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There is a moment in WWE Network's new docuseries Undertaker - The Last Ride where you watch The Undertaker backstage at Wrestlemania 33, preparing to face Roman Reigns in Orlando, Florida. He is the sun and everyone else is drawn into his orbit. Wrestlers greet him as he is getting his bearings backstage. Even as he returns the salutations and respect he is given, he's also quite distant. He finds his way to the ring, limping. The Undertaker takes it all in, even though the scene has played out for him countless times before.
Watching and listening, however, you realize that Mark Calaway is standing in the center of his own wake.
The irony of that statement, especially given that the public personal Calaway has carried since he was 26 years old has been the literal reaper of souls weekly for World Wrestling Entertainment, is not understated. Indeed, it is one of many interesting discoveries that will reveal themselves as viewers stream the first of a five episode limited series this Sunday on the WWE Network.
While The Undertaker has taken a number of opponents straight to hell, the series will take viewers deeper inside the mind and the career of Mark Calaway then anyone ever would have ever thought possible, given that The Undertaker has represented the last vestige of the true old school professional wrestlers. This was a soul who maintained his character and the aura it exuded as much as humanly possible well into the 21st century. While there might be the rare interview where viewers saw Calaway peak out from behind the massive shoulders of The Undertaker, it was so rare, even in the social media age, that WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley himself once joked that he hoped we'd never see The Undertaker join Twitter.
Well, even in an era where we see The Undertaker tweeting and posting Instagram videos of himself and his wife swimming with baby tigers (no kidding), the hood behind the engine of The Undertaker, the science behind the magic, the man behind the monster, had, for the most part, never been revealed and for good reason. You don't need to pay attention to the man behind the curtain, The Wizard of Oz bellowed at Dorothy. Except in this instance, it's the wizard (an undead wizard, nonetheless) who is choosing to reveal himself.
Based on an advance stream of the first episode provided by World Wrestling Entertainment, it would appear that everything expertly protected for decades will be revealed for all to see and ponder, perhaps for the greater good.
At the beginning of the first episode,, it is noted that three days before Wrestlemania 33, The Undertaker agrees to let his career truly be documented for the first time. The premise of the first episode is very much that Mark Calaway, realizing the time has come, is walking The Green Mile towards what he believes will be his final match against Roman Reigns. He is older, he is hurting but he is also very much torn between not wanting to be the wrestler who hangs on too long while also feeling loyal to Vince McMahon and the importance of his Wrestlemania performance.
The episode breaks down the growth and importance of The Undertaker to the viewer, but also makes it clear that by this point in time in 2017, he has his calendar split into two halves - rehabbing whatever is hurting his ailing body from his previous Wrestlemania appearance and then preparing for the next one, hoping he can get himself in enough order to not let down the audience, the company or himself.
The docu-series also makes it clear that not letting himself down is a big part of the process that Mark Calaway is dealing with, still reeling from his Wrestlemania 30 loss to Brock Lesnar. No, not the pinfall loss (his first-ever at Wrestlemania) but the fact that he was concussed and has no memory of most of that day. As someone who has controlled his vision of how he wants to be seen, it's obvious that it's haunted him at least subconsciously to the point that he needs to redeem The Undertaker in the eyes of himself.
As Calaway himself expresses, there's a fear of being the wrestler who's physical performance cannot match the mental drive of what one wants and needs it to be - or worse, having the fans see you in that light. While the stories behind the scenes of Wrestlemania 30 fit perfectly with PWInsider.com's reporting of that match's aftermath, seeing the seriousness of the situation play out the way it does will truly surprise viewers who might not have known how precarious things truly were when Undertaker arrived at the hospital.
Last Ride's first episode features a plethora of cameos and comments from WWE stars past and present, including perhaps most surprising, Vince McMahon, who's admiration for The Undertaker is ridiculously apparent. Roman Reigns, Chris Jericho, Michelle McCool, Bray Wyatt, Mick Foley, Jim Ross and Triple H are also featured extensively and there are several moments backstage between Triple H and The Undertaker that lifts the lid on a previously unpublicized bond between the two, the last stalwarts standing from a previous generation.
The episode follows The Undertaker preparing for that fateful bout with Roman Reigns, what appears to be his last ride to a Wrestlemania weekend, the buzz that this could be the end within the locker room, the gift that Roman Reigns is receiving that night (several scenes with Reigns and Undertaker at the Wrestlemania Hotel also bring some levity to the proceedings) and the reality that, in the moment, time is about to close the door on a massive chapter in pro wrestling history.
There is a scene in Marvel's superhero opus Avengers: Endgame when Captain America, the heart and soul of these heroes, is left standing alone, bloody, beaten, his trusty shield shattered with an army of villains marching towards him. He is all that stands between them and the end of the world. With nothing but sheer will, he tightens what is left of his shield to his arm and marches towards his fate, one man destined to die against a horde of evil. But, he lurches forward, for that is who he was born to be. It's one of the best scenes in any superhero film, the pure essence of what it means to be a hero distilled into grit and will power.
There is a scene in this docu-series that strikes a similar chord, showcasing the true reality of what it took for Undertaker to get into the ring that evening (and likely, countless other evenings). Like Steve Rogers, he is truly a man being held together by sheer will. For all the talk of the Lord of Darkness and The Phenom and all of the other vaunted nicknames The Undertaker has carried over the decades, Mark Calaway is but one man, a man ravaged by time, miles and injuries. Yet, like Captain America, he still strives to propel himself forward, seeking to do what he's been destined to do - rise to the occasion of being The Undertaker at Wrestlemania.
It is perhaps the most honest, revealing behind the scenes moment ever broadcast on the WWE Network.
A preview of what's to come promises to dive even deeper in documented what The Undertaker undergoes in order to continue his legacy and perform in the ring.
With the episode ending on the aftermath of Wrestlemania 33 and the series promising to cover well into 2020, there is a lot of ground to cover and all signs are, by the time this series has completed its run, WWE Network will truly have nailed something as deep and revealing as HBO's documentaries that track boxers leading into milestone fights - except for Mark Calaway, the milestone isn't the next big confrontation in the squared circle; indeed, the true victory would be to find a way to redeem himself and discovering the last thing that one expects of a pro wrestler who has lived in perpetual motion for decades, peace of mind.
Whether he finds it remains to be seen (Note: WWE does love a happy ending for these types of affairs) but Last Ride will certainly take WWE fans into the confines of the mindset, the physicality, the recovery and the emotional state of pro wrestler's most protected performer. The door has now been kicked in. What will be revealed in the weeks to come may indeed add yet another new, complex yet raw dimension to The Undertaker's legacy. If the first episode is any indication, mission accomplished.
While The Dead Man may remain cloaked in darkness, Mark Calaway and all that drives him are being brought into the light.
Undertaker: Last Ride's first episode will premiere this Sunday on the WWE Network with the following broadcast schedule:
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