Mark Calaway aka The Undertaker retired from pro wrestling four years ago with a victory at WrestleMania 36. After struggling for a few years to end his career on a high note, he was finally able to call it quits after a critically acclaimed Boneyard match against AJ Styles.
During a Q&A on his Six Feet Under Patreon page, Undertaker was asked about how he’s dealing with being retired from the ring. The Dead Man candidly discussed the topic, admitting that he has struggled with it.
Here’s what he had to say about retirement, courtesy of F4WOnline’s transcription:
“I knew my time had come, but I wasn’t ready for it to come. I just knew that my body couldn’t deliver on what my mind and my heart wanted to give the fans. So it was kind of difficult. You have to remember that, for over half of my life, being in the ring is what I did. And then it’s not there anymore. And it does — it leaves a huge void in you. Because you’re trying to fill that void, which was a passion, and you’re trying to find out what that next passion is and what it is that you’re going to sink your teeth into. There just may not be something that will ever refill that void.”
Calaway went on to talk about how the struggle becomes far more intense when he attends live events, rather than watching WWE on TV at home. He sometimes has to leave the building because he’s overwhelmed with the feeling that he should be getting ready to get in the ring.
“I hope [that feeling] goes away at some point. As of now, it hasn’t.”
After returning home last month from WWE’s trip to Australia for Elimination Chamber, Undertaker had to talk himself out of making a comeback to the ring:
“It’s still tough for me. I’m still coming to grips with it. And I may or may not have said to my wife recently that I was going to make a comeback. Fortunately, I think I’ve talked myself out of that.
…I just got back from Australia, I was tired, and I knew I had a lot of stuff coming up. And that was me just feeling comfortable saying it… Don’t expect it. There’s not one more match.”
The Undertaker is now 58 years old, but he still threw a pretty damn good punch to Bron Breakker’s face last October. And he probably just watched AEW star Sting go out in style earlier this month at nearly 65 years old. That he says “I think” I talked myself out of a comeback match seems to still leave the door cracked open, even as he tries to shut it a few moments later.
Do you think we’ve truly seen The Dead Man’s last wrestling match? Let us know in the comments below what your reaction is to The Undertaker’s struggle with retirement.