WrestleMania 33 will see Roman Reigns and The Undertaker face off in what might end up as the final match for the WWE Dead Man. However, Roman said in a recent interview with TMZ that he doesn’t think that The Undertaker will retire just because of his age , saying that he feels he could wrestle until he is 80-years-old.
There are some fans who have said that The Undertaker is slowing down, always talking online about photos they saw of him walking gingerly or looking old. There are also events in recent years where Undertaker has stepped into the WWE ring and looked slower than he did before. Reigns said that those people complaining don’t know how great Undertaker really is.
In the TMZ interview, Roman Reigns said that Undertaker is “the greatest WrestleMania performer of all time.” That is an interesting statement because the WWE brought in Shawn Michaels to help promote the upcoming WrestleMania 33 match between Roman Reigns and Undertaker.
One of Shawn Michaels ‘ many nicknames is “Mr. WrestleMania.” The Undertaker has only lost one of his 24 matches at WrestleMania , and that was to Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 30 . Shawn Michaels has a much worse record, sitting at 6-11 at WrestleMania shows, including two losses to Undertaker, which might explain Roman Reigns’ opinion.
Despite that, Shawn Michaels has turned in some of the best matches in WrestleMania history while many of the Undertaker wins were never that good when it comes to the in-ring performance. Despite this, Roman Reigns is right if he means that Undertaker is the greatest draw in WrestleMania history.
This year proves it is no different. Undertaker was supposed to wrestle John Cena with Roman Reigns set up to fight the giant Braun Strowman at WrestleMania 33 . However, Vince McMahon apparently wanted to look to the future instead of just throwing out Undertaker vs. Cena, and there is thought that Roman Reigns could become the next John Cena with a win over The Undertaker.
Meanwhile, John Cena is in a minor match teaming with Nikki Bella to wrestle The Miz and Maryse . The only thing that could keep that match from being instantly forgettable would be if Cena proposes to Bella, as some speculate. However, the big draw will be to see Roman Reigns battle Undertaker.
In 2016, Undertaker fought Shane McMahon in a Hell in a Cell match that saw McMahon pull off the big move by diving onto Undertaker through a table. Roman Reigns beat Triple H for the WWE world title. It did little to push Undertaker’s WrestleMania career and even less to help Roman get over with fans who still doubt him.
At the age of 52, The Undertaker has not had a great WrestleMania match since he beat Triple H at WrestleMania 29 . The match with Brock Lesnar was slow and only memorable because Lesnar won. The match with Bray Wyatt was supposed to help elevate Wyatt but disappointed. After Shane McMahon’s one move was the only great thing last year, Roman Reigns will want to help Undertaker possibly go out on a high note .
Even those WWE fans who have developed a hatred for Roman Reigns have other reasons, and it is not because of his in-ring talent. It has more to do with his booking in the WWE, which has him as a boring face that acts more like a heel than he does a hero most of the time. However, despite the staleness of his character, much like John Cena, Roman Reigns turns it up when he steps into a big match.
It won’t get any bigger than WrestleMania 33 , where Roman Reigns might be the superstar that retires The Undertaker. The WWE might have their biggest star preparing for the biggest match of his career in Roman. Now, he just has to help carry a 52-year-old Undertaker to a match that no one will ever forget.
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