The Undertaker found closure in his professional wrestling career following WWE WrestleMania XL.
The Undertaker retired following his Boneyard Match with AJ Styles at WrestleMania 36 in 2020. Taker gave his final farewell at Survivor Series 2020, before being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2022.
WWE scheduled John Cena and Taker to appear in the WrestleMania XL main event on night two, Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Title. The Bloodline, Seth Rollins, Cena, and Taker got involved, with Cena laying out Solo Sikoa and Taker choke-slamming The Rock. As previously reported, Steve Austin was originally scheduled to appear at the end of the match when Taker laid out the Rock.
During his Six Feet Under With Mark Calaway podcast, The Undertaker stated that the moment provided him with closure after struggling to accept retirement.
“Something happened this weekend, and I’ve been struggling with it since I retired. But this weekend gave me closure. It really did. It was fun, obviously it was fun. I mean, doing this for as long as I have been involved in that and how important that storyline was and is, but when it was over, and I’m running out of the building, I’m like, I’m good now. I don’t know if I needed…My last match was in the Boneyard, and there’s nobody there, cinematic. It was like a moment of clarity, like, I’m okay now. I’m not saying that I wouldn’t do something like that in the future, but I don’t have that feeling in my chest like I’ve had since I retired that I need…I hadn’t come to peace with it. I knew, just like when it was over in the Boneyard Match at four in the morning, like I’m good. I had no clue, but I just knew once it was done, I was like, you’re good, man. It’s time to flip the page and go to the next chapter.”
He continued, “It was such a cool weekend all the way around. Then to finish off and have closure to the wrestling part of my career, it was so cool. It was really cool, and it was a great feeling. It’s amazing. It really is an amazing feeling because I don’t have that pressure now. It’s been difficult the last couple [of] years. Even going to a regular premium live event, I would leave before the matches because I get to that point where I’m, ‘Man, I need to be out there.’ So I was out there. My goodness, what a moment to have. Such great storyline, but man, it was like, I can close this book now.”
You can check out the complete show below:
(h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription)
