Paying Homage, Thank You Taker.
Feb 18, 2017 1:00:26 GMT -5
Wrestlaholic, mikey1974, and 3 more like this
Post by 859approved on Feb 18, 2017 1:00:26 GMT -5
I'm a journalism student preparing to graduate this fall.
Many of you who have graduated college or even high school to the same degree understand that feeling you get when the days dwindle down. The eagerness and anxiousness to get out and take on the world, the anxiety of hoping you've done enough and met every requirement, all the basic stuff we've all felt.
There is however, one more feeling I believe we all get.
We remember things. We remember what got us by, what made us smile, what helped us escape from reality. Maybe it was a few sleepless nights out with your friends, or a relationship you're in, memories you will hold onto for the rest of your life. They tend to be the hardest things to say goodbye to. I'm no different.
When I returned to my hometown to finish my degree at the University of Kentucky, I was lost. I was starting over, and that's not an easy feeling. It's honestly quite odd how that summer worked. The year I moved back to my hometown many nostalgic things came roaring back from my childhood. Hulk Hogan came back to the WWE, LeBron James went back to Cleveland, Undertaker was taking on Brock Lesnar again just like in 2002, those things helped me beyond description. As I struggled to find my footing and make my own way, between the classic struggles of living on your own for the first time and managing a job with full time class responsibilities, I had also run into some health issues that left me in constant stress during that time. I was a very emotional person at that time, and to escape from all of those stress factors in my life, to make things ease up a little, I found my peace in the form of Cavaliers basketball and my first love, the WWE.
Since around 2009 I had become quite a casual fan. I'll admit, from 2012-2014 the only reason I watched was CM Punk. I don't know why I lost interest, maybe it was the loss of the music that told stories, or the individualized PPV sets, the top to bottom story telling, maybe it was all of it. I can't place my finger on a single one. The one thing however, that I always kept my eyes on was The Undertaker.
The Undertaker captured my imagination as a child. I was an odd kid like many of us would be considered by today's standards. I had read every GooseBumps book, was huge into horror movies, and Halloween was my favorite holiday. As you can imagine, when I showed up to a Church Halloween party dressed up as The Undertaker in elementary school, it caused quite a reaction from the other parents.
My uncle bought me a black top hat from a party store, my mother gifted me a long black coat from her closet, and I would become The Undertaker. Something about the "beyond" and "after life" fascinated me because it was unknown. The Undertaker's character was the definition of making sure nothing was under your bed as a kid, or questioning what that shadow was in the closet, but you didn't hate him. You respected him.
I, like everyone else my age in 2002, was a huge Hulkamaniac. It was a sharp sting to see Taker take the title from Hogan at Judgement Day. By the end of the fall however, I was rooting for him against Lesnar at Unforgiven, and the classic Hell in a Cell at No Mercy. When Taker returned to his Deadman gimmick in 2004, I was the biggest fan I knew. My dad would stop at Toys R Us searching for a new Undertaker with the hat and coat every week, which seemed to take FOREVER as a kid waiting.
I'll save the rest of the years I could describe growing up, but let's bring it to today.
The last few years, it's been hard to be an Undertaker fan. He's only here once a year, and it used to really frustrate me. If he couldn't go anymore, why was he still here? I remember rooting for CM Punk to break the streak, hoping Shawn Michaels would stun the world in 2009 and 2010. It got a little old to me. Undertaker always won at WrestleMania, and then he started to disappear. Win, leave, repeat. Then in 2014, Brock broke the streak.
It stunned me. It was one of those moments as a fan where you truly were left speechless, I remember thinking that as Undertaker stood in that ring for the applause, that it was over. I had watched his final match. What bothered me was, I didn't even really enjoy it. I had forgotten how that character fascinated me as a child, how I actually wanted him to win. No matter how frustrated I had become with his booking and appearances, the thought of that really being "it" for Taker was very sad and unexpected to me.
You know how they always say you don't really say something was great until it is over? That's how I felt.
When Taker returned to take on Wyatt, I made a promise to really not take any further Taker matches for granted, and to simply overlook the obvious frustrations and simply enjoy it while he is here. Sure, we didn't get a match with Sting, and maybe a match with Shane wasn't the best thing ever, but I've enjoyed the ride.
Now as I prepare to graduate and end this chapter of my life, I feel like I'm watching The Undertaker doing the same.
Sure, he hasn't said anything, and it seems like a yearly tradition to question whether Taker can go or not, but it feels different this time.
He hasn't looked "right" this year. He looked rough taking bumps in the Rumble, and even seems to have lost some of his posture as he stands in the ring. A lifetime of wear and tear does that to a human being. I don't know if this is Taker's last Mania, or his last match, but if it is, regardless if it's a loss to Reigns, or a win and "see ya next year!", I hope everyone enjoys it.
I remember when Bret came back in 2010 I was a complete mark for it. Bret was one of my favorites when I started watching WWF, and even though the Vince match was forgettable and most of the buildup was, I got to see Bret wrestle again. Now, I get to see Undertaker in the last matches of his career. I will always believe wrestling passed Hogan, Austin, and others by. They weren't ready to leave the sport yet, they still had matches they wanted and things left on their wrestling bucket list, and I'm sure in 2003 when Austin left Mania and in 2006 when Hogan took on Orton (I don't count TNA matches for Hogan), that they didn't really believe that they were done. I believe that The Undertaker knows, and I believe we all know. We see it, we feel it, and I hope we all take full advantage of experiencing it.
Soon, we won't see Undertaker, Goldberg, Triple H, Brock Lesnar, Chris Jericho, or any of the generation we grew up on in the ring anymore. I know people complain, maybe I'm one of the fans that the majority oppose, but I'm truly enjoying performance we have left of these guys.
Below are some random Taker photos, call it a Taker appreciation post, whatever you'd like, but just thought I'd share!
Many of you who have graduated college or even high school to the same degree understand that feeling you get when the days dwindle down. The eagerness and anxiousness to get out and take on the world, the anxiety of hoping you've done enough and met every requirement, all the basic stuff we've all felt.
There is however, one more feeling I believe we all get.
We remember things. We remember what got us by, what made us smile, what helped us escape from reality. Maybe it was a few sleepless nights out with your friends, or a relationship you're in, memories you will hold onto for the rest of your life. They tend to be the hardest things to say goodbye to. I'm no different.
When I returned to my hometown to finish my degree at the University of Kentucky, I was lost. I was starting over, and that's not an easy feeling. It's honestly quite odd how that summer worked. The year I moved back to my hometown many nostalgic things came roaring back from my childhood. Hulk Hogan came back to the WWE, LeBron James went back to Cleveland, Undertaker was taking on Brock Lesnar again just like in 2002, those things helped me beyond description. As I struggled to find my footing and make my own way, between the classic struggles of living on your own for the first time and managing a job with full time class responsibilities, I had also run into some health issues that left me in constant stress during that time. I was a very emotional person at that time, and to escape from all of those stress factors in my life, to make things ease up a little, I found my peace in the form of Cavaliers basketball and my first love, the WWE.
Since around 2009 I had become quite a casual fan. I'll admit, from 2012-2014 the only reason I watched was CM Punk. I don't know why I lost interest, maybe it was the loss of the music that told stories, or the individualized PPV sets, the top to bottom story telling, maybe it was all of it. I can't place my finger on a single one. The one thing however, that I always kept my eyes on was The Undertaker.
The Undertaker captured my imagination as a child. I was an odd kid like many of us would be considered by today's standards. I had read every GooseBumps book, was huge into horror movies, and Halloween was my favorite holiday. As you can imagine, when I showed up to a Church Halloween party dressed up as The Undertaker in elementary school, it caused quite a reaction from the other parents.
My uncle bought me a black top hat from a party store, my mother gifted me a long black coat from her closet, and I would become The Undertaker. Something about the "beyond" and "after life" fascinated me because it was unknown. The Undertaker's character was the definition of making sure nothing was under your bed as a kid, or questioning what that shadow was in the closet, but you didn't hate him. You respected him.
I, like everyone else my age in 2002, was a huge Hulkamaniac. It was a sharp sting to see Taker take the title from Hogan at Judgement Day. By the end of the fall however, I was rooting for him against Lesnar at Unforgiven, and the classic Hell in a Cell at No Mercy. When Taker returned to his Deadman gimmick in 2004, I was the biggest fan I knew. My dad would stop at Toys R Us searching for a new Undertaker with the hat and coat every week, which seemed to take FOREVER as a kid waiting.
I'll save the rest of the years I could describe growing up, but let's bring it to today.
The last few years, it's been hard to be an Undertaker fan. He's only here once a year, and it used to really frustrate me. If he couldn't go anymore, why was he still here? I remember rooting for CM Punk to break the streak, hoping Shawn Michaels would stun the world in 2009 and 2010. It got a little old to me. Undertaker always won at WrestleMania, and then he started to disappear. Win, leave, repeat. Then in 2014, Brock broke the streak.
It stunned me. It was one of those moments as a fan where you truly were left speechless, I remember thinking that as Undertaker stood in that ring for the applause, that it was over. I had watched his final match. What bothered me was, I didn't even really enjoy it. I had forgotten how that character fascinated me as a child, how I actually wanted him to win. No matter how frustrated I had become with his booking and appearances, the thought of that really being "it" for Taker was very sad and unexpected to me.
You know how they always say you don't really say something was great until it is over? That's how I felt.
When Taker returned to take on Wyatt, I made a promise to really not take any further Taker matches for granted, and to simply overlook the obvious frustrations and simply enjoy it while he is here. Sure, we didn't get a match with Sting, and maybe a match with Shane wasn't the best thing ever, but I've enjoyed the ride.
Now as I prepare to graduate and end this chapter of my life, I feel like I'm watching The Undertaker doing the same.
Sure, he hasn't said anything, and it seems like a yearly tradition to question whether Taker can go or not, but it feels different this time.
He hasn't looked "right" this year. He looked rough taking bumps in the Rumble, and even seems to have lost some of his posture as he stands in the ring. A lifetime of wear and tear does that to a human being. I don't know if this is Taker's last Mania, or his last match, but if it is, regardless if it's a loss to Reigns, or a win and "see ya next year!", I hope everyone enjoys it.
I remember when Bret came back in 2010 I was a complete mark for it. Bret was one of my favorites when I started watching WWF, and even though the Vince match was forgettable and most of the buildup was, I got to see Bret wrestle again. Now, I get to see Undertaker in the last matches of his career. I will always believe wrestling passed Hogan, Austin, and others by. They weren't ready to leave the sport yet, they still had matches they wanted and things left on their wrestling bucket list, and I'm sure in 2003 when Austin left Mania and in 2006 when Hogan took on Orton (I don't count TNA matches for Hogan), that they didn't really believe that they were done. I believe that The Undertaker knows, and I believe we all know. We see it, we feel it, and I hope we all take full advantage of experiencing it.
Soon, we won't see Undertaker, Goldberg, Triple H, Brock Lesnar, Chris Jericho, or any of the generation we grew up on in the ring anymore. I know people complain, maybe I'm one of the fans that the majority oppose, but I'm truly enjoying performance we have left of these guys.
Below are some random Taker photos, call it a Taker appreciation post, whatever you'd like, but just thought I'd share!
