Has The Undertaker Retired?

The Undertaker will be one of the guests of honour at Starrcast II. 'The Deadman' himself will depart Death Valley to dish out autographs and pictures at the uber-fan convention taking place the weekend of All Elite Wrestling's maiden offering Double Or Nothing in May, with rumoured hourly fees that will make his eyes roll back in his weathered head for entirely different reasons.

That's both the news and the story, and it bears repeating as such because of scale alone. Dave Meltzer's comments on the most recent Wrestling Observer radio that he's "likely never wrestling again" top up tales that have been doing the round about 'Taker's WrestleMania status this year too. Whilst appearing increasingly likely that he won't work the New Jersey supershow, his early confirmation for AEW's own version of a WrestleMania weekend fanfest presents the veneer of a man settling into retirement rather than readying himself for one more run.

Discounting delicious industry fan narrative for a second, consider the likelihood of other dyed-in-the-wool WWE legends appearing at the event and what sort of impact their presence would have as a newsworthy announcement as grand. In fact, consider those that already have. Former WWE Champions Bret Hart and Ric Flair are amongst the growing horde, and if the inaugural Starrcast is any kind of guidepost, expect countless others to follow.

There isn't anything inherently shocking about those names turning up at the year's biggest non-WWE meet-and-greet, but then the invisible tiered system that divides past, present and future legends determines how grand the statement when a particular performer gets promoted.

Joey Janela was one of the first to tackle this trick when he began booking his 'Spring Break' events on WrestleMania weekends. Spotting a gap in the market with thousands of willing, paying customers captive in one town, Janela figured out the formula. He found wrestlers fans didn't realise they wanted and sold them all over again as bigger stars than they'd been first time around. Inspired stuff, for sure - we all have blind faith in our favourites after all.

Similarly, even WWE have got in on the act. Never before have the doors to Titan Tower been flung open so wide. Between NXT and the company's main roster over the past several years, jaws have been picked up from floors following appearances by everybody from Jushin Liger to Jeff Jarrett. "Never say never" used to be trotted out to sell tickets - now it might as well be etched on the wall of McMahon's office next to that massive dinosaur head.

And speaking of those long thought extinct, what about Shawn Michaels? The 'Showstopper' stopped his show in 2010 and seemed content to be the first to adhere to the stipulation in wrestling history...until unseemly money was offered by the Saudi Arabian Sports Authority (...wrestling is f*cking loopy now) to take some new bumps with his old friends. That Crown Jewel catastrophe brings us back around to the man at the centre of this latest bombshell.

The Undertaker did the job to his own stringy hair last November, but will perform an entirely different task at Starrcast II. He's going to be "Mark Calaway AKA The Undertaker" for a day - the first day, in fact - but after nearly 30 years, will the ending few could have predicted for the person behind the persona actually afford him a rather by-the-numbers happy ending? If anybody deserves a bit of a rest, in peace, it's a man that gave his life pretending to be dead for three decades.

Many will use this announcement to incubate hopes of a new wrestling war, not least with countless rumours perpetuated about talent looking for trades away from WWE to the brave new venture All Elite Wrestling are delicately massaging. The Undertaker may have no intention whatsoever of making his slow stroll down AEW's aisle, but Cody and Co have been the first to dare present him with the 'AKA' prefix. This itself was seen as an obstacle for Undertaker working anywhere else, yet The Elite (of all people) have ripped the plaster right off.

Never say never.