Should Undertaker retire?

Danny Diamond

Founder/Admin

I know we have had this thread in the past, but I am curious what the newer members think.

New Member Lou said in "Favorite Wrestler Ever - Heat G" that he would have voted Taker if he had given up wrestling a few years ago.

This got me wondering. How many of you guys think The Undertaker needs to hang them up, or should have years ago?

I personally think the guy has plenty left in the tank, draws the biggest pops on the Smackdown show (if not both shows), is in great shape for a 42 year old and can still wrestle with the best of them.

He may not be Rob Van Dam or Rey Mysterio in the ring, but he never was.

I can never understand why people want the deadman to fade away. In my opinion, you will never again see a wrestler stay with 1 company like Taker did. He was around during the days of the Gobblygooker and the Blue Meanie. That should count for something as well.

I also wanted to give you guys Taker's World Title Reigns in the past 11 years, proving that he NEVER needed the title to get over.

Beat Hogan in 91 and held the title for less then 3 weeks.

IN March of 97, Taker held the belt for 5 months. This was his longest reign but also during the time when the WWE had very little to offer talent wise.

May off 99, Taker beats the Rock but drops the Title a month later to Austin.

Beats Hogan again in May of 02 then drops it 2 months later to Rocky.


So in 11 years Taker has had the belt 4 times for total of less than 1 year.

Triple H has already had the belt what nine times since Takers last title reign.

Simon

Create A Poster for No Mercy

Dr. Giganto

I voted for "Why retire when the fans still go crazy for you?"

He's had a long and successful career. He survived several brutal feuds in the early and mid-90's (Giant Gonzalez comes to mind) and still stayed a fan favorite. He still moves pretty darn well for a man his size. People still come to see him perform. Besides lessening the wear and tear on his body, theres really no reason for Taker to retire

Lou

Oops, I didn't mean to imply that I don't wish to see the Taker anymore. But I did think way more highly of his character a few years back (say, before the American badass times) than I do now. He was my favorite for a while, but that is no longer the case. That's all.

And yeah, I've seen the "should Taker hang them up" debate in other places as well. Honestly, I don't mind either way, and I think there's positives in both:

On one hand, if he were to retire, Mark Calloway would enjoy a healthier stay in the WWE, and we'd probably be able to see more of him, for more years to come. On the other, people will eventually miss seeing the Taker in the ring. It may not be immediately after he retire, but eventually. No matter how much criticism he gets for his "ring work", I know people will miss him.

He's earned enough of my repsect to do whatever he wants with his career: if he wants to hang them up, I'd totally understand; wants to keep going, then more power to you man, do your thing, I don't mind seeing you around at all. KEEP ON ROCKIN' MAN!!!

Bouchie

Taker is in, possibly, the best shape of his career. His wrestling style has evolved to include new moves and submissions. He's the biggest face on Smackdown, hands down. He should not retire yet. He still puts on some great matches. Heck, even his match with Heidenreich in Iraq was entertaining. If he can pull a good match out of Heidenreich, he deserves to stay around for awhile yet.

We must not confuse Taker with Flair; a guy who can't pull off a good match these days if his life depended on it. A guy who hasn't evolved his ring style since 1980. He's your candiate for retirement, if you ask me.

Lynch

As long as people want to see him, use him. But at least let him get new talent over. I only ever liked him personally when he was the Deadman, because the only guy at that time who could no sell was Hogan, so it was cool, but he was no HBK in the ring. Stay on, no title, elevate new talent, and stay in the semi main event. Cuz he's still valuable.

Narc

I miss his Bad A$$ persona. They should have let The Dead Man keep that gimmick. I would still keep him in the game tho, as long as he doesnt win the Title.

Y2J The King Of The World

Bouchie, what's with the hatred for Naitch? Sure, he isn't the worker he was 20 years ago, but I still find him entertaining - especially considering how long he's been working in the business. His presence alone makes for an entertaining segment for me, and he doesn't have Hogan syndrome where he thinks he still needs to be put over as a main eventer. He helps build up today's younger guys without tarnishing his legacy. Long live Naitch!

As for Taker, the only reason he would need to retire now would be if he decided the didn't want to do it anymore. Otherwise, he can still put on passable matches, draws crowd interest, and is one of the few big names that Smackdown (or WWE for that matter) still has left. So, I voted for him to "Keep on Rockin'."

Profit

Taker's one of the few reasons I still watch WWE from time to time. The guy is completely dedicated to staying in shape, the deadman gimmick only got old when he turned satanic, and he's just ... christ, he's TAKER. The guy should be bottled and sold, for the love of God.

Bouchie

Y2J, we clearly don't see eye-to-eye on the Flair issue. I'll give him credit for not needing the top spot, ala HHH or Hogan. However, I don't think Flair was ever a good worker. Perhaps by 80's standards, but that kind of wrestling doesn't work anymore. In that regard, I compare him to Hogan. Flair is a legend, no doubt, but his "wrestling" is hard to watch, and he uses the same template for every match he's had in the past two decades. He's great on the mic, but I always thought he was highly over-rated. Today's Taker is twice the worker of Flair, even when Flair was in his prime, IMO.

Danny Diamond

Founder/Admin

Well put.


The fans are popping for nostaligia and respect. They don't actually expect anything from him anymore.

Create A Poster for No Mercy