Wrestling legend and 2K Games Cover Star The Undertaker has announced his retirement from the WWE.
After a career spanning more than 30 years, The Undertaker revealed during the final episode of his WWE Network docu-series The Last Ride that he has to decided to hang up the belt. His last match again AJ Styles at Wrestlemania 36 is now officially his last.
The Last Ride has been a celebration of The Undertaker’s career, which began with the World Class Championship Wrestling organization in 1987. Though the wrestler performed for a short time as “Mean Mark” with the WCW, he has been known as The Undertaker ever since signing with the WWF (now known as the WWE) all the way back in 1990. The Undertaker celebrates 30 years with the WWE this fall.
In the melodramatic world of professional wrestlings, retirements aren’t always what they seem. The Undertaker is still under contract with the WWE technically, so it’s possible we’ll see him make a dramatic return to the ring sometime in the future.
At the end of this week’s episode of The Last Ride, The Undertaker explains that he doesn’t have any aspiration of getting back into the ring, and that he has nothing left to prove.
The Undertaker has one of the most prolific video game careers of any professional athlete. Going all the way back to 2k’s 1990 WWF Smackdown 2: Know Your Role, The Undertaker has been on the cover of at least 6 different games, including WWE Smackdown: Here Comes The Pain, WWE Smackdown vs. Raw, and WWE 2k14. He has appeared as a playable character in over 20 different 2K wrestling games, including the most recent WWE 2k20.
The Undertaker is a household name is one of the most prolific wrestlers ever to compete in the ring. Whether the ever return to WWE or not, his legacy has long been assured. Though fans are understandably heartbroken to see him go, a changing of the guard is inevitable. Younger stars like the aforementioned AJ Styles will need to pick up where The Undertaker left off and drive the WWE forward into the next era.
