Tear Jerker / The Undertaker

• The demo version of his theme.
  • Which was remixed and used for the promo celebrating his 25 years in the WWE. And it was tear-inducing.
• The kayfabe backstory used for the Undertaker is a massive one: either he or Kane accidentally^note or sometimes not, Depending on the Writer caused a fire that resulted in his parents' deaths and Kane's serious injuries and Taker thought his little brother also died. The backstage segments in which he explains his side of the story after Paul Bearer reveals it and visits said parents' graves are massively heartbreaking because of the guilt he feels, helped by Mark Calaway having excellent acting skills.
  • While addressing said parents' graves, the Undertaker apologizes because of having to break a promise of not harming Kane due to the latter attacking various individuals in response to the former having initially refused to fight him in a match. Undertaker also hopes that they would understand why he has to do this and expresses the desire to eventually be reunited as a family in the afterlife if that's possible. The whole thing is also Harsher in Hindsight due to Mark Calaway's real life father dying in 2003 and one of his real life older brothers, Timothy, dying in 2020.
• The ending of the WrestleMania XXVI match, in which Taker forced Shawn Michaels into retirement. After all of the beatings he went through, along with a chokeslam and two Tombstone Piledrivers (which Shawn kicked out of), Taker was about to signal Shawn's end with his signature Throat-Slitting Gesture, but stopped short of that when he saw Shawn crawling to his knees. In desperation and respect for Shawn's career, fearing that the latter would only prolong the inevitable, Taker shouted at him to "stay down" (though Shawn's only response was him mimicking Taker's throat-slitting gesture and slapping him in the face, triggering Taker's Berserk Button). You can tell that after that Atomic Jumping Tombstone of Death, Taker had a sad look on his face as he managed to whisper out an "I'm sorry, Shawn" while he was pinning his opponent down. No Maniac Tongue out either, unlike in other WrestleManias. It was just depressing.
  • Before the match, there was a February 22, 2010 edition of Raw when Taker (all dressed up in his "Ministry" era outfit and with some ointment on his lips and chin as a treatment for the burns he had suffered from at the Elimination Chamber the day before) came face-to-face with Michaels and challenged him for a rematch, saying that if Michaels won, he would end the Streak, but if Taker won, he would end HBK's career. When HBK replied that "if I can't beat you at WrestleMania, I don't have a career," Taker felt deeply moved, all the while shedding a Single Tear, foreshadowing his realization that he didn't want to end HBK's career, but he had no other choice, since he had a fondness for Michaels. A little bittersweet.
  • The WrestleMania XXVII match as well. It was just depressing seeing The Undertaker barely able to get out of the ring, even if he did win the match. The most depressing part must be that 9 out of 10 times, his exit in those conditions in kayfabe would've involved druids carrying him out and chanting and blue lighting and fog. None of that happened in this case, implying that it wasn't kayfabe.
    • Triple H, who was himself injured but able to leave on his own, was visibly concerned and even went to help Undertaker, only to be waved away by the official.
    • The song that played in the background (at least in PPV) while the whole ending was going on, with Taker having to be carried out on a stretcher? Johnny Cash's "Ain't No Grave", the same song that played during Taker's triumphant entrance into the ring, and which now serves as a sad exit after a win, as Taker, barely conscious, would be taken to a hospital and tended to his injuries. It's as if the song knew that he would be alright. There ain't no grave that could hold Taker's body down indeed.
• Brock Lesnar putting an end to the Undertaker's 21-win streak at Wrestlemania XXX. The entire arena was in absolute shock and disbelief; even Paul Heyman could hardly believe Brock won. The sound engineers even delayed Brock's theme after his victory, just to make the Undertaker's defeat sting even more.
  • Or they might have been wondering if there might not have been a shocking swerve in store, it was that well-kept a secret.
  • It got up to the point where adults and security personnel had to comfort crying children by saying there was a mistake.
  • When Taker struggled to get back up after his loss, he kept stumbling due to his head concussion that he had suffered from in the first few minutes of the match. Even the announcers admitted that getting up was painful. When he finally stood up, he felt so warmed up by the crowd's encouragement from his loss that he was reduced to a few Manly Tears, almost as if he were broken inside along with his Streak. (Of course, this was followed up by a Mood Whiplash when a drunk fan yelled "You suck!" to Taker.) After a minute or so, he was able to slowly get out of the ring and walk away a Graceful Loser on his own accord to the chants of "Thank you, Taker!"
