#The Undertaker Stands by WWE Retirement: My Time Has Passed

It’s not uncommon for retired professional wrestlers to step out of retirement for “one more match” at WrestleMania and other big shows for WWE, but don’t get your hopes up on seeing The Undertaker back in the ring. After wrestling AJ Styles at WrestleMania 36 last year, Taker announced that he was retiring as a professional wrestler. Because he had become such a staple for WrestleMania in particular, many fans will be missing him at WrestleMania 37 in 2022.

Speaking with the Dallas Morning News, Undertaker confesses that the wrestling bug is still with him, given that he’s spent decades performing every year. As much as he’d love to get back in there, however, his body just won’t physically allow him to do so. Ultimately, the wrestling star has accepted that he can’t perform at the level that he used to, and he refuses to disappoint the fans with a lackluster match.

“I think it’s always in my head and in my heart, especially getting ready for WrestleMania here at AT&T Stadium. It’s just like…man. But it’s just at a point where physically, I can’t perform at a level. I mean, I could go out and walk through something and I could get through a match. But I can’t give people what they expect at this point. When you see Undertaker, you pay money to see that guy wrestle. I can’t deliver physically on what people’s expectations are.”

While Taker adds that “you never know” when it comes to the wrestling business and WWE, and very strange things have happened in the past, he is pretty confident that he’s done, given that his problems are with his physical limitations. The good news is that his exit helps to open the door for today’s rising stars to get the spotlight.

“The passion is obviously still there. I think that will always be there. It’s just the physical side of it. … My time has come, my time has gone. This is the WWE and things happen, you never know. But I know that my time has passed and it’s time for these young guys to step up and take over and lead us to where we’re going.”

Nowadays, Undertaker gets to watch WWE programming as a fan. He supports WWE’s decision to split up WrestleMania into two nights, because as it was before, one very long night of wrestling could be pretty hard on the fans. Still, his won legacy at WrestleMania will never be forgotten, even if his iconic streak was broken at WrestleMania 30 by Brock Lesnar. Looking back at that match, Taker also admits he would have preferred to retire with that streak intact, but he’s still very happy with how his career turned out.

“I mean, on a selfish note it would have been nice to retire undefeated, but that’s not business. My career, like I said and I’ll say it over and over again, I’ve been incredibly blessed with what I’ve been able to do in this industry. And there comes a time where you’ve got to pay it forward. Although, I don’t know if Brock was the right guy. I like Brock, me and Brock are friends. I don’t know that Brock needed that win. Brock was a bona fide superstar at that point. So, I don’t know that he needed it. Roman [Reigns defeating Undertaker at WM33] definitely, that was the right call. I just wish he may have been first.”

Fans can still go back and watch the Undertaker’s classic matches by streaming WWE content on Peacock. Over on Netflix, the interactive program Escape the Undertaker allows the wrestler to get back into character without the need to perform in the ring. This news comes to us from The Dallas Morning News.

Topics: WWE