The wrestling world is taking the final episode of the Undertaker’s “Last Ride” documentary as a retiring announcement. While appearances in the world of sports entertainment are rarely what they seem, this news has caught the eye of some legitimate media organizations and not the unreliable wrestling blogs that are wrong more than half the time.
“Man, if there was ever a perfect ending to a career, that right there is it.” says Mark Calaway about his match with AJ Styles at Wrestlemania this year. He was right. The boneyard match was a blast.
And if he’s right, he’s earned it and this is the perfect way to do it. God bless him and the moments he has given us for 30 years. We should all be grateful.
But he’s probably not done. Is he? If I were still reporting, I’d would have asked him. But it’s a documentary, not a press conference.
One of the best parts of “The Last Ride” and what I believe is one of the most real of testimonies is the description of the high of being WWE Superstar by Calaway and other legendary grapplers. Your music drops, the crowd pops, and you walk out and get to do what you love in front of millions.
Why would anyone ever want to walk away from that? Who could blame anyone for wanting that to last forever?
And there are still some matches we want to see. Sting. Aleister Black. The Fiend. My goodness, all of those are build it up and burn it down moments where a good presentation and 10 minutes of wrestling might be all we need.
Of course in your late 50s, that is a big ask. Forgive me. I suppose I don’t want him to be done either.
So, now we wait. We enjoy what we do have and that is a lot of great younger talent that we don’t even have the air for.
But when and if that gong hits, we’ll be right there waiting for another ride.