The Undertaker Possibly Performs at His Last WrestleMania

WrestleMania 33, billed as 'The Ultimate Thrill Ride', lived up to they hype and billing. We saw the emergence of new stars like Mojo Rowley, the return of legends like Good Ol JR and the Hardys, but most importantly, we may have just witnessed the last of the Undertaker.

Now, just to give a little history for casual fans, for nearly 30 years the Undertaker has been one of the faces of the WWE. From beating Hulk Hogan and winning the World Title at the height of Hulkamania to last night, Taker has been the most consistent face in WWE programming. And on top of that, in many ways, Taker carried the company on his back through many lean years and hard times.

In front of the crowd, he was the Phenom. He was the Deadman. He was the Undertaker. But, in the back with the boys, he was a leader. He was a mentor. He was the guy the youngsters went for guidance. He was a company man who was willing to do anything to draw money and to get over with the crowd.

What many people don't realize is it was his idea to lose to Brock Lesnar. He knew that victory and breaking the streak would cement his friend as the bad ass the WWE was trying to build him as. It was his idea to bring Shane McMahon back for WrestleMania 32. And, if I had to guess, it was probably Taker who hand selected Roman Reigns as his opponent last night, not Vince McMahon.

And while a lot is being said about the match itself, both good and bad, you have to remember that is irrelevant. The match doesn't matter. What matters is the Deadman. Undertaker did what any old school legend does, which is put over a young, up and coming talent. Andre put over Hogan. Hogan put over countless talents including Triple H and Kurt Angle. Trips put over Rollins. The list goes on.

And that's what makes the Undertaker special. Unlike like Hogan and HBK, who used their influence to put themselves over and take care of their friends, Taker used his influence with Vince to do what was best for business. And last night was a shining example of that. Instead of insisting on winning what is most likely his final match ever, he did the job and put over the new face of the company.

And his reward for 30 years of service and being a locker room leader was a send off fitting for a star of his caliber. 10 minutes to do what he wanted. We got one more Taker sit up. He stripped himself of all his gimmicks. For the first time ever on TV, he broke character and kissed his wife. And he walked off into the darkness. It was touching. It was fitting. It was perfect.

If you missed it, here is the end of the Undertaker. Rest in Peace, Deadman.