WWE History: When The Undertaker was almost in tears and broke character

The background

The Undertaker is perhaps the greatest wrestler of all time. When you ask anyone to make a list of the top 5 greatest pro-wrestlers ever, the Deadman will surely feature in almost all of them.

Even though he won only 7 WWE Titles (four WWE Undisputed Championships and three World Heavyweight Championship) in his long career, he took his character beyond the realms of mere shiny metal belts that wresters crave so much. He is renowned for almost never breaking character but he once did just that and almost broke into tears back in 2008.

What happened?

At WrestleMania 24, Shawn Michaels faced Ric Flair in a match where the latter lost and according to the stipulation, had to retire. On the following episode of RAW, almost every Superstar came out to bid a farewell to the Nature Boy and then suddenly, the bell tolled.

The Undertaker was there.

The other wrestlers formed a guard of honor for the Deadman as he slowly walked down the ramp and towards the ring. Once inside the squared circle, he first shook hands with the Nature Boy while whispering some words in his ears.

After that, the Deadman took a few steps back and bowed down to the 16-time WWE Champion, who was visibly moved by ‘Taker’s actions.

The Deadman then got up and hugged Flair, in what was one of those very rare moments where the Phenom broke character to shock everyone.

But that was not where it ended.

After he stepped out of the ring, he and the other WWE Superstar started clapping for the Nature Boy. As the camera zoomed in towards ‘Taker, his eyes were visibly watery as he barely managed to hold them from rolling down his cheeks.

What happened next?

Ric Flair got one of the best farewells in the WWE but he went on to make some appearances in the WWE before going to the Independent circuit and then TNA (now known as Impact) before returning to the WWE again.

Undertaker, meanwhile, went on to retire the man that ‘retired’ Flair, Shawn Michaels, at WrestleMania 26 and is still making part-time appearances for Vince McMahon’s company.