.
 
#16 ·
Undertaker would need someone to carry him through the match, which is why CM Punk, Chris Jericho, or Sheamus are the best choices for him.
 
#24 ·
1 on 3 match... He's done 1 on 1, and 1 on 2, end with a 1 on 3?

In all serious, Triple H vs UT would be kind of lame, because he did the same thing with Shawn Michaels the two years prior to this years...

Only thing that would have been okay involving HHH would have been HHH and Shawn vs UT, but we know that will not happen... Jericho vs UT would be awesome...
 
#25 ·
By next years WM , new comers to the product will not even know who takes is, thank goodness its over for him. He should have retired a long long time ago, he just mde me continue to lose interest every time he popped on the screen
 
#26 ·
Well it was about time for him to go any way. That leaves Triple H left that is the last reminant of the Attitude Era and he's pretty much retired as well since he hasn't been on TV except for his feud with Undertaker.
 
#32 ·
LMAO, no way Orton can follow Taker's work with Batista, Edge, Shawn Michaels twice, and Triple H the second time. That guy is overrated beyond belief!! If it's Taker's last match ever, the match has to be grand from the get go, something Orton can't do.

Starting from Wrestlemania 23, The Undertaker's Wrestlemania match is always the highest rated of the event (via Meltzer rating):

Undertaker vs Batista @ Wrestlemania 23 = ****
Undertaker vs Edge @ Wrestlemania 24 = ****1/2
Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels @ Wrestlemania 25 = ****3/4
Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels @ Wrestlemania 26 = ****3/4
Undertaker vs Triple H @ Wrestlemania 27 = ****1/2

May I ask, when did the last time Orton have a Wrestlemania classic? Or better yet, when did the last time Orton got a four star match?

LMAO.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top