THE UNDERTAKER revealed how he made a dramatic U-turn from WWE retirement after his WrestleMania 34 match with John Cena.
The Phenom had trained for months and was in the best shape for years ahead of the bout with his fellow wrestling legend in 2018.
The 57-year-old – real name Mark Calaway – had recovered from injuries following numerous surgeries and was a secret opponent to face Cena.
But their match – which could have been one of the best ever – last just 2 minutes 45 seconds, leaving the crowd in New Orleans disappointed.
And Taker told how he would have probably hung up his boots for good if he had been given the chance to have a 30-minute fight that night.
Calaway – talking on episode 3 of his Last Ride documentary in 2020 – said: “Professionally it was fine.
“Personally it left me a little empty. I was able to train for the first time in a few years, the way I wanted to train. Pain free in my hips.
“I was prepared to do a 20-30 minute match. You would think 'OK, John Cena, Undertaker, it would have been a different deal but…
“Looking for that one performance, that one match that brings me back to yesteryear and delivers on the match itself, the story and all the athletic requirements to have a good match.
“If it'd happened with Cena, there's probably a good chance that I could have walked away and been OK.
“Then it was like three-minute match, so what you gonna do?”
Calaway also told of how he had to upset his young daughter by beating Cena – as he is her favourite wrestler in the WWE.
He added: “The matches that I've won, she's actually fallen asleep and missed. She only stayed awake for the ones that I've lost really.
“I think she was excited to know that I could still win a match. Know I've got to worry about John Cena's feelings.
“It was nice that I got to crush her favourite and let her know her daddy was the man. But I was disappointed that the match was what it was.
“The fire was really lit when I came out of the Cena match. I was feeling good, I was in shape, I was like shoot 'I can work a few matches'.”
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