    • Taker later recalled in an interview with Adrian Hernandez that when he saw the reaction of the crowds becoming shocked and saddened by his loss, he felt that the fans truly loved him and made him realize "how much he, as a wrestling star, meant to his fans".
    • As soon as Taker was able to make it backstage, his head concussion was too much for him to bear; he collapsed in front of Vince McMahon, Lesnar, and Heyman, who felt so concerned about Taker's health that they had the medical staff help him onto a stretcher, and even accompanied him as he was being carted off to a hospital. At least they had the nerve to offer him condolences while he was still injured. Somebody give them all a hug.
  • During a 2015 interview in Manchester with Shawn Michaels and JR, JR revealed that even Brock himself didn't want to break the streak and had even asked McMahon if he could lose to Taker. Considering that Taker had asked Brock to end the Streak in late 2010, it finally came to a head when, after a third F5, Brock felt so emotional when he reluctantly had to use a cover pin to make sure Taker stayed down for the three-count; if one listened carefully and paid attention to the former, he managed to utter an emotional "Thank you, Taker" during the pin at the moment the referee counted to three.
• At the WWE Hall of Fame the night before, Undertaker paid tribute to Paul Bearer in the only way he could—raising his signature urn to the air in silence.
• Undertaker leaving his gloves, jacket, and hat in the ring after losing to Roman Reigns at Wrestlemania XXXIII. Even though nothing was said, everyone in the stands and watching at home understood that this was the end of an era.
  • The most heartwrenching moment of the entire match besides the ending comes when Taker starts to do his signature sit up...and he can't, collapsing to the ground, unable to continue the fight.
    • After taking a table spear, it was obvious that Undertaker was having trouble performing, such as by falling over when attempting his classic situp, missing the cue for reversing a Superman Punch into a chokeslam, and simply by looking at how the match slowed down. It was very difficult to watch what one of the greatest wrestlers was reduced to. If there's any humorous consolation to it, Roman Reigns failed to lift him up for a Tombstone twice.
  • The point was driven home by him stepping out of the ring and immediately going to Michelle McCool (his real life wife) and giving her a kiss, as if to acknowledge that this wasn't the Undertaker anymore, but Mark Calaway. Taker truly was gone... At least until John Cena called him back out the year after.
  • Roman's reaction after the match backstage doesn't help at all.
• The Undertaker: The Last Ride documentary. All of it in a sense. How much we've seen Undertaker as the phenom, one of the greatest performers ever, and throughout the documentary, we see nothing but Mark Calaway. At the end of it all, he indicated that he was finally retiring. The case if WWE might have needed him in an emergency was still up in the air at the time of his impending retirement, but Mark felt very content about his career now. The official end of the career of Undertaker.
  Mark: (Calmly) I'm at a point... This time, the cowboy really rides away.
  • Mark mentioned how much his father disapproved his career as a wrestler, especially when he jokingly mocked him for wearing make up in his early years. But he also mentioned that his father was nothing short of proud that he made the decision and stuck with it. Long after he passed, Mark mentions he still misses him.
  • What played a major role in this decision was not the injuries he accumulated, nor was that he wasn't needed, it was how sudden his and his family's lives can change in a single day. After filming his Boneyard match with AJ Styles, he gets a call of the unfortunate news that his own brother passed away from a sudden heart attack, not long after that, Michelle's nephew lost his life in a car accident right after graduation too.
  • The Tribute WWE gave him on the June 26th edition of Smackdown. One final tribute, to one of the most defining wrestler in history.
• November 22, 2020. Survivor Series. 30 years of Undertaker. The Deadman announces that this is the true Last Ride and that it is now his time to leave.
  • As a nice little touch and tribute, WWE added a Hologram of one Paul Bearer, with his Iconic "Oh Yes" catchphrase in the background.
• At the Raw is XXX show, Undertaker gives Bray a Passing the Torch moment. Come August 24th, 2023 and Bray Wyatt has passed on, meaning that Bray would never be able to become the successor as the Wrestling Monster.

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