The Undertaker: ‘I Do Realize That Father Time Is Tapping Me on the Shoulder’

– The Toronto Sun recently interviewed WWE Superstar The Undertaker, who was promoting the WWE docuseries, Undertaker: The Last Ride. Below are some highlights.

The Undertaker on loving the business: “Obviously, you don’t do this business unless you just truly love it. You might try to attempt to do this business, but if it’s not in your heart and soul, you’re not going to be a success. You might be a flash in the pan. For most of my adult life, this is what I’ve done and I’ve done it at the highest level. I do realize that Father Time is tapping me on the shoulder. And I don’t want to turn around and face him.”

On having one more match left in him: “I feel like I’ve got a match (left) that is befitting what I feel like that the legacy of The Undertaker deserves. But the hard part is, if I grade myself, I grade myself on where I was physically in the early 2000s. I don’t grade myself on the curve of it being 2020 and being 55 years old. The expectations of what I have for myself, with the limitations that I have physically, it really is a delicate balance. You’ve got to take a really good look (and ask yourself), OK, is this the match that you’re looking for, is it in the realm of possibility and do I risk long-term damage?… I have young kids still,” he added. “Do you run the risk of jeopardizing your long-term health? All this is kind of what’s going on in my head during this docuseries. What I’m looking for and trying to achieve. Trying to come to grips with leaving that aspect of the business.”

His thoughts on retirement: “I’ll never, ever retire completely. I may not get in the ring and wrestle anymore, but I’ll always somehow be involved I’m sure within the industry. For 30 years, I’ve been a mainstay in the ring.”

His jealousy of Shawn Michaels: “I tell people all the time how jealous I am of Shawn (Michaels). When we had the retirement match, he was such peace and was so content, he knew that he had done everything that he wanted to do and he got to go out on his terms and he went out on a match that was befitting his legacy.”

On another WrestleMania match: “You never say never, but to make it to Mania again, it’s going to take something really, really juicy.”