The Undertaker will soon take his rightful place in the WWE Hall of Fame. On Friday, the company officially announced that the legendary wrestler will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2022. The Phenom’s induction ceremony will take place on April 1 at the Hall of Fame ceremony immediately following WWE SmackDown. The ceremony will be available for streaming on Peacock in the United States and WWE Network in other territories.
After first coming into WWE as the Undertaker character in 1990, the pro wrestling icon wrestled his last match at WrestleMania in 2020, defeating AJ Styles in a cinematic-style showdown before riding off into the sunset on his trusty bike. Taker later announced in the WWE Network documentary Undertaker: The Last Ride that he considered that his final match, revealing that he had retired as a pro wrestler. By that point in his impressive career, Taker realized that he had accomplished everything he wanted to do in the pro wrestling business.
“At this point in my career, I have no desire to get back in the ring. I’m at a point; it’s time this cowboy really rides away,” the then-55-year-old said in the documentary. “There’s nothing left for me to conquer or accomplish. The game has changed. It’s time for new guys to come up. The time just seems right.”
Eager to spend more time with his family with the boots hung up, the wrestler added, “My career, my legacy, speaks for itself. At the end of the day, that’s really all that matters. I have this other life that I need to go and experience and enjoy the fruits of my labor, enjoy the blessings that I have – my wife, my children.”
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It’s not uncommon for pro wrestlers to announce their retirement only to return for “one more match” (or two, or three, or four, or more). However, The Undertaker seems to have meant it when he announced that he was done. This is because he no longer feels that he can physically perform at the levels that he used to, and he refuses to give his fans a subpar match just to keep his career going.
“I realized I have taken every physical gift, tool that I have and have used it up,” the Undertaker, a 7-time world champion, told the New York Post in 2020. “There’s no water left in the sponge, if I can use that analogy. I’ve rung everything I could get out of that sponge.”
This is a well-deserved retirement and a WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony that’s well-earned, to put it lightly. Many old-school WWE fans will be tuning in to see the Hall of Fame induction ceremony just to see the Undertaker join the halls. The induction will put him alongside his Brothers of Destruction tag team partner, Kane, to whom Taker personally delivered the news of his own induction in 2021.
What an incredible moment on #WWETheBump!@undertaker informed @KaneWWE that the Big Red Machine will be inducted into the #WWEHOF Class of 2021! pic.twitter.com/ysclp3voAQ
— WWE’s The Bump (@WWETheBump) March 24, 2021
“It is truly my honor to announce that you, Kane, will be the next inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame, the class of 2021,” Taker said to Kane. “Well deserved, much earned, and couldn’t be more proud of you, brother.”