The Undertaker has admitted that his involvement at WrestleMania 40 was very last minute.
For the first time since 2020, The Deadman appeared on The Grandest Stage and got physical as he took out The Rock in the chaotic Bloodline Rules match. Although the match was the culmination of a 1,300-plus day title reign and the match itself was a year in the making, the Hall of Famer’s involvement in the match was not known until the day of the show.
Looking back on the weekend on his Six Feet Under podcast, Undertaker revealed that he was first contacted ahead of time but details were very vague:
“It happened pretty spontaneously. We got to Philadelphia on Wednesday. I got a call on Tuesday from Triple H. ‘Hey, a lot of things are going on and a lot of thoughts are being put into this. Would you want to be part of it?’ ‘If it works and if I can be a help, I don’t know how, but if I can help, fine, whatever you guys need. Just let me know.’ ‘We don’t have anything yet, we’re just putting ideas together.’ I don’t hear anything else until Thursday. I get a text from Michael Hayes. ‘We’re coming up with some ideas.’ ‘Cool, let me know.’ That was it.”
Continuing, the Hall of Famer revealed that he was contacted on the day of the show to confirm his involvement in the match:
“I’m at the One Deadman Show. I get a text from Paul Heyman. ‘Interesting.’ I told Paul originally, ‘This isn’t about me. If the guys want me involved in it, whatever I can do, let me know. If they don’t, it ain’t going to hurt my feelings. I’m good. Don’t feel like there is any pressure.’ It had gone back and forth. I get a text during Sunday, and that’s when you see me get up. At that point, I knew there was a good chance,”
Prior to the match taking place, there were strong rumours that Steve Austin could be involved in the match. The following week, a new report provided more information and explained that Steve Autin was the original plan for the match and why he was replaced by The Phenom.
The Undertaker Explains Importance Of WrestleMania Appearance
Although this was Undertaker’s first appearance at WrestleMania since his retirement match in 2020, this was his first appearance in front of live fans since 2018, which saw the Hall of Famer quickly defeat John Cena at WrestleMania 34. Looking back on the appearance, The Undertaker explained why his cameo in The Bloodline match was really important to him.
Also on his podcast, The Undertaker praised Roman Reigns’ time as champion.
H/t to Fightful.