WrestleMania 33 Backstage News On The Undertaker's Retirement
The reason why "The Big Dog" gets the yard.
As we all know by now, WrestleMania 33 ended with the unforgettable visual of a defeated Undertaker leaving his gloves, coat and hat in the middle of the ring as he made his way up the ramp for presumably the final time.
It lessened the impact
of what would have otherwise been one of the most disappointing endings to a
WrestleMania since the show’s inception.
Backstage news has begun to emerge regarding the match itself and the decision behind the booking. According to Dave Meltzer, The Undertaker had requested that he face John Cena at this year’s big event. The bout between the two would have been one of WWE’s last remaining dream matches and fulfilled a wish for fans who never got to see the two iconic superstars lock horns at The Showcase of the Immortals.
Vince McMahon reportedly vetoed that request. The Chairman’s thought process was that WWE had to think long-term rather than short-term, and the best way to do that would be to have Taker pass the torch to the man we all know Vince will go to his grave trying to turn into the next face of the WWE.
Once it became apparent that this was going to be The Deadman’s last ride, that decision began to make more sense, as a retirement match against Cena, someone who is beginning to ease into a lighter schedule himself, does nothing for the future of the company. At least with Reigns they can use that victory to build and enhance future storylines.
If the plans for WrestleMania 34’s main event remain in place, then Roman Reigns facing Brock Lesnar will bring with it the added bonus of both men carrying a Mania victory over The Undertaker.
Roman Reigns spoke with ESPN’s Jonathan Coachman regarding the biggest win of his career, and “The Big Dog” had this to say:
“To be honest with you Coach, you know, it’s bittersweet. It almost feels like a loss, you know what I mean? Because, I’ve said this for the past three or four weeks, I’ve got nothing but respect for the Undertaker. If you’ve been a part of this business, and you know, everybody’s got respect for that man. But at the end of the day you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do. As a young man, as a family man, as a provider, I’ve got to go out there and fight for mine, and that’s what I did tonight. To be honest, in this moment, it’s so fresh, you know what I mean? It’s hard to digest at this point. But the only thing I can say is I did what I said I was gonna do. This is my yard now. I wasn’t messing around. And the only thing I can do now is continue to reign.”