WWE Raw’s 30th anniversary special is set to be a star-studded event with plenty of wrestling legends in attendance. Among those already announced for the show are Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, Ric Flair, The Bella Twins, Kurt Angle, and Jerry Lawler.
One man who was expected to be in attendance was Tatanka, who was shown in a promo segment on the very first episode of WWE Raw back in January of 1993. However, the legend took to social media on January 17th to announce that while he’d been contacted for an appearance, he would not be present for the special episode as he would instead be supporting his son in a wrestling competition.
“Even though @WWE contacted me 5 weeks ago, I will not be attending the 30th Anniversary Show…instead, as noted, my Son’s Wrestling Team won the Regional Championship & we’re heading out of town to the State Championship! No better place I would rather be! #Father #Son Support!”
Even though @WWE contacted me 5 weeks ago, I will not be attending the 30th Anniversary Show…instead, as noted, my Son's Wrestling Team won the Regional Championship & we're heading out of town to the State Championship! No better place I would rather be! #Father#Son Support! pic.twitter.com/9tvWX54L4Z
— Tatanka (@NativeTatanka) January 17, 2023
Tatanka Had A Legendary Undefeated Streak During His WWE Career
After signing with WWE in 1991, Tatanka began a famous undefeated streak that lasted nearly two years. He defeated Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania IX in an Intercontinental Championship match, but only via disqualification so he didn’t leave with the gold. The streak finally ended when he suffered a loss to Ludvig Borga after being hit in the back of the head with a steel chair.
During a 2021 interview with Boston Wrestling MWF’s Dan Mirade, the legendary performer compared his undefeated streak to that of Goldberg, saying that because he often wrestled twice a day his streak must have included more matches.
“We literally wrestled about 500 times a year, not including if you were being used on TV by Vince McMahon. You would wrestle at least twice [per day]. Everyone always talks about Tatanka, the undefeated streak, the two-year undefeated streak. Goldberg, 173-0, when we finally figure it out and we start talking to everybody, actually I’d probably be close to 1,000-0 because I went two years undefeated.”