SOME WWE fans were left feeling “a little sad” after watching The Undertaker’s return to the ring on Tuesday.
The 58-year-old, real name Mark Calaway, retired from the WWE at Survivor Series in November 2020 after 30 years with the company.
WWEThe Undertaker returned to WWE on NXT this week[/caption]
WWEThe Dead Man enjoyed a legendary career inside the ring[/caption]
The Phenom, widely regarded as one of the greatest WWE superstars of all-time, competed in more Wrestlemania matches than anyone else with a startling 27 appearances and had an incredible 21-0 undefeated streak.
After 21 Mania victories in a row, the run came to an end in 2014 when he was beaten by Brock Lesnar.
He appeared five more times at Mania between 2015 and 2020, before his final appearance in 2020 where he defeated AJ Styles.
Fans were ecstatic when WWE teased that the icon could be making an appearance on this week’s episode of their NXT brand – and they were not disappointed as he returned in true American Bad Ass style.
Bron Breakker had laid out Carmelo Hayes in the main event before declaring that he was the bad ass in the WWE.
Suddenly a familiar and eerie gong then sounded before Taker came riding out on his bike and climbed slowly into the ring.
The former WWE champ told Breakker that someday he was going to be a special talent but that day was not today as he hit the young powerhouse with a chokeslam.
Taker then handed Breakker some sound advice, telling him that there is always a bigger, badder bad ass around the corner, and he just met the baddest of them all.”
As expected, the clip of his return soon went viral on social media, but it had viewers torn on the physical condition of the near 60-year-old legend.
“Undertaker moving like that made me a little sad ngl,” declared one fan as they shared footage of him climbing into the ring after arriving on his motorbike.
Another echoed those thoughts, commenting: “Looks rough. Don’t wanna see these things and mess with my memories of the Dead Man.”
A fellow supporter of the Dead Man said: “Watching someone you look up to your whole life, and seeing them struggling to walk around a little, is hard to watch.”
While another wrote: “Age is finally catching up with him.”
However, not everyone was as concerned – especially considering the amount of punishment Taker took during his epic run in the ring.
Back in 2019 he revealed that during his illustrious career he had up to 17 surgeries – including operations to repair crushed eye sockets.
Taker even once famously continued to wrestle despite being inadvertently set alight on his way to the ring at Elimination Chamber in 2010.
During the show he could be seen pouring cold water on what would turn out to be second-degree burns to his neck and chest area.
And after seeing him back in action this week, many fans were quick to hail the veteran.
“For someone who’s close to 60 with multiple bodily replacements; he’s moving pretty good,” said one.
“Taker in great shape,” said a fellow viewer while another wrote: “He has put his body thru so much and he is aged so he’s fine.”
Follow all our latest news & stories on WWE.