An emotional farewell to The Undertaker!

‘Rest in peace.’  If you know anything about professional wrestling, then you will know that these three words belong to The Undertaker.  Undertaker: The Last Ride, was a five-part documentary series that for the first time ever looked at the man behind this WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) legendary character, namely Mark Calaway.

Produced by Calaway, and in collaboration with the WWE network, this documentary series chronicled Calaway’s life over a three-year period (2017-2020).

The greatest compliment to give this programme is that it never dragged once.  It was entertaining throughout, informative, and constantly emotive in a way that had never been expected prior to watching.

When we first see Calaway, he is in a state of inner turmoil.  He keeps thinking about his retirement from wrestling.  He knows The Undertaker cannot go on forever and does not want to cheapen his act by becoming a parody of himself.  The problem being though that he loves the wrestling business. He also loves the CEO and owner of the WWE, Vince McMahon.

This documentary was so riveting because up to this point, Calaway had shied-away from doing many media interviews as himself.  As he told us, he did this on purpose to maintain the mystique of the character of The Undertaker.

The format of the episodes took the form of archive footage mixed with present-day interviews.  For the first time ever, we saw Calaway at his home talking to us like a dear friend.  These pieces to camera felt like very privileged access because they resembled psychological therapy sessions.  There was something so moving about seeing such a big man talking to us so honestly and tenderly.

As this documentary started, I feared it being a glorified public relations exercise by the WWE.  I feared it would not depict the hardships and uncertainties of a wrestler’s life.  Thankfully, it did not play out this way.  Calaway detailed how his fame had come at an extreme cost to his body.  He revealed to us how he had gone through fifteen surgeries to help stretch out his career.

This documentary worked so well because he endlessly detailed his insecurities to us.  Again, this had never been seen before.  He is a perfectionist as a performer and so was extremely critical of himself.  He talked openly about how he now worried about getting life changing injuries in the squared circle, due to now being a devoted husband and father.

Having been a massive fan of The Undertaker in my childhood, I desperately hoped that I would like the man who is behind this dead-man persona.  His lack of a big ego was why he was so likeable.  He came across as just a regular guy who just so happens to be one of the greatest wrestlers of-all-time.

If you are a wrestling fan then you will love Undertaker: The Last Ride.  Nevertheless, you will also love this documentary if you are not.  At its heart this is a documentary about kindness, love, and the strength of the human spirit.  ‘Rest in peace’, The Undertaker, and hello world to the real Mark Calaway! 5/5.