WWE News: Update On Undertaker Retirement Plans

While many have expected The Undertaker’s swan song to be in his home state for WrestleMania 32, that no longer appears to be the case. According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, The Undertaker has no plans to imminently retire.

Rumors of the Undertaker’s body breaking down have surrounded the legend for years, with most thinking next year’s WrestleMania would be his last appearance. Meltzer noted that he’d been hearing from people as far back as 1997 that Undertaker’s injuries were mounting up and may slow his career down.

Vince McMahon made the call for Brock Lesnar to end the Undertaker’s famed streak at WrestleMania 30, thinking that The Undertaker didn’t have much time left in the ring. That ended up not necessarily being the case, but the move has still paid off in spades as Lesnar has developed into a mega star for the company since the match.

For several years, Undertaker exclusively worked WrestleMania events. In 2013, he made an attempt to work a program following WrestleMania with the Shield, but was injured while taking a triple powerbomb in England. While he only worked WrestleMania in 2014, he ended up performing beyond expectations at this year’s Summerslam. In addition to this, Undertaker is booked for the upcoming Mexican live event tour.

Undertaker’s increasing schedule into his 50s is a bit of an anomaly, especially considering he was working one match a year in his late 40s. It’s tough to tell how long Undertaker will realistically be able to continue with WWE, but for now it appears as if he’ll at least be in the company’s part-time plans.

Last week, WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross stated that he didn’t think that the 2016 WrestleMania event would be “Dead Man’s” final match.

“From what I can determine, Wrestlemania Texas will NOT be the Undertaker’s final match but the jury is still out on whether it will be Sting’s last one. No, I don’t see them having a match vs each other there either. Plus, I don’t see how WWE gets all the way to April for the Taker vs. Lesnar ‘rubber match’ if that’s in the cards.”

Is this the right call? Should the Undertaker retire after WrestleMania 32? There are still potential fantasy matchups between Undertaker and the likes of Sting, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose (who he’s daced before), and several other fresh matchups that the company can utilize before The Phenom hangs up his boots.

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