The year was 2017, and the 33rd anniversary of WrestleMania came calling, and in one of the high profile matches of the night, Roman Reigns battled it out with the Undertaker.
Reigns was battling the Undertaker, who was making a staggering 25th appearance at WrestleMania. No superstar has even come close to this record, and probably no one ever will.
After taking a lot of punishment, numerous ‘spears’, and superman punches, the Undertaker finally succumbed to Reigns.
It was just his second loss at WrestleMania in over a quarter of a century.
After the match, the WWE Universe witnessed a rare sight - a sight that made millions of eyes moist. The Undertaker put on his coat, his hat and gloves, and stood in the centre of the ring, gazing at the crowd of over 70000.
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Then he removed his gloves, his coat, and his trademark black hat, and placed them in the middle of the ring. He even broke character that night, and kissed his wife, Michelle McCool.
Then with his iconic entrance music playing, the Undertaker walked away. Most of us watching had tears in our eyes, after all we had grown up watching him!
Many frankly thought it was the last we would see of ‘the Deadman’. He was over 50 years old, was battling with injuries, and had wrestled for 3 decades.
Fast forward to 2018 - John Cena starts teasing a match with the Undertaker again. He hurls abuses at ‘the Phenom’, and even calls him a coward.
Cena even goes to the extent of saying that if the Undertaker does not show up at WrestleMania 34, then he would go to the event as a mere spectator.
On the big day, Cena comes to the ring and waits, but there is no sign of the Undertaker. Then he starts walking back, perhaps signaling that he would just remain a mere spectator as he had earlier stated.
Then all of a sudden, the gong strikes. The crowd goes absolutely berserk!
Could it be?
And then, through all the smoke comes the man - with his trademark black hat & coat, and he begins his legendary walk to the ring.
Yes! It was happening.The dream match fans had craved for years and years was finally becoming a reality. The Undertaker entered the ring, removed his hat, and the match began.
But what transpired over the next 3 minutes left the crowd stunned, as the Undertaker squashes Cena in 3 minutes!
Cena offered almost zero offence in the match-up, and before anyone could realise it, the Undertaker was 24-2 at WrestleMania. Such a huge match with 2 of the biggest superstars of the company ends abruptly in under 3 minutes!
More than 8 months have passed since WrestleMania 34, and the 35th anniversary of the ‘Grandest Stage Of Them All’ awaits us.
And as always, the question of who the Undertaker will face next at WrestleMania is doing the rounds.
The answer is simple - it has to be Cena again.
Why?
The Undertaker is in the twilight of his illustrious career, and in all probability, WrestleMania 35 will be the last for the Deadman. Also, such a huge match between Cena and the Undertaker turned out to be a damp squib last year.
These two men surely have some unfinished business.
The Undertaker has got absolutely nothing left to prove to anybody, and can leave with his head held high at WrestleMania 35. But the question of who should retire him is a very important one, and no one, other than Cena fits the bill perfectly.
Think of this - the Undertaker is one of the biggest legends of the WWE, and many legends of the past had other icons of the business retiring them. Ric Flair had Shawn Michaels retire him, Michaels had the Undertaker retire him, and now there is no bigger legend than Cena who could retire an icon like the Undertaker.
The best thing the WWE could do is - induct the Undertaker into the Hall Of Fame the night before WrestleMania 35, put his career on the line against Cena, make these two icons of the business give an immortal match to the WWE Universe, and finally have the Undertaker walk into the sunset.
