The Last Ride

WWE's Undertaker once said, ~We(Triple H) are the last of an era and a dying breed...The thing I find interesting is that he has figured out how to destroy The Undertaker. How to make the Undertaker disappear forever. Well, it's really quite simple. All you have to do is beat the Undertaker at WrestleMania. Easier said than done...Make no mistake I play no game and I bow down to no man, especially the King of Kings...I am indeed The Last Outlaw.~ Without a doubt, when it comes to the sport of professional wrestling none is more respected and not to mention deserving of the title G.O.A.T(Greatest Of All Time). As he said, the man who dug holes, as well as took souls was the last of an era and considered to be the only remaining connection in keeping wrestling's past alive. For he most definitely is a legend in the business to the point where he's left a lasting legacy that's already cemented him into the WWE Hall of Fame. Ultimately, what's left to say that has already been said other than the following two words: thank you.

Thank you for evolving as a character over the past 27 years giving fans like myself the opportunity to witness the gradual change in personas. Of course, who could forget his debut in 1990's Survivor Series as the Western Mortician and then 4 years later his progression into The Deadman after a brief hiatus from the ring. The metamorphosis would continue as he would be reborn into the Lord of Darkness with a teardrop tattoo under his right eye, which would inevitably have him slip into a much darker 1999 version of the character lasting a year long as the Ministry of Darkness. A leader who answered to "a higher power" and it turned out to be Vince McMahon. In any case, a few months later he would reinvent himself into motorcycle riding American Badass inevitably morphing into the bully Big Evil. Once again a change would take place after and then rise up from the ashes, so to speak, as The Deadman. Finally, he would take up a combination of all his past personas portraying what we all would come to know as The Last Outlaw.

Thank you for giving us fans something we wanted to never be broken and that is the WrestleMania unbeaten streak or otherwise known as The Streak. Thinking about it further, the unbeaten WrestleMania streak was considered to be, at least in my own opinion, a truly impressive record indeed that defined his career. You see, when it comes to the streak itself each and every fan including myself personally felt protective of it in a very vocal way. Why? Essentially, it was deemed incredibly sacred that it should stand the test of pro wrestling time and never be surpassed by any current/future stars on the WWE. Unfortunately, it didn't happen as it was shockingly broken at WrestleMania 30 by Brock Lesnar and 3 years later the loss still makes a significant impact to where it's been debated on who's far more deserving of beating the streak instead of The Beast. Hey, as a pro wrestling fan the streak was one of the main things that fired us up and at the same time experienced a rollercoaster of mixed emotions in its purest form because of it.

Thank you for providing us with the underlying meaning to an historic and legendary career. What do I mean? Essentially, that underlying meaning is being associated with my childhood and how in some weird way it kept alive the pure love/enjoyment of my generation who grew up watching him since debuting as The Undertaker in 1990 at the Survivor Series. True, he was known as Mean Mark Callous in WCW utilizing his signature finishing move the heart punch before becoming the reaper of wayward souls of the WWE who metaphorically put the nail in the coffin of every opponent he's faced after tombstoning them. Personally speaking, I had the honor and the privilege of being at Wrestlemania 33 in Orlando and watching what was probably his last match against Roman Reigns, which was considerably bittersweet. What made it even more bittersweet was witnessing him take off and leave his gear in the middle of the ring signifying his possible retirement, whereby closing the door, so to speak, on part of my childhood that will fondly rest in peace.

In retrospect, the Undertaker provided the WWE universe over a decade of destruction along with countless memories we'll never forget within the confines of what was referred to as "your yard". Granted, it would have been awesome if the dream match between Undertaker and Sting happened once The Icon finally signed with the WWE after 13 years. Sadly, it never happened but who knows anything could happen. If you think about it, wrestlers come and go in a business that has a tendency to oftentimes forget/ignore the immense contributions they've made while putting their body's on the line all year round. Fortunately, Undertaker's immense contributions will certainly not be forgotten or ignored for that matter because of how truly beloved he has become. It's safe to say when you think of WWE or pro wrestling in general Taker is quite possibly the first thing you think of. In the end, thank you once again for everything and if this is the last ride knowing there's nothing else left to prove after all you've accomplished then I respectfully tip my hat.