6 Most Insane Things Happening In Wrestling Right Now (April 7)

1. The Undertaker Has Retired

Taker Retires
WWE.com

After a near twenty seven year tenure with WWE, The Undertaker, McMahon's greatest ever creation outside of the WrestleMania mega event he became synonymous with, hung up his gloves on Sunday.

'Taker was portrayed following his 1990 debut as being impervious to pain, and in a multi-decade career of unprecedented accomplishment, he almost lived up to the impossible myth. His first few years saw him oppose a procession of monsters either absolutely past it (King Kong Bundy, Kamala) or irredeemably terrible (Giant Gonzalez). The character was so over and unique that he didn't necessarily need to become a super worker - but he did, easily matching the efforts of Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels and Steve Austin towards the end of the decade. He bettered even those efforts in an incendiary 2000s run, during which he stole the North American Match Of The Year honours on an annual basis - years after his iffy Attitude Era run alienated many.

He was incredibly athletic - and not just for a big man, as the faint praise cliche would have it - with a killer grasp of psychology, something he perfected to the very end by collapsing during his famous sit-up spot during his Last Ride with Roman Reigns at 'Mania 33.

He was said to be in great pain following his brief appearance at Royal Rumble 2017, but he was hospitalised after 'Mania XXX - and he emerged the year after that to enter an absolutely inconceivable renaissance. Those matches, with Brock Lesnar, were so good that it became even more impossible to write him off.

He wrote himself out on Sunday. The Undertaker has terrified audiences. He has thrilled them on countless occasions. He has lost them. He has won them back over again. The man who has been around forever will be around no longer.

Thank you, 'Taker.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick (Creative Writing BA Hons) is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over a decade of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential UK institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!