By Kevin Michie
The foundation of sports entertainment is built around larger-than-life personalities.
On Sunday The Showcase of the Immortals stood witness to the exit of sports entertainment’s greatest immortal when The Undertaker, without using words, announced his retirement from professional wrestling.
The Deadman laid his iconic hat, trench coat, and gloves in the middle of the ring following a loss to Roman Reigns in the main event of Wrestlemania 33. It signals the end of what will be considered one of the greatest careers in all of sports entertainment.
A total of 75,245 fans packed the Citrus Bowl in Orlando for Wrestlemania and were treated to an incredibly lengthy card of 13 matches, kicking off at 5:00 p.m. ET and running until approximately midnight.
Fans staying up late to watch ‘Taker and Reigns at home on the WWE Network were rewarded when WWE Hall of Fame commentator Jim Ross made an appearance. The iconic professional wrestling broadcaster made his way down the 80-yard long entrance ramp to join the announce team in calling the main event.
It was an emotional moment for fans, as Ross had been off WWE television since 2013, but also because most fans were aware of the recent passing of his wife, Jan, who passed away just over a week prior to the event.
The sweet and dulcet tones of “Good ‘Ol J.R.” certainly added to the moment for fans at home, while fans in attendance created their own moment, giving The Undertaker a standing ovation as he exited the stadium.
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And while WWE fans bid farewell to one superstar, they welcomed back two more earlier in the evening when tag team legends, The Hardy Boyz, returned. The iconic duo returned to a WWE ring following an absence of more than six years, and promptly won the WWE Raw Tag Team Championships in a fatal-four way ladder match. The return, and subsequent victory, by the Hardys was a highlight of the show.
Several other title changes took place, including both Raw and Smackdown’s main championship belts moving from one superstar to another.
On the Raw side, former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar successfully defeated Goldberg for the Universal Championship in a match that lasted four minutes and 43 seconds. The bout consisted of four spears, one jackhammer suplex, ten German suplexes, and one F-5 (Lesnar’s finishing move). Their previous one-on-one encounter, at November’s Survivor Series in Toronto, lasted just one minute and 23 seconds, so this was considered a lengthy bout for the two.
Orton captures WWE Championship
On the Smackdown side, Randy Orton pinned Bray Wyatt to capture the WWE Championship. Fans in attendance never seemed to get fully invested in in the match, despite the odd projections on the ring of maggots and worms to try and make Wyatt seem like an expert mind-games tactician.
In an awesome moment for Canadian fans, Winnipeg’s Chris Jericho went up against Marieville, Quebec’s Kevin Owens with, ironically enough, the United States Championship on the line. Owens came out on top, capturing the championship, in one of the more personal rivalries of the evening.
The Owens and Jericho match had a “show-stealing” capability, however fans were buzzing afterwards for the Shane McMahon (son of WWE owner Vince McMahon) and A.J. Styles match. The expectations were low considering Shane isn’t technically a professional wrestler, but Styles, considered by many to be the best pro wrestler in the world, helped carry the match and the end result was truly exceptional.
The two women’s matches featured some great storylines, with the Raw Women’s championship match seeing Bayley retain her championship against thee other competitors. The Smackdown Women’s Championship Six-Pack Challenge worked in favour of the local crowd, as Orlando’s own Naomi snatched the championship away from Alexa Bliss.
Gronk makes an appearance
In some of the more light-hearted moments of the evening, New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski made a special appearance to help Mojo Rawley win the fourth annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.
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Sixteen-time WWE Champion John Cena and his real-life significant other Nikki Bella defeated The Miz and his wife Maryse in a mixed tag team match. After the bout, Cena proposed to Nikki in the center of the ring, with Nikki saying yes.
Wrestlemania has always featured a mix of celebrity to go along with its professional wrestling roots. The first Wrestlemania featured appearances by Cyndi Lauper, Mr. T, Liberace, and Muhammad Ali. This year was no different with the likes of Gronkowski, along with a musical performance by Pitbull. Wrestlemania hasn’t changed a lot in that regard.
There is some change coming, though. Sports entertainment fans will now have to adjust to life without The Undertaker. The Deadman finishes his Wrestlemania career with an astonishingly strong 23-2 record, with his only losses coming to Reigns and Lesnar.
As we say “Rest in Peace” to The Undertaker we say also “bonjour” to other up-and-coming superstars like Quebec’s Kevin Owens.
Where one Wrestlemania moment fades, another is sparked. Thirty-three Wrestlemanias and counting. See you at the next Showcase of the Immortals.