The Undertaker – A look back at the WWE legend’s illustrious career

Bengaluru, June 22: The greatest performer in the history of sports entertainment, The Undertaker decided to phase out of his in-ring career as he announced retirement from WWE.

The final instalment of Undertaker: The Last Ride premiered, yesterday night on the WWE Network to continue his journey from last year's Extreme Rules PPV. It focused on the most recent and the final match of his career - the victory over AJ Styles in a Boneyard Match at WrestleMania 36 night.

Whether WWE did never officially announce the retirement and The Undertaker also hinted that he could resurface if and when Vince McMahon needs him, we believe Wrestlemania 36 was a perfect ending to his illustrious career. He was an old guard of the WWE starting from Survivor Series 1990 when McMahon made the 'Deadman' gimmick into reality with the help of Mark Callaway.

The Texas-born wrestler started to play that dark character with Paul Bearer accompanying him to the ring. The fans were awe-struck with that horror-themed, macabre entity guy who used to do supernatural tactics to scare away his opponents.

During the 90s, The Undertaker character remained one constant pillar for Vince McMahon as the then-named WWF was going through a dull period. WCW Monday Nitro was an all-time high and numerous stars would leave for the Eric Bischoff-led brand. But Taker didn't and he became McMahon's most trusted shoulder and the locker room leader.

The Undertaker would defeat Hulk Hogan to win his first WWF Championship at 1991 Survivor Series with the help of Ric Flair and thus became the youngest WWF Champion in history at that point. After some big feuds with the likes of Yokozuna and Jake 'The Snake' Roberts, he took time off from the company to heal an injury and then returned in 1992.

The original Deadman era continued until 1996 where he had more memorable feuds with the likes of Mankind, Bret Hart, Diesel, and more. He would continue that stint until the main event of In Your House 11: Buried Alive where Mankind took help other villainous guys to bury Taker, alive.

The Undertaker returned at Survivor Series to kick off the Lord of Darkness Era, in 1996. After settling his feud with Mankind and Vader, his on-screen brother Kane debuted in WWE during the first Hell in a Cell match at Badd Blood: In Your House. The Big Red Machine made his ominous presence felt in WWE by starting a feud with his own flesh-and-blood throughout the summer.

This would result in a heel-turn for The Undertaker as he decided to unleash the "Ministry of Darkness" on the World Wrestling Federation with Paul bearer by his side. The villain Taker would eventually go on to form an alliance with the McMahons. At one point, he even kidnapped The Boss's daughter, Stephanie McMahon for marrying him but Stone Cold saved her in that night. This heel gimmick could continue until he tore his pectoral muscle in 1999.

WWE would then completely revamped The Undertaker letting birth of The Americal Badass. It was a biker-man gimmick that seemed a fresh experience for the fans who were bored to see The Deadman gimmick for several years. He also reunited with Kane to form the 'Brothers of Destruction' tag team that ruled the WWE. Another must-mention event from this time was the rivalry against Brock Lesnar that was unmissable on Smackdown.

After getting buried alive by Kane, the American Badass found resurrection with the return of the Deadman at Wrestlemania 20 in 2004. Since then, WWE never changed his gimmick. Starting from then to 2010, he remained a prolific figure in sports entertainment who won multiple world championships in the WWE culminating rivalries against legends like Triple H, Batista, Edge, Shawn Michaels and more.

In the meantime, the Wrestlemania Streak has become a myth as Undertaker never lost a match at the showcase of immortals. It continued until the 29th edition where CM Punk became his victim. In 2014, Brock Lesnar pinned Taker for the first time at Wrestlemania to break that streak which indicated the end is near for him.

But in 2015, The Undertaker returned better than ever to celebrate the 25th anniversary of his WWE career. Since then, he made sporadic appearances, mostly in Wrestlemania events. In 2017, the loss against Roman Reigns was supposed to be the end of his career. But he wasn't happy with his performance and decided to step back in the ring, next year against John Cena.

He would eventually go on to have a reunion with Kane at Crown Jewel that also forced Shawn Michaels to come out of retirement. His performance was not at all Undertakeresque, causing him to wait for the perfect opportunity to call it a day. That way, Extreme Rules 2019 would be his final in-ring appearance where he formed a dream team with Roman Reigns. Lastly, at Wrestlemania 36, he delivered a cinematic match against AJ Styles that was a pre-taped match in an abandoned location.

As noted last night, it might be known as the final match of The Undertaker's career that marked the end of the last true legend of WWE history. While the #ThankYouTaker trends on social media, AJ noted that he's honoured to be the final opponent for the superstar who was considered to be the saviour of WWE, on many occasions.

We from MyKhel want to send thanks to 'The Deadman' for entertaining us for over three decades and leaving loads of memories to be re-lived on the WWE Network.