As wrestling fans, there is always the fear that one of our favorite performers to retire his or her career for one reason or another. It has happened in the past before with fan favorites like Edge and Daniel Bryan, but it’s always worse when it’s one of the more iconic superstars of all time. The Nature Boy Ric Flair’s retirement immediately comes to mind, and now we have another legend to add to that list. On April 2nd, at WrestleMania 33 in Orlando, the iconic Undertaker wrestled his final match against Roman Reigns. While usually any wrestler’s retirement is fairly sad, this is the Undertaker. And – as many fans will tell you – the Undertaker is different. So, in honor of his retirement, I figured it would be more than right to look back at the Undertaker’s 27 year career, every up and every down, leading up to the Phenom’s final match at WrestleMania 33.

Mark Callaway – the man behind the Undertaker – was a professional wrestler for most of his life. He debuted on WCCW, which was the World Class Championship Wrestling, in 1984. He had some minor accomplishments on that promotion and eventually won his first pro wrestling title against Jerry Lawler on the newly christened United States Wrestling Association. But his career skyrocketed when he signed onto World Championship Wrestling, or WCW. He debuted in 1989 as “Mean Mark” Callous as a heel, or a bad guy. He replaced the then injured Sid Vicious, who had a punctured lung and broken rib during a match with the Steiner Brothers. During his stint with WCW, he didn’t quite have the success that he should have. He lost to Lex Luger in a NWA United States Heavyweight Championship at The Great American Bash in July of 1990. As his tenure with WCW came to a close, he was under the watchful eye of the man who made the WWE what it is today: Vince Kennedy McMahon. McMahon, surprisingly, was not interested initially. Eventually, the two talked, and Callaway worked his last match on WCW on September 7th, 1990. He then signed to the WWF in October of 1990, where he would don the identity of the most recognizable WWE character of all time.

Wrestling fans remember the date November 22nd, 1990 as the first time the world was introduced to the character of the Undertaker. He was introduced by “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase as the final member of DiBiase’s Million Dollar Team at Survivor Series 1990. His character was more-or-less a mortician; his original attire composed of a trench coat, a gray striped tie and gray gloves. And thus, began the career of a megastar. He proved to be unstoppable, as his gimmick had him no-selling opponent’s moves, or pretending their moves don’t hurt them. He unveiled his finisher at this event, hitting Koko B. Ware with the now popular finisher: the Tombstone Piledriver. From then, the Undertaker destroyed jobbers with the help of his then manager, the late Paul Bearer. His first major feud came in 1991, where he feuded with the late Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka. At WrestleMania VII, he defeated Snuka with the Tombstone Piledriver and won his first WrestleMania match, which was the start of what is known as the Streak. Over time, the Undertaker racked up many different accomplishments, including winning the WWF Championship 4 times, winning the Royal Rumble match in 2007 to face Batista at WrestleMania 23 to win his 2nd of 3 World Heavyweight Titles, and – of course – the Streak.

However, time has not been kind to the Deadman, and his health began to drop his work rate. It didn’t stop him from putting on fantastic matches, which included his 5-star match with the Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 25 and what has become known as the “End of an Era” Hell in a Cell match with Triple H at WrestleMania 28. And, as his health began to suffer, many things that made him intimidating began to leave, including the greatest thing to happen to the Undertaker: the Streak. To clarify what that means, the Undertaker had a string of WrestleMania matches where he was not defeated. When his undefeated wins hit 13 wins, it became a prize to beat the Streak of the Phenom. So many people strove to break that record: Michaels, CM Punk, Randy Orton, and Triple H all tried and failed to break that record. However, in 2014, the Undertaker’s WrestleMania Streak was unceremoniously put to rest by the former UFC Heavyweight Champion, Brock Lesnar. From there, things began to go downhill. The Undertaker’s work rate was drastically diminished by this time, and – besides a phenomenal Hell in a Cell match with Lesnar – he couldn’t produce the same kind of show stealing matches he used to. He wrestled two more matches at WrestleMania – against Bray Wyatt at 31 and against Shane McMahon in another Hell in a Cell match at 32 – before he disappeared from television screens, not be seen until the eve of Survivor Series 2016, threatening the SmackDown Live! Survivor Series team to not fear failure, but to “fear the Deadman”. He wouldn’t be seen in wrestling action until the Royal Rumble, where he entered at number 29 and eliminating the white-hot Goldberg, but was then eliminated by the number 30 entrant, Roman Reigns. And from there, the seeds of their WrestleMania 33 match were sown. And, at the 33rd annual “Showcase of the Immortals”, the Undertaker put on his final match, going out on his back after taking 3 Spears from the Big Dog.

I heard this say this during a conversation of the same vain, and I agree wholeheartedly with it: The Undertaker is much more than just a character; he’s an institution. He showed a commitment to what was called “kayfabe” that was unlike anything anyone has seen or will ever see. Never has Callaway broke character, not even at the Hall of Fame ceremonies. He broke it only twice that I have seen: during Flair’s emotional retirement ceremony and at the end of WrestleMania 33, where he embraced his wife and son after his pinfall defeat. Many stars that work with the WWE are all held at high regard – in this era, guys like AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, Finn Balor, and Charlotte – but the Undertaker is so much different. Even in his older age, he still put on great matches and had iconic moments and entrances. I remember myself watching his WrestleMania 29 entrance versus the much-loved CM Punk, and it looked like something out of a thriller/horror movie. There was the smoke and then, in the smoke, you could see hands reaching up to the Undertaker, who stepped up to the stage like he was Hades coming from the Underworld. It was amazing and heart-stopping, a perfect entrance for the Deadman. He represents something that hasn’t been replicated and/or cannot be replicated in the industry. He truly is an icon that will always be cherished in the WWE and in the WWE Universe. Even people who don’t like wrestling recognize the Undertaker and his status as a performer. The Undertaker showed up at a Cleveland Cavaliers basketball game and people lost their minds. A basketball game and people were losing their minds over someone who’s name didn’t start with “LeBron”.

It is a very sad thing to see the Undertaker retire, as the dream match of dream matches – a WrestleMania bout between the Undertaker and John Cena – may never happen. The Undertaker is the greatest performer ever in the WWE and his absence will be felt throughout the WWE Universe. From his debut, to the End of an Era, to the End of the Streak and to the end of his career, the Undertaker left a 27-year long legacy that cannot be emulated by anyone on the roster today, nor will ever. On behalf of many fans like myself: thank you Undertaker for the 27 years you’ve dedicated to the wrestling business. Now the Phenom can finally rest…in peace